The Good And Not So Good From Day 9 of Cardinals Training Camp

GLENDALE — The Arizona Cardinals are back to work.

After an off-day on Saturday, the Cardinals returned to State Farm Stadium for practice No. 9 of training camp — which was exclusively open to season ticket and club seat members. GM Monti Ossenfort and HC Mike LaFleur spoke to the crowd before practice, which spanned for roughly two hours.

The good — and not so good — as the Cardinals got back into the mix.

Good: Walter Nolen III Back And Healthy

The Cardinals (and their fans) got a massive scare as Walter Nolen III went to the locker room this past Friday with an apparent injury. The rest day did some good apparently, as Nolen was back in action.

"Just a little uncomfort. He was not comfortable in that knee that he had an issue with a year ago, so checked it all out. Everything looked good, and he'll be ready to roll today," LaFleur told reporters.

Nolen needs to be healthy if Arizona will make any noise this season in the trenches.

Not So Good: Trey Benson's Absence

Benson appears to be on the roster bubble as preseason play gets underway, and his full-blown absence from today's practice was interesting. LaFleur, who spoke with reporters before practice, didn't mention Benson wouldn't be present.

Bam Knight, who Benson is battling with to stay on the 53, got some solid run with the second team today.

Good: Jacoby Brissett to Trey McBride Connection

This is probably the strongest duo in Arizona, as McBride continually has been targeted and routinely makes plays before and after the catch. Brissett, rather wisely, is feeding his best pass-catching option while still spreading the ball around elsewhere.

A year after McBride had a historically strong season in the box score, the connection between him and Brissett continues to grow.

Not So Good: Jacoby Brissett's Interceptions

Brissett is a quarterback who typically won't turn the ball over, knowing when to pick and choose his chances to push the ball while managing the offense and keeping things on track.

Except today.

Brissett, who hadn't turned the ball over all of training camp, threw not one but two interceptions today at practice. One was undercut by Sean Murphy-Bunting on the right sideline while Cody Simon sank in under-coverage on the next.

A truly uncharacteristic day from Brissett, one that doesn't happen often.

Good: Carson Beck's Best Day Yet

Beck has been largely up-and-down as a passer this training camp, but such are expectations for a rookie quarterback — especially one taken in the third round.

Beck's intermediate/deep accuracy has mostly been all over the place while he's relegated most other passes to checkdowns. However, just a couple of days removed from a practice where he pieced together an impressive two-minute drill, Beck had arguably his best showing of camp.

Beck laced numerous throws through coverage in both team drills and red zone work, flashing the ability that made him an exciting piece when the Cardinals took him.

Are we seeing Beck make strides?

Quick Note-Cards

Chase Bisontis continues to struggle with strength in pass protection. He did get some run with the starting unit today for a series while Isaac Seumalo stepped out and Isaiah Adams moved to left guard.
Andrew Billings particularly looked strong in one-on-ones.
Jeremiyah Love stepped up to the plate multiple times in pass pro against Walter Nolen and Budda Baker. He also was on the field first over Tyler Allgeier before the two split reps.
Eku Leota took snaps with the first-team defense today.

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What's Next

The Cardinals are back to work on Monday, Aug. 3 at 4:00 PM local time at State Farm Stadium.

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