Cardinals Cover 2 - Love The Depth At Running Back
Ep. 1012 - It’s a good problem to have. Especially given what the Cardinals went through at running back last season. The additions of Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier have increased the depth and significantly - at least on paper - upgraded the position. Now how everything shakes out once the team breaks training camp is anyone's guess. Craig Grialou and Zach Gershman go in depth about running back, including how head coach Mike LaFleur may divvy up snaps and carries among the different players. From there, Craig and Zach turn their attention to what the Cardinals did to address the run defense, specifically signing Andrew Billings and Roy Lopez in free agency. It’s a run-heavy show, Bird Gang.
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Speaker 1: Gotta be able to run the ball and stop a
Speaker 1: team from running the ball. God Zach Erstman, Whimberg Gang,
Speaker 1: same topic, two different conversations. One is a loaded running
Speaker 1: back room with the additions of Jeremiah Love and Tyler Aljier.
Speaker 1: How do you split the carries? Two is well defensively,
Speaker 1: how do you stop what happened last year? Defending the run?
Speaker 1: At Cardinals Cover two? And it starts now. Welcome to
Speaker 1: Cardinals Cover two? Who to Baker?
Speaker 2: What Heart?
Speaker 1: What rent?
Speaker 2: This guy's unbelievable?
Speaker 3: Cardinals Cover two is presented by Hyundai, proud partner of
Speaker 3: the Arizona Cardinals, and by Arizona Cardinals Podcast. Visit Azycardinals
Speaker 3: dot Com slash podcast pop right.
Speaker 2: Up the five hit the ends up for the Cardinal touchdown.
Speaker 2: Drey McBride, he's been an absolute monster.
Speaker 3: Here's Craig Grioler.
Speaker 1: So the streak continues. M would you like to explain
Speaker 1: to the Bird Gang what I'm referring to? Because you
Speaker 1: got a big smile on your face. You and I
Speaker 1: haven't even spoken about this before we record, but you
Speaker 1: know exactly what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I do know exactly what you were talking about.
Speaker 2: Because it was all I was thinking about on Monday
Speaker 2: afternoon as the Bird Gang and the Loyal Cover two
Speaker 2: listeners know, I'm a big Phillies fan, and every single
Speaker 2: time I've gone to the Diamondbacks game, the Diamondbacks have
Speaker 2: beaten my Philadelphia Phillies. And then I started to think
Speaker 2: back to all the other times I've been to Diamondbacks games.
Speaker 2: I'm like, wait a minute, They've won every single time,
Speaker 2: and I've gone to a few games over this what
Speaker 2: has felt like the summer here, even though it's been
Speaker 2: since April, to a few games this year, and I
Speaker 2: realize my streak over the last three years of living
Speaker 2: out here in Arizona is now twelve and zero at
Speaker 2: d Backs games. So the it was eleven and oh
Speaker 2: going into Monday afternoon, and then once Jeremiah loved throughout
Speaker 2: the ceremonial first pitch, which was a strike, should have
Speaker 2: known that it was all but a win at that
Speaker 2: point because the Dbacks came away victorious.
Speaker 1: Beat the Angels on Monday. So this streak, I think
Speaker 1: this is now up there with Joe Demaggio's hit streak.
Speaker 1: It's close the undertakers Russell Mania streak.
Speaker 2: Don't bring me brock Lessner.
Speaker 1: So I believe this might be the third most impressive
Speaker 1: streak that I can think of, at least off the
Speaker 1: top of my head.
Speaker 2: It is a good streak. We would have talked about
Speaker 2: the next win streak if it wasn't for the one
Speaker 2: a loss. But we don't need to talk about the
Speaker 2: next because, as I said, I am a Philly fan,
Speaker 2: so that one hurt. But you know, I'll take it
Speaker 2: whatever the d Backs need from me, except for the
Speaker 2: September series against the Phillies because now I will not
Speaker 2: be attending because I want the Phillies to win. Yeah,
Speaker 2: whatever they need for me, I'll take one of those
Speaker 2: like sixteen game package ticket packages. And if I lose once,
Speaker 2: forgive me. Okay, this twelve and oh was impressive.
Speaker 1: That is very impressive. And longtime Diamondbacks fan Cody Fincher
Speaker 1: over there on the other side of glass would like
Speaker 1: to see you at ten more last night.
Speaker 2: Did they lose last night?
Speaker 1: They did?
Speaker 2: Yeah? That stinks and maybe I should have been there.
Speaker 1: You were there. I was there on Monday as well.
Speaker 2: You met that you were a part of Reggie Virgil's blog.
Speaker 1: Oh that would okay, I have not seen this.
Speaker 2: I haven't either, but I know you were in it.
Speaker 1: I was, okay, all right, we're gonna get to Jeremiah
Speaker 1: Love in the first pitch. But the entire rookie class,
Speaker 1: draft picks undrafted free agents attended the Arizona Diamondbacks game
Speaker 1: on Monday. This has become a yearly occurrence. Once upon
Speaker 1: a time, it was just the first round pick and
Speaker 1: then that was it. But they've expanded it to include
Speaker 1: the entire rookie class, which is really cool on the
Speaker 1: Cardinals and the back's part. So Monday was the first
Speaker 1: time that I have gone. And I was in the
Speaker 1: suite with everyone else and talking with someone and then
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, a camera flashed in my face
Speaker 1: and I heard a voice say, start talking, Who are you?
Speaker 1: I was like, I looked at him to realize it
Speaker 1: was Reggie, and I was like, why are you talking
Speaker 1: to me? And then I finally played up into it,
Speaker 1: and I don't know, hopefully it's edited, because I thought
Speaker 1: that was for our content. I didn't realize this was no,
Speaker 1: this is our.
Speaker 2: This is our content. But we gave Reggie the camera
Speaker 2: and said go be Reggie Virgil and he was Reggie Virgil.
Speaker 1: Yes he was. He was.
