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There will be no open practices for the Arizona Cardinals today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tues, August 1, 2017) as University of Phoenix Stadium prepares for the upcoming Metallica concert.
That means early practice, outside for the Cardinals to avoid the heat.
The beat guys had it covered for you, but the aftermath is what really caught my attention.
Arians, "As good as Saturday was today was bad"; called practice "sluggish", too many mental errors#CardsCamp
— Craig Grialou (@CraigAZSports) July 31, 2017
Glad Arians was happy with Saturday, I know many I spoke with were not, but Arians in the end is who matters, so to hear he was satisfied is important.
Today though, it's a new day.
Arians very unhappy with practice. "Play like shit, I'll treat you like shit"
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) July 31, 2017
This is obviously a combination of things:
- Arians wants to remind the players this is camp, this is work, take it seriously.
- They play a game on Thursday. They have one practice left. While the game doesn't matter in the scheme of things, no one wants to look lost. No one wants to be embarrassed.
Arians, "You got to be ready to play when the whistle blows...so we did some conditioning"; players ran#CardsCamp
— Craig Grialou (@CraigAZSports) July 31, 2017
I think today was a reminder of that for several players.
There was one good thing:
.@BruceArians says @Mathieu_Era is pretty much the only player who had a good day today.
— Bauer (@MikeJackBauer) July 31, 2017
Not happy with his squad after a "s#!t%y practice." pic.twitter.com/eP4z1ah8dF
That's good, but how good?
Tyrann Mathieu had three or four interceptions in practice. "He's back," Arians said.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) July 31, 2017
Arians, "This was the first practice that he started looking like himself" re: Mathieu; added he "was talking a little trash"#CardsCamp
— Craig Grialou (@CraigAZSports) July 31, 2017
Tyrann Mathieu being Tyrann Mathieu is one of the keys to the season.
The team feeds off of Mathieu and his success is paramount to the Cardinals.
handful of vets, including Pat P, said that was toughest practice under Arians. 92 deg. 44 percent humidity. 113 F-bombs during open portion
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) July 31, 2017
during open portion of practice, defense dominated. Offense was the problem. false starts and the mental errors.
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) July 31, 2017