Arizona Cardinals Big Red Sheet - 2013 Preseason

03 Carson Palmer QB 6-5 235 (10) USC
05 Drew Stanton QB 6-3 243 Michigan State UFA
06 Caleb Ter Bush QB 6-5 225 Purdue
14 Ryan LIndley QB 6-4 230 22 San Diego State

The Hope
That Palmer has plenty left and stays healthy while providing veteran leadership and living up to the high expectations he had early in his career. That
Stanton proves to be a good backup and more than merely a place-holder. That Lindley becomes tougher mentally and more consistent.

The Fear
That Palmer gets injured or that age robs him of his mojo. That Stanton proves to be no better than a marginal QB. That Lindley isn't "the answer as our QBOF.

The Guess
Operating behind an improved offensive line and a more productive running attack under the guidance of brigher offensive coaching minds, our passing attack led by Palmer figures to be 25% better by default and 50% better if Palmer is everything he's cracked up to be. Stanton, at the very least, figures to be a decent game-manager who understands Arians' system.

Minicamp Tidbits
Palmer says he is taking no time off between Minicamp and Training Camp.

Running Backs:

34 Ryan Williams RB 5-9 212 Virginia Tech
28 Rashard Mendenhall 5-10 225 Illinois
37 William Powell 5-9 205 RB K-State UDFA
29 Alfonso Smith RB 6-1 208 23 R Kentucky
30 Korey Hall FB 6-0 236 (GB) Boise St
30 Stepfan Taylor RB 5-9 214 Stanfoed
38 Andre Ellington RB 5-9 199 Clemson

The Hope
That Mendenhall and Williams remain healthy, Williams provides us with a home-run threat and Mendenhall can bring it between the tackles. That Taylor plays faster than his timed speed and becomes as good as or better than Mendenhall between the tackles. That Ellington proves equal or better than Williams as a home run threat.

The Fear
That Williams and Mendenhall fall victim to the injury bug, that Taylor proves too slow and Ellington too fragile.

The Guess
You never know with RB's - sometimes they stay healthy, fuel a potent running attack and protect the ball. Sometimes they suffer nagging injuries, develop bad habits (like running too high, ignoring blockers or dancing in the hole) or fail to protect the ball. On face value, it looks like we have enough depth (at both inside and outside running positions) to weather the storm, and the running attack (which has nowhere to go but up) figures to be more productive with better blocking upfront. As with the passing attack, more intense coaching should pay off especially in such areas as red-zone offense, screens and blitz pickup.

Minicamp Tidbits
The CBA prevented Stepfan Taylor from working out with the team until he graduates Stanford, but he'll return to work with the rookies during their final week. Stanford alum, Andrew Luck had no difficulty dealing with the late graduation date a year ago, and Arians doesn't expect any problems with Taylor: "His thing will be picking up the blitzes, but he's a bright young man and he's already had exposure to it all. He knows what the rules are."

Wide Receivers:

11 Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt, 6-3 223 (D1
12 Andre Roberts WR 5-10¾ 195 Citadel (D3)
15 Michael Floyd WR 6-3 225 22 Notre Dame
17 LaRon Byrd 6-4 220 22 R Miami FL
18 Kerry Taylor WR 6-0 200 Arizona State
07 Mike Thomas 5-8 198 Arizona
16 Jarrett Dillard WR 5-11 190 Rice
10 Robert Gill WR 5-10 175 Texas State
19 Ryan Swope WR 6-0 205 Texas A&M
07 Tyler Shaw WR 6-0 180 NW Missouri St
13 Jarod Brown WR 6-2 205 Clemson
19 Nick Edwards WR 6-3 200 Eastern Washington
85 Dan Buckner WR 6-4 215 Arizona
01 Robby Toma 5-9 185 Notre Dame
89 Charles Hawkins WR 5-0 180 Southern
01 Michael Rios WR 6-2 203 Marist

The Hope
That everyone stays healthy, and there's good chemistry betweeen our receivers and Carson Palmer. That Floyd improves to become a beast as our #2, Roberts feels more comfortable in the slot and that at least one of our young blazers will step up to be a secondary-stretcher in a #4 or #5 role.

The Fear
Injuries. Lacks of chemistry between Carson and his receivers.

The Guess
A pretty good unit throughout the years has become deeper in young talent. Floyd has looked good this spring. Palmer is a huge upgrade over Kolb, Stanton and Hoyer. The new coaching staff has made chemistry between QB and receivers more of a hands-on priority. With a better QB and OL along with a more knowledgeable and imaginative play-callers, our receivers should be happy campers.