Speaker 2: He did the same thing. He walked up over to
Speaker 2: me and I said, Reggie, why are you putting the
Speaker 2: camera in my face? People want to see you. You're
Speaker 2: the fan favorite here, uh because the comments on social
Speaker 2: media they love them some uh some Reggie Virgil and
Speaker 2: he's like, yeah, but this is our vlog And I
Speaker 2: was like, man, that that's pretty that's pretty cool. So
Speaker 2: kudos to to Reggie. The d Backs have event. It's
Speaker 2: awesome that all the rookie class can go undrafted guys
Speaker 2: all the way to the third overall pick in Jeremiah Love.
Speaker 2: They're all part of it. They're all given a d
Speaker 2: Backs jersey with their name in the back, a Diamondbacks hat.
Speaker 2: They're all recognized one by one on the JumboTron before
Speaker 2: the game, before first pitch, and it's I think this
Speaker 2: is the type of event where you could really start
Speaker 2: to see the rookie class's personality for the first time,
Speaker 2: because it's still is sports and the guys and to
Speaker 2: their core, are competitive guys, and there's a lot of
Speaker 2: respect amongst professional athletes to other professional athletes because they're
Speaker 2: the select few that knows what the other has to
Speaker 2: go through and what their families have to go through
Speaker 2: is part of this adjustment to becoming a professional. So
Speaker 2: there's a respect factor there, and you could tell that
Speaker 2: the guys also get into it because it is still
Speaker 2: competition at the end of the day. So it's I
Speaker 2: think it's the one event a year, and there's a
Speaker 2: lot of different times, but it's the biggest event where
Speaker 2: you could see a lot of the guys' personality start
Speaker 2: to flash a little bit.
Speaker 1: Though there was one rookie Jade and Williams are gonna
Speaker 1: call him out, who was a little bit disappointed. I
Speaker 1: thought that was part of the personality of the class,
Speaker 1: star of the rookie class and Jeremiah love the fact
Speaker 1: that he did throw a strike his ceremonial first pitch,
Speaker 1: although he was not on the mount now full disclosure,
Speaker 1: they prefer you, they strongly suggest and urge not to
Speaker 1: step on the mound, although Jeremiah was about what three
Speaker 1: feet in front of the pound, so he could have
Speaker 1: been a little bit closer to where the mound began.
Speaker 1: But nonetheless, it's a strike. It was a strike, and
Speaker 1: the last thing you want to do is bounce the
Speaker 1: ball on the ceremonial first pitch.
Speaker 2: Or throw it to the backstock, or there's a lot
Speaker 2: of different things that were throw it towards the dugout.
Speaker 2: We saw a fifty cent somehow do that. There's a
Speaker 2: lot of different things that could have went wrong. But
Speaker 2: if the one thing that did go wrong is the
Speaker 2: fact that he didn't throw from the mound, which is
Speaker 2: not allowed by the d Backs. I remember the year
Speaker 2: before Walt throughout the first pitch and he was kind
Speaker 2: of stressed a little bit about throwing it from the mound.
Speaker 2: He knew he could do it, but he wasn't too
Speaker 2: sure about it. And then once they said and he
Speaker 2: told all the guys, I'm gonna throw it from the mound,
Speaker 2: and then the d Backs didn't allow it. So he
Speaker 2: threw in front of the mound, and all the guys
Speaker 2: kind of threw their hands up, and you know, they
Speaker 2: were talking their stuff to him, and he just had
Speaker 2: his arms out being like, what do you expect me
Speaker 2: to do? Which is funny because it was the same
Speaker 2: reaction from Jaden Williams towards Jeremiah Love of like what
Speaker 2: are you doing? So but that once again it goes
Speaker 2: back to it the fact that the guys were able
Speaker 2: to start having some fun with each other, picking fun
Speaker 2: at each other a little bit. It's cool. I even
Speaker 2: saw in the in the suite when we were sitting there.
Speaker 2: One of the things Carson Beck did was he threw
Speaker 2: up the U pregame, and when Reggie Virgil was on
Speaker 2: his log when he was recording, he went up to
Speaker 2: Beck and talked to him about having the U up
Speaker 2: and then he turned the camera to white At Williams,
Speaker 2: who went to Ole Miss that Carson Beck beat in
Speaker 2: the semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, and he put the
Speaker 2: U down and Carson Beck and him started kind of
Speaker 2: going at each other and a friend banterway. It's pretty
Speaker 2: it's pretty sweet, and it also shows like these guys
Speaker 2: are building relationships both on the football field and off
Speaker 2: of it.
Speaker 1: They have spent a lot of time together, not only
Speaker 1: in the facility but out of the facility. And as
Speaker 1: I mentioned, the star the attraction of this rookie class,
Speaker 1: Jeremiah Love taking third overall, and what we have seen
Speaker 1: so far from him has been all positive. His interactions
Speaker 1: with the media, his teammates has all been great, and
Speaker 1: there is an expectation I think in a fair one
Speaker 1: and maybe not an expectation that is any higher than
Speaker 1: what he has for himself for this season. I just wonder,
Speaker 1: is is it possible within this running back room, which
Speaker 1: as we speak here in the middle of June has
Speaker 1: six players in it, and how do you figure out touches, snaps,
Speaker 1: playing time roles. I mean, there's a lot of time
Speaker 1: between now and Week one in Los Angeles when the
Speaker 1: Cardinals will play Chargers, but that is going to be
Speaker 1: a talking point and it has been a talking point,
Speaker 1: but it will continue until we figure out how that
Speaker 1: room shakes out.
