FanBoy's Camp Blog
Arizona Cardinals training camp 2007
FanBoy email me
azcentral.com
August 9, 2007
1:27 p.m.
Heading into the final full practice before playing the Raiders on Saturday night, Coach Ken Whisenhunt and Matt Leinart addressed the media, all 10 or so of us. Here's some of what they had to say:
Whisenhunt on his role Saturday night: "It'll be different. I'm just so used to being into the flow of the game as a coordinator. And now having other things to worry about will be a little bit different."
On the play of the cornerbacks: "I think it was an area of concern, for a number of people. I know from watching the tapes of the last season that they were not very disciplined in their technique, and that was one of the things we wanted to emphasize this season. And I've seen a lot better play. It seems to me that they've been closer to some balls, they've broken up some passes in camp. And the next big test, obviously, is gonna be in the game when they go against some other receivers."
His take on the end of Wednesday's practice: "It was good. It's good for the players, it's good for the coaches, because it puts us in situations where you have to think on your feet. You don't know. It's not a scripted thing like you normally have in practice. So when you run that first down, you don't know if it's gonna be second and 5 or second and 10, and it just kind of gets us in the mode of being a game-time situation, and it's good for the players, because we have to communicate with them and they have to react to it.
" I thought it was a very good, situational-type thing for us, and we got a lot out of i, because we got a chance to go goal-line, got a chance to go with some of our sub package. You know, the fourth down and 10 (TD pass from Leinart to Bryant Johnson) was a big play for the offense. Selfishly, from the defensive side, you'd like to see them make the play. I thought it was good, because everybody had a chance to -- the offense did good and the defense did good."
On if playes are looking forward to hitting somebody besides teammates: "Yeah, I think they are. This is really the toughest part of training camp, the second week when you're into it, when you've been beating on each other, you know, 12, 13, 14 days.
"Now, you can focus your energy on an opponent, and also do it in a game situation, where it's a little bit faster. And I'm sure a lot of the young guys will be very excited because it'll be their first chance to play. And a lot of us young, new coaches will be excited because it'll be our first chance to coach."
On what offensive line coach Russ Grimm brings to the team: "Communication with his playes. And respect from his players. From having played the position and been successful at that position. I think he initially gets that respect, and I think when he talks about his schemes and how he communicates it to his players, I think he puts it on a level where they can understand it, and it makes it a lot simpler for them. Russ is very driven as a coach.
"The one thing about Russ is he's more than an offensive line coach. He sees a lot of things. He sees secondary. He understands pass schemes. So, in setting up his protections and his run schemes, he takes a lot of those things into account."
On what he's looking for on Saturday night: "The biggest thing is operation for us. I think calling the plays, getting the coaches to call out the personnel, getting in and out of the game with personnel. Defensively, I want to see technique-wise, the scheme that we're playing, how our guys are progressing with what we've learned so far in training camp. We've got a number of new guys at new positions. So I think, most of all, it's really gonna be an evaluation of our players against somebody else, because it's the first chance we've ever had to do that as a group."
On calling plays in practice and how it works prepares them for a game: "We were using the coach-to-quarterback communicator last night, and we do that again today. So we'll have two days of getting practice on that. Once again, that's something that we've not done as a staff, or as a team yet. So we had to get some work on that."
Then it was Leinart's turn.
On his feelings about camp thus far: "It's gone by fast. Camp has gone by fast. And coach has taken care of us. I think the grind part is kind of over. Once you get to the first preseason game, then it's a couple or three days of work days, then it's travel and that stuff, so I.think we're past that, so we just gotta keep getting better and keep going with this, and pretty soon Monday Night Football (season opener against San Francisco) will be right around the corner. "It's like I said, Whis has taken care of us. This has been a pretty player-friendly camp. You can't ask for more than that."
On getting all four preseason games this year: "Last year I played in three, so it's not too big of a difference from last year. I kinda got thrown in there (last year). This year, I'm more comfortable. And the biggest thing is just kind of starting fast, you know, just getting your rhythm. Whether it's one, two, three series. Just get out there, you know, putting points on the board, or moving the ball. Just getting comfortable out there "
On working against his own defense over and over: "It's that way on all levels. I remember in high school and college, it was, 'God, I just want to play someone else. Our defense has done a great job of getting us better every day. And the Raiders have a great defense, one of the best in the league. It's gonna be a good test for us."
On facing former USC assistant Lane Kiffin, the Raiders' new coach: "It'll be fun. I'm excited to see him, before the game. You know, the got Mike Williams now, who was my receiver in college. I know quite a few of the guys on the team, so it's gonna be fun to go there. Last year, we had some bad experiences there, playing, but I'm looking forward to seeing Lane, as a head coach."
On if it's better to see Oakland in the regular campaign or preseason: "Preseason's fine. Preseason's fine in Oakland."
On facing that Raiders defense, with the exception of injured DE Derrick Burgess: "But still, that defense, I mean they got (Warren) Sapp. they got those corners -- they got great corners. I know (linebacker) Kirk Morrison pretty well -- we actually hung out a little bit this summer. They got a good, young -- they got a good balance of younger and older guys, and a really good defense. So I'm excited. It'll be a good test for myself and this offense."
One more reminder: That Friday walk-through is off up here, and has been moved to the Valley, but isn't open to the public.
One more other reminder: I'll be back with live blogs from practice, which starts at 3:05. It'll be a hoot.
