Arizona Cardinals - 2008 Training Camp Thread (1 Viewer)

[SammyJankis]

I live in Phoenix and follow the cards. I usually listen to the sports talk radio, and follow the training camp reports on the ASFN board.

Thought I would add this thread and update it with relavent Cardinals news.

To date, here's what I'm hearing:

- Tim Hightower is looking good and has the inside track to be Edge's backup. (For details see the: Who is... Tim Hightower? thread.

- Leinart looked pretty bad at the first practice. Got yelled at by the coaches. However, since then has come around and has looked like the best quarterback as the week has progressed.

- Early Doucet drawing Boldin comparisons: "Early Doucet after you this guy in person it is really easy to see and make the Boldin comparisons. He is big and quick. His physique is damn impressive especially the softballs in his calves."

- Fans not too worried about Boldin: "Boldin was not practicing but was doing all kinds of resistance training to the side and was pretty much non-stop the whole practice. makes me think the injury is minor and they are just taking precautions."

- General theme with regard to the defense is that it looks very good early. The Rookie Cromartie has looked as good as advertised. Dockett looking like a beast despite contract squabbles. Probably more excitement about the D than the O at this point. (Althought this early in camp, that's exactly what you'd expect.)

Will update with more details as I hear them.

 

[SammyJankis]

Bob Kemp is my favorite radio personality here in Phoenix. He's usually all-gloom-and-doom with regards to the Cards, but visited Cards camp and noted his observations. Here are the FF relevant nuggets (pulled from the ASFN board):

- Matt Leinart is throwing the ball with significantly more zip and accuracy than at this time last year. Kemp noted he was tempted to note this yesterday, but wanted to get one more look and ask other people. They confirmed his observation.

- Keep an eye on Ben Patrick. Has had a very good camp thus far.

- Early Doucet is now pushing Breaston for #3 WR -- Kemp expects him to get there by opening day

- Hightower continues to impress -- best burst to the line of all the Cardinal backs. Pass pro will be a challenge. Would have gotten Leinart killed during a play this morning had the action been live.

- JJ Arrington is running 4th string and Kemp expects him to be cut.

All of the above is consistant with what I've been hearing from other reports.

 

[purestrength]

Thanks for the updates.

Any observations on Warner? Is it a forgone conclusion that Leinart will start in Week 1?

 

[Biabreakable]

Thanks for the updates.Any observations on Warner? Is it a forgone conclusion that Leinart will start in Week 1?

I am also wondering about this and any info would be useful.

 

[munchkin]

Thanks for the updates.Any observations on Warner? Is it a forgone conclusion that Leinart will start in Week 1?

I am also wondering about this and any info would be useful.

I don't know if this is useful but I hear he has been seen hanging on to the knife in Leinart's back.

 

[SammyJankis]

Thanks for the updates.Any observations on Warner? Is it a forgone conclusion that Leinart will start in Week 1?

My opinion is that yes, its a forgone conclusion that Leinart will start Week 1. In the offseason, Wisenhunt officially declared Leinart the starter. This didn't sit well with Warner, as Whisenhunt has been touting his "the best player will start at every position regardless of salary or pedigree". Warner complained loudly about this in the local media. Whisenhunt replied with the old standby "you don't lose your job to injury" line.The camp reports that I've read have indicated that Leinart looks much improved from last year. In fact, there was a story in the East Valley Tribune about Leinart's improvment. In general, camp reports have had Leinart as the best quarterback (although he was terrible on the first day of practice).Honestly, at this point I think there is zero chance that Warner is your opening week starter. That isn't to say he's guaranteed to hold that job. The Cardinals really want to make the playoffs this year, and I think that there is a chance if Leinart plays as poorly as he did last year, he could wind up sharing time with Warner or even on the bench. I honestly think Leinart will be pretty decent. I expect him to start all year if healthy.

 

[SammyJankis]

Fantasy relevant notes from the ASFN board:

- They broke into individual drills as usual. Again it included that Double T flag drill for the QB's they ended up as follows.

Warner 8 of 10

Leinart 4 of 10

Pierre 3 of 10

Morrelli 6 of 10

- Fitz made a nice one handed catch down the sideling but was hurt and being tended to for approx. 3 minutes or so. thank god he returned later to participate.

- Breaston dropped yet another TD pass in traffic from Warner. Cromartie picked Warner for another TD. I didnt watch the OL vs DL today.

- During todays practice Warner was VERY sharp and Leinart was VERY average to bad at the end.

- They broke into 11 on 11 again and during it simulated some 2 minute drill. Hightower was taking the reps with the first team during this and blaylark was agin getting reps ahead of jj.