Speaker 2: So outside of Jeremiah because he is still a rookie
Speaker 2: has not taken an NFL snap, the other five players
Speaker 2: all have NFL experience of playing in games. Corey Kiner
Speaker 2: was a guy that was activated from the practice squad
Speaker 2: of last year when all the injuries happened. I'm pretty
Speaker 2: sure his first game was against the Cincinnati Bengals, which
Speaker 2: was pretty cool for him because he was from Cincinnati
Speaker 2: and was Mister Ohio during his high school days. So
Speaker 2: there's a lot of active roster caliber players that are
Speaker 2: in that room right now, and Jeremiah Love will be
Speaker 2: a focal point within the offense. You don't draft a
Speaker 2: guy third overall to not have him be But you
Speaker 2: know what, Kraig, let's have a little bit of fun
Speaker 2: here and tease something that I've been working on. We're
Speaker 2: putting together a little bit of a roster reset of
Speaker 2: like every position group out there, and the sections that
Speaker 2: we have based off of the And I might be
Speaker 2: hijacking the show here, oh, by all means this is
Speaker 2: a collaboration, correct, even though I even though I just
Speaker 2: follow your lead, but but I will now take over
Speaker 2: and hopefully you will follow nine one of the so
Speaker 2: that we're breaking down into three sections, who we expect
Speaker 2: to see the field, which player is in the spotlight,
Speaker 2: and which player shall we keep an eye on? And
Speaker 2: we're doing this by position room And I had just
Speaker 2: put together the running back one that will it'll be
Speaker 2: released between now and training camp. We're going to be
Speaker 2: starting to sprinkle them throughout on Ezycardinals dot com. So
Speaker 2: knowing those six players here, when we say who will
Speaker 2: see the field, who are you kind of saying, all right.
Speaker 1: Let's play this game. All will play your little game here?
Speaker 1: Zach Gershman on Cardinals Cover two presented by Hyundai probably
Speaker 1: partner of the Arizona Cardinals. The first part, who will
Speaker 1: see the field, Jeremiah Love, Tyler Aljier, what about James Connor? Okay,
Speaker 1: keep going with this, what's the next?
Speaker 2: And then the second one is player in the spotlight?
Speaker 1: Players for me in the spotlight. You're changing the I'm
Speaker 1: changing the game a little bit.
Speaker 2: What kind of game is this that I thought this
Speaker 2: was my game?
Speaker 1: My show? James Connor and Trey Benson in the spotlight.
Speaker 1: And I put them together because of one we haven't
Speaker 1: seen them, and we have seen them and we just
Speaker 1: haven't seen them on the field. I put them together
Speaker 1: in this conversation because of those two coming off devastating
Speaker 1: season ending injuries. Now, James was more. James was more catastrophic.
Speaker 1: For lack of a better term, it was gruesome, So
Speaker 1: maybe it was catastrophic. And then with Trey, and this
Speaker 1: is something that you found this offseason, but he showed
Speaker 1: up on the Caps Off podcast and put the blame
Speaker 1: of him not being back on the field on himself
Speaker 1: that when his practice window opened up, he went too
Speaker 1: hard and quote, I kind of had a setback, but
Speaker 1: I put that on me though, So well, both players
Speaker 1: are coming off injury, and I think that puts them
Speaker 1: for me anyway, in the spotlight.
Speaker 2: That's fair. I have as my as my response. I
Speaker 2: put James Connor as being on the field because I
Speaker 2: don't think he's gonna have the RB one role we
Speaker 2: have come to see in the last three seasons with
Speaker 2: him of you know, back in twenty twenty three and
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four, the back to back thousand yard rushing
Speaker 2: seasons that were impressive for somebody his age, and we
Speaker 2: were talking about it like it's like he's getting better,
Speaker 2: like like wine, you know, fine wine, you just continue
Speaker 2: to get better as the years go on. And that
Speaker 2: was James Connor prior to the injury. But knowing that
Speaker 2: you have a lot of fresh blood in that room
Speaker 2: with Jeremiah Love and Tyler Aljier, I still do expect
Speaker 2: to see James Connor on the field. It just wouldn't
Speaker 2: surprise me if it's a little bit more of a
Speaker 2: third down back sort of role. A we're first and goal,
Speaker 2: second and goal. We want to try to, you know,
Speaker 2: turn together a few a couple of yards here to
Speaker 2: make this a little bit easy year down in distance.
Speaker 2: That's when I could expect to see James Connor on
Speaker 2: the field a little bit more Trey Benson. I believe
Speaker 2: that there is the trio of the three guys that
Speaker 2: I mentioned. Trey Benson's kind of on the outside in
Speaker 2: my opinion right now. So when I say somebody that's
Speaker 2: in the spotlight, I think he could turn that spotlight
Speaker 2: into a positive light because of what he's able to
Speaker 2: do during training camp. Because right now we are going
Speaker 2: to see what James looks like coming back from his injury.
Speaker 2: Can he slide into being kind of in that same
Speaker 2: category as James Connor somehow making it a part of
Speaker 2: that fifty three man roster. I'm not too sure. Obviously,
Speaker 2: not the general manager. I'm just the team reporter.
Speaker 1: The last part of this game player to keep an
Speaker 1: eye on Bam Night, same answer, and I would put
Speaker 1: him in that category because of what we did see
Speaker 1: from him. Yes, he ended the season on IR, but
Speaker 1: he was that guy that surprised a ton of people.
Speaker 1: I'll raise my hand in that group that made the
Speaker 1: initial fifty three men. Everyone thought that he was going
Speaker 1: to be the odd man out made the team and
Speaker 1: became that guy that you could count on when needed,
Speaker 1: run the football and run the football pretty well and
Speaker 1: then a roll on special teams as a kickoff returner. Now,
Speaker 1: how does that shake out this season as far as
Speaker 1: that running back room? And if it is a loaded
Speaker 1: running back room and you've currently have six, you're probably
Speaker 1: not going to keep six. But if you keep four,
Speaker 1: is that fourth more of a running back slash special
Speaker 1: teams player. And again, if you're active on game day,
Speaker 1: you have to have a role. And if you're playing
Speaker 1: special teams, then if someone loses his shoes, like Nick
Speaker 1: Rollis likes to say, now all of a sudden, you
Speaker 1: can play offense. Most of the.
