Wednesday observations from Arizona Cardinals training camp – Aug. 13

Here are the things that stood out to me watching Wednesday’s Cardinal’s practice.

CARSON PALMER:

There has been the occasional interception, but he has had a great camp. I think I can read Carson pretty well to determine if the INT is his fault or not. When it’s his fault, he either puts his hand on his head or runs ahead after the defender to simulate a tackle. If it’s the receiver’s fault, he uses hand gestures to signal what was expected of the receiver. Bruce Arians usually follows with a profanity-laced tirade at the receiver so I assume Carson is right in those situations.

After explaining that frame of reference, Palmer looks excellent. In the red zone drill, Palmer gave the safety a shoulder fake then hit Fitz in the back of the end zone late in Larry’s skinny post route. The throw was perfectly high. Rashad Johnson couldn’t get high enough and Larry had the ability to go up and get it. A few plays later, Brittan Golden caught a fade in the front, right corner of the end zone placed in the exact drop zone where only Golden could catch it.

BRUCE ARIANS:

Something that hasn’t been discussed is how strong of a camp Arians is having. The pace is excellent. There’s been one poor practice out of three weeks’ worth of work. Players clearly respond to Arians. Every practice the offense is building in its complexity, but Arians is not letting up on his expectations.

ANDRE HARDY:

Every practice (except one) he’s the last man off the field. Before Jake Ballard retired, Daren Fells had the upper hand on the finishing fifth in the four-horse race for a TE spot that was probably going to be a practice squad spot. From the moment practice began once Ballard’s announcement was made, Hardy has jumped from an irrelevant 6th position to winning the last TE spot that will now be on the 53-man roster.

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