1 – Their only chance of success is to start Carson Beck as soon as possible. They are not winning anything with Brissett or Minshew. Maybe they don’t win with Beck either, but the unknown is their only chance. So, let’s pray that Beck impresses enough in camp and preseason games to win the starting job.
2 – Imagine if we get to see a healthy Walter Nolen.
3 – Fans and analysts might not find out that Jeremyah Love is not really a running back in the normal sense, but at least we should see some indications of it.
4 – No matter if Brissett decides to go to work, I don’t care about seeing him and Minshew perform. I feel like we know what they are.
5 – I expect Marvin Harrison to look like a star, but I think that everything depends on how LaFleur utilizes him in his system, and training camp will not show us anything about that.
6 – Pretty much right after Gannon was fired, I wrote about how I wanted them to bring in Mike LaFleur, and in my one mock draft some weeks before the draft, I drafted Carson Beck in the third round. So, I have actually gotten what I wanted, but I do think I should reiterate the points, because context is everything here, and it is very important to be aware of this ahead of training camp.
It is likely that Beck will not blow anyone away in training camp, but stylistically, he is tailor-made for LaFleur’s scheme (again, if LaFleur uses something similar to McVay and Shanahan). Beck’s value doesn’t lie in his ability to be a high-level quarterback per se but is conditioned by those two working in unison to execute LaFleur’s offense.
Now, of course it would be nice to see him play well, and obviously schemes can only take him so far. Just keep it in mind. Beck’s best quality is that he is a system quarterback, and since LaFleur’s offensive system will obviously not be deployed in full force yet, you will not see Beck’s biggest strength in camp.
7 – Will Josh Sweat even show up? Arguably their most important defender.
8 – I don’t see how Isaiah Adams would have a good reason to be running around locked and loaded with an illegal full-automatic weapon and associating with a group of people with enough drugs to put all of Canada to sleep. And he is bringing discredit to the Cardinals organization. They obviously have more than enough of those cases, and I think the only way to at least try to lessen the publicity hit is to take very decisive action and cut bait immediately, no matter if he is guilty or not.
Let’s be real: NFL success is not achieved by teams full of choir boys, but Adams is not good enough to compromise on that. Honestly, I would probably have had another opinion if it were the best player on the team, but that’s just the reality of the NFL. I have been wondering if the local media praising him was sort of like a pre-TC-version of “wow, Stephen Williams is a stud” or “that Brandon Keith-guy is going to be an All-Pro” but now I don’t care about that.
So, the training camp implications here are obvious, because I am pretty sure they would have started out with Isaiah Adams as the starting right guard. They might still, but I would prefer Chase Bisontis getting every single first-team rep.
9 - I don’t buy the narrative that this year is make-or-break for Marvin Harrison, but it is for his first-round compadre, Darius Robinson. I hope he is moved to the position where he excelled at Missouri, but no matter what, I sure would like to see him create some pressure for once.
10 – Will Garrett Williams be cleared to play during training camp? That would be massive. He played underwhelmingly last season, but he obviously still has great potential.
11 – Elijah Wilkinson played very well last season, where his success was primarily a result of the offensive system, controlled by another McVay-disciple, Zac Robinson. I believe that is why LaFleur wanted Wilkinson brought in, and I hope that nobody judges him based on training camp - with no system-play - when he presumably plays below average.
12 – Not to open that door in this column, but I think that Ossenfort only kept his job so that Bidwill has a lame duck to kick out if things go south and have instructed him not to spend too many resources in trading for someone.
Personally, I have almost no hope for the edge rush, and I would call the Steelers and offer a 4th for Alex Highsmith (who had Teryl Austin as DC the last three years, and with 0 guaranteed dollars left on his contract), or underachievers with major potential like Kayvon Thibodeaux (Giants) or Myles Murphy (Bengals). But no, Ossenfort has been put under administration, and I don’t foresee any bigger reinforcements. Not even from the open market.
13 – Call me crazy, but I still haven’t given up on Tip Reiman, and he will most likely be very important in LaFleur’s scheme. I actually doubt we will know much of anything about him based on training camp, simply because his presumed role is hard to judge in practice (for the media and fans), but there are some scrimmage drills that might show something.
14 – B.J. Ojulari is like this mythological hero figure that will rise from the underworld to save the franchise’ destiny, but it would be nice to actually see him impress first.
