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The Arizona Cardinals may have dropped the Hall of Fame Game to the Carolina Panthers on a last-second, game-winning touchdown, but it remained an evening full of positivity. On a Thursday night in Canton, Ohio, Mike LaFleur’s vision for this organization seemed to come to life, even with a roster full of backups.
Some of that is, of course, on LaFleur and the coaching staff. But it’s also on the players, as plenty of young backups made an impression, suggesting that they could evolve into contributors this season.
Here are three of those standouts.
There’s no other place to start this article, after Beck finished his preseason debut 15-of-19 for 188 yards and a touchdown.
What stood out most was simply his ability to command the offense. The Panthers were running simple preseason schemes, without the disguises that Beck will see if he plays in the regular season, but Beck still had to take advantage.
The first play here is the type of poise Beck showed in college, as he sees the two sinking linebackers and works to his third read. Simple, but effective, especially when many young quarterbacks may have quickly progressed to their checkdown, instead of to the back side of the play.
On the second, Beck shows his awareness. Facing third-and-3, the Panthers took away all of his receivers with their cover-3 match coverage. But Beck knew where the first-down marker was and scrambled to get there.
“He worried about one play at a time and executing that play,” LaFleur said. “Going through your progressions, not making stuff up.”
Beck also showed nice accuracy throughout the night, with these two throws standing out. The second is particularly impressive, as Beck recognized the dropping linebacker’s position and placed the ball toward the ground, leading his receiver away from a potentially dangerous hit.
There were still a few plays where Beck’s middling arm strength showed up, as he floated some of his deep passes. Plus, he was rarely under pressure, which was a situation in which he struggled in college. But it was still an encouraging night after an inconsistent training camp.
The most impressive part of Bisontis’ performance came in the run game, where he showed the athleticism that made him a second-round pick.
LaFleur’s run game is likely to lean heavily on zone scheme runs, like these two. On both plays, Bisontis works a combination block, then gets into space and mauls a linebacker at the second level. That sense of timing, combined with his willingness and athleticism, gives him the tools to be an excellent run blocker.
It wasn’t all positive for Bisontis. There was one play where he failed to pick up a stunt, which aligns with members of the coaching staff repeatedly saying that he needs to adjust to the schematic complexities of the NFL game. And he occasionally got out-leveraged by defensive linemen who landed the first punch, taking advantage of his below-average arm length.
But more often than not, he showed the tools to make up for that deficiency.
Take this play for example. The defensive tackle lands his hands on Bisontis’ chest, but Bisontis has the strength to simply rip down on his right arm to dominantly win the rep.
Williams has been a surprise of training camp, entrenching himself as the second-string left tackle despite being a seventh-round pick. That’s particularly enticing given that the weakest link on the Cardinals’ offensive line is at right tackle. If Williams can continue his development, he could push for that role at some point this season.
The Hall of Fame game showed why he’s caught the eye of the coaching staff. There were still some technical flaws, especially in the passing game, where Williams occasionally got himself off balance.
But when asked about Williams earlier this week, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett pointed to his quick adjustment to the NFL.
“Mentally, he’s really picked it up,” Hackett said.
That showed up here, as Williams handled a stunt perfectly. He stayed with the edge rusher just long enough for left guard Hayden Conner to be in a good position to pick up that block (although Conner largely failed to do so), then trusted his above-average length to be able to get back out to the looping defensive tackle and seal him out of the play.
And Williams, like Bisontis, showed why he is a strong fit for this run scheme, repeatedly impressing on zone scheme runs.
The first play here is especially difficult, as Williams has to climb across the face of the defensive tackle and seal him to the back side of the run. The second play is a simpler assignment, but Williams aces it, completely moving the linebacker out of the picture.
Coming out of the draft, Williams’ athleticism was viewed as his defining trait, with technique issues pushing him into the seventh round. The goal, for the Cardinals, will be to continue molding that skill set into an all-around weapon for their offensive line.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Film review. 3 standouts from Arizona Cardinals preseason opener
Continue reading...