Speaker 2: Guys that are going to be a part of the
Speaker 2: returner discussion are going to be the wide receivers. During
Speaker 2: practice time when it's open, we see a lot of
Speaker 2: it as Devin DuVernay, Amir Smith, Marcett, Jalen Brooks, save
Speaker 2: your Weaver. And I think with how much the Cardinals
Speaker 2: at least in anticipate, we can expect for them to
Speaker 2: use running backs within this Michael Floor offense. It wouldn't
Speaker 2: surprise me if Bam Knight cracks the fifty three because
Speaker 2: of the fact of what he can bring on special teams.
Speaker 2: There is the familiarity offensively with Nathaniel Hackett and Michael
Speaker 2: Floor from his time with the New York Jets. That's
Speaker 2: important that I think those guys know what Bam Knight
Speaker 2: brings to the table, because when he came here last year,
Speaker 2: I don't think many of us really knew what Bam
Speaker 2: Knight could bring to the table. He broke free for
Speaker 2: that fifty yard run in the preseason game against the
Speaker 2: Las Vegas Raiders last year. That was impressive, and you
Speaker 2: started to see some flashes from him. I remember a
Speaker 2: Q Shipley on the broadcast was talking all the time
Speaker 2: about how Bam Knight is somebody that was flashing a
Speaker 2: bunch in his eyes. So I think once the dust
Speaker 2: settled a little bit, all the people that had their
Speaker 2: arm up in the air saying like, yeah, I did
Speaker 2: not think he was going to be making the fifty
Speaker 2: three man roster kind of put it down a little
Speaker 2: bit and said like, Okay, now I could kind of
Speaker 2: see the reason as to why he did make. But
Speaker 2: in terms of this year, when it comes to a
Speaker 2: player to keep an eye on, I do believe that
Speaker 2: the special teams aspect is going to be something that
Speaker 2: could possibly give him a slight edge over potentially a
Speaker 2: wide receiver because that wide receiver room is loaded right
Speaker 2: now with Marvin Mike Wilson, Kendrick Bourne. You have Reggie Virgil,
Speaker 2: like Simmy Feijoko's there, that's a special teamer that you
Speaker 2: could possibly see as a gunner. And then a guy
Speaker 2: between Devin DuVernay and Amir Smith Marsett. I believe those
Speaker 2: guys could be in competition to possibly be that second
Speaker 2: returner alongside Bam Night.
Speaker 1: It is a good problem to have if you're the
Speaker 1: coaches the front office when you look at this running
Speaker 1: back room, a room that Trey McBride called the best
Speaker 1: he's been a part of, just in terms of the
Speaker 1: talent in that running back room. Nathaniel Hackett mentioned the
Speaker 1: running backs quote can all due a lot of everything.
Speaker 1: They're interchangeable, yet each stands out in their own way,
Speaker 1: which is what you want in that room and it
Speaker 1: will u and it has been a significant upgrade from
Speaker 1: what the Cardinals had a year ago. ESPN has been
Speaker 1: Solac named his ten biggest position upgrades, and number one
Speaker 1: on his list was the Cardinals running back room, which
Speaker 1: I a lot of these lists during the offseason. You
Speaker 1: click and that's what it is. It's and not clickbait,
Speaker 1: but it's content and you want to read it, and
Speaker 1: you're always looking, Hey, Cardinals make the list. Any Cardinals
Speaker 1: players make the list, and you click it. Okay, it's
Speaker 1: great information, and you're wondering, well, the Cardinals be on
Speaker 1: this list. Did not expect them to be number one
Speaker 1: on the list.
Speaker 2: I think that shows the respect of what Michael Flora
Speaker 2: Moni aso for trying to put together within that running
Speaker 2: back room. It says a lot about a team when
Speaker 2: you're trying to learn from your mistakes and not saying
Speaker 2: that last year was a mistake because of all the
Speaker 2: injuries that they did have in that running back room,
Speaker 2: but it was a learning lesson and it would have
Speaker 2: been a mistake if you didn't try to upgrade the
Speaker 2: room beyond what it was last year and just said, Okay,
Speaker 2: the guys had injuries, they'll come back, and we'll see
Speaker 2: the room. Has you made steps with the addition of
Speaker 2: Tyler Algier and then drafting a do it all guy
Speaker 2: with Jeremiah Love that people Peg is possibly being a
Speaker 2: generational type running back, a guy that automatically could find
Speaker 2: his way to being the top five, top seven in
Speaker 2: the NFL, just based off his presence. You make your
Speaker 2: mark by trying to improve that room. When you're running
Speaker 2: back one in James Connor possibly slides down to RB
Speaker 2: three in just one offseason, that shows that you're significantly
Speaker 2: making changes.
Speaker 1: Ben so Loc noted that five running backs last season
Speaker 1: for the Arizona Cardinals had at least forty touches, and
Speaker 1: that's running and that's catching, and he noted that's quote,
Speaker 1: too many running backs. The other note that I was
Speaker 1: looking at is four different running backs started a game.
Speaker 1: Six different running backs played in at least a game,
Speaker 1: and then that is too many running backs for any team.
Speaker 1: But that just shows you what the Cardinals were up
Speaker 1: against because of the injuries. Ben so Lock also noted
Speaker 1: that he liked the Tyler Aljier signing, the drafting of
Speaker 1: Jeremiah Love quote dot combo makes the Cardinals RB room
Speaker 1: one of the league's most improved positional groups, and it's
Speaker 1: a group that needs to get better. Because last year
Speaker 1: thirty first in rushing yards per game and because of
Speaker 1: the offense's inability to be efficient and have a ground game,
Speaker 1: no team had fewer rushing attempts Now, a lot of
Speaker 1: that was because the Cardinals were playing from behind, so
Speaker 1: you're forced to throw the ball. But we keep talking
Speaker 1: about the efficiency of the offense, and in order for
Speaker 1: that to happen, you've got to have a run.
Speaker 2: Game, sure, and that also falls on the in front
Speaker 2: of the offensive line.
Speaker 1: Two.
