RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesTwo weeks of training camp are down and, gradually, the Arizona Cardinals are beginning to look like a fully formed version of themselves. Jacoby Brissett is back in the fold, as is Paris Johnson Jr. On defense, Josh Sweat and Garrett Williams are on the way toward returns.
Plus, the pads are on and preseason is here, with the Hall of Fame game on Thursday, Aug. 6 and a trip to face the Las Vegas Raiders seven days later. Experimentation, as Mike LaFleur says, is mostly in the rearview mirror. This portion of camp is about the Cardinals refining strengths.
So, here are five takeaways from the second week of training camp.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is hitting his stride
Remember the panic about Marvin Harrison Jr.’s (admittedly ugly) drops earlier in training camp? That feels like a relic of the past now.
Throughout training camp, he’s consistently made easy work of cornerbacks like Denzel Burke and Sean Murphy-Bunting. He’s even gotten the better of Will Johnson more often than not.
And now, he’s hauling in passes at the end of those routes. Earlier in the week, he made a spectacular toe-tapping grab after beating Murphy-Bunting on an out route. A few days later, he smoked Burke on a double move before hauling in a diving catch at the end of it for big yardage. He only had one down performance all week, going without a catch on Sunday, Aug. 2 as the overall passing game struggled.
Those performances have helped Harrison outpace Michael Wilson in targets (30 to 23) and catches (26 to 20) — although it’s worth noting Trey McBride still leads the way in both categories (26 catches on 35 targets).
But it’s not the numbers that stand out. It’s how fast Harrison looks.
LaFleur had an interesting explanation for that. He said that his goal as a play-caller is to get Harrison into positions where he can go any direction at the top of his route. That way, Harrison can lean into one of his strengths, which is making every route look the same to the cornerbacks.
“When we can get him some access and protect his route stem a little bit, he's got great knowledge of how these routes play off of each other,” LaFleur said.
Easy to see why Cardinals paid Brissett
Brissett’s re-integration to the first-team offense hasn’t been without its hitches. He struggled on Sunday, Aug. 2, throwing a pair of interceptions — one because the ball was late to come out, one because he misread a linebacker in coverage.
But as a whole, the offense looks much sharper with Brissett back behind center.
Consider their other quarterback options. Gardner Minshew has had an uneventful camp, completing the simple passes without any highlight moments. Carson Beck has had a mixed camp, interspersing some downfield success with far too many ugly mistakes.
Compared to those backups, Brissett has been able to access all areas of the field with much more consistency. His best moment came on Monday, Aug. 3, when he dropped a gorgeous deep ball into Harrison’s hands in a two-minute drill. But it’s not about one moment; it’s about consistently opening up the downfield passing game.
Now, you can argue against Brissett’s pay raise on a financial basis — the Cardinals sacrificed future financial flexibility for a player unlikely to lead them near the playoffs this season. But there’s no doubt that Brissett is their best option at the position.
Intriguing use of Jeremiyah Love
On the ground, the split between Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier remains effectively even. Allgeier has taken the first reps with the first-team offense on all but one day, but Love has rotated in shortly thereafter, keeping their overall carry totals nearly identical.
Love, though, appears to have a more expanded role than Allgeier in the passing game. Allgeier might catch some checkdowns here and there, but the Cardinals intentionally use Love as a receiver, often after motioning him into a slightly wider alignment.
It’s not quite a full route tree — Love hasn’t yet run any deep routes in 11-on-11 drills — but angle routes, out routes and curls are all in his repertoire already. And, of course, he’s an option as a checkdown. That’s encouraging for a rookie in his second week of camp.
Defense winning battle of the trenches
As ever in training camp, one group’s success could be framed as another group’s failings.
That’s certainly the case up front for the Cardinals. The offensive line has struggled to both pass protect and run block. The defensive line — maligned all offseason for its lack of high-end talent — has been menacing. Both those things are true. Which one proves to matter? We’ll find out when the season begins.
“One guy can have a quick win, and it can just totally derail the offensive play, whether it's the run or the pass game,” LaFleur said. “So I think that whole unit has done a good job.”
On defense, Darius Robinson, Eku Leota and Baron Browning have been among the standouts. On offense, many of the issues have come on the right side, where Isaiah Adams and Elijah Wilkinson are searching for their footing.
For now, the starting five of Paris Johnson Jr., Isaac Seumalo, Hjalte Froholdt, Adams and Wilkinson appears to be entrenched. But if their struggles translate to the regular season, young players like Chase Bisontis, Jon Gaines, Jayden Williams and Josh Fryar could get their opportunities. All four have seen sporadic snaps with the starting offense already.
Andrew Wingard is the starting safety
Let’s wrap this up with a depth chart note.
Andrew Wingard — whom the Cardinals signed to a one-year, $3.0 million deal from Jacksonville this offseason — is the starting safety. He’s listed as such on the unofficial depth chart alongside Budda Baker, and he plays that role in nearly every day of 11-on-11 drills.
“It’s clear, as soon as he stepped in, this guy’s a football player and stands for what we’re about,” defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said. “Play style, execution, taking the ball away. He’s made plays. ...
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