MinicampTidbits
Swope remains out with concussion symptoms. Nothing new to report...Arians wants Byrd to be more consistent. "he has talent and a good future but he's got to be more consistent."...Brown, Gill and Hawkins are all playing well and pushing Byrd. Add Dillard to that mix. Fitz spent a lot of time picking Tom Moore's brain during the offseason. Fitz doesn't want Cardinal receivers to think of the time between the final minicamp and training camp as "time off." Expect more Cardinal receivers to attend Fitz's legendary receivers' camp in Minnesota (or spending time working out with Palmer in California). According to Fitz: “Coach Arians... tells me there will be a lot more opportunities to make plays inside and it will give my teammates like Andre Roberts and Michael (Floyd) and Rob Housler and guys like that better matchups....” According to D Urban, Brown, Hawkins and Gill made positive impressions. Cards added smurfy Thomas for speed, and cut smurfy Toma and Gill the next day.

Tight Ends:

30 Korey Sperry TE 6-5 265 (4) Colorado St
87 Jeff King 6-3 260 Va. Tech (Panthers) PUP
84 Rob Housler 6-5 250 Florida Atlantic
81 Jim Dray 6-4¾ 251 (D7) Stanford
46 Mickey Shuler Jr. 6-4 247 Penn State
80 Alex Gottleib 6-4 255 (D7) William & Mary
46 Kyle Auffrey 6-5 254 (R) New Hampshire
86 DC Jefferson 6-6 260 Rutgers

The Hope
That Housler stays healthy and becomes the seam-buster we all hope he'll turn out to be. That King stays healthy enough to be our "6th offensive lineman" when called upon. That Jefferson's technique catches up to his physical potential. That Arians can once again make the TE an important part of our passing attack

The Fear
That Housler and King can't stay healthy. That none of our TE's pose much of a receiving threat. That lack of talent at TE leaves our QB's exposed.

The Guess
If I had to roll dice, I'd think we gotta problem. On face value, the TE position is our Achilles Heel. Fortunately, part of this can be covered up by using more multi-receiver looks or bringing in an offensive lineman as our 2nd TE in short-yardage situations. Cards added Shuler in late July.

Minicamp Tidbits
King says there will be more two tight end sets in Arians’ offense, which includes lining up the position in the backfield, out wide, in the slot or in motion. According to Arians: “I'm not a fullback guy. I never have been. I want tight ends who are multiple. If you are a defensive coordinator and I send a fullback in and take out a tight end, I will get your best call for that. If I have two tight ends, and you don't know if one will play fullback or one could split out wide, you're going to give me a down and distance call. You don't have a specific call." Arians has had nice things to say about Housler and the threat he poses in the catching game. 7/29 - Cards picked up Mickey Shuler's kid.

Offensive Linemen:

75 Levi Brown T 6-5 323 Penn St (D1)
65 Eric Winston 6-7 302 T Miami (FL)
63 Lyle Sendlein C (6-2, 305) -Texas (UDFA)
71 Daryl Colledge G 6-4 308 Boise St. FA Pack
61 Johnathan Cooper OG 6-2 311 NC
78 Earl Watford OG 6-3 300 James Madison
64 Senio Kelemete G 6-4 301 21 R Washington
70 Bobby Massie T 6-6 316 22 R Mississippi
76 Nate Potter T 6-6 300 23 R Boise St.
73 Chilo Rachal G 6-5 323 5 USC (Bears, Niners)
67W Deveric Gallington C 6-3 315 Texas Tech
72 Kyle Quinn C 6-4 300 Arizona
66 Scott Wedige C 6-4 310 R Northern Illinois
68 Adam Bice C 6-4 302 Akron UDFA
74 Paul Fanaica 6-5 327 ASU
69 Mike Gibson C-G 6-4 305 California
60 Joe Caporiglio 6-6 315 Colorado St
62 Jamal Johnson-Webb 6-6 306 Wyoming

The Hope
That Levi is finally healthy and can play to the level he was playing before he got injured. That Massie and Potter continue to stay on their upward development track and that Potter has become bigger and stronger. That Cooper is good enough to start andquickly becomes a top 15 pass blocker. That Watford proves to be more shelf-ready than expected. That Colledge really isn't as bad as many Cardinal followers say he is. That Sendlein stays healthy. That Rachal proves to be a lot better than was Snyder. That one other rookie offensive lineman pleasantly surprises us. That out of this hodge-podgeof 13 linemen emerges a 5-man unit (plus depth) with the chemistry needed to protect Palmer and Stanton and open holes for our four RB's

The Fear
That Colledge truly is a bust. That Levi either can't stay healthy or play effectively. That neither Cooper or Watford is ready. That (God forbid) Sendlein goes down. That, in the end, our OL is as big a mess as it was a year ago. Is Rachal really "Snyder-Lite" as some fans claim he is?