- Warner had beautiful throw for a completion to Ben Patrick who was going up the seem. During this last 11 on 11 Leinart had 4 incompletions in a row all to open WR's. The best play though was Cromartie's recovery speed and catching up to Fits on a 40 yard throw to the endzone. He recovered beautifully and times his jump just right to tip the ball away just as it was about to be caught by Fitz.

- I noticed Q almost at a full sprint in the endzone so his hammy cant be all that bad.

 

[SammyJankis]

07/31 a few other notes from someone at Cards camp today (Consistant with the theme of "Leinart had a bad day":

- Leinart scares me. I'm not a respected sportswriter, but just a guy who watches a lot of Cardinal football, but he didn't look great to me. Warner looked better, and trust me, I'm not a big Warner fan.

- Pope looks like his leg is bothering him. Patrick looked better in the scrimmage.

- Early Doucet is going to be very good.

- James & Hightower looked very good to me, but there was a big drop off after that.

 

[munchkin]

Fantasy relevant notes from the ASFN board:

- They broke into individual drills as usual. Again it included that Double T flag drill for the QB's they ended up as follows.

Warner 8 of 10

Leinart 4 of 10

Pierre 3 of 10

Morrelli 6 of 10

- Fitz made a nice one handed catch down the sideling but was hurt and being tended to for approx. 3 minutes or so. thank god he returned later to participate.

- Breaston dropped yet another TD pass in traffic from Warner. Cromartie picked Warner for another TD. I didnt watch the OL vs DL today.

- During todays practice Warner was VERY sharp and Leinart was VERY average to bad at the end.

- They broke into 11 on 11 again and during it simulated some 2 minute drill. Hightower was taking the reps with the first team during this and blaylark was agin getting reps ahead of jj.

- Warner had beautiful throw for a completion to Ben Patrick who was going up the seem. During this last 11 on 11 Leinart had 4 incompletions in a row all to open WR's. The best play though was Cromartie's recovery speed and catching up to Fits on a 40 yard throw to the endzone. He recovered beautifully and times his jump just right to tip the ball away just as it was about to be caught by Fitz.

- I noticed Q almost at a full sprint in the endzone so his hammy cant be all that bad.

This can't be totally surprising, it takes time to develop chemistry with receivers. He certainly needs to show improvement as camp continues or I don't think he's the starter game one. Arizona needs to win. If Warner is the best QB, hands down, on the team at the start of the season, then he has to be in there.

 

[SammyJankis]

Fantasy relevant notes from the ASFN board:

- They broke into individual drills as usual. Again it included that Double T flag drill for the QB's they ended up as follows.

Warner 8 of 10

Leinart 4 of 10

Pierre 3 of 10

Morrelli 6 of 10

- Fitz made a nice one handed catch down the sideling but was hurt and being tended to for approx. 3 minutes or so. thank god he returned later to participate.

- Breaston dropped yet another TD pass in traffic from Warner. Cromartie picked Warner for another TD. I didnt watch the OL vs DL today.

- During todays practice Warner was VERY sharp and Leinart was VERY average to bad at the end.

- They broke into 11 on 11 again and during it simulated some 2 minute drill. Hightower was taking the reps with the first team during this and blaylark was agin getting reps ahead of jj.

- Warner had beautiful throw for a completion to Ben Patrick who was going up the seem. During this last 11 on 11 Leinart had 4 incompletions in a row all to open WR's. The best play though was Cromartie's recovery speed and catching up to Fits on a 40 yard throw to the endzone. He recovered beautifully and times his jump just right to tip the ball away just as it was about to be caught by Fitz.

- I noticed Q almost at a full sprint in the endzone so his hammy cant be all that bad.

This can't be totally surprising, it takes time to develop chemistry with receivers. He certainly needs to show improvement as camp continues or I don't think he's the starter game one. Arizona needs to win. If Warner is the best QB, hands down, on the team at the start of the season, then he has to be in there.

He's been up and down. Leinart was terrible the first day. Since then, he's continously looked like the best QB in camp up until today when he was terrible.I have no dog in this fight. Believe me, that Leinart made me throw things at my TV early last year as he was flat out awful. That being said, I just don't think there's any way Leinart doesn't start the season. As I mentioned above though, if the Cards open 1-2 or 0-3, and Leinart is not passing well, he could get the hook or revert back to a time-share with Warner.

One other thing of note, when Whisenhunt named Leinart the starter early in the offseason he also said he would re-evaluate during training camp and Warner could possibly win the job. Take it for what its worth, but I don't believe that statement. Clearly the originzation wants to see Matt win.

 

[munchkin]

Fantasy relevant notes from the ASFN board:

- They broke into individual drills as usual. Again it included that Double T flag drill for the QB's they ended up as follows.

