Arizona Cardinals enter training camp with ‘unfinished business’
Jul 27, 2016, 1:22 PM | Updated: Jul 28, 2016, 11:24 am
(AP Photo/Matt York)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Their break ends this week.
The Arizona Cardinals return to work Thursday, when 90 players report to University of Phoenix Stadium for the start of training camp.
Of course not all 90 will make the team –just the best 53 — which means tough decisions are ahead.
“We have more than 53. We’ve got probably 65 that I’m very comfortable with,” head coach Bruce Arians said, when the team broke for the summer on June 8. “You can’t have a bad day, especially in certain position groups. You just can’t have a bad day. You’ll fall too far behind.”
Wide receiver and defensive line appear to be the deepest positions.
There’s going to be a player, likely multiple players, who get cut that will not only land on another team but perhaps are an upgrade in talent on that team.
The competition throughout camp and preseason is going to be fierce.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how it all pans out in training camp,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said.
The expectations are high for the Cardinals in 2016.
There is “unfinished business,” according to offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin, considering the team fell short of the ultimate goal, the Super Bowl, advancing only as far as the NFC Championship Game a year ago.
Much of that team returns.
Nine starters are back on defense and eight on offense, including every skilled player who scored a touchdown.
“It’s not just the touchdowns. That’s great, but just the continuity,” said quarterback Carson Palmer, who enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2015 and received MVP consideration. “Those receivers lining up in different spots and playing each other’s positions and knowing hots and knowing adjustments and the tight ends playing next to each other and blocking in the run game. Having the skilled position guys back is huge.”
The big question mark offensively, and something Palmer pointed to during mini-camp, is the offensive line, which may have as many as three new starters, including a brand new center for the first time in nine years.
“That needs to continue to develop and grow,” he said.
Defensively, only safety Rashad Johnson and cornerback Jerraud Powers are missing from the league’s fifth-best unit. Their losses, however, leave significant holes in the secondary.
Is Tyvon Branch capable of filling Johnson’s shoes? Can Justin Bethel be the starter opposite Patrick Peterson? And how is the health of Mathieu?
The biggest concern on defense from a year ago, pass rush, was addressed with the offseason additions of Chandler Jones, a 2015 Pro Bowler, and Robert Nkemdiche, a first-round draft pick out of Mississippi.
Overall, the Cardinals would appear to have their best collection of talent ever, at least on paper.
“We have a lot of confidence. We know we’re a good team, and we put the work in. We’re not going to just try to show up. We’re going to work very hard,” defensive end Calais Campbell said. “We got a lot of talent but that don’t mean anything. We know that if we put the work in with our talent and our coaching and the way we handle ourselves, the sky’s the limit. We can be a great team.
“There’s something about a good team, and you can sense in the locker room there’s something here.”