Five Things

[CardLogic]

I blatently stole this idea from AM 620's Doug and Wolf.

Five things to watch for in Saturday's pre-season game vs. Houston:

5. Jared Veldheer - Having never paid any attention to Veldheer during his years in Oakland, I am simply anxious to see "Big Serious" in action.

4. Deone Bucannon - interested in seeing the Cardinals 1st round draft pick in action.

3. OL - Along with Veldheer, I want to see how Cooper, Massie, Fanaika, and Larsen (in for Sendlein) perform as a unit. Even without J.J. Watt in the game, the Texans have a decent DL and defensive unit as a whole; it will be the first measuring stick for the OL play.

2. Pass Rush - while playing "plain vanilla" are the Cardinals able to generate pressure on the QB?

1. ILB's Minter and Foote - it will be a small sample size on Saturday, but how well will these two fill the gaping hole left by the departure of Dansby and loss of Washington.



What's your version?

 

[BigRedRage]

5 things:
OL and in particular Veldheer and Cooper

Can John brown produce with the lights on?

DB play - Will it be better than last year? Do we defend the TE well? How do Cromartie and Bethel look?

Rbs - How does it look behind Ellington? How is Kubalafi playing?

OLB - Can we generate pass rush without Abraham?

 

[Iceman]

Listened to this as well and I agree with you. I think the 2 biggest takeaways will be how Minter and Foote do and how the offensive line gel together.

Also, can't wait to see how the back up QB's will do. It will be an interesting battle to see who will win that 3rd QB role (even the 2nd role)....

 

[kerouac9]

1) Justin Bethel. Lots of hype in the offseason, and this will be his first chance to show that it's justified in extended play. He'll be out there a while.

2) Canstanzo. The Cards would get a great field position benefit and not-unsubstantial cap relief if they're able to cut Feely loose.

3) Kevin Minter. Everything about him.

4) The Tight ends. I'm not sure it can be overstated how much Arians had to monkey around with his offense because our tight end corps was... let's settle on "suboptimal". Niklas has a way to go, but Carlson should be the real deal out there.

5) Can any outside linebacker win one-on-one battles?

 

[CardLogic]

5 things:
OL and in particular Veldheer and Cooper

Can John brown produce with the lights on?

DB play - Will it be better than last year? Do we defend the TE well? How do Cromartie and Bethel look?

Rbs - How does it look behind Ellington? How is Kubalafi playing?

OLB - Can we generate pass rush without Abraham?

Ha ha - it's Kulabafi! :BIM:

 

[Buckybird]

I think we as fans are fooling ourselves if we think were really gonna learn anything more than what we know right now about anyone who's starting Sat. They're gonna see 1 series or possibly 2 & that's it...game 1 & 4 is all about your depth players IMO.

 

[CardLogic]

I think we as fans are fooling ourselves if we think were really gonna learn anything more than what we know right now about anyone who's starting Sat. They're gonna see 1 series or possibly 2 & that's it...game 1 & 4 is all about your depth players IMO.

That's 1 or 2 series more than I have seen since January!! And quite a few additions and changes to the roster.

I fully realize that. . . "it's only PRACTICE!" Never-the-less, I will be watching, and I am guessing that you will be also.

 

[SeattleCard]

I actually really want to see if Logan Thomas is the second coming of John Skelton ... or, hopefully not.

 

[JC_AZ]

I actually really want to see if Logan Thomas is the second coming of John Skelton ... or, hopefully not.

According to Wolf this morning they expect him to play mid 3Q and 4th

 

[Shaggy]

I just want to see some Cardinal football again, regardless on who's playing.

 

[Darkside]

Bothers me how some people still minimize the preseason. If they get rid of it, I really believe the overall product will suffer. Teams still show tendencies in preseason, they still show what they are, even if they're not designing specific plays. SF played like crap last night but still ran the ball effectively with every back they had. Denver still passed effectively, no matter who played. Seattle isn't as deep as I thought, they gave up stuff I wouldn't expect and got moved up and down the field. There's plenty to watch.

1. RB's: everyone besides Ellington, we know Ellington = beast. I really want to see Taylor do damage inside. I know people don't expect a lot, or don't seem to, but I want to see this guy drag tacklers and punish the inside of the line.

2. Housler. When do we give up on this dude? Seriously. Hands of stone. Can he catch multiple passes? I don't even know if catching is teachable. I think most other things are, but I'm not sure catching is if you haven't learned it already. If he can catch, and I mean really catch, not just open balls, but in traffic, then wow. Has his blocking technique improved at all? And I mean AT ALL? This has to be the last mention of Housler. I gave up on him last year and he's still here. Enough is enough. Put up or shut up.

3. Minter. He's a banger and will smash dudes inside, but I want to know if he can drop. Can he drop his hips and rotate to either side of the field in coverage? Does he have the acceleration to cover? People talk about DWash's speed, and while he has speed, it's really his acceleration that catches people off guard. I want to know if Minter has that physical ability. You can teach where to go and how to drop the hips, but if a player doesn't have the physical ability then he just can't do it, no matter how much you want him to.

4. Bethel. Is he all that and a bag of chips? Tired of hearing about it from BA, I want to see it. We know he's athletic, God is he athletic, there's no doubt, but has he learned the technique to cover? Cheese posted in another thread about TM, and the fact that he's just a born football player. Bethel isn't. He has athletic ability, but hasn't mastered technique and concepts, because of his small school foundation. Can he learn that and has he?

5. The right side of our line. Specifically depth all along the line. Palmer needs to be kept clean. When he's clean he's exceptional. When he's not he's average.