Warner 8 of 10

Leinart 4 of 10

Pierre 3 of 10

Morrelli 6 of 10

- Fitz made a nice one handed catch down the sideling but was hurt and being tended to for approx. 3 minutes or so. thank god he returned later to participate.

- Breaston dropped yet another TD pass in traffic from Warner. Cromartie picked Warner for another TD. I didnt watch the OL vs DL today.

- During todays practice Warner was VERY sharp and Leinart was VERY average to bad at the end.

- They broke into 11 on 11 again and during it simulated some 2 minute drill. Hightower was taking the reps with the first team during this and blaylark was agin getting reps ahead of jj.

- Warner had beautiful throw for a completion to Ben Patrick who was going up the seem. During this last 11 on 11 Leinart had 4 incompletions in a row all to open WR's. The best play though was Cromartie's recovery speed and catching up to Fits on a 40 yard throw to the endzone. He recovered beautifully and times his jump just right to tip the ball away just as it was about to be caught by Fitz.

- I noticed Q almost at a full sprint in the endzone so his hammy cant be all that bad.

This can't be totally surprising, it takes time to develop chemistry with receivers. He certainly needs to show improvement as camp continues or I don't think he's the starter game one. Arizona needs to win. If Warner is the best QB, hands down, on the team at the start of the season, then he has to be in there.

He's been up and down. Leinart was terrible the first day. Since then, he's continously looked like the best QB in camp up until today when he was terrible.I have no dog in this fight. Believe me, that Leinart made me throw things at my TV early last year as he was flat out awful. That being said, I just don't think there's any way Leinart doesn't start the season. As I mentioned above though, if the Cards open 1-2 or 0-3, and Leinart is not passing well, he could get the hook or revert back to a time-share with Warner.

One other thing of note, when Whisenhunt named Leinart the starter early in the offseason he also said he would re-evaluate during training camp and Warner could possibly win the job. Take it for what its worth, but I don't believe that statement. Clearly the originzation wants to see Matt win.

I am sure this is the case. However, can they afford to alienate the veterans from the get go by starting Leinart if he is clearly not the best QB. I know they need to let him prove it on the field in real games but they can they afford to get off to a bad start? If Leinart is showing positive signs but still needs more time to watch and learn from the sidelines then it may be in the best interest of the team to let him take a back seat to Warner for awhile. Odds are Warner gets hurt at some point and Leinart will have to step in anyway.

 

[SammyJankis]

Fantasy relevant notes from the ASFN board:

- They broke into individual drills as usual. Again it included that Double T flag drill for the QB's they ended up as follows.

Warner 8 of 10

Leinart 4 of 10

Pierre 3 of 10

Morrelli 6 of 10

- Fitz made a nice one handed catch down the sideling but was hurt and being tended to for approx. 3 minutes or so. thank god he returned later to participate.

- Breaston dropped yet another TD pass in traffic from Warner. Cromartie picked Warner for another TD. I didnt watch the OL vs DL today.

- During todays practice Warner was VERY sharp and Leinart was VERY average to bad at the end.

- They broke into 11 on 11 again and during it simulated some 2 minute drill. Hightower was taking the reps with the first team during this and blaylark was agin getting reps ahead of jj.

- Warner had beautiful throw for a completion to Ben Patrick who was going up the seem. During this last 11 on 11 Leinart had 4 incompletions in a row all to open WR's. The best play though was Cromartie's recovery speed and catching up to Fits on a 40 yard throw to the endzone. He recovered beautifully and times his jump just right to tip the ball away just as it was about to be caught by Fitz.

- I noticed Q almost at a full sprint in the endzone so his hammy cant be all that bad.

This can't be totally surprising, it takes time to develop chemistry with receivers. He certainly needs to show improvement as camp continues or I don't think he's the starter game one. Arizona needs to win. If Warner is the best QB, hands down, on the team at the start of the season, then he has to be in there.

He's been up and down. Leinart was terrible the first day. Since then, he's continously looked like the best QB in camp up until today when he was terrible.I have no dog in this fight. Believe me, that Leinart made me throw things at my TV early last year as he was flat out awful. That being said, I just don't think there's any way Leinart doesn't start the season. As I mentioned above though, if the Cards open 1-2 or 0-3, and Leinart is not passing well, he could get the hook or revert back to a time-share with Warner.

One other thing of note, when Whisenhunt named Leinart the starter early in the offseason he also said he would re-evaluate during training camp and Warner could possibly win the job. Take it for what its worth, but I don't believe that statement. Clearly the originzation wants to see Matt win.

I am sure this is the case. However, can they afford to alienate the veterans from the get go by starting Leinart if he is clearly not the best QB. I know they need to let him prove it on the field in real games but they can they afford to get off to a bad start? If Leinart is showing positive signs but still needs more time to watch and learn from the sidelines then it may be in the best interest of the team to let him take a back seat to Warner for awhile. Odds are Warner gets hurt at some point and Leinart will have to step in anyway.

