The Rise Up, See Red podcast

Cards Camp updates: August 7 with Howard Balzer

The Arizona Cardinals held their final open practice of training camp on Wednesday. Howard Balzer was there. In this update for the show, he talks about the outside linebacker position, the injuries and the new food options at State Farm Stadium.

Duration:: 16m
Broadcast on:: 08 Aug 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

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All the way to the, did we just hit a million order stage? Shopify's there to help you grow. Whether you're selling scented soap or offering outdoor outfits, Shopify helps you sell. Wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com/try. Go to Shopify.com/try now to grow your business, no matter what stage you're in. Shopify.com/try. (crowd chanting) - This is Howard Balzer, and welcome to this Cardinals Camp update for the Rise Up Sea Red podcast, the best hour of Cardinals Talk on the web. Well, it seems like a long time since I've done one of these that was Cardinals related after doing a pod from the airport in Phoenix last week, last Wednesday on the way to Canton for another glorious weekend at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And now back getting into the rotation again and getting into the routine of Cardinals Camp and skipped the little pod yesterday, but we'll kind of do a little double duty today with everything that's gone on in the last two days. And certainly a lot of things to cover as the Cardinals are breaking camp on Thursday. Yes, the end of training camp at State Farm Stadium will be on Thursday, the last practice on Wednesday for fans to watch. Thursday will be the final practice of training camp with no fans in attendance. Then there's a day off Friday, and of course the preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints at State Farm Stadium on Saturday. Late afternoons of five o'clock Arizona time start. For next week, the Cardinals will be traveling to Indianapolis for two days of practice on Wednesday and Thursday before playing the Colts on Saturday. And these joint practices go a long way in determining when the coaches decide who to play in games. And that's a big part of the decision that we learned on Tuesday that quarterback Kyler Murray will not play in not only Saturday against the Saints, but in any preseason game this summer. And so, Ganon wouldn't give us any details on anyone else. Anyone we would try to ask about, he just said case by case basis, including wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. You wonder on one level that the Cardinals might wanna get him just some snaps in an NFL game to get a feel of it, even though it's not game speed in the preseason. On the other hand, he'll be playing with quarterbacks Clayton Toon and Desmond Ritter that I can't recall. And I talked to a couple guys out there there every day who they can't recall, Kyler throwing anybody else throwing a pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. the entire summer. So it'll be interesting to see if he gets any snaps on Saturday against the Saints. How many of the starters will play for however long on Saturday? We'll have to wait and see, but I did check last year. Of course, that different season, different team, different set of circumstances. But in the first preseason game last year, these players did not play. Marquis Brown, Buddha Baker, James Connor, Kaiser White, DJ Humphreys, and Trey McBride. And of course, McBride wasn't a starter then, although Zach Hertz had been cleared to practice from his towards ACL. So we'll see if the number is higher. For this week, we're not getting any idea, not getting any information. So we probably won't find out until we see the game on Saturday against the Saints. A lot of things to catch up on a few at least. Of course, one of them, I hope, you know, if people haven't seen it, you know, take a look at the stories on cards wire about the new contract for saving Collins because I was out of town when it happened. But I, of course, saw all the reaction, "Oh, why are the Cardinals doing this? "Why are you giving them a contract extension now? "Why are you doing this?" I'll tell you, my question after seeing the details of the contract, which are different from how it was originally reported on one level, I'm thinking, why did saving Collins decide to sign now? Because he kind of tied himself up for two years and not at a whole lot of money when you consider what good players make in the NFL. And it's truly a reasonable contract for the Cardinals with the guaranteed money, which includes a $5.1 million signing bonus. But again, you can read all the details. I don't have to go into them here, but read it all and see what the ramifications are. He can earn some money with getting some sacks and some incentives. That's an interesting twist on the contract. But I think a big part of Collins deciding to stay is he likes it here. He likes what Jonathan Ganon is putting together. He has become somewhat of a leader. He loves the culture. And I think he'd like to be a part of this franchise turning it around. And I'm sure he feels that if he continues to ascend, hopefully ascend and truly add from the transition to outside linebacker last year, that after this season, maybe, but certainly after next year going into 2026 when there's no guaranteed money in this contract, there'll probably be another one then. And I'm sure he's probably banking on that rather than wondering and waiting to see what would happen as a free agent after this season is over. What will the Cardinals do at Edge? Everyone's all panicking about that. Oh, they want to get Yannick and gokway. Oh, or they want to get Hassan Redick. Or they will, I mean, just name the different guy, Matthew Judon of the Patriots, who'll be 32 years old on August 15th