Arizona Cardinals training camp: All-Access with Bruce Arians
Aug 11, 2015, 1:21 PM
Head coach Bruce Arians likes what he sees during Arizona Cardinals training camp at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. (Photo: Vince Marotta/Arizona Sports)
(Photo: Vince Marotta/Arizona Sports)
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Head coach Bruce Arians, now in his third year with the Arizona Cardinals, meets the media each day during training camp.
Here, in this space, we’ll highlight many of the key topics and personnel conversations he has with reporters following the morning walk-through.
Again, first, Arians updated the injury list. He mentioned cornerback Shaq Richardson, offensive lineman D.J. Humphries and tight end Troy Niklas would be returning to practice. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (hamstring) would be limited in his reps, while running back Andre Ellington (hamstring) is “full” go and it will be another day before cornerback Jerraud Powers (oblique) is back on the field.
“Thought yesterday’s practice was one of the best we’ve had; really good competition in both lines of scrimmage. Kevin Minter really stood out yesterday; is making nice strides. Lot of good things to speak about everybody. Really pleased—now let’s see we can stack two together as quality of that. It’s hard to stay at that level, but we don’t want to drop much but that was a really good practice yesterday.”
How much is this hurting David Johnson to miss all of this time
“Killing him. There’s no way a rookie is going to play in September and miss training camp. There’s just no way in hell I’m putting him out there; not in an expanded role of any kind.”
Will you allow offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin to call plays in the preseason
“Yeah, Harold will call two this year and he may call the second half of this one (against Kansas City). We were deciding that a little bit last night. I want to get him as much exposure as possible calling plays.”
How do you like the right side of the offensive line
“Coop (Jonathan Cooper) has looked very good. Bobby (Massie) is as solid as he’s been. I like, D.J. is making a nice move. Hopefully he can get back out there and go as well as he was. He’s gotten serious about this stuff. It’s not college anymore. I feel very strong about both sides.”
What did it take to get Humphries serious
“A knee in his ass every day. A foot wasn’t going to do it, so I nicknamed him ‘knee deep.’”
Did you hear what happened with the New York Jets this morning
“Yeah, that’s unbelievable. I don’t wish that on Todd (Bowles). That’s a shame.”
What kind of an impact is Markus Golden having in training camp
“He’s doing a very good job, progressing every day. He actually contained the quarterback twice the other day when he really wanted to go inside and realized his gap was outside. He has to stop freelancing like that, but in one-on-ones, he flashes. So, it’s just getting him trained and play within the framework of the defense.”
How do you feel about your inside linebackers overall
“I’ll be more comfortable when I see Spoon out there, but Kenny (Demens) and Kevin have played extremely well, and the young kids are doing a nice job. I’m really anxious to see them play on special teams and in that second half. We’ve got about 10 guys (I’m) really anxious to see under the lights.”
Why do you think we’re seeing a lot of young players have success early
“Steve (Keim) has done a great job of selections and then with having the two practices going on in the spring they get a ton of repetitions. They’re getting coached and they’re getting a lot of reps that they don’t get normally on team, so you can bring them along faster.”
We saw Drew Butler kicking some extra points yesterday
“Yeah, it was Cat’s (Chandler Catanzaro) day off and we wanted to have an extra point kicked. And the more you can do, the more it helps you do your job. Drew has kicked off and placed kicked in the past, so just in case something happens and he had to kick one in the preseason.”
