By Derek Shepherd

Drew Stanton is now the Arizona Cardinals starting QB.  This has been much discussed over the last few days; the national media has grabbed a quote from Arians to mock Stanton's chances. Arians said he had "no doubt" the Cardinals could win the Super Bowl with Drew Stanton.

If he was able to win the Super Bowl for us, he would become the 8th backup QB to win the game and the 11th to take his team there. As you read through the list of names below, you will recognize many of them. Stanton may not be up to their Hall of Fame resumes, but he does have something a lot of those guys had: a great defense.

UPDATE: apparently the full post never went up. Will make update in morning

By Derek (@dsheffay)

The Cardinals were victorious over the San Diego Chargers on Monday night by the slimmest of margins with the 18-17 win.  I am going to go over some of the things I liked and some of the things that I didn’t like from the game Monday.

WHAT I LIKED

The Resolve

After a lackluster opening to the 2nd half, the team was able to bounce back before the game got out of control.  Two touchdowns after a 6-3 halftime lead, the Cardinals got the ball staring at a 17-6 deficit.  The team maintained their composure and was able to drive down the field and score.  The 2nd touchdown drive was even more impressive, driving 91 yards to pay dirt.

The Offensive Line

The line was not spotless throughout the game, but there was definite progress.  There were many dropbacks where Carson had a clean pocket and plenty of time to throw.  Carson did take 2 sacks and was forced into rushing for 29 yards, but overall I think it was a performance to build on.  It will be interesting to see how the line gels and if Jonathon Cooper can supplant Ted Larsen at left guard.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

The 2nd Half "Adjustments"

Typically you want to see a team come out strong in the 3rd quarter after the halftime adjustments made by the coach.  This has been a bit of a trend over the last 17 games with Arians as coach.  The silver lining in all of this is that the team is 11-6 in his reign and while the 3rd quarters haven't been pretty, the fourth quarters have been pretty good.

Lack of Targets to Fitzgerald

I am not going to go out on the limb that Father Fitzgerald did about the targets his son received.  But it was a huge disservice to the great icon that he wasn’t targeted until the fourth quarter.  There were definitely times where Carson would not ever look his way or give up on his route before Larry got open.  I don’t want to say that there is something between Carson and Larry, but something definitely wasn’t copacetic.  Let's hope this doesn’t become a trend.




The team is 1-0 and that is the most important thing.  We have a bit of a tough game: West Coast team playing the early game on the East Coast and short rest after the late Monday night game.  The team should be able to compete against the Giants who did not look great in their game against the Lions.  What I think is also impressive is that we are a favorite in the game.  It probably has been a while since we have been a road favorite, but let's see how the team handles it.  Go Cardinals!

By Derek (@dsheffay)

So now that I have had a day to digest the Arizona Cardinals preseason game against the Houston Texans, I will provide you with my thoughts.

The Cardinals did look good, and the score shows that we looked even better.  The first thing to keep in mind is that the Texans aren't a very good team.  Despite being a hot Super Bowl pick before last season, the Texans won only 2 games last year.  This year likely won't be much better for them, beginning with their 32-0 loss to open up the preseason.

While the results were good, I still want to see more from the team in the remaining preseason games. While the first team offense drove down the field and scored, it did so by converting two 3rd down and long situations.  There was also a touchdown negated by a penalty.  When you do these things in regular season games, it doesn’t work out as nicely as it did last night.  Especially when playing great defenses like Seattle and San Francisco.  While the overall results were good, the first unit running game was not.  I am not sure whether to attribute that to the good Houston defensive line or poor play calling.

The first play of the game was a bad play call, running Ellington right up the middle.  While this may be necessary during the regular season to open up the outside lanes where Ellington is most effective, it did not look great in the preseason.  I also HATE the run play where the RB stays in one spot a few yards offset and the QB runs to him to hand it off.  Ellington did gain 6 yards, but he had to utilize all of his elusiveness just to pick those in a 2nd and forever situation.  And just to repeat myself, I HATE that run play.  I don’t understand why it would be effective.

With all that being said about the offense, I thought the defense looked good.  I had much less feedback about this group.  Even the 2nd team defense was able to hold their own against the Texans first team offense.  That will bode well for the depth of this team in case of any additional injuries.

So right now, as a fan of the team, there is room to be excited.  I would keep it to a minimum right now, but this team is already further along than the team that won 10 games last year.  Let's hope that a repeat or better performance can come again this year.  One last thought, right now my thought on the kicker competition is that Feely should be cut and we should go with Catanzaro.  I'll have more thoughts next week after Feely plays in Minnesota.