 

[Austin Zonie]

Regarding Minter, from the Cards blog: "In training camp, Minter has shown the ability to be a three-down linebacker, potent in the running game but also serviceable enough to stay on the field in passing situations. His playing time is set to go through the roof, and the internal expectations are also lofty." Maybe he can be a three down linebacker?

 

[Buckybird]

That's 1 or 2 series more than I have seen since January!! And quite a few additions and changes to the roster.

I fully realize that. . . "it's only PRACTICE!" Never-the-less, I will be watching, and I am guessing that you will be also.

Bothers me how some people still minimize the preseason. If they get rid of it, I really believe the overall product will suffer. Teams still show tendencies in preseason, they still show what they are, even if they're not designing specific plays. SF played like crap last night but still ran the ball effectively with every back they had. Denver still passed effectively, no matter who played. Seattle isn't as deep as I thought, they gave up stuff I wouldn't expect and got moved up and down the field. There's plenty to watch.

1. RB's: everyone besides Ellington, we know Ellington = beast. I really want to see Taylor do damage inside. I know people don't expect a lot, or don't seem to, but I want to see this guy drag tacklers and punish the inside of the line.

2. Housler. When do we give up on this dude? Seriously. Hands of stone. Can he catch multiple passes? I don't even know if catching is teachable. I think most other things are, but I'm not sure catching is if you haven't learned it already. If he can catch, and I mean really catch, not just open balls, but in traffic, then wow. Has his blocking technique improved at all? And I mean AT ALL? This has to be the last mention of Housler. I gave up on him last year and he's still here. Enough is enough. Put up or shut up.

3. Minter. He's a banger and will smash dudes inside, but I want to know if he can drop. Can he drop his hips and rotate to either side of the field in coverage? Does he have the acceleration to cover? People talk about DWash's speed, and while he has speed, it's really his acceleration that catches people off guard. I want to know if Minter has that physical ability. You can teach where to go and how to drop the hips, but if a player doesn't have the physical ability then he just can't do it, no matter how much you want him to.

4. Bethel. Is he all that and a bag of chips? Tired of hearing about it from BA, I want to see it. We know he's athletic, God is he athletic, there's no doubt, but has he learned the technique to cover? Cheese posted in another thread about TM, and the fact that he's just a born football player. Bethel isn't. He has athletic ability, but hasn't mastered technique and concepts, because of his small school foundation. Can he learn that and has he?

5. The right side of our line. Specifically depth all along the line. Palmer needs to be kept clean. When he's clean he's exceptional. When he's not he's average.

Oh I'm excited to watch our team as well.

I'm not trying to minimize preseason at all. I'm just trying to state the obvious (starters only)...to think for example that Minters gonna be great because he plays well in 10-15 plays he gonna be a stud or be mediocre because he doesn't play well. Others as well.

IMO it's not a big enough sample of play to judge the new starters is all.

 

[Cardiac]

Not sure I can limit it to five.

Oline with a keen eye on Veldheer and Cooper while they are in the game. Then Watford while he is playing.

All the ILBers.

I've got a huge man crush on Bethel because of his ST's play and now with BA gushing about his ability I'm a kid on xmas eve excited.

Will an OLBer please step up and show some pass rush skills.

I've got big hopes for Kareem Martin and hope he can contribute this year.

John Brown has gotten a lot of buzz going so as some have posted I want to see it with the lights on.

I'm also kinda geeked up about the DB's, we could have 4 NFL quality starting CB's on this roster and Bucannon and Jefferson could be a very impactful as well.

Logan Thomas, is he our Kaperneck or Wilson? Certainly not this year but I want to see the freak in action.

Do we really have a solid/good TE corps?

Man am I stoked for some Cardinal Football!!!!!!!!

 

[kerouac9]

Regarding Minter, from the Cards blog: "In training camp, Minter has shown the ability to be a three-down linebacker, potent in the running game but also serviceable enough to stay on the field in passing situations. His playing time is set to go through the roof, and the internal expectations are also lofty." Maybe he can be a three down linebacker?

WAY down in the penultimate paragraph of the article, and every report in camp suggests that Minters the first
Off the field in passing situations.

 

[Dr. Jones]

1 - Minter

2 - John Brown

3 - O-Line

4 - Logan Thomas

5 - 3 on D Deone, Stinson, Martin

 

[RugbyMuffin]

I actually really want to see if Logan Thomas is the second coming of John Skelton ... or, hopefully not.

Triple Deuce ?

 

[Hypothesis]

In no particular order:

-Okafor...I want to see his grasp of the defense as vanilla as it may be. Also, can he beat his blocks straight up.

-Minter...I'm looking for his leadership qualities that he was touted for at LSU. Is he out there getting people fired up and leading with his play on the field.

-Cromartie...I want to see how healthy he looks.

-Logan Thomas...I don't need to see a drastic improvement in his accuracy right now. What I'd like to see from him is improvement in the fundamentals like footwork, progressions and throwing the right type of ball.

-Cooper...I'm going to be watching him closely to see if he is still bothered either physically or mentally by his leg injury last year.

 

[THESMEL]

No ground game =crippled pass game. can we establish the run

 

[BigRedRage]

http://espn.go.com/blog/arizona-cardinals/post/_/id/7833/w2w4-arizona-cardinals

 

[BigRedRage]

Five Arizona offensive reserves to watch


http://espn.go.com/blog/arizona-cardinals/post/_/id/7841/five-arizona-offensive-reserves-to-watch