Cardinals working on roles at DE, ILB

After four days of training camp, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has seen enough out of his team to know it’s retained most of everything it learned during offseason workouts, that some players have stepped up their game, and that mistakes are still going to happen regardless of the work.

That’s usually what annoys coaches the most. Clearly, it’s what got under Kingsbury’s skin when he met with reporters before the start of Sunday’s practice at State Farm Stadium, the team’s second fully-padded workout in a row.

“Yeah, I think first and foremost, the pre-snap penalties,” he said. “We’ve got to eliminate those, whether it’s false starts or jumping offsides. And then we’ve got to be able to practice staying off the ground. I think we’ve way too many bodies on the ground and that’s when people get hurt. So those will be a point of emphasis today.”

The team is off on Monday, and Kingsbury said he will spend the day meeting with coaches and scouts to determine how the Cardinals will proceed going into their second week of camp. Part of the dialogue will include player evaluations, as well as mapping out some possible changes to the daily drills and practice format.

“It will be a good day for us to see where we’re at, what do we want to tweak, what do we want to change and go from there,” Kingsbury said.

Here are five areas surrounding the team that we’ll be focusing on as the Cardinals enter Week 2 of camp:

Who assumes Nkemdiche’s role?

If you remember, the Cardinals moved Nkemdiche from defensive tackle to defensive end to better fit their new 3-4 base defense. But on Saturday, the team moved Nkemdiche completely out of the organization, releasing him a day before they would have had to pay him a $400,000 roster bonus.

That’s not why they cut him, of course. He wasn’t close to returning from a surgically-repaired knee and he reported to camp out of shape. Even if healthy, he only projected to be a backup this year. That, coupled with off-the-field issues and a general lack of passion for the game and commitment to trying to get better, is what ultimately made him expendable.

“It’s just a performance-based business and we decided as an organization it was best for us,” Kingsbury explained on Sunday. “We wish him well and hope he gets a fresh start somewhere else. That’s really all it came down to.”

Free-agent veteran Darius Philon will be the starter, but the Cardinals will rely on a rotation of defensive ends to fill the position. One player to keep your eye on there is rookie Zach Allen, the thirdround pick from Boston College.

“We had him evaluated very high in the draft,” Kingsbury said. “Character through the roof, high motor, tough, smart, does everything you want. He was incredibly productive in college and you’re starting to see that now. He’s picked things up quick and he’s definitely going to have a role with that group.”

What ILB stands out in Reddick’s absence?

Haason Reddick will be sidelined for at least three weeks and possibly longer as he recovered from arthroscopic knee surgery, which opens a door in the starting lineup – at least for the time being – next to Jordan Hicks. The player getting most of the first-team reps in Reddick’s place thus far has been second-year pro Dennis Gardeck, who has looked good.

“He’s a guy who really showed up in the spring, flying around,” Kingsbury said. “He made a name for himself and this organization on special teams last year and he’s really stepped up in some position work. Everybody’s excited to see what he can do with extra reps and going with some of the ‘ones’ at times.”

Others will get looks, too, including Zeke Turner, Tanner Vallejo and Donte Booker, once he gets activated off the physically unable to perform list.

“The inside ’backer group is very, very deep,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “We’ve got some young guys, they all run 4.5 or 4.6, and they all grind. … That’s one spot we’re really deep at. We’ve got guys who can play who are just waiting to show what they can do. So, I’m excited to watch Dennis and all those guys.”

Murray will be allowed to keep freelancing

Kyler Murray, the Cardinals’ rookie starting quarterback, helped build his persona by utilizing his unique skill set to change things up on a whim and react to what the defense gives him. Sometimes, that means throwing from bizarre arm angles a la Patrick Mahomes or pulling the ball down, scrambling out of trouble and throwing across his body to the other side of the field.

He had such a pass intercepted during red-zone work this weekend, but Kingsbury wasn’t discouraged about that particular play at all. In fact, he encourages Murray to keep pushing the envelope and trying new things.

“Yeah, no doubt,” he said. “You want to see what you can get away with in training camp, particularly the first week. He’s made plays like that his whole life, and so you’re not going to reel him in completely. But hey, OK, let’s not learn from that particular down there. It’s third down, we know we’ve got a field goal. That can’t happen.

“But he knows what he can do and what he can’t do, and the speed of the game is something he’s going to continually get adjusted to.”

Will shorter drills, less heavier practices curtail injuries?

That’s the hope of Kingsbury and his staff. Running back David Johnson referenced it following practice on Sunday, noting it can’t help but limit the needless strains and soft-tissue problems that often come with extra work and longer period of sustained contact.

Kingsbury made it a point shortly after being hired that he would include regular breaks during team meetings, position meetings and film study as a means to keep everyone mentally fresh and that goes for on-field work as well.

“He’s saving legs,” Johnson said. “Practices and stuff, the way he structures it, guys aren’t getting so banged up with hamstring and sore legs. He’s very specific to it.”

Kingsbury is also mindful of giving his veteran players regular days off to keep them healthy for the start of the season. Six such players, for instance, have already been excused from at least one full day of practice participation – Larry Fitzgerald, Patrick Peterson, Chandler Jones, Terrell Suggs, Corey Peters and Marcus Gilbert.

How’s the competition going at center?

Although Kingsbury keeps insisting that the Cardinals actually have “two” starting centers in veteran A.Q. Shipley and second-year man Mason Cole, it’s been Shipley who’s been getting the lion’s share of the snaps with the firstteam offense. It will be interesting to see if Cole starts to get more reps entering the second week of camp or if things stay as they have been.

Returning from a torn ACL he suffered during the first week of camp a year ago, Shipley has the sentimental vote among his peers and it’s clear that Kingsbury has a soft spot for him, too.

“Having been here since January, day one, he was in the building,” Kingsbury said. “I don’t think I saw him leave the building all offseason. He’s worked his tail off. Great leader, great player and you’re definitely excited for him because you know how hard he’s worked. He’s a veteran who’s played a lot of football, so there’s an air of confidence he carries with him.

“He sees things quickly, he diagnoses things quickly, and I think that’s a big strength of his. It’s big (for Murray). We feel like we have, like I’ve said earlier, two starting centers. So, to have two guys that can get things solved and get it diagnosed quickly really helps a young quarterback.”