The Guess
Assuming the breaks fall evenly, our offensive line should be better than a year ago - both depthwise and in terms of overall talent. Additional coaching-attention should help insure that our current linemen get better. The addition of Cooper, Watford, Massie, Potter and Kelemete over the past 2 years should give our coaching staff something to work with.

Minicamp Tidbits:
Cooper's lining up at LG with the starters. Prelim starting OL - L Brown (Potter subbing for now)/Cooper/Sendlein/Colledge/Massie. Potter and Massie are both seeing time at both tackle positions, in order to bolster their versatility. Nice unofficial comments about Watford. Johnson-Webb is on D Urban's list of youngsters who have made a positive impression. 7/27 - Cards added Winston. He and Massie will battle it out to start at RT, while Levi Brown and Potter duke it out on the other side. No plans (as of now) to flip flop tackles from left to right.

Defensive Linemen:

93 Calais Campbell DE 6-8 283 Miami (D2)
79 David Carter DE 6-5 300 UCLA
90 Darnell Dockett DT-DE 6-3 292 Florida St. (D3)
98 Frostee Rucker DE 6-3 280 (9) US
92 Dan Williams NT 6-2 327 Tennessee (D1)
96 Ronald Talley DE 6-3 286 Delaware
62R Jonathan Mathis DT 6-2 300 Texas A&M
95 Ricky Lumpkin NT 6-4 306 Kentucky
60 Everette Thompson 6-6 272 R Washington - Reserve Futures
62R Jonathan Mathis DT 6-2 300 Texas A&M
67 Padric Scott NT 6-0 304 Florida A&M
91 Matt Shaughnessy DE/OLB 6-5 285 Wisconsin

The Hope
Good health to everyone. That, under Bowles, Dockett and Campbell will thrive as gamebreakers (instead of merely holding the door open for LB's to make plays). That Dan Williams will become "the man" in the middle and that Carter, Lumpkin or Scott provide us with enough quality depth. That Rucker and Shaughnessy are close to being clones of Dockett and Campbell.

The Fear
Injuries. Lack of bulk in the middle behind Williams. That Shaughnessy and Rucker can't bring it when they replace Calais and Darnell in rotation.

The Guess
Scary stuff - If either Calais, Dockett or Williams go down, we may have a problem (because Rucker and Williams are unproven). Carter should be OK, but all three NT backups weigh 306 pounds or less.

Minicamp Tidbits
Dockett messing around with a mesh face-guard...Card coaches like Rucker's veteran leadership. Scott was mentioned by D Urban as one of the youngsters who made a positive impression.

Linebackers:

58 Daryl Washington ILB 6-1¾ 230 (D2) TCU

50 O Brien Schofield 6-2 230 R Wisconsin
94 Sam Acho LB 6-2 257 Texas
56 Reggie Walker, LB 6-0 238 Kansas State
55 Karlos Dansby 6-4 250 (10th) Auburn
59 Zack Nash LB 6-4 260 22 R Sacramento State
52 Colin Parker LB 6-1 223 22 R Arizona State
97 Lorenzo Alexander LB 6-1 244 (6) California
51 Kevin Minter ILB 5116 246 LSU
54 Jasper Brinkley ILB 6-1 252 (4) South Carolina
44 Kenny Rowe 6-3 232 OLB Oregon
53 John Abraham 6-4 263 OLB South Carolina
57 Alex Okafor DE/OLB 6-5 264 Texas
53 Tim Fugger OLB 6-4 250 Vanderbilt
48 Dan Giordano OLB 6-4 260 Cincinnati PUP
45 Kenny Demen ILB 6-1 242 Michigan
47 Korey Jones ILB 6-2 233 Wyoming

The Hope
Dansby and Brinkley step in for Washington and Lenon early and provide solid inside run support and better-than-decent short-area pass coverage. Minter shows everyone why he was rated the top or top-two ILB in this year's draft. Acho and Schofield stay healthy and provide adequate if not more-than-adequate edge-rushing support. Washington returns for Game 5 and remains clean throughout this and future seasons. Alexander, Brinkley and Okafor provide solid depth. At least one youngster turns out to be a pass rushing fool.

The Fear
Brinkley turns out to be mediocre. Washington falls off the wagon. We have no outside pass rush. Injuries can quickly turn a deep unit into tissue paper.