By Derek Shepherd

So here we are, less than 24 hours before the Cardinals first game, and here comes my offensive season preview. The reason this preview took so much longer than any other preview was that the offensive squad has the most questions.  I waited until the last possible moment to see how many of these questions got answered, and will now answer the top questions going into the season.

Can the offensive line keep Carson Palmer upright?

This is going to be the most important question when it comes to the success of the offense.  The starters will be, in the order they will be on the line, left to right: Levi Brown, Daryn Colledge, Lyle Sendlein, Paul Fanaika, and Eric Winston.  Levi Brown missed all of last season but he is no longer the penalty laden, sack allowing Left Tackle that you may remember.  In 2011, his last full season, he committed only 1 holding penalty, 4 false starts and allowed 11.5 sacks. That is a lot of sacks, but only 1 of those came in the last 8 games of the season.  Brown has turned the corner and worked himself into a solid option at LT. Colledge and Sendlein are both good in their positions.  Colledge is returning to the left side after spending most of the preseason on the right side due to rookie LG Jonathon Cooper.  In Houston and with Kansas City, he was a part of offensive lines that were able to run the ball effectively and not get the QB killed. Paul Fanaika is a huge question mark, but he has performed well in the preseason and training camp.  If there is a weak link in your offensive line, the best place to have it is at the right guard position.  Not saying that Fanaika is the weak link, but he has the least experience out of the group. I think the group will be able to give Palmer enough time to complete passes to his offensive weapons.


Can Michael Floyd or Rob Housler step up to be a consistent threat beside Larry Fitzgerald?

If Palmer has time to complete passes, he is going to need somebody to step up to catch the ball who isn't named Larry Fitzgerald.  The two players poised to break out seem to be receiver Michael Floyd and tight end Rob Housler.  Floyd is in his second year and that’s typically the year that receivers began to play like they have a full grasp of the NFL game.  Floyd has always been able to make the spectacular catch, but he will need to improve on catching the easier passes, and making the ordinary plays. Housler is in his third year and the league, and is at the point in his career that determines whether he will be a starter or a perennial backup. Housler has struggled with drops in the past, but has elite speed at his position.  The offense that Coach Bruce Arians runs will allow Housler to utilize his strengths, so it is all up to him at this point.


Will Ryan Williams be healthy and productive?

I hope so.  Injuries are never something you can predict, but if healthy Williams will provide a huge boost to this team.  In the short time that he has played, he has exhibited flashes of greatness.  In order for the Cardinals to compete for the division, his health and production will be necessary.  The 2 injuries were both unrelated and seemed to be "freak" injuries.  I hope that the pressure of needing to perform to make the team will carry on through the season and push Williams to that level that we as fans have been waiting for.  Ryan Williams and the rest of the running backs have a lot of work to do in order to balance this offense and help keep the pressure off of Palmer.

Will the team be effective in the red zone?

The team has STRUGGLED in the red zone dating back to last season.  There is no secret about it.  This preseason the struggles may have been due to a lack of using the entire playbook more than a lack of ability to convert at that end of the field.  Either way, it won't matter if the team is successful in this regular season.  Unfortunately, the team may be in for some struggles in the red zone though, Indianapolis only converted 51% of their red zone trips into touchdowns last season w/ Arians at the helm. The Cardinals though are a different team and should have more success.  Carson Palmer was 38-70 for 233 yards with 14 touchdowns and 1 interception last season in the red zone.  That is with a much worse  receiving corps than the Cardinals have. The jump ball ability of Fitzgerald and Floyd and a great slot receiver in Andre Roberts will create better opportunities for the team to improve upon its 2012 position, 31st in the league.


The Cardinals offensive unit has the most question marks when looking at this team.  If the offense can move the ball effectively and keep the strong defense rested, good things are in store.  If this team can go 5-11 with the likes of Kevin Kolb, John Skelton, and Ryan Lindley at quarterback, I can see a 2 or 3 win improvement simply by having Carson Palmer on the roster. Now that I have given the preview for all 3 parts of the Cardinals, we are ready for the season to begin.

Good luck Cardinals!

By Derek Shepherd

Special teams can be broken into 4 main areas: Kicking, Coverage, Return, and Blocking.  Special teams or, as Ron Wolfley would put it, "transition specialists" are an often overlooked but crucial part of the team. Fortunately for the Cardinals, special teams will be a strength for this season.  The special teams units have multiple Pro Bowl special teamers and a few more that could be worthy of a nod this season. I will actually be disappointed if they score less than 2 touchdowns this season.