Speaker 2: They need to do better as well. That was something
Speaker 2: that's some of the offensive lineman that we've spoken to
Speaker 2: during the press conferences since the season ended that Dave
Speaker 2: talked about. But as a running back, you need to
Speaker 2: also have the ability to make a defender miss because
Speaker 2: at some point you are going to be stuck in
Speaker 2: that telephone booth together. Who's going to be able to
Speaker 2: be the one to get out of it? And with
Speaker 2: guys like Jeremiah Love and Tyler Outgaro, very shifty guys
Speaker 2: in the way that they moved, you should expect for
Speaker 2: them to break free every now and then. And James Connor,
Speaker 2: you expect him to just run through them.
Speaker 1: You anticipate seeing I think we all anticipate seeing a
Speaker 1: lot of Jeremiah Love in the backfield getting a lot
Speaker 1: of touches because of his talent and where he was selected.
Speaker 1: And it's one thing for us to expect that I
Speaker 1: get his sense just from some of the players that
Speaker 1: we've heard from. Marvin mac Wilson Senior had a lot
Speaker 1: of good things to say about Jeremiah Love. He even
Speaker 1: mentioned that as he was talking about how he liked
Speaker 1: what Jeremiah Love was able to do and talking about
Speaker 1: he got game, and then he paused and said, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm talking a lot about a rookie. But it even
Speaker 1: out in Oka's in mini camp when they're practicing in
Speaker 1: T shirts and shorts. Jeremiah has shown something to a
Speaker 1: handful of veterans at least that we've had the ability
Speaker 1: to speak to that I think should open up a
Speaker 1: lot of eyes and say, all right, maybe he is
Speaker 1: all that we think Jeremiah Love is.
Speaker 2: Look, they could have just said he's a rookie, he's learning,
Speaker 2: you know, we're excited to see what he brings come
Speaker 2: training camp, which you do. Hear typically about a lot
Speaker 2: of rookies when you ask a veteran about them. Jeremiah
Speaker 2: has been getting a lot of glowing praise from these guys,
Speaker 2: and that's important because they are the players. No players
Speaker 2: is what we typically say on this show when they
Speaker 2: are being as complimentary as they have been, that that
Speaker 2: is something to not take likely. Now. They aren't going
Speaker 2: to ever throw their teammate under the bus and say, well,
Speaker 2: this guy needs to be better at this or be
Speaker 2: better at that. They're going to do that stuff in
Speaker 2: private as they should. However, like if they weren't saying
Speaker 2: the positive things about Jeremiah, yeah, you could chalk it
Speaker 2: up to being a rookie and still learning, but it
Speaker 2: would definitely be a little bit of a cause. And
Speaker 2: we're out there at practice. We see how fast Jeremiah
Speaker 2: is and how quick he moves, and that's just during
Speaker 2: the open part of practice. The closed part of practice,
Speaker 2: we've seen some stuff as well that it justifies what
Speaker 2: a lot of the guys are saying.
Speaker 1: Well. Mack went on to say that there was a
Speaker 1: specific play in which he thought Jeremile was going to
Speaker 1: go one way, and in Max Wurds Love showed great patience,
Speaker 1: which typically you don't see from a rookie because even
Speaker 1: though you're going maybe half speed or not quite full
Speaker 1: speed in the offseason, you only know one speed as
Speaker 1: a rookie and the ability to change direction. And again,
Speaker 1: I don't know what play in particular, but the patients,
Speaker 1: at least me reading between the lines. Was Jeremile Love
Speaker 1: showing the defense something and then doing the complete opposite
Speaker 1: to our mac was okay, I was not expecting that,
Speaker 1: especially expecting that from a rookie.
Speaker 2: Hey, they're not going to get hit during this time
Speaker 2: of the year. That'll change ones training camp comes and
Speaker 2: they get to throw on the pads. But we have
Speaker 2: seen and it was something that happened to Trey Benson
Speaker 2: and during his rookie season, and it was something he
Speaker 2: had talked about, which is when you are not you're
Speaker 2: used to just being able to blow by a lot
Speaker 2: of these defenders simply based off your speed and your
Speaker 2: skill set. The defenders that you go up against are.
Speaker 2: They arrive in the backfield a lot faster than guys
Speaker 2: in college typically do. And when you see those defenders
Speaker 2: in the backfield, you see a lot of north and
Speaker 2: South runners turn to East west runners because they don't
Speaker 2: have that patience. And that was something that Trey Benz
Speaker 2: had talked about needing to work on a little bit,
Speaker 2: is being patient and trying to find those gaps and
Speaker 2: let the offensive line develop the running the path for
Speaker 2: these running backs so that they could find that hole,
Speaker 2: otherwise you are going to be that East West runner
Speaker 2: and you potentially could put yourself in more trouble. I
Speaker 2: think seeing and hearing what Jeremiah Love has been able
Speaker 2: to do with his patients and waiting for gaps to
Speaker 2: be open and to kind of to punch it through
Speaker 2: the hole there, that's important because yeah, right now, you
Speaker 2: know you aren't going to get hit, but you have
Speaker 2: to say, will visualize and see what these defenders look
Speaker 2: like coming your direction, And if Jeremiah is able to
Speaker 2: process that and the way that Mack Wilson talked about,
Speaker 2: that could be exciting because the game will pick up
Speaker 2: speed once they throw on pads in the beginning of August,
Speaker 2: and then it will definitely change once they play in
Speaker 2: the preseason game, and it will most certainly change once
Speaker 2: the regular season begins in Los Angeles. But if Jeremiah
Speaker 2: Love has been able to adjust to the game speed
Speaker 2: as early as he has, that could be a sign
Speaker 2: for good things to come.
Speaker 1: And maybe early this season it's more of a split
Speaker 1: between Jeremiah and Tyler and maybe even James Connor. But
Speaker 1: as the season progresses and Jeremiah shows he can handle it,
Speaker 1: you also want to make sure he stays healthy and
Speaker 1: stays fresh. How do you divvy up those snaps, how
Speaker 1: do you divvy up those carries to make sure everyone
Speaker 1: feels a part of the offense and then running backs.