The Guess
We'll get by for the first four games with Brinkley playing next to Dansby and backed up by Minter. After that, having Washington playing next to Dansby inside with Minter and Brinkley available in rotation is a nice luxury. But things aren't as rosy outside. Schofield and Acho have proved in the past that they can get the job done, but Schofield's durability is scary. Okafor and Alexander provide nice second-echelon outside depth, but the Cards lack an elite outside pass rusher (& frankly, we need 2). Maybe we'll get lucky and one or more of our rookies will step up.

Minicamp Tidbits
In direct proportion to his increased exposure as a position player, Cards are scaling back Alexander's special teams activities (despite his being a special teams Pro Bowl player with the Redskins). According to BA - "He's what I call a baller. When he's on the field, he goes 100 miles per hour. Football means a lot to him, he's a class person off the field, he's great in the locker room and he's been a productive player when he's had his opportunities...I felt he'd be great in our locker room as a leader and what he brings as a relentless football player." ...Arians also singled out Reggie Walker for outstanding play in the FanFest minicamp training session. Minter's seeing considerable action with the 2nd unit. 7/27 - Cards signed elite edge rusher Abraham.

Defensive Backs:

21 Patrick Peterson CB 6-1 219 UNC
49 Rashad Johnson S 5-11 203 Alabama
25 Jerraud Powers CB 5-10 187 (4) Auburn
20 Antoine Cason CB 6-196 (5) Arizona
31 Justin Bethel S 6-0 190 21 R Presbyterian
23 Jamell Fleming CB 5-11 206 22 R Oklahoma
39 James Sanders 5-10 210 Fresno St (FA7)
37 Yeremiah Bell S 6-0 205 (9) Eastern kentucky
32 Tyrann Mathieu CB 5086 186 LSU
27 Jonathan Amaya S 6-2 205 (3) Nevada Reno
26 Curtis Taylor S 6-2 212 (2) LSU
35 Javier Arenas CB 5-9 197 (4) Alabama
22 Brian McCann CB 5-11 (3) 185 SMU
43 Ronnie Yell CB 5-10 188 SJ State
39 Prentice Waggner CB 6-2 189 Tennessee
42 Josh Hill CB 5-10 203 California
36 Tony Jefferson S 5-11 212 Oklahom
40 Pat Tillman, S Arizona State "Forever"

The Hope
That we stay healthy. That PP21, Powers, Cason and Arenas give us enough firepower at CB to match up with elite multi-receiver NFL West passing attacks. That Mathieu stays clean & focus and can give us the freaky game-breaking capability at FS or out of the slot that he's known for. That Father Time leaves Bell alone for another year or two. That the tandem or Bell and Johnson can adequately replace the loss of A-Dub and Kerry Rhodes. That Tony Jefferson proves he should have been drafted in the mid-rounds. That Justin Bethel finds a home in the Cardinal secondary. That Jamell Fleming regains his mojo.

The Fear
Injuries. That none of our corners opposite Peterson prove to be up for the job. That Bell has lost a step or two. That Johnson doesn't maintain the caliber of play he attained by late-season. That our secondary gets overwhelmed by elite passing offenses. That the wheels come off for Tyrann Mathieu.

The Guess
Injuries figure to be an inevitable factor, but we have plenty of warm bodies and probably enough quality depth (The tougher question may be "who do we cut")? With PP21 a fixture at one corner, a key question figures to be: "Are we better off at the other corner with Cason. Powers or Arenas than we were with William Gay?" (Answer logically figures to be a resounding "Yes")! What about safety? When he was with the Jets, Bell was every bit the hitter that A-Dub was. But will age cause his effectiveness to fall off. I happen to be partial to Kerry Rhodes (& felt he should have been our MVP two years ago) and am not sold on Rashad Johnson's ability to fully replace him. Maybe Bethel (if they stop trying to make him a CB) or Jefferson can make a push for playing time at safety.

Minicamp Tidbits
Mathieu is seeing action with the 2nd team both as a safety and slot-corner. Peterson and Arenas had interceptions during 2-minute drill sequences.

Specialty Teams:

04 Jay Feely K 510 208 Michigan(Jets)
02 Dan Carpenter 6-2 228 Montana
09 Dave Zastudil P 6-3 220 (FA-9) Ohio U
02 Will Batson P 6-3 210 No. Alabama
82 Mike Leach, LS, 6-2 220 William & Mary (FA Broncos)

The Hope
That Zastudil, Feely and Leach stay healthy and play to last year's standards.

The Fear
Injuries.

The Guess
Fingers are crossed, but let's get real - show me any 53 man roster that's two-deep in kickers, punters or snappers.

Minicamp Tidbits
BA's "body language" suggests a degree of disatisfaction with Feely. 8/21 - Cards added Carpenter to compete with Feely

Practice Squad:

Preseason

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