Cardinals Minicamp Vibes
By Walter Mitchell
The Arizona Cardinals' first-year head coach, Mike LaFleur, appears to be extremely encouraged by what the team has accomplished during OTAs.
Coach often refers to the NFL's customary 3 phases of OTAs as outlined by Google:
What is Pase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 of NFL team training? - Google Search
Phase One (Weeks 1 & 2)
- Activities are strictly voluntary.
- Limited to meetings, strength, and conditioning.
- Includes physical rehabilitation.
- No on-field football drills or practices are allowed.
Phase Two (Weeks 3, 4 & 5)
- On-field workouts and coaches are allowed.
- Features individual and group instruction.
- Allows walk-through speed "perfect play" drills.
- No live contact is permitted.
- Offense and defense cannot run drills against each other.
Phase Three (Weeks 6, 7, 8 & 9)
- Teams hold 10 days of Organized Team Activities (OTAs).
- Includes 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills.
- Offense and defense can practice against one another.
- No live contact or tackling is allowed.
- Teams can hold one mandatory veteran minicamp.
Kudos to Mike LaFleur, his coaches and the vast majority of the Cardinals' 90-man roster for their keen and avid participation throughout the 3 phases.
The two most conspicuous absentees, QB Jacoby Brissett and OLB Josh Sweat, both attended the team's mandatory minicamp and were welcomed by their teammates.
Because they had missed the 3 phases of OTAs, Mike LaFleur elected to have Brissett and Sweat observe the practices from the sidelines.
Blake Niemann of Fox10 Sports did a commendable job of summarizing the details of Brissett's and Sweat's attendance and Mike LaFleur's handling of their situations. Have a look:
Opinion:
I got the sense that by not having Jacoby Brissett or Josh Sweat participate in practices, he wanted to show off what their teammates have been accomplishing over the past 9 weeks.
While the decision seemed like a punitive measure of sorts --- as --- if you are going to miss these voluntary team activities, then, for now you can stay on the outside looking in ---in essence LaFleur wanted to motivate them the best he could.
LaFleur knows that he is walking a tightrope here because, after all, OTAs are, by NFL rules, strictly voluntary.
But OTAs, especially for new coaching staffs, are absolutely necessary.
Coach has said right from the get-go that he wants his players to do everything "with a sense of urgency," and, at the same, time he wants the players to enjoy and appreciate the process and the teamwork.
There is sufficient evidence to suggest that Mike LaFleur, and his coaches, have accomplished those goals thus far. The practices were highly spirited and keenly focused. The players' buy-in has been palpable.
That's likely why Coach wanted Jacoby Brissett and Josh Sweat to be impressed with what they have been missing.
In making this point, maybe next season, the players' participation at OTAs will be 100%.
Citing a number of reasons, perhaps the most compelling of which was the team being scheduled to report a week earlier than normal because of playing in the Hall of Fame game ( August 6 against the Carolina Panthers, 8 pm ET), Mike LaFleur called off Day 3 of mandatory minicamp.
My immediate reaction was:
Skipping practices is a common denominator through 2 head coaches now from a GM whose record is 15-36 (.029). It's inexcusable for Monti Ossenfort to put that kind of uncompetitive, woefully underprepared product on the field at a home stadium overrun by opposing fans and not try to take advantage of every possible avenue to improve the team.
While fans in approval of LaFleur's decision are citing how the 49ers and Rams cancelled their minicamps entirely, I wish that he would have taken full advantage of the 3rd practice for the following reasons:
1. Comparing what the Cardinals do with what other teams, especially teams with highly successful, well establish head coaches and elite programs, only should apply if and when the lowly Cardinals are in the same boat.
2. The Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks under 3rd year head coach Mike Macdonald took full advantage of practicing all three days of their minicamp. In a mere two years as a first-time NFL head coach, Mike Macdonald has come out of thin air and has turned the NFC West upside down, which now has Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan playing in the catchup mode. I would love to see Mike LaFleur drink whatever Macdonald is drinking.
3. The message to the team for practicing all 3 days should have been, "no team is going to outwork us." Note: incredible to see that Monti Ossenfort, who worked under Bill Belichick's "no days off" mantra for 14 years has been so lax about skipping practices --- and so forgetful as to how and why the Patriots' work ethic gave them a competitive advantage within the most competitive of environments.
4. The message for not skipping any of the limited opportunities to improve is: "this time around we need to learn how to finish...as in everything we do --- with regard to practicing, preparing, tackling, blocking, passing, rushing, pass rushing, covering --- in order to finish games in the 4th quarter with a newfound confidence, and, most of all, to finish seasons with a bang, and not a whimper.
5. Skipping a practice is a poor message to a defense that quit in the most egregious fashion last season.
But what about injuries?
Bill Belichick always said that they are a part of the game, but you best prevent them through rigorous physical training and not by scaling back.
For the Cardinals, the good news is that by virtue of Mike LaFleur's strong adherence to the 3 Phases of OTA protocols, the Cardinals only suffered one significant injury, which Coach revealed very candidly yesterday (for a change). Cardinals' 4th round pick Kaleb Proctor suffered a torn meniscus and is expected to miss significant time which LaFleur conceded could possibly be the entire season.
Hopefully, not.
The recovery from a surgically repaired meniscus is 3-6 months. Kaleb Proctor is young and in excellent shape. There is reasonable chance that he could be back in November or with the Cardinals' bye week in effect from Dec. 7-19, Kaleb could return to play the last 4 games of the season.
Mike LaFeur on how he will manage hos running backs:
Ride the hot hand.
Mike LaFleur's thoughts about the QB room:
"Not concerned about QB1 right now."
"I think it's (QB competition) been amped up."
"The intensity should not change from OTAs to training camp."
Coach seems genuinely excited about his QBs. But he warns that "none of them can afford to take steps backward" and has iterated that much will be determined about the QBs and all of the players "when they are in pads and can play real football."
As Billy Shakespeare once drunkenly said “The thing that hath been, is that which shall be, and that which is done, is that which shall be done and there is no new thing under the sun”
ReplyDeleteShakespeare hated the Bidwills.
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