Arizona Cardinals training camp 2007
FanBoy email me
azcentral.com
August 9, 2007
1:27 p.m.
Heading into the final full practice before playing the Raiders on Saturday night, Coach Ken Whisenhunt and Matt Leinart addressed the media, all 10 or so of us. Here's some of what they had to say:
Whisenhunt on his role Saturday night: "It'll be different. I'm just so used to being into the flow of the game as a coordinator. And now having other things to worry about will be a little bit different."
On the play of the cornerbacks: "I think it was an area of concern, for a number of people. I know from watching the tapes of the last season that they were not very disciplined in their technique, and that was one of the things we wanted to emphasize this season. And I've seen a lot better play. It seems to me that they've been closer to some balls, they've broken up some passes in camp. And the next big test, obviously, is gonna be in the game when they go against some other receivers."
His take on the end of Wednesday's practice: "It was good. It's good for the players, it's good for the coaches, because it puts us in situations where you have to think on your feet. You don't know. It's not a scripted thing like you normally have in practice. So when you run that first down, you don't know if it's gonna be second and 5 or second and 10, and it just kind of gets us in the mode of being a game-time situation, and it's good for the players, because we have to communicate with them and they have to react to it.
" I thought it was a very good, situational-type thing for us, and we got a lot out of i, because we got a chance to go goal-line, got a chance to go with some of our sub package. You know, the fourth down and 10 (TD pass from Leinart to Bryant Johnson) was a big play for the offense. Selfishly, from the defensive side, you'd like to see them make the play. I thought it was good, because everybody had a chance to -- the offense did good and the defense did good."
On if playes are looking forward to hitting somebody besides teammates: "Yeah, I think they are. This is really the toughest part of training camp, the second week when you're into it, when you've been beating on each other, you know, 12, 13, 14 days.
"Now, you can focus your energy on an opponent, and also do it in a game situation, where it's a little bit faster. And I'm sure a lot of the young guys will be very excited because it'll be their first chance to play. And a lot of us young, new coaches will be excited because it'll be our first chance to coach."
On what offensive line coach Russ Grimm brings to the team: "Communication with his playes. And respect from his players. From having played the position and been successful at that position. I think he initially gets that respect, and I think when he talks about his schemes and how he communicates it to his players, I think he puts it on a level where they can understand it, and it makes it a lot simpler for them. Russ is very driven as a coach.
"The one thing about Russ is he's more than an offensive line coach. He sees a lot of things. He sees secondary. He understands pass schemes. So, in setting up his protections and his run schemes, he takes a lot of those things into account."
On what he's looking for on Saturday night: "The biggest thing is operation for us. I think calling the plays, getting the coaches to call out the personnel, getting in and out of the game with personnel. Defensively, I want to see technique-wise, the scheme that we're playing, how our guys are progressing with what we've learned so far in training camp. We've got a number of new guys at new positions. So I think, most of all, it's really gonna be an evaluation of our players against somebody else, because it's the first chance we've ever had to do that as a group."
On calling plays in practice and how it works prepares them for a game: "We were using the coach-to-quarterback communicator last night, and we do that again today. So we'll have two days of getting practice on that. Once again, that's something that we've not done as a staff, or as a team yet. So we had to get some work on that."
Then it was Leinart's turn.
On his feelings about camp thus far: "It's gone by fast. Camp has gone by fast. And coach has taken care of us. I think the grind part is kind of over. Once you get to the first preseason game, then it's a couple or three days of work days, then it's travel and that stuff, so I.think we're past that, so we just gotta keep getting better and keep going with this, and pretty soon Monday Night Football (season opener against San Francisco) will be right around the corner. "It's like I said, Whis has taken care of us. This has been a pretty player-friendly camp. You can't ask for more than that."
On getting all four preseason games this year: "Last year I played in three, so it's not too big of a difference from last year. I kinda got thrown in there (last year). This year, I'm more comfortable. And the biggest thing is just kind of starting fast, you know, just getting your rhythm. Whether it's one, two, three series. Just get out there, you know, putting points on the board, or moving the ball. Just getting comfortable out there "
On working against his own defense over and over: "It's that way on all levels. I remember in high school and college, it was, 'God, I just want to play someone else. Our defense has done a great job of getting us better every day. And the Raiders have a great defense, one of the best in the league. It's gonna be a good test for us."
On facing former USC assistant Lane Kiffin, the Raiders' new coach: "It'll be fun. I'm excited to see him, before the game. You know, the got Mike Williams now, who was my receiver in college. I know quite a few of the guys on the team, so it's gonna be fun to go there. Last year, we had some bad experiences there, playing, but I'm looking forward to seeing Lane, as a head coach."
On if it's better to see Oakland in the regular campaign or preseason: "Preseason's fine. Preseason's fine in Oakland."
On facing that Raiders defense, with the exception of injured DE Derrick Burgess: "But still, that defense, I mean they got (Warren) Sapp. they got those corners -- they got great corners. I know (linebacker) Kirk Morrison pretty well -- we actually hung out a little bit this summer. They got a good, young -- they got a good balance of younger and older guys, and a really good defense. So I'm excited. It'll be a good test for myself and this offense."
One more reminder: That Friday walk-through is off up here, and has been moved to the Valley, but isn't open to the public.
One more other reminder: I'll be back with live blogs from practice, which starts at 3:05. It'll be a hoot.
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