Notes from the Nest: Arizona Cardinals training camp – Aug. 27

GLENDALE, Ariz. — It was the penultimate practice of training camp Thursday, as the Arizona Cardinals donned shells for their final afternoon affair. It’s a good thing we were all in the dome, too, as thunder and then a torrential downpour arrived toward the end of the session.

The Good

Carson Palmer continued his impressive camp, hitting tight end Ifeanyi Momah on a nice deep ball in 11-on-11 and then John Brown for a sizeable gain in 7-on-7. Palmer also led a very nice hurry-up drive, capping it off with a touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald.

Drew Stanton connected with running back David Johnson for a nice gain in 7-on-7, and then had a nice ball to Momah during a hurry-up drive.

Jaron Brown made an outstanding catch to score a touchdown on a Stanton pass during the hurry-up drive, out-leaping and out-muscling Justin Bethel to come down with the ball. His teammates were understandably excited after the play.

Tyrann Mathieu picked off another pass, this one a Logan Thomas throw in the red zone during 11-on-11.

Ryan Spadola, fighting to make the team as a receiver, made a really nice catch on a Thomas pass during 11-on-11. He also caught a deep ball from Thomas during 11-on-11, beating Tony Jefferson in the process.

Phillip Sims found tight end Jermaine Gresham with a nice ball down the seam in 11-on-11.

The Bad

While he did make some nice throws, including one where he showed outstanding touch downfield, Thomas was still fairly erratic with his passes.

Receiver J.J. Nelson did not seem to have his best day, with a couple seemingly catchable passes falling to the turf.

Palmer just missed Fitzgerald on a deep ball, with the receiver’s diving attempt coming up short as the ball glanced off his fingertips.

Brittan Golden dropped what should have been a pretty easy touchdown pass during red zone work.

The Injured

Missing practice Thursday was:

OL Rob Crisp (knee)

WR Travis Harvey (hamstring)

DL Ed Stinson (toe)

TE Troy Niklas (hamstring)

S Ross Weaver

WR Michael Floyd (hand)

G Mike Iupati (knee)

Earl Watford was back on the field playing right tackle and competing for the starting job there.  Meanwhile Chris Johnson, Jerraud Powers and Sean Weatherspoon all underwent a run test. Depending on how they performed, they could get back on the field Friday with a chance to play Sunday in Oakland.

Notable

Linebacker Shaq Riddick took part in even more practice, looking pretty good in the process. Afterwards, he said he felt better Thursday than he did Wednesday, and is hopeful his hamstring issues are now behind him.

D.J. Humphries continued to get second-team reps at left tackle.

RB David Johnson continued to work as the second-team running back and continued to show impressive skill as a receiver.

Quotable

“I think it’s very, very hard because of the turnover in personnel every year. You got 20-25 new faces pretty much on every team with the salary cap. Guys want to get paid. You can’t pay them all. You got to go get young guys. You’re going to have to have that young part of your roster so you can pay those stars.” – Bruce Arians on if he thinks dynasties can still exist in the NFL

“Umm, the best trash talker? I’ll take Tyrann. When he gets fired up he talks all day. ‘Throw it to him, throw it to him, we’re going to pick it off.’ He’s just talking like you know it, just having fun and competing.” – WR John Brown on who the best trash talker on the team is

“Definitely. My teammates do a good job of encouraging me and supporting me. Even on those days where you kind of go in the tank and you’re not really believing and everything. So for me it’s all about staying healthy, staying in a good, positive mindframe, and just put my best performance out there.” – Tyrann Mathieu on his confidence going up with this training camp

I Miss Highlights

Looks like the reason we were provided with so many great highlights was the Cardinals had an intern who unfortunately had to go back to school. I never got her name, but she did a great job and I’d like to take some time here to say thanks. In lieu of a highlight, there is this — whatever it is:

@tonyjefferson1 + @Mathieu_Era. That is all.

Watch more #TBT dance moves on SNAPAZCardinals! #CardsCamp pic.twitter.com/wj8H6QLkmv

— Lisa Matthews (@LisaMatthewsAZ) August 27, 2015

Up Next

The Cardinals have a different schedule for Friday’s finale. Practice is as usual open to the public, but it will start at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to run until about 11:45 a.m. From there, it will be on to Oakland to face the Raiders for the third preseason game of the year.

Follow @theAdamGreen