Arizona Cardinals training camp: All-Access with Bruce Arians – Aug. 24

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, this time before the team took the field for its Monday practice.

But before he answered questions, Arians went over the injury report for Monday’s session. Out will be Jerraud Powers, who is being shut down for a while with a hamstring injury, Sean Weatherspoon, who will probably be out most of this week and Chris Johnson, who was termed day-to-day. Arians said Jermaine Gresham, Brittan Golden and Earl Watford will all miss Monday but should be back Wednesday. Michael Floyd and Mike Iupati are still out, while Shaq Riddick, Jonte Green and Rob Crisp were back on the field for the first time in a while.

What did you see in the film regarding the pass protection issues Saturday night?

“We had two mental errors that we just turned guys loose. Bradley (Sowell) got beat on a spin move and Jared (Veldheer) got beat on the snap. Now whether or not the guy was offsides or not, you can argue with the officials on that one. But I’ve never seen Jared get beat like that without the guy being offsides, so get off the ball quicker if that’s the case. The other two were just flat mental errors, turning their guy loose.”

Does the next preseason game being on Sunday change how you practice this week?

“A little bit. We’ll basically go Cardinals vs. Cardinals today and then take tomorrow off, head into a normal week of practice for the Raiders and we’ll treat it like a game week even though the reps won’t be the same. We’re going to increase our ones’ reps a lot more in practice and try to get some conditioning that way.”

How much do you need to see from Sean Weatherspoon to feel comfortable heading into the season?

“I need to see a lot. I haven’t seen anything yet. That’s very discouraging right now, is to know where he’s at as a football player having missed most of last year and all of this camp.”

Do the troubles that occurred in pass protection Saturday raise a red flag?

“No, not really. Learn to block your guy and then learn how to block your guy. It’s an issue this week with (Khalil) Mack. Somebody better block him because he’s tough.”

You’re switching D.J. Humphries to left tackle this week?

“We’re going to switch him, get him some left tackle work because he hasn’t had any since he’s been here, in case he ends up being a swing tackle for us. And I want Earl (Watford) to get a bunch of snaps this week at right tackle and battle for that job. He’s earned the right to battle for a starting job.”

Is Humphries moving to left tackle to improve his versatility?

“He’s going to be a backup tackle for us, so if he’s going to dress on Sunday he’s got to be able to play both. So we’ve got to get him some left tackle work. That’s his natural position so it shouldn’t take him long to reestablish his footwork and stuff, then we’ll get him right back to work.”

When it comes to letting players know where they stand within the organization, do you leave that to GM Steve Keim or are you willing to tell them?

“There’s no secrets, come ask me, I’ll tell you exactly where you’re at and what you need to do. I don’t say anything in here I haven’t already said to a player. It’s just repeating it sometimes, so they hear it maybe the second time when you guys write it.”

With Weatherspoon out, what have you seen from your inside linebackers?

“I thought a couple of young guys really stepped up. Alani Fua really had a nice ball game. Gabe Martin had a nice step forward, so those two inside backers — Kevin’s playing extremely well. Kenny Demens had another real powerful game inside. So those guys are playing really, really well. [Deone Bucannon] is down a lot, in and out of the box. So there’s a spot, but ‘Spoon needs to get out there and play and show that he can beat one of those guys out.”

Does Fua’s size allow you to do a little more with him than a traditional, smaller linebacker?

“Yeah. He’s long, he’s fast, he’s a very intriguing player because he can play inside and outside. He’s got great cover ability and he showed the other night he’s pretty fast on the blitzes. He’s an intriguing prospect. His length and speed should make him a heck of a special teams player as a rookie, so he’s got a good shot.”

Do you feel like David Johnson can be a short-yardage, between-the-tackles kind of runner?

“I haven’t really seen him in that role yet. Until you put one in that role you don’t really know if he’s got a nose for short yardage and the goal line or not. I’ve seen Chris Johnson in that role a bunch of times. You don’t have to be big to get a yard — you just have to know where the heck you’re going.”

Does Phillip Sims’ poise help him in the battle for the No. 3 QB job?

“That’s the number one thing of playing quarterback, is poise and confidence. And he’s displayed every time he’s gotten out there that he’s got those on game day, and that’s what you’re looking for.”

Anything change with your competition at center?

“No, it’s still heavily contested. I feel very, very comfortable with the position right now.”

How much input will Carson Palmer have on the competition at center?

“None. None. Their butts are about the same.”

What happened on the botched snap between Mike Leach and Dave Zastudil on Saturday?

“Mike snapped it too soon. Twenty-five year vet, you know, whatever he is, snapping to a 30-year vet, and one wasn’t looking when he snapped it. You would not anticipate that out of those two guys but it did happen.”

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