Speaker 1: James Connor likes to say, I get better with the
Speaker 1: more touches I get and feel stronger as the game
Speaker 1: goes along. But if you're limited in those touches, whether
Speaker 1: that's running or receiving, then all of a sudden, every
Speaker 1: single touch matters. It's not like I'm gonna set up
Speaker 1: this two yard run because I can do it again
Speaker 1: in the third quarter, but then break it off for
Speaker 1: a twelve thirteen, fourteen yard run. Touches might be at
Speaker 1: a premium, especially when you look at six names in
Speaker 1: that room, and with James, he just got all those
Speaker 1: touches stripped away from him because of his injury. That's
Speaker 1: a guy you hate to take the game away from,
Speaker 1: and unfortunately that happened last year with his injury in
Speaker 1: San Francisco in Week three. So I think when he
Speaker 1: probably went through the offseason there was hope about getting
Speaker 1: back and being healthy so that when the time comes
Speaker 1: when the season begins, he can kind of take on
Speaker 1: those RB one responsibilities. Again, Blake, we said, the NFL
Speaker 1: is always moving, everyone's aging, and James, I think when
Speaker 1: it comes to going back to the roster reset, I
Speaker 1: had him as an honor We'll mention as my player
Speaker 1: to keep an eye on. Because if there's anybody that
Speaker 1: could bounce back from the injury and the way that
Speaker 1: that James suffered, it would be James Connor. So in
Speaker 1: that case, I'm saying to myself, like, man like, he
Speaker 1: really can be a player to keep an eye on,
Speaker 1: because he might force the cardinal's hand of saying like,
Speaker 1: look in these limited amount of touches because they are premium,
Speaker 1: look what I'm able to do That that's a great
Speaker 1: problem for michaelifoord to have. And I know he kind
Speaker 1: of made some news around the fantasy football world because
Speaker 1: he talked about when it comes to deploying a running back,
Speaker 1: you don't want to take out the guy with the
Speaker 1: hot hand, and how that could change some things around
Speaker 1: because you could have Jeremiah Love.
Speaker 2: This isn't him saying, this is me saying it. You
Speaker 2: could have Jeremiah Love getting some touches and the tyler
Speaker 2: Aljira breaks free for a handful of big time yards
Speaker 2: and Michael Form might not pull him out, and that
Speaker 2: could That has now changed the way that some fantasy
Speaker 2: footballers are starting to evaluate as they're already scouting what
Speaker 2: players they want to do, which is still nuts to me.
Speaker 2: But James Connor could be another one of those players
Speaker 2: that kind of orses their hand a little bit.
Speaker 1: James had at least two hundred carries in three of
Speaker 1: the four seasons before last year, So who gets those carries?
Speaker 1: Does anyone see two hundred carries this season based off
Speaker 1: of depth in that running back room or if you're
Speaker 1: riding the hot hand, maybe there is one player with
Speaker 1: two hundred plus rushing attempts. Seems like a lot to
Speaker 1: have multiple of over one hundred and fifty.
Speaker 2: It does, but it seems like a lot, Yes, But
Speaker 2: it also seems like a lot because you're starting to
Speaker 2: think about all the other weapons with how many snaps
Speaker 2: might be going or how many touches might be going
Speaker 2: to the rbs, Like how does that change things around
Speaker 2: for your wide receivers, for your tight ends, for the
Speaker 2: amount of times you're going to be lining up in
Speaker 2: thirteen personnel Because if you're constantly handing off the football
Speaker 2: and you turn to being a run first offense, well
Speaker 2: then that kind of changes the way defenses are planning
Speaker 2: and scouting these thirteen personnel looks. One of the things
Speaker 2: is that it's the complexion of illusion with the simplicity whatever.
Speaker 2: Gardner said that I always mess up the exact quote,
Speaker 2: but it's it's true that this offense is simple at heart,
Speaker 2: but it's complex for the defense in the way that
Speaker 2: they are able to see it and scout it. But
Speaker 2: if you're running the football as much as we might
Speaker 2: be talking about they are, that changes the way some
Speaker 2: defenses might scout.
Speaker 1: I believe the phrase is the illusion of complexity. That's
Speaker 1: what it is. So we're in agreement. The Cardinals need
Speaker 1: to run the ball better, flip it over to the
Speaker 1: defensive side. Cardinals need to stop the run. The rank
Speaker 1: twenty fifth last season, face the seventh most rushing attempts,
Speaker 1: and you spotlighted one of the new additions to the
Speaker 1: Cardinals defense, specifically on the defensive line. Hopefully someone to
Speaker 1: come in to help in that run defense, and that
Speaker 1: is Andrew Billings, who is at least reading your article
Speaker 1: on Easycardinals dot Com. Maybe one of the nicest human
Speaker 1: beings who stands at six' to one three hundred forty.
Speaker 1: Pounds so, physically, yes, intimidating but nothing intimidates usac.
Speaker 2: Well, no only it can. BE i could be intimidated pretty.
Speaker 2: Fast all he had to do was stand up And
Speaker 2: i'd be pretty.
Speaker 1: And there we. Go, there there there was the. Opening
Speaker 1: a's Sitting Andrew. Billings, yeah nearly is.
Speaker 2: Demidating he was chilling in his locker right after. Practice,
Speaker 2: Look Andrew billings is a guy THAT i went into
Speaker 2: it also knowing how good of a guy he, was
Speaker 2: because when you research, him you see all the community
Speaker 2: work that he. Does and that is WHAT i was,
Speaker 2: like all, RIGHT i want TO i want to highlight
Speaker 2: The we have a lot of good dudes in the
Speaker 2: locker room that are just good dudes, period and then
Speaker 2: seeing what people do in the, community it opens up
Speaker 2: the way that you might view, them and it also
Speaker 2: makes you want to highlight them a little bit more as.
