Darnell Dockett is one of the most outspoken players on the Arizona Cardinals roster.

Making constant use of Twitter, his adventures during the lockout were as entertaining to fans as they were frustrating to his coaches.

But it is time to get back to football, and the Cardinals defensive lineman is ready to go.

“I’ve been training, been ready, just sitting back and waiting for the call,” he said at the team’s facility Tuesday. “So hopefully we get up there, and hopefully the guys on our team have been working out and are in shape, so when we get up there there are no excuses.”

That will be a key for a defense that new coordinator Ray Horton said should be among the league’s best just one season after they were one of the league’s worst.

Dockett said it is nice to have the coach’s confidence.

“I think he looks at the talent that we have on this team, looks at some things that we’ve done in the past, looks at some things we’re capable of,” he said. “At the end of the day you’ve still got to go out and work, just because he said it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”

True, and Dockett is hopeful his teammates are as ready to get started as he is. That, he said, was his greatest concern during the work stoppage.

“As far as a few guys on the team, I never have to question, but some guys I do, and that would kind of wear and tear on me in a hard way, trying to reach out to guys who I know weren’t going to put that great work in like we would have if we would have been here.”

ArizonaSports.com’s Kyndra de St. Aubin contributed to this report

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