An estimated 12,000 fans attended the second annual Arizona Cardinals Fan Fest at University of Phoenix Stadium. They showed up early and many got autographs from the players, they saw the cheerleaders perform and then an open practice.
Here are some of the things I saw:
- The players that sat out at least a few drills were Jeff King, Rashard Mendenhall, Jerraud Powers, Michael Rios and Michael Floyd. Mendenhall and Powers did practice. They were off to the side during some of the drills. Rookie Ryan Swope was not in uniform and I did not see him there. Floyd did not practice More on that in a later post.
- Nate Potter got some time at right tackle with the first team, while Bobby Massie saw time at left tackle on the second team. More on that in a later post.
- The second team offensive was Potter at LT, Senio Kelemete at LG, Mike Gibson at center, Chilo Rachal at RG and Paul Fanaika at RT (who gets the dubious distinction of wearing 74 -- the number D'Anthony Batiste wore)
- With no Floyd, the depth chart was revealed a little bit. With Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Roberts on the field, rookie Jaron Brown was on the field in three-wide formations and Kerry Taylor was the fourth wideout in four-wide sets.
- The defensive rotations looked like one would expect. Jerraud Powers was the second cornerback on the field with Patrick Peterson. Antoine Cason came in as the nickel back. The first team linebackers were Sam Acho, Karlos Dansby, Jasper Brinkley and Lorenzo Alexander. Darnell Dockett, Dan Williams and Calais Campbell were the base defensive line. In nickel packages, it was basically a 2-4-5, but kind of a 3-3-5. Dan Williams and Lorenzo Alexander would come out and Matt Shaughnessy and Antoine Cason would come in. Shaughnessy's DE background and current use at OLB make it somewhat more flexible.
- Rob Housler saw thrown the ball a lot, and down the field.
- There was a lot of throwing down the field, period.
- Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald connected for a long pass play for a touchdown. Very nice to see.
- The defense got their hands on the ball a lot.
- Reggie Walker made himself known on the field. He had an interception and batted down a couple of balls while in coverage. He also got beat for what would have been a touchdown on one play, but even then he got his hand on the ball and almost knocked it away.
I'll be back in Tempe on Wednesday and Thursday for those practices. Hit me up with questions on other stuff I may have seen.
Enjoy the pictures I took with my phone...or not.
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