CARDINALS NOTEBOOK
Elijhaa Penny waiting for his turn at running back
Since David Johnson suffered a serious wrist injury, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians has shown a willingness to spread the wealth at running back and go with the hottest hand in the moment.
Kerwynn Williams was the initial benefactor, getting the start in Week 2 against the Colts. But at halftime, Arians turned to Chris Johnson and liked the burst he saw out of the veteran. That earned Johnson the start Monday night against the Cowboys. But as the game progressed and the situation called for more passing plays, Arians changed things up again and relied mostly on Andre Ellington.
It remains to be seen who will get the lion’s share of the workload on Sunday against the visiting 49ers, but since Arians has been in such a giving mood, he was asked if he has considered giving fourth-stringer Elijhaa Penny a shot. More specifically, might he at least use Penny for one full offensive series to see what the second-year pro can do as the featured running back?
It could happen. Penny has been so solid in workouts and shown such great looks for Arizona’s defense by mimicking opposing teams’ running backs that it’s making Arians think it’s almost time to give Penny his due.
“He’s getting close to earning it,” Arians said. “He had a good preseason, but he’s still a little bit down the totem pole. If he got it, though, I’d have all the confidence in the world. The way he’s been – Ezekiel Elliott, and then he’ll be (Carlos) Hyde – he’s shown what he can do.”
Told of those comments, Penny, who has played in all three games – mostly on special teams but also on a handful of snaps in two-back sets on offense – flashed a smile.
“I know I’m on the team for a reason and I know that he (Arians) knows that once I get in there, I’ll be prepared to know what I’m doing,” he said.
Penny, who rushed for nearly 1,200 yards and scored a dozen touchdowns during his senior season at Idaho, said he hasn’t been on Arians’ “accountability board” once since the start of training camp for mental errors, missed assignments or mistakes. If true, that’s saying something.
“That was one thing I wanted to show, that I can be able to process the playbook and go out there and execute what I’ve got to do at the same time,” Penny said.
Good luck with that
Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers’ first-year head coach, spent part of his conference call this week with Arizona reporters like most opposing coaches usually do – speaking about the greatness of Cardinals veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
The 34-year-old is coming off a huge game against the Cowboys on Monday night, when he finished with a careerhigh-tying 13 receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown. But how do you prevent Fitzgerald from catching a lot of balls and making plays?
“Everyone’s struggled to do that,” Shanahan said. “You’ve got to get them off rhythm. You’ve got to do good on third down so they don’t stay on the field as long, limit their plays, try to make them more one-dimensional and you’ve got to get to the quarterback. If he’s going to hold it there, Larry’s going to eventually get open."
Injury report
Left guard Alex Boone (chest) was the only Cardinals player who didn’t practice on Thursday. Eight others were listed as limited, however, including a return to the injury report by defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche with a calf strain once again.
The others listed as limited were receivers John Brown (quadriceps) and J.J. Nelson (hamstring), tight end Jermaine Gresham (ribs), left tackles D.J. Humphries (knee) and John Wetzel (biceps), left guard Mike Iupati (triceps) and outside linebacker Chandler Jones (chest).
Inside linebacker Deone Bucannon (ankle) was a full participant in practice for a second consecutive day.
For the 49ers, linebacker Pita Taumoepenu (ankle) joined linebacker Reuben Foster (ankle) and safety Eric Reid (knee) among those who did not practice Thursday. Listed as limited: running back Carlos Hyde (hip), linebacker Brock Coyle (concussion), fullback Kyle Juszczyk (concussion) and safety Jaquiski Tartt (concussion).
Feelin’ no pain
Palmer has been sacked 11 times this season, tied for the third-most in the league. He's also been hit the most times overall – 27. He was asked if his body feels any different the day after a game whether he’s been sacked once or six times, like he was during Monday night’s 28-17 loss to the Cowboys.
“It’s never the number of times,” he said. “It’s just there’s always that one hit when you are really sore, where you just get caught kind of wrong or land wrong and then they land on top of you wrong. It’s always dependent on that and not on the number of hits or sacks.”
So did that happen at all against the Cowboys?
“No,” Palmer said. “I feel great.”