Speaker 2: Players not everybody's talking when everyone's talking about what The
Speaker 2: cardinals did in free, agency nobody's really talking about the
Speaker 2: addition Of Andrew. Billings but Come October, november he could
Speaker 2: be one of the biggest game changers in terms of
Speaker 2: the difference makers that The cardinals had had brought in
Speaker 2: during the during the offseason acquisition period because as a
Speaker 2: as a natural born run stopper and the way that he,
Speaker 2: IS i mean he's a he's a brick. Wall but
Speaker 2: just looking at him sitting, There i'm even, LIKE i
Speaker 2: don't know HOW i would get by. You funny Because
Speaker 2: michael FOUR i asked him, about, Uh Andrew billings and
Speaker 2: when you're an offensive minded head, coach how do you
Speaker 2: plan for somebody that is six, one three forty as
Speaker 2: your nose, tackle, uh that you're going to be going up?
Speaker 2: Against and he, said can you imagine moving? Him and
Speaker 2: you could even hear me in the press conference room say,
Speaker 2: NO i. Can't and after sitting, there or after standing,
Speaker 2: there and he's sitting there a cross From Andrew, Billings i'm, like,
Speaker 2: NO i can't move. YOU i can't imagine getting by.
Speaker 1: You.
Speaker 2: Uh he's a good. Dude he definitely stands at three
Speaker 2: forty uh six, one but he's also he flips on
Speaker 2: the switch and he is not afraid to put somebody
Speaker 2: into the.
Speaker 1: Dirt Andrew billings And Roy, lopez.
Speaker 2: WHICH i will have A Roy lopez story coming out On.
Speaker 1: Friday, Wow Bird. GANG i did, not, HONESTLY i did
Speaker 1: not know that was. Surprised, Good, okay glad we could
Speaker 1: talk About roy as another good individual in the community
Speaker 1: and an individual who's basically a space eater along that defensive.
Speaker 1: Line those were two players That Matt laflora mentioned when
Speaker 1: he was asked about the defense and being better against the.
Speaker 1: Run AND i JUST i wonder if can you Have
Speaker 1: billings And lopez on the field at the same, time
Speaker 1: maybe in obvious rundown situations where you're looking to take
Speaker 1: up a lot of space and shortyard is or goal,
Speaker 1: Line BUT i do like that potential rotation inside nose
Speaker 1: tackle nose guard with A Walter nolan And Darius robinson
Speaker 1: and AN. Lj collier and A Dante. Stills so you
Speaker 1: have guys on the, outside but you have two very
Speaker 1: run defenders in the middle that hopefully can answer a
Speaker 1: lot of questions defense for this.
Speaker 2: Team if there's any defensive coordinator that has the ability
Speaker 2: to put two massive run, stoppers those space eaters like
Speaker 2: you just said there on the defensive, front it would
Speaker 2: Be Nick. Ralis he's known for being creative with his
Speaker 2: disguises and. Schemes there is a real world out there
Speaker 2: where you only have two defensive linemen with their hand
Speaker 2: in the, dirt and those two can Be Andrew billings
Speaker 2: And Roy lopez together and they just rush after the.
Speaker 2: Quarterback we saw not That Roy lopez could be compared
Speaker 2: To Kalais, campbell but we had seen some defensive fronts
Speaker 2: where it Was Dalvin tomlinson WHO i could put in
Speaker 2: comparison To Andrew billings And Kalayis, campbell just the two
Speaker 2: of them on the defensive. Front and then you have
Speaker 2: your outside, linebackers as you, know stand up guys that
Speaker 2: are rushing off the, edge and they made impact when
Speaker 2: it Was kalayis And dalvin because of how much attention
Speaker 2: those two guys. Needed Roy lopez is coming off a
Speaker 2: career high, year had career high in sacks and quarterback.
Speaker 2: Hits he did a really good job last year with
Speaker 2: the opportunities he was given In. Detroit and Then Andrew
Speaker 2: billings as. WELL i, mean he was A he was
Speaker 2: a guy that has bounced around THE nfl quite a,
Speaker 2: bit but he has earned respect simply because of his.
Speaker 2: Size he's known as being one of the strongest guys
Speaker 2: that the league has has ever. Seen so, yeah they,
Speaker 2: could there could be ways to get the two of them,
Speaker 2: involved but there also can open up those doors Because
Speaker 2: Dalvin tomlinson statistically did not have a good year last,
Speaker 2: year but he had opened up the door for at
Speaker 2: least some pressure from some of the other defensive Alignment billing.
Speaker 1: Six one three, Forty Roy lopez six' two. Three twelve
Speaker 1: so just imagine that trying to, get by whether that's
Speaker 1: run through which, is unlikely, run around but now again
Speaker 1: you're opening yourself up hopefully to someone on, the outside
Speaker 1: whether Again that's Walter or darius Or Is aven collins
Speaker 1: as an. Outside linebacker bottom, line is this team needs
Speaker 1: to have more resistance against, the run no matter how you,
Speaker 1: do it what it. Looks like sometimes it got to
Speaker 1: the point last season where it didn't matter how you.
Speaker 1: Did it you just need to be able to do
Speaker 1: it and get to the point where offense is faced third.
Speaker 2: And, long yeah well you also have to that's also
Speaker 2: on your second level of your defense and your third
Speaker 2: level and your defense, to tackle which was something that
Speaker 2: this team struggled with at points. Last, season yes your
Speaker 2: defensive lineman when they are that, big there they're Tough
Speaker 2: to if they get a good jump off the line
Speaker 2: of scrimmage right right off, the snap the defensive line,
Speaker 2: can win and they could. Win consistently but if there
Speaker 2: is a speedy running back that's able to break free
Speaker 2: to the outside or is able to get, by them
Speaker 2: it's on your second and third level to make a
Speaker 2: play and stop them so that it still does become
Speaker 2: third and long in a eight yard run turns into
Speaker 2: a three. Yard run but that did not happen at points.