Kicking
I feel the same about both the punting and kicking aspects of the team.  Neither Jay Feely nor Dave Zastudil will blow anybody away, but they are solid veterans.  There really is no reason to be concerned with the performance of either of the players. Feely is going to be about 28/31 in field goal attempts. Zastudil won’t be at the top of the punt yardage list, but he can change field position when needed and pin the occasional opponent deep. 
Grade: B

Coverage
This part of the game is often overlooked, mostly because teams are generally pretty good at this in general.  The only plays that most fans remember are the long returns by the opposition. The Cardinals are lucky to have multiple Pro Bowl caliber players on these teams.  Lorenzo Alexander has already made a Pro Bowl as a special teamer and Justin Bethel may well receive those honors this season.  These players will help emphasize what the coaching staff has repeated all offseason: field position is key.
Grade: B+

Return
Patrick Peterson. Tyrann Mathieu. Javier Arenas. 
Those are the names the opposing special teams coach will be highlighting when preparing to face the Cardinals. Each of these players has big play ability.  No amount of superlatives can describe Peterson’s ability with the ball; he is electrifying.  I expect him to return to the end zone this year as a returner after being shut out last season.  Mathieu may not have many opportunities to return, but in the preseason he has shown flashes of those highlights we’ve seen of him at LSU. Javier Arenas does not have quite the home run ability of the other 2 players, but he should not be overlooked as a kick returner. In his 3 years in Kansas City, he had a good kick return average of more
than 20 yards per return.  This group should be able to get to the end zone at least 2 times this season and will strike fear in the opponents’ hearts.
Grade: A+

Block
Over the last 3 seasons, the Cardinals are the best team in the league when it comes to blocking field goals. They have the best blocked field goal percentage, which is due in a large part to Calais Campbell. He has been a beast when it comes to penetrating the line and interfering with the kick.  I see no reason why the team would not continue to be among the best in the league at blocking field goals.
Team Grade: A

Overall I am expecting big things from these transitions specialists this season.  This is one great way that the Cardinals can gain an exercise an advantage over their opponents.  This unit will not make great plays every week, but they will make the plays that you may not notice to help the team win.  Be on the watch for part three of my season preview as I look at the offense.

By Derek Shepherd

Under Ray Horton the Cardinals had a reputation for being a tough defense with intricate blitz packages.  The team was ranked 11th in sacks as a defense.  Last season, they ranked 12th in defensive yards per game and 17th in points allowed per game.  Where the defense excelled was in turnovers.  The team ranked second in interceptions with 22 and third in overall turnovers with 33.  The defense was also able to provide three touchdowns. With all that success, there were still flaws in the system. The pressure that was created was often due to a blitz by an extra defender.  This would often cause holes in the defense and make the team susceptible to big plays.  More often than not, the big plays seemed to come at the expense of Paris Lenon and whoever was lined up at cornerback opposite Patrick Peterson.  Both of these positions were priorities in the offseason, with the team acquiring Javier Arenas, Jasper Brinkley, Antoine Cason, Karlos Dansby, and Brian McCann.

Todd Bowles does not have the track record or aura around his name like Ray Horton did.  While there will be a different defensive scheme, I expect the results to be as good as or better than they were last year.  This year's defense already has much more speed, which should help alleviate some of the big plays that were given up last season. Bowles has also preached that turnovers will be the number one priority for this defense. This has already been evident in the preseason, as the Cardinals forced 6 turnovers against the Dallas Cowboys.  I think this success will carry over into the regular season.  Not that I am saying that the team will force 6 turnovers a game, but I think there is potential to lead the league in turnovers forced.
 
There are a few players to keep your eyes on this year that will lead the defense.  The two best players on the defense are Daryl Washington and Patrick Peterson.  Washington has improved each year and had emerged as a leader on this team.  He will be serving a 4 game suspension to start the year, but I feel like he will still have a monster year in his remaining 12 games.  Peterson is amazing, and his versatility will turn him into a household name, if he isn't already.  By the end of the season he will be regarded as the top defensive back in the league.  Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett will be freed to put pressure on the quarterback instead of occupying blockers.  This has empowered both players, and Dockett should return to his Pro Bowl form.  John Abraham was a great addition and will have an impact rushing the passer and proving that he still has plenty left in the tank.  Rookie Tyrann Mathieu will be the Defensive Rookie of the Year; his innate playmaking ability and the coaches’ willingness to play him will allow him to be impactful.