I agree. Leinart starting the season and stinking up the joint could cost the Cards the playoffs. The thing is that Warner has lots of warts as well. (Suspectible to injury, turns the ball over at critical times....) I just think the Cards front office and coaching staff see Leinart as the future and will give him every chance to succeed. For Warner to win this job, he'll have to be absolutely golden and Leinart will have to look like complete garbage. I don't see it happening.

As I said upthread, once the regular season starts, Leinart will have to put-up-or-shutup. If its clear he's dragging down the team, he could very well get the hook, but I think its his job to lose.

 

[SammyJankis]

The "Warner is outplaying Leinart" buzz is growing. This might get interesting. Here's a report from someone who was there:

watched the qbs for a bit, and again, Warner is simply outpracticing Leinart. An observation from yesterday's practice that I neglected to mention.During the 11 on 11 drills, Leinart threw an ill advised pass on an out route and was intercepted by number number 36 I think (Marcus Brown?) who proceeded to head for the house down the sideline. Everyone else just sort of relaxed as Brown headed home -- except for Leinart. He ran over and "goofing around" acted like was going to stop Brown. This drew some laughter from a couple of players nearby. Not a problem.Except that Leinart had just thrown a horrible pass and really is being outpracticed by warner. I understand it's a game and it's practice and there should be some levity mixed in with the mundane of training camp, but that just didn't seem like the time to be clowning around. At least to me. Take that for what it's worth.Truth of the matter is, there has been a palpable difference from the crowds response towards Warner as opposed to Leinart. Ooos and Ahhs for Warner, and an almost disinterest for Leinart. Listen, i'm a warner homer and I'm sure I'm overstated it a bit, but it's there, folks.

More Hightower Buzz:

Tim Hightower is impressive. Strong. As mentioned before, his burst through the line is legitimate. But I was equally impressed by the tightness of his cuts. A couple of guys next to me wearing Edge jerseys remarked, "this kid is going to be starting by the end of this season." Hearing this, I snuck a peak at them and noticed they had a clear liquid with ice cubes in their water bottle. Think they might have been getting their goose on.Nevertheless, Hightower is going to back up Edge from day 1. You can take that to the bank.Hightower again caught my eye. For the same reasons I mentioned above.

Ben Patrick continuing to look good:

Ben Patrick caught a beautifully thrown ball from Warner as he tapped both sets of toes just inside the sideline. He did almost the same thing yesterday. And the Kat is fast. To those fantasy football freaks out there, I suggest you select him in the later rounds because this kid is our TE of the here and now -- and the future.

 

[prosopis]

A Wilson?

 

[SammyJankis]

A Wilson?

Here's a link to a good article on the Cards site: Wilson articleWilson is a beast, he just wasn't healthy last year. He's healthy again and is mauling people in camp. I expect a big year out of him. (He wants to prove he's worth a new contract.)

 

[Jon_Moore]

Anything new on the QB situation?

 

[SammyJankis]

Anything new on the QB situation?

Kent Somers writes for the Republic and had this to say:

The quarterback "competition" is close. Matt Leinart has looked sharp at times and struggled at other points. He didn't look good Saturday, throwing a couple of ill-advised passes. Judging from comments from the crowd and conversations I've had with fans, Leinart has zero equity with them. The fans, overall, seem to be pro-Kurt Warner. One lady who attended practice earlier this week made sure to point out, fairly loudly, how much better Warner performed in one session than Leinart did.

*But, Warner has had his ups and downs, too. It's hard sometimes to evaluate the quarterbacks because each has worked with inexperienced receivers who aren't always where they are supposed to be.

 

[SammyJankis]

A few more notes from someone else attending cards camp on the ASFN board:

1. Todd Haley will be a head coach in the very near future. He reminds me so much of Sean Payton.2. Karlos Dansby may be the best player on the Cardinals roster. What makes Dansby great is that he makes others around him better.3. Travis Laboy will be a very good pass rusher from the outside backer spot in the 3-4.4. Lance Long is not just a camp longshot. He catches everything and is really quick.5. Tim Hightower will be a good runningback in this league. Good runningbacks are quick to the hole, have good instincts, and good vision. Hightower possesses all 3 of those qualities and also is a "short stepper", another good qualitiy to possess.6. Kurt Warner has a stronger arm than Matt Leinart. Leinart is the king of the horizontal pass, while Warner is a gun slinger willing to chuck it down the field.7. DRC is lightning fast.8. Alan Branch is a load and unblockable when he gets pissed. I saw it a couple of times on Thursday after the coaches got on him.9. Overall, the team just looks so much more talented than the camps I attended during the Tobin and McGinnis era's.