Speaker 2: Last year so it's also on your linebackers and your
Speaker 2: safeties and your corners to make a play when. It's
Speaker 2: needed you also Brought In jonah williams as a free
Speaker 2: agent Defensive Lineman, joah williams not the Offensive Lineman. Joana williams.
Speaker 1: GOOD. Clarification pj mustifer, Is Back zach carter. Is, back
Speaker 1: unfortunately we'll Not See caleb proctor at least now at
Speaker 1: the beginning of, the season hopefully at some point this
Speaker 1: season after he tore his meniscus here in. The offseason,
Speaker 1: so again maybe not big names in that defensive, line
Speaker 1: room but if you have, solid play it doesn't matter
Speaker 1: what your name is Are you are you successful in
Speaker 1: the role that you've.
Speaker 2: Been Given kobe turner For The Los, angeles rams he
Speaker 2: wasn't a big time name coming out, of college and
Speaker 2: look what he was able. To do there's everybody becomes
Speaker 2: not everybody gets drafted as high As A walter nolan
Speaker 2: the third did and automatically comes in with the pressure
Speaker 2: of being a first round. Caliber player some of these.
Speaker 2: Other Guys dante stills was their player that enjoy. Twenty
Speaker 2: three we weren't even sure if he was gonna be
Speaker 2: the roster and look at the career he's been able
Speaker 2: to make for himself and every single year during training
Speaker 2: camp he always seems to come away as one of
Speaker 2: these standout guys during training camp and always seems to make. A, difference,
Speaker 2: so yeah it's not a defensive line that has a
Speaker 2: lot of big time names that are. On it but
Speaker 2: you don't need big. Time names you need big time
Speaker 2: playmakers and big time run stoppers and somebody that's able
Speaker 2: to get after. The quarterback and that's what this team
Speaker 2: believes that they've had.
Speaker 1: Control the line of scrimmage and more times, than that
Speaker 1: you can control. The game if you can control, the
Speaker 1: game you can control. The outcome What else oneasycardinals, Dot
Speaker 1: com zach are you working on here before you take a,
Speaker 1: well earned well.
Speaker 2: Deserved break so there will be a all the roster
Speaker 2: resets like we had kind of teased a little bit on.
Speaker 2: This show it'll be for every single. Position group i'll
Speaker 2: have some of the, position Groups so i'll be Writing,
Speaker 2: About darren urban will be writing about some of the other.
Speaker 2: Position rooms so it is a. Team effort and then
Speaker 2: we'll have a story on two undrafted guys that are
Speaker 2: were teammates in college and Wide at Williams And harrison
Speaker 2: wallace at Third Aka trey wallace and their journey and
Speaker 2: having a chip on their shoulder Because Since Monti austin
Speaker 2: ford has come, to town an undrafted guy has made the
Speaker 2: initial fifty three man roster every. Single year so does that?
Speaker 2: Streak continue we started we open up the show talking.
Speaker 2: About streaks does that streak continue of an undrafted guy?
Speaker 2: Making it we shall see.
Speaker 1: Bringing it full circle as we record here On this.
Speaker 1: Wednesday afternoon cody probably wishes that you were At the
Speaker 1: diamondbacks game because they are, currently losing although it is
Speaker 1: early so hopefully things based off us speaking about them
Speaker 1: Here on cardinals, cover too and your presence on this
Speaker 1: episode maybe a little asterisk next to the streak and
Speaker 1: hopefully thirteen and, OH.
Speaker 2: Yeah i wouldn't have my fingers crossed, about THAT but
Speaker 2: i Will say i'm happy that the d bat one
Speaker 2: in the street. STAYED alive i did Love Seeing mike
Speaker 2: trout hit a. HOME run i didn't not realize it
Speaker 2: was his first time Playing At chase field in like.
Speaker 2: ELEVEN years I Saw bob nightingale tweeted.
Speaker 1: That OUT oh i was not aware. Of that, well
Speaker 1: one he's. Always, hurt yeah. There's that and then for a,
Speaker 1: while There the angels just didn't come. TO town, i
Speaker 1: mean now, every team, you play. Every team, but yeah
Speaker 1: well so you had the so you had The perfect. Monday,
Speaker 1: evening yes so reading it Here, From Bob, mike trout
Speaker 1: who hasn't played A At chase Field in phoenix in,
Speaker 1: eleven years hits an opposite field home run in the.
Speaker 1: Fifth inning it's his first career Homer At. Chase field
Speaker 1: AND then i think yesterday he had also hit a,
Speaker 1: Home run, so hey maybe he sees this and when
Speaker 1: free agency, comes around goes Diamond ACKs coch all to
Speaker 1: stop Talking About mike trout because if it keeps going much,
Speaker 1: too Longer maybe homer's again here. This afternoon that'll.
Speaker 2: Be a successful series. For him he is batty five
Speaker 2: minute Drive To, Chase Field old zach what he got
Speaker 2: going on the rest OF the, i mean didn't you
Speaker 2: hear me mention all The articles? I'm doing, but look
Speaker 2: he already probably has a Place in arizona because of
Speaker 2: the spring training facility.
Speaker 1: Out here every professional athlete has a home Here, in arizona.
Speaker 1: Or so it sounds like THE weather's i don't. Blame
Speaker 1: them the weather's great train.
Speaker 2: Year round we, say THAT except i did a two
Speaker 2: minute walk OUTSIDE and i was. Sweating today but, It's okay.
Speaker 1: It's okay but now now you're inside and you've got work. To,
Speaker 1: DO yes, i do so we'll let you go get
Speaker 1: writing trum my best but good stuff Here On cardinals.
Speaker 1: Cover two special thanks to everyone behind, the scenes our
Speaker 1: Executive Producer, jill momahunter Our Producer. Cody Fincher For, Zach
Speaker 1: Gerstman i'm Greg. Real lou we'll talk to you next
Speaker 1: time You're On cardinals.
Speaker 2: Cover two