The only question marks I feel this defense has is at the safety position.  Rashad Johnson is in his fourth year out of Alabama and this will be his first year starting.  Yeremiah Bell is 35 years old and it will be interesting to see how well he can replace Adrian Wilson.  I do know one thing that Bell does just as good as Wilson: bicep curls.  Dude has some guns. The rest of the defense has depth and the ability to change the game.  As long as these players don’t get consistently beat for big plays, success will follow.
 
Success and improvement this year will be dependent on more than just the metrics this season.  It will be based off of the wins and losses and how the team performs in clutch situations.  I predict that the defense will be strong again this year and help keep the pressure off the offense.  Over the next two weeks before the season starts, look for my breakdown of the offense and the special teams.

By: Derek

I’ve always wanted to write a running diary like Bill Simmons, but I realize now that it’s a lot of work.  I watched the game telecast locally live, watched the NFL Network telecast, and now am watching the local telecast
again to write this post. Considering this is the first running diary I have ever written, let’s hope it goes well.

1st quarter, 15:00
Kickoff! Arizona wins the toss, elects to receive, and the ball sails out of the end zone.  First play is an 18 yard
pass to Michael Floyd.  He is primed to have a big year, considering most teams will put two defenders around
Larry Fitzgerald.  Next play is a 3 yard run.  The team is going to have to run the ball better than that if they want to stay balanced throughout the season.  A second straight ineffective run leaves the cardinals with a 3rd and long. 
Not a great start on the ground.  The Packers rush 4, and the offensive line gives Carson Palmer plenty of
time to throw the ball.  Carson goes deep to Andre Roberts, the throw coming up just short. It was a good play call, Roberts was open. I like the fact that they are going for more than just the 7 yards needed, keeping the foot on the gas pedal.  Deep Attempts: 1.

1st quarter, 12:33
Green Bay hurries to the line and catches the Cardinals with too many men on the field.  On the play, there was also a flag thrown on Patrick Peterson for holding.  He had his hand on the jersey of the receiver, but I liked the coverage.  Possibly because of the penalty, Peterson was able to get his hands on the pass to knock it away.  After a run and a pass to Jermichael Finley, the Cardinals bring a blitz and cannot prevent the 3rd down conversion after Aaron Rodgers hits his hot route.

1st quarter 10:00
Rodgers throws deep down the sideline and connects with James Jones.  Antoine Cason was burned by Jones in the 1 on 1 situation there.  Cason looks like his predecessor William Gay right there, behind a receiver running free.  So far the defense has not looked good.  The Packers are gaining yards at will.  On 2nd and goal, the Packers run a pick play and Rodgers misfires; which almost feels sacrilegious to type.  Rashad Johnson makes a great play on 3rd down to knock the ball out of Finley’s hands to prevent the touchdown.  Johnson is going to have to step up this season as the starting safety, filling the large shoes of Adrian Wilson.  Packers line up to go for 4th down, a gutsy call.  The defense does their best “bend but don’t break” on this drive, preventing the touchdown.  After the upheld review, it looks like the Cardinals catch a break, the ball clearly crossing the goal line.

1st quarter 6:53
Palmer attempts to go deep attempt to Floyd, which resulted in an offensive pass interference penalty on Floyd.  Looks like a weak shove, especially on an overthrown pass, but there was no real impact. Cardinals punt.  Deep Attempts: 2.

1st quarter, 4:19
Interception!  Patrick Peterson picks off the Graham Harrell pass. I’m not quite sure what Harrell was thinking there, and that was an easy interception for Peterson.  Look forward to seeing that in the regular season, with Peterson flashing his return skills by going 23 yards.  The Cardinals are now on offense, and there goes a deep pass to Roberts. Beautiful pass this time resulting in a touchdown. Deep Attempts: 3

1st quarter, 3:30
Zach Nash misses a tackle in space against James Starks. For a guy who is fighting to make the team, that is not what you want to see out of him.  He’s cut.

1st quarter, 1:43
Cardinals bring the blitz and Harrell is able to find his hot route.  Curtis Taylor misses the tackle and #83 for the Packers is able to gain 22 yards. He shouldn’t be around come September.  At this point, the defense has not
looked very good at all.  Bowles has a lot of work to do with these guys to get them to play to the potential we all saw under Ray Horton, the former defensive coordinator. Green Bay rushes to the line, this time forcing the Cardinals to take a time out.  The defense needs to be more prepared for these type situations.

