Cardinals vs Cowboys: Bruce Arians answers questions about players

We have a few good stories coming out of the Arizona Cardinals' 12-7 preseason victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday. We know that Bruce Arians is pleased with the defense and with special teams, but is baffled by red zone mental errors.

Here are some other Arians quotes worth mentioning when he was asked about specific players.

On Tyrann Mathieu gambling for and getting burned on a pass he jumped for to pick off, only to have it go over him for a long completion:

"He learned that in practice the other day. Exact same thing happened in practice the other day. He went for a pick, and it was a high throw, guy jumped and made it. I said, 'if you're going to go for the pick, you better at least make the tackle.' He shot it and the ball was high and the guy did the exact same thing. It was identical, almost like a mirror image, of the same play. So he's learning."

On Kerry Taylor, who led the team with four catches for 85 yards:

"Kerry had a nice ballgame and he had nice week in practice, too. It was good to see him out there again because he missed some time and it hurt him. Jaron Brown made a couple of nice catches; Hawk (Charles Hawkins) made a big play down there, so those four, five, six spots (the final three WR spots) are still up for grabs."

On Hawkins, who got drilled on a punt return:

"Charles Hawkins will learn how to fair catch in the right instances. It only takes one hit to learn how to take a fair catch, especially when you're told to fair catch it before you go out there."

On Tony Jefferson, who picked off two passes in the game, including the game clincher:

"Obviously he knows how to catch that ball. But he got himself in good position one two good calls by Todd (Bowles) and obviously the quarterback didn't see him. he disguised his coverage extremely well and made big plays."

On running back Andre Ellington, who finally got some game action, including a very nice 24-yard scamper:

"I thought he looked fantastic, just like the kid he's been in practice. He's explosive, whether it's a run or pass. He gives us a speed, change of direction element to our backfield. He runs with pretty good power. He also pass blocks pretty good. Andre made a good showing for himself"

More from Revenge of the Birds:

• Cardinals vs. Cowboys: Defense, special teams outstanding; offense has work to do after 12-7 win over Dallas
• Cardinals 12, Cowboys 7: All the postgame coverage
• Cardinals vs. Cowboys game preview: 5 things to watch for in Arizona's second preseason tilt
• Larry Fitzgerald considered one of NFL's most overpaid players; Dansby, Abraham among most underpaid
• Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim compares Patrick Peterson to Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson

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