15 – I really have no idea what to expect from Will Johnson. I mean, he has the potential to become a superstar, but he certainly didn’t play like it in the second half of last season. I hope that he can give us some hope.
2 – Imagine if we get to see a healthy Walter Nolen.
3 – Fans and analysts might not find out that Jeremyah Love is not really a running back in the normal sense, but at least we should see some indications of it.
4 – No matter if Brissett decides to go to work, I don’t care about seeing him and Minshew perform. I feel like we know what they are.
5 – I expect Marvin Harrison to look like a star, but I think that everything depends on how LaFleur utilizes him in his system, and training camp will not show us anything about that.
6 – Pretty much right after Gannon was fired, I wrote about how I wanted them to bring in Mike LaFleur, and in my one mock draft some weeks before the draft, I drafted Carson Beck in the third round. So, I have actually gotten what I wanted, but I do think I should reiterate the points, because context is everything here, and it is very important to be aware of this ahead of training camp.
It is likely that Beck will not blow anyone away in training camp, but stylistically, he is tailor-made for LaFleur’s scheme (again, if LaFleur uses something similar to McVay and Shanahan). Beck’s value doesn’t lie in his ability to be a high-level quarterback per se but is conditioned by those two working in unison to execute LaFleur’s offense.
Now, of course it would be nice to see him play well, and obviously schemes can only take him so far. Just keep it in mind. Beck’s best quality is that he is a system quarterback, and since LaFleur’s offensive system will obviously not be deployed in full force yet, you will not see Beck’s biggest strength in camp.
7 – Will Josh Sweat even show up? Arguably their most important defender.
8 – I don’t see how Isaiah Adams would have a good reason to be running around locked and loaded with an illegal full-automatic weapon and associating with a group of people with enough drugs to put all of Canada to sleep. And he is bringing discredit to the Cardinals organization. They obviously have more than enough of those cases, and I think the only way to at least try to lessen the publicity hit is to take very decisive action and cut bait immediately, no matter if he is guilty or not.
Let’s be real: NFL success is not achieved by teams full of choir boys, but Adams is not good enough to compromise on that. Honestly, I would probably have had another opinion if it were the best player on the team, but that’s just the reality of the NFL. I have been wondering if the local media praising him was sort of like a pre-TC-version of “wow, Stephen Williams is a stud” or “that Brandon Keith-guy is going to be an All-Pro” but now I don’t care about that.
So, the training camp implications here are obvious, because I am pretty sure they would have started out with Isaiah Adams as the starting right guard. They might still, but I would prefer Chase Bisontis getting every single first-team rep.
9 - I don’t buy the narrative that this year is make-or-break for Marvin Harrison, but it is for his first-round compadre, Darius Robinson. I hope he is moved to the position where he excelled at Missouri, but no matter what, I sure would like to see him create some pressure for once.
10 – Will Garrett Williams be cleared to play during training camp? That would be massive. He played underwhelmingly last season, but he obviously still has great potential.
11 – Elijah Wilkinson played very well last season, where his success was primarily a result of the offensive system, controlled by another McVay-disciple, Zac Robinson. I believe that is why LaFleur wanted Wilkinson brought in, and I hope that nobody judges him based on training camp - with no system-play - when he presumably plays below average.
12 – Not to open that door in this column, but I think that Ossenfort only kept his job so that Bidwill has a lame duck to kick out if things go south and have instructed him not to spend too many resources in trading for someone.
Personally, I have almost no hope for the edge rush, and I would call the Steelers and offer a 4th for Alex Highsmith (who had Teryl Austin as DC the last three years, and with 0 guaranteed dollars left on his contract), or underachievers with major potential like Kayvon Thibodeaux (Giants) or Myles Murphy (Bengals). But no, Ossenfort has been put under administration, and I don’t foresee any bigger reinforcements. Not even from the open market.
13 – Call me crazy, but I still haven’t given up on Tip Reiman, and he will most likely be very important in LaFleur’s scheme. I actually doubt we will know much of anything about him based on training camp, simply because his presumed role is hard to judge in practice (for the media and fans), but there are some scrimmage drills that might show something.
14 – B.J. Ojulari is like this mythological hero figure that will rise from the underworld to save the franchise’ destiny, but it would be nice to actually see him impress first.
15 – I really have no idea what to expect from Will Johnson. I mean, he has the potential to become a superstar, but he certainly didn’t play like it in the second half of last season. I hope that he can give us some hope.
