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Planning to settle in for the Arizona Cardinals’ second preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, Aug. 13? Well, enjoy.
This is about as good as preseason football gets. Both teams are set to play their starters, as announced by both head coaches. For the Cardinals, that might only last a drive or two, but it’s still those players’ first action of preseason. The Raiders’ starters could last even longer — head coach Klint Kubiak left that ambiguous.
Then, when the starters exit, we’ll get Carson Beck — the star of last week’s Hall of Fame game — against Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas’ No. 1 overall pick. To make that matchup even more exciting, it’s a rematch of the national championship game, when Mendoza led Indiana past Beck’s Miami. Should be fun.
On the Cardinals’ side, here are five storylines to watch for.
For Beck to earn playing time come the regular season, he needs to surpass not just Jacoby Brissett but also backup Gardner Minshew.
So, how close is Beck to passing Minshew? We’ll get a better idea against the Raiders.
Throughout training camp, Beck worked as the third-string quarterback, with the third-string offensive line and third-string receivers. This week, that began to change — if only slightly. Minshew was still the second quarterback to take reps in practice, but Beck saw some time with the rest of the second-string offense.
It seems unlikely that Beck would play ahead of Minshew, but if he gets a drive or two with the second stringers, it bodes well for his progression.
Beyond his spot on the depth chart, Beck will aim to carry his progress from last week into this game. His training camp performances were sporadic, with nice moments interspersed by questionable decisions and ugly interceptions. None of the latter was on display against the Panthers in Canton. The more performances he puts together without those mistakes, the easier it will be to push aside the training camp miscues.
More NFL: Arizona Cardinals entrusting their QBs to Matt Schaub
In his final press conference before the trip to Las Vegas, Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said that his “main guys” will play a “max of two” drives.
One of the most important lessons from this game, then, will be who LaFleur sees as his main guys. Regardless of whether 10 players or 30 players are removed after those first two drives, we’ll learn who LaFleur values most. If it’s 10 players, we’ll learn who the Cardinals view as their stars. If it’s 30 players, we’ll learn who the Cardinals expect to play significant snaps.
Regardless, it’ll be the clearest snapshot yet of how they view their own depth chart.
Two drives of a preseason game are only one small data point, but it sure would be nice to see Marvin Harrison Jr.’s connection with Brissett on display.
Training camp, for both of them, was a mixed bag. Harrison opened camp with some concerning drops, but bounced back for an excellent stretch in the middle of camp, when he was consistently finding open space downfield. The final few practices were slightly more disappointing, including one session when he didn’t bring in any of his five targets.
That’s certainly not all on Harrison — on that day, none of his five targets were catchable. But it speaks to an inconsistent connection with Brissett, who has developed a stronger rapport with Trey McBride in the 10 months since he became Arizona’s starting quarterback.
So with his third NFL season looming, any positive signs would be encouraging for Harrison.
With Josh Sweat still on the PUP list under mysterious circumstances, the Cardinals’ defensive line appears — on paper — to be quite grim. No one else on the roster has ever recorded more than five sacks in a season.
At edge rusher, there’s a mix of established veteran rotation pieces (Zaven Collins, Baron Browning) and unproven young players (Jordan Burch, B.J. Ojulari). At defensive tackle, it’s Walter Nolen — one of the most exciting young defensive players in football — and a host of low-cost veterans.
So, beyond Sweat and Nolen, where can the Cardinals actually find a pass rush? It’s hard to say. Maybe someone like Burch or Darius Robinson takes a step forward. Maybe a veteran has a career year. Maybe none of the above. Either way, we’ll get a glimpse of the answer.
It’s been a difficult training camp for the Cardinals’ secondary. That’s not to say there haven’t been good moments, especially over the past week. But for the most part, the pass catchers have out-performed the defensive backs.
That’s not necessarily a problem — it could merely be a reflection of a strong camp for the offense. But it raises some concerns, given that the Cardinals have invested two second-round picks and two third-round picks on cornerbacks since general manager Monti Ossenfort arrived in 2023. That group needs to be a strength of the defense.
Beyond tight end Brock Bowers, the Raiders lack proven receiving weapons, so the Cardinals’ secondary should be set up to succeed. It’s an intriguing test.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 key questions to watch in Cardinals-Raiders preseason game
Continue reading...