End of 1st Quarter.  Cardinals 7, Packers 0

2nd Quarter, 14:50
YES! John Abraham sack and fumble, which is recovered by the defense.  That was great to see, looking forward to a lot more of those throughout the season.  The emphasis on turnovers by Bowles and Arians is evident, with the Cardinals already having forced 2 turnovers.
Drew Stanton is now in at quarterback. Palmer had a good day, completing 4 of 6 passes for 77 yards and a TD;
including 3 deep pass attempts. Stanton’s first pass looks good and hits D.C. Jefferson right in the hands and he drops it. Not a good start for the 7th round pick out of Rutgers.  Stanton’s 2nd pass was much better, a deep pass to Charles Hawkins. Hawkins is fighting to make the roster as one of the 5 or 6 wide receivers that the team keeps. That catch will definitely get him closer to that goal.  Hawkins makes another first down with a great effort after the catch.  Deep Attempts: 4.

2nd quarter, 11:46
Arians is not happy with the offense as they are forced to call time out.  He appears to yell “Get your ass off the field” to Jaron Brown, another one of the wide receivers fighting to make the team.  On the play following the time out, Stanton juuuuuuust misses an open Jefferson in the end zone.
Touchdown!  Stanton throws a nice fade to Brown, just one play after he got screamed at by the coach.  That is probably the quickest way to get out of the doghouse.

2nd quarter, 9:18
I am the worst at watching recorded shows. I always forget that I can fast forward through the commercials.

2nd quarter, 8:30
The defense looks good on 2 consecutive plays.  Stuffs the run on 2nd and 1, and then forces an incomplete pass on 3rd and 1.  Jonathon Amaya crushes the receiver and disconnects him from the ball. Amaya is looking to make the team as a safety behind Johnson and Yeremiah Bell.  From what I have seen, it looks like he may have the early inside track to landing a spot on the 53 man roster.

2nd quarter, 7:43
Jaron Brown has to make a late adjustment to run to the other side of the formation.  Not sure if it was his mistake, but it certainly looks like it.  Of course, he follows it up with a first down catch on the next play.  Brown is up and down at this point, but at least he is making plays. Speaking of Brown, another 15 yard catch for him, adjusting to a throw
behind him to make the catch.  On the next play, Stepfan Taylor runs for a few yards. It feels like every single run by the team so far has been under 5 yards. As if on cue, another ineffective run for 1 yard.
Stanton runs for a first down after deftly avoiding the sack.  He spins out of the defenders arms and runs for the team’s longest run so far, 8 yards. Taylor, obviously taking offense that the quarterback has the longest run of the day, rips off a 14 yard run for another first down. After 5 straight run plays, the team goes to the air again, with Stanton unfortunately not able to connect with Brown.

2nd quarter, 2:30
Feely misses a 53 yard field goal. Looks like it lands well short. And yet again, I forget to fast forward through the commercials.  The human kindness commercials, in spite of their good message, are super annoying.  Coming back from the commercials, the Packers complete a pass and Javier Arenas makes the tackle. Arenas has had a solid game so far, seemingly cementing his spot on the roster.

HALFTIME, Cardinals 14, Packers 0

Kickoff 3rd quarter
Team President Michael Bidwill is in the booth being interviewed in the booth.  His jacket remind me of this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGWbt3DSje0 On to the play on the field, Daryl Washington makes a tackle. Looks like he is going to play a lot, to help make up for those snaps he will miss while serving his suspension.

3rd Quarter, 13:18
Stanton gets CRUSHED as he hangs in there and delivers a great throw to Brown.  Brown has really made some good catches today. Stanton avoids another sack, and completes a pass to Hawkins. The Cardinals might have one of the most ready backup quarterbacks in the league. Stanton looks very comfortable in this offense.

3rd quarter, 8:17
Will Batson, in camp competing as a Kicker/Punter, misses a field goal.  Cut!

3rd quarter, 6:07
Tyrann Mathieu with the sack.  That is great to see, showing off his versatility.  The announcers are overly effusive with their praise, saying he is already the best pass rusher on the team.  Not taking away from his skills, but that’s absurd.  Mathieu returns the ensuing punt, and it takes 5 players to bring him down as he gains 5 yards.  He is definitely going to be an exciting person to watch all year.

3rd quarter, 4:40
Dan Buckner throws his name into the wide receiver race, laying out for a nice catch.  I am not going to say I hope he doesn’t make the team because he went to the University of Arizona.  I just want the best talent and the guys who will help the team win. It doesn’t look like Buckner is one of those top guys yet, but his size could definitely be an asset. 
Batson misses again, never really looking like it was going in.