is in the last year of his contract and wants big, big money wherever he goes to play. So does that make sense for the Cardinals at this stage of things? Personally, I say no, it doesn't. Now, if you can maybe get in gokway, come in on a close to minimum contract with some incentives for sacks like Zaven Collins got. And of course, like the contract that Dwight Frini got nine seasons ago, well, maybe you take a shot and see what he's got left. But to spend money on an Edge rusher right now, I think doesn't make a whole lot of sense. There we go with that word again. And the other thing, just to point out at practice Wednesday, and I wrote about this the other day and mentioned it, that at practice today, Darius Robinson, the rookie defensive lineman, was getting some snaps on the Edge, as was inside linebacker, Mac Wilson, senior, who did some pass rushing for the Patriots last season. And we always have to remember, I know the Cardinals put out a depth chart this week and Jonathan Ganon kind of made lighter than say, I know you guys analyzed that all, but it really doesn't mean anything until Buffalo in week one. But the bottom line is, it almost doesn't matter who starts in the NFL anymore. Certainly at some positions, offensive line, in a lot of positions it does. But with the rotations that teams do, especially on defense, on the defensive line, I mean, heck, you could have some defensive matchup situations where Mac Wilson is on the field as an inside linebacker on base defense. And then perhaps depending on where things are, switches to a little edge, edge rushing when it's a known pass situation. So those are all the things that'll develop during the year. But I will say that if I said this once, I've said it a thousand times. Some people view pass rush in a vacuum as if nothing that happens around it matters. Well, a lot of things happen around it that matter, stopping the run. So you're not in second and three or third and two or whatever it might be. Getting teams in known pass situations and then having leads. I'd love to see a stat someday that shows how many sacks in the NFL come in the fourth quarter from teams that are leading in games. I will bet that there are quite a few. So we'll see how it goes. I mean, the carnal side marquee's Haynes, who's 30 years old and has had some moments in the league, certainly not going to be a difference maker lightly. They had a couple of guys for tryouts, Carl Lawson and Justin Hollins on Tuesday. Who knows what they can do. I mean, Hollins is 28 and Lawson is 29. They played a combined 18 games last season and had one sack. So those guys you're looking at to really make a difference. Funny thing is I saw someone on Twitter who put out a clip of Lawson just blowing by an offensive lineman to get a sack when he was with the Bengals. Said, "Who we look at this?" I said, "Yeah, yeah, look at this." It had to be at least four years ago 'cause 2020 was the last season that Carl Lawson played for the Bengals. So I say no thank you, build around the guys you have and just be creative. And if there is someone out there worth a shot, take it, but don't spend a lot of money on a pass rusher. So that was that. We saw a bunch of players who had missed some days, returned to practice this week. One of the keys of course was center yelled to Froholt who hurt that leg last, last Tuesday near the end of practice. He's been back this week. Zay Jones, the wide receiver back. Cornerback, Heathrow Clark and defensive lineman, Naikwon Jones, still out our cornerback, Max Melton and defensive lineman Justin Jones. Garrett Williams has missed a couple days of practice. He told Cardswire no biggie, no concern. Don't worry about it. I'm fine. And then Amari D. Mercado, who was listed as number two on the depth chart at running back and has gotten a lot of snaps with the first unit when James Conner isn't going for every down in practice. He left the field with a trainer on Tuesday and was seen afterward with a brace on his right shoulder extending across his torso. So believed to be a shoulder injury. And we'll see if that keeps him out for a little bit of time. So those are some of the headlines and some of the things that we've seen going on. But I have to end with this. I have to end with this. The Cardinals unveiled on Tuesday for media that wanted to see all the new food options there's going to be at games at State Farm Stadium. I would love to know who had the idea for a cotton candy burrito. Seriously? My big question is there's not a lot of kids that go to these games. Is there actually going to be an adult that buys this and eats it? I mean, when it says cotton candy burrito, the cotton candy takes the place of the tortilla. Yes, I'm not kidding you. And inside it, and it's big, our fruity pebbles, fruit loops, marshmallows, skittles, mini M&Ms, gummy bears and sprinkles. Really, my big question is does it come with a side on the side of insulin? I'd have to wonder about that. But like I said, I wonder what adult would buy that. So I had to end this with some commentary on the cotton candy burrito. I do have to mention this though, as an aside. There was an independent minor league baseball team in St. Louis that played, and they introduced something different in their food place numerous years ago, which believe it or not, I actually tried. It was a crispy cream cheeseburger. And it was a regular burger with some cheese on it. And then the bun, however, instead of being bred, was a cut in half crispy cream glazed donut. I tried it. It was actually pretty good. I don't know though, if I'll ever try the cotton candy burrito. That wraps up this Cardinals camp update from State Farm Stadium. This is Howard Balzer for the Rise Up Sea Red podcast. We'll be back again soon. - It is Ryan Seacrest here. 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