This is about as good as preseason football gets. Both teams are set to play their starters, as announced by both head coaches. For the Cardinals, that might only last a drive or two, but it’s still those players’ first action of preseason. The Raiders’ starters could last even longer — head coach Klint Kubiak left that ambiguous.
Then, when the starters exit, we’ll get Carson Beck — the star of last week’s Hall of Fame game — against Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas’ No. 1 overall pick. To make that matchup even more exciting, it’s a rematch of the national championship game, when Mendoza led Indiana past Beck’s Miami. Should be fun.
On the Cardinals’ side, here are five storylines to watch for.
Will Carson Beck work with second string?
For Beck to earn playing time come the regular season, he needs to surpass not just Jacoby Brissett but also backup Gardner Minshew.
So, how close is Beck to passing Minshew? We’ll get a better idea against the Raiders.
Throughout training camp, Beck worked as the third-string quarterback, with the third-string offensive line and third-string receivers. This week, that began to change — if only slightly. Minshew was still the second quarterback to take reps in practice, but Beck saw some time with the rest of the second-string offense.
It seems unlikely that Beck would play ahead of Minshew, but if he gets a drive or two with the second stringers, it bodes well for his progression.
Beyond his spot on the depth chart, Beck will aim to carry his progress from last week into this game. His training camp performances were sporadic, with nice moments interspersed by questionable decisions and ugly interceptions. None of the latter was on display against the Panthers in Canton. The more performances he puts together without those mistakes, the easier it will be to push aside the training camp miscues.
More NFL: Arizona Cardinals entrusting their QBs to Matt Schaub
Who are Mike LaFleur’s ‘main guys’?
In his final press conference before the trip to Las Vegas, Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said that his “main guys” will play a “max of two” drives.
One of the most important lessons from this game, then, will be who LaFleur sees as his main guys. Regardless of whether 10 players or 30 players are removed after those first two drives, we’ll learn who LaFleur values most. If it’s 10 players, we’ll learn who the Cardinals view as their stars. If it’s 30 players, we’ll learn who the Cardinals expect to play significant snaps.
Regardless, it’ll be the clearest snapshot yet of how they view their own depth chart.
What will we see from Marvin Harrison Jr.?
Two drives of a preseason game are only one small data point, but it sure would be nice to see Marvin Harrison Jr.’s connection with Brissett on display.
Training camp, for both of them, was a mixed bag. Harrison opened camp with some concerning drops, but bounced back for an excellent stretch in the middle of camp, when he was consistently finding open space downfield. The final few practices were slightly more disappointing, including one session when he didn’t bring in any of his five targets.
That’s certainly not all on Harrison — on that day, none of his five targets were catchable. But it speaks to an inconsistent connection with Brissett, who has developed a stronger rapport with Trey McBride in the 10 months since he became Arizona’s starting quarterback.
So with his third NFL season looming, any positive signs would be encouraging for Harrison.
Can anyone impact the quarterback?
With Josh Sweat still on the PUP list under mysterious circumstances, the Cardinals’ defensive line appears — on paper — to be quite grim. No one else on the roster has ever recorded more than five sacks in a season.
At edge rusher, there’s a mix of established veteran rotation pieces (Zaven Collins, Baron Browning) and unproven young players (Jordan Burch, B.J. Ojulari). At defensive tackle, it’s Walter Nolen — one of the most exciting young defensive players in football — and a host of low-cost veterans.
So, beyond Sweat and Nolen, where can the Cardinals actually find a pass rush? It’s hard to say. Maybe someone like Burch or Darius Robinson takes a step forward. Maybe a veteran has a career year. Maybe none of the above. Either way, we’ll get a glimpse of the answer.
How does the secondary hold up?
It’s been a difficult training camp for the Cardinals’ secondary. That’s not to say there haven’t been good moments, especially over the past week. But for the most part, the pass catchers have out-performed the defensive backs.
That’s not necessarily a problem — it could merely be a reflection of a strong camp for the offense. But it raises some concerns, given that the Cardinals have invested two second-round picks and two third-round picks on cornerbacks since general manager Monti Ossenfort arrived in 2023. That group needs to be a strength of the defense.
Beyond tight end Brock Bowers, the Raiders lack proven receiving weapons, so the Cardinals’ secondary should be set up to succeed. It’s an intriguing test.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 5 key questions to watch in Cardinals-Raiders preseason game
Continue reading...