End of 3rd Quarter, Arizona 14, Green Bay 0

4th Quarter, 12:16
Hawkins makes a good catch, coming back nicely for the ball on the pass from Ryan Lindley.  At the end of the play he fumbles and recovers it himself. He is not good enough to overcome having fumbling problems, so he needs to ensure that he holds on to that football.  2 plays later, Lindley hits Robby Toma for a large gain.  Based on the performance of the receivers today, this catch brings him about even with Buckner (behind Hawkins and Brown). Deep Attempts: 5.
Stepfan Taylor has received a large workload today.  That last carry was his 17th carry of the game.  He has impressed me today in the running game, taking what he can get and making a few nice moves.

4th Quarter, 6:40
Great punt return by Mathieu.  He has really looked like he belongs in the NFL, and is looking like a draft steal at this point. Great job by the GM Steve Keim to take a chance when others wouldn’t.  Lindley greatly underthrows his receiver, but the team gets a pass interference penalty on the defense.  Turns out to be a 40 yard gain.  First and goal, the play call is a fade to the back of the end zone.  I love that this play call has returned to the playbook.  Larry Fitzgerald is among the best in the league at catching that fade pass, this play should be quite productive in the regular season.

4th quarter, 3:11
Caleb TerBush is in at quarterback. This is over.

Final: Arizona Cardinals 17, Green Bay Packer 0

Final thoughts
The team escaped the first preseason game without any major injuries.  While a player won’t make the team because of a good game 1 performance, a player can certainly not make the team based off of their game 1 performance.  A few players have made strides toward making the team, but everything is still fluid at this point.  The players who made the most impact were both receivers. Charles Hawkins and Javon Brown put their names at the top of the list to make the team as the 4th or 5th wide receiver.
Understanding that it was the first preseason game, it still showed that the Cardinals are going to try to get big yardage through the air.  That is exciting as a fan, and I look forward to watching the rest of the preseason to see who will make the team.

Derek and Josh made predictions for the 2013 NFL Season.  We predict each division order, the Super Bowl, and a variety of awards.  Go check out our podcast to listen to our justifications for these picks.
http://www.spreaker.com/user/6186281/nfl_season_preview

The Cardinals moved their training camp from the Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff to the University of Phoenix stadium this season.  Initially I had concerns, both for the city of Flagstaff and the mental state of the team.  I always felt like a bond was forged between the team while forced to stay in a small town, in small dorms, just living football 24 hours a day.  I also feel for any local businesses that may have counted on the Cardinals faithful for a midsummer boost in revenue.  I will miss the yearly tradition of spending a weekend in the cooler weather, attending the Red-White game.

With all that being said, I had a great time going to the team’s 2nd training camp practice in Phoenix last Saturday. The first thing I noticed was the short walk to the stadium, nothing like the long hikes up in Flagstaff.  While the temperature outside was nearing 110 degrees, inside it was a cool 70 degrees, with no chance of the rain that often ruined practices up in Flagstaff.  Concessions were available, clearly training camp for the employees too, and I got a seat with a great view of most of the drills.  I was also able to help my fellow fans by joining them in conversation, often pointing out who certain sideline members are and helping them identify that unrecognizable player.  This interaction wasn’t always available in Flagstaff, mostly because everyone was just trying to catch a glimpse of the action.  The large audience, reported at about 8800, made themselves heard when great plays were made; highlights including a 1 handed snag by breakout candidate Rob Housler and a dazzling cut by Ryan Williams.  These bursts of cheer were a reminder that the season is just around the corner; and if that doesn’t excite you, this clearly isn’t your sport.

As I sat there enjoying a beer, I realized that the move to Phoenix mirrored the regime change the Cardinals had gone through this offseason.  Flagstaff represents Rod Graves (former GM), Ken Whisenhunt (former Head Coach), and Kevin Kolb (former starting quarterback).  While Flagstaff and those individuals all had their moments, moving to Phoenix seems to be a great move right now.  GM Steve Keim, Head Coach Bruce Arians, and starting quarterback Carson Palmer are the new shiny toys in town.  There will be growing pains, similar to the credit card machine not working while ordering some food, but at the end of the day I think this new regime will be able to work through those issues.

Training camp may be in a different location this year, but it will always signify the beginning of football season.  The Cardinals are my favorite team in all professional sports; so for me that means I begin consuming all available information about my Cardinals.  This year I began with learning the names of all 90 in camp, but that’s beside the point.  Football is back!!!