The Arizona Cardinals were back at practice on Wednesday after their day off and it was their first work in game planning for the Detroit Lions. Head coach Bruce Arians, quarterback Carson Palmer and other players spoke to the media afterward. Here are some of the highlights from media time.
- Tight end Darren Fells has a hip injury. Receiver J.J. Nelson is getting closer. It appears Andre Ellington will be available this Sunday.
- As for a running back rotation is everyone is healthy, it looks like David Johnson's playing time will get squeezed. Arians said the decision is easy -- "the young guy sits."
- Carson Palmer said the team isn't overlooking Detroit. "We'll be ready on Sunday," he said.
- Arians spoke highly of rookie running back Ameer Abdullah for the Lions.
- Arians called practice "solid, not great."
- Carson Palmer referred to all three of the running backs as starters, all three could be a bell cow back. He also gave a very nice description of what each is good at. I'll have more on that later.
- Palmer said Patrick Peterson's focus has been very good this year. He takes each game and each practice as if it were his last. He believes the chatter from last year "left a chip on his shoulder."
- Detroit's defensive philosophically is where the line attacks like it is a pass play until the ball is in the running back's hand.
- Deone Bucannon said the matchup between Patrick Peterson and Calvin Johnson "is like a dream come true."
- Andre Ellington compared Bruce Arians running the offense with all the talent to playing Madden. He also doesn't worry about getting the label of being injury prone. "You're going to get injured," he said. "It's part of the game.
- Sean Weatherspoon likely will not get playing time unless there is an injury. He missed too much time early on and other guys are playing too well. Arians isn't going to take Deone Bucannon off the field.
More to come probably tomorrow after I go through the audio and form stories from them. I'll be back at the facility tomorrow for more.