Some of that is, of course, on LaFleur and the coaching staff. But it’s also on the players, as plenty of young backups made an impression, suggesting that they could evolve into contributors this season.
Here are three of those standouts.
Quarterback Carson Beck
There’s no other place to start this article, after Beck finished his preseason debut 15-of-19 for 188 yards and a touchdown.
What stood out most was simply his ability to command the offense. The Panthers were running simple preseason schemes, without the disguises that Beck will see if he plays in the regular season, but Beck still had to take advantage.
The first play here is the type of poise Beck showed in college, as he sees the two sinking linebackers and works to his third read. Simple, but effective, especially when many young quarterbacks may have quickly progressed to their checkdown, instead of to the back side of the play.
On the second, Beck shows his awareness. Facing third-and-3, the Panthers took away all of his receivers with their cover-3 match coverage. But Beck knew where the first-down marker was and scrambled to get there.
“He worried about one play at a time and executing that play,” LaFleur said. “Going through your progressions, not making stuff up.”
Beck also showed nice accuracy throughout the night, with these two throws standing out. The second is particularly impressive, as Beck recognized the dropping linebacker’s position and placed the ball toward the ground, leading his receiver away from a potentially dangerous hit.
There were still a few plays where Beck’s middling arm strength showed up, as he floated some of his deep passes. Plus, he was rarely under pressure, which was a situation in which he struggled in college. But it was still an encouraging night after an inconsistent training camp.
Right guard Chase Bisontis
The most impressive part of Bisontis’ performance came in the run game, where he showed the athleticism that made him a second-round pick.
LaFleur’s run game is likely to lean heavily on zone scheme runs, like these two. On both plays, Bisontis works a combination block, then gets into space and mauls a linebacker at the second level. That sense of timing, combined with his willingness and athleticism, gives him the tools to be an excellent run blocker.
It wasn’t all positive for Bisontis. There was one play where he failed to pick up a stunt, which aligns with members of the coaching staff repeatedly saying that he needs to adjust to the schematic complexities of the NFL game. And he occasionally got out-leveraged by defensive linemen who landed the first punch, taking advantage of his below-average arm length.
But more often than not, he showed the tools to make up for that deficiency.
Take this play for example. The defensive tackle lands his hands on Bisontis’ chest, but Bisontis has the strength to simply rip down on his right arm to dominantly win the rep.
Left tackle Jayden Williams
Williams has been a surprise of training camp, entrenching himself as the second-string left tackle despite being a seventh-round pick. That’s particularly enticing given that the weakest link on the Cardinals’ offensive line is at right tackle. If Williams can continue his development, he could push for that role at some point this season.
The Hall of Fame game showed why he’s caught the eye of the coaching staff. There were still some technical flaws, especially in the passing game, where Williams occasionally got himself off balance.
But when asked about Williams earlier this week, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett pointed to his quick adjustment to the NFL.
“Mentally, he’s really picked it up,” Hackett said.
That showed up here, as Williams handled a stunt perfectly. He stayed with the edge rusher just long enough for left guard Hayden Conner to be in a good position to pick up that block (although Conner largely failed to do so), then trusted his above-average length to be able to get back out to the looping defensive tackle and seal him out of the play.
And Williams, like Bisontis, showed why he is a strong fit for this run scheme, repeatedly impressing on zone scheme runs.
The first play here is especially difficult, as Williams has to climb across the face of the defensive tackle and seal him to the back side of the run. The second play is a simpler assignment, but Williams aces it, completely moving the linebacker out of the picture.
Coming out of the draft, Williams’ athleticism was viewed as his defining trait, with technique issues pushing him into the seventh round. The goal, for the Cardinals, will be to continue molding that skill set into an all-around weapon for their offensive line.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Film review. 3 standouts from Arizona Cardinals preseason opener
Continue reading...
