azdad1978
Championship!!!!
The Arizona Cardinals held a morning practice in shorts on Thursday, as they enter the final stages of preparation for their game against San Francisco 49ers this weekend in Mexico City.
With the placement of Russell Davis on injured reserved earlier in the week, former University of Wisconsin standout, Ross Kolodziej is ready to step into the starting line up for the Cardinals when play at Estadio Azteca Sunday night.
“It is the nature of the beast and unfortunately that is part of the game,” said defensive tackle Ross Kolodziej. “You always want an opportunity to play more but when it comes at the expense of a teammate you can never be happy about that.”
“We have to keep going,” added nose tackle Darnell Dockett. “I know Russell would want to us to go out there and win this game for him.”
Kolodziej saw action in 13 games for the Cardinals last season, while recording four starts, which is something he doesn’t like to make a big deal out of.
“All it means is that you’re in on the first play,” confirmed Kolodziej. “I just have to make the most of this opportunity. Other than that we just have to relax and go in and do what we do best, which is fly around, make plays and get a win.”
Kolodziej is well aware of how important a win is for his team right now. He is confident in his abilities to help the Cardinals get their first victory of the season.
“I feel very comfortable,” added Kolodziej. “I think a lot of that stems from the coaching staff having faith in me and the players on this defense have confidence in me as well.”
Darnell Dockett confirmed the defenses' thoughts on Ross being the guy to get the job done on Sunday.
“He’ll be ready,” added Dockett. “Ross has been waiting for an opportunity. He has been playing a back up role and he knows his stuff. He’s a great leader too. I talked to him and it is not going to be a let up. He wants to do well for Russell too, so we are going to go out there and play even harder this Sunday.”
In addition to Kolodziej, the Cardinals defensive backfield will also see some different faces with the Cards first round draft pick Antrel Rolle sidelined with a knee injury. Cornerbacks Raymond Walls and Eric Green are expected to see more playing time in his absence.
“For the past couple of weeks Coach Solomon has said you have to play hard and you have to practice hard because you never know when your number is going to be called,” said rookie cornerback Eric Green. “It’s true and it is just part of the NFL. People go down and injuries happen, so you just have to step up and fill in at that spot without anything being noticed.”
Similar to Kolodziej, Green is looking forward to the proving his potential to his teammates, coahes, as well as an international audience.
“I feel comfortable in there,” offered the former Virgina Tech corner. “I’m actually even more excited to get out there with the starters. It is going to be an opportunity I have to take advantage of and I’m looking forward to it.”
Injury Update
CB Antrel Rolle (knee), RB James Jackson (hamstring), QB Kurt Warner (groin), RB Harold Marrow (ankle), LB Gerald Hayes (knee), LB Eric Johnson (hamstring), RT Oliver Ross (hand) did not participate in practice.
The Cardinals will hold a morning walk through at their south Tempe training facility before departing for Mexico City in the afternoon.
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3095
With the placement of Russell Davis on injured reserved earlier in the week, former University of Wisconsin standout, Ross Kolodziej is ready to step into the starting line up for the Cardinals when play at Estadio Azteca Sunday night.
“It is the nature of the beast and unfortunately that is part of the game,” said defensive tackle Ross Kolodziej. “You always want an opportunity to play more but when it comes at the expense of a teammate you can never be happy about that.”
“We have to keep going,” added nose tackle Darnell Dockett. “I know Russell would want to us to go out there and win this game for him.”
Kolodziej saw action in 13 games for the Cardinals last season, while recording four starts, which is something he doesn’t like to make a big deal out of.
“All it means is that you’re in on the first play,” confirmed Kolodziej. “I just have to make the most of this opportunity. Other than that we just have to relax and go in and do what we do best, which is fly around, make plays and get a win.”
Kolodziej is well aware of how important a win is for his team right now. He is confident in his abilities to help the Cardinals get their first victory of the season.
“I feel very comfortable,” added Kolodziej. “I think a lot of that stems from the coaching staff having faith in me and the players on this defense have confidence in me as well.”
Darnell Dockett confirmed the defenses' thoughts on Ross being the guy to get the job done on Sunday.
“He’ll be ready,” added Dockett. “Ross has been waiting for an opportunity. He has been playing a back up role and he knows his stuff. He’s a great leader too. I talked to him and it is not going to be a let up. He wants to do well for Russell too, so we are going to go out there and play even harder this Sunday.”
In addition to Kolodziej, the Cardinals defensive backfield will also see some different faces with the Cards first round draft pick Antrel Rolle sidelined with a knee injury. Cornerbacks Raymond Walls and Eric Green are expected to see more playing time in his absence.
“For the past couple of weeks Coach Solomon has said you have to play hard and you have to practice hard because you never know when your number is going to be called,” said rookie cornerback Eric Green. “It’s true and it is just part of the NFL. People go down and injuries happen, so you just have to step up and fill in at that spot without anything being noticed.”
Similar to Kolodziej, Green is looking forward to the proving his potential to his teammates, coahes, as well as an international audience.
“I feel comfortable in there,” offered the former Virgina Tech corner. “I’m actually even more excited to get out there with the starters. It is going to be an opportunity I have to take advantage of and I’m looking forward to it.”
Injury Update
CB Antrel Rolle (knee), RB James Jackson (hamstring), QB Kurt Warner (groin), RB Harold Marrow (ankle), LB Gerald Hayes (knee), LB Eric Johnson (hamstring), RT Oliver Ross (hand) did not participate in practice.
The Cardinals will hold a morning walk through at their south Tempe training facility before departing for Mexico City in the afternoon.
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3095
