A good story from the EVT.
Apparently Leckey did practice, but he still has something going on with his MCL and is not completely stable to play
In the first game on MNF!
He is the local boy made good. Now, he has to be even better. Rookie Lyle Sendlein, who was a star player at Scottsdale Chaparral High School, will make his first NFL start Sunday, at home vs. the Seattle Seahawks.
Sendlein, filling in for the injured Al Johnson at center, “did a good job of finishing the game for us,” Monday night in San Francisco, “especially in a situation where there was a lot of noise in a hostile environment.” coach Ken Whisenhunt says.
“Certainly he earned the opportunity to start.”
Sendlein was a linebacker at Chaparral but switched to center after entering the University of Texas, where he started for 2 1/2 seasons.
But Sendlein wasn’t among the 255 players drafted in April.
“No one really wanted me, so I had to work that much harder to get on a team,” Sendlein says.
He had a few opportunities and chose the Cardinals because “I think the organization is going in the right direction with the new coaching staff. The coaches are phenomenal.”
Sendlein seemed far from a lock to make the team.
He said he followed his dad’s advice: “Play every play like it’s your last.
“I’ve always been taught to play smart, hard, physical football. That’s all I’ve tried to do.”
His dad, Robin, should know, too. He played in the NFL at Minnesota and Miami.
Sendlein played well consistently at training camp, where he held his own in one-on-one drills with the Cardinals’ experienced defensive linemen, and in the exhibition season.
Then on Monday night, “The thing I remember most is when Al went down, instead of looking confused or wondering if he was going in, he jumped up, grabbed the ball and immediately went to the sidelines and started taking snaps with Matt (Leinart),” Whisenhunt says.
“To me, that showed that he was ready to go into the game.”
That’s what is expected of backups, of course, But sometimes those guys aren’t prepared.
“To me what that showed, in that brief moment, is that he was prepared.”
Chukky Okobi, the team’s new backup at the position, says, “Center is a pressure cooker. But he should be all right. He’s got a good teacher.”
That teacher is Russ Grimm, the offensive line coach who appears to be rebuilding what had been a dysfunctional group.
“Lyle has done a good job in the preseason,” Grimm says.
His progress from here on out is vital, because the Cardinals already are inexperienced on the right side with second-year guard Deuce Lutui and rookie tackle Levi Brown.
So now the Cardinals have three green starters on the line.
Be that as it may, “Sooner or later you’ve got to turn ’em loose,” Grimm says. “Take the training wheels off and they gotta play.”
But if a rookie can be experienced, it’s Sendlein, who played in big games, including Texas’ riveting BCS title win over USC.
“You get used to playing before crowds,” he says.
He’s enthused about having his first NFL start in his hometown, “But it could be in the parking lot at Chaparral High as far as I’m concerned.”
His background, he hopes, will be good preventive medicine for a case of nerves.
“We have a system where it’s easy to know what you’re doing. It’s just the ‘what ifs.’… And coach Grimm has everyone well prepared for all the what ifs.
“We’ll get that worked on this week and be prepared. Experienced or not.”
