As the Cardinals try to take the next step (or two), their head coach is impressed with their efforts. In fact, at one point his admiration became fear.
“This is my 22nd year [in the NFL] and our last two days, it scared me how hard we were competing against each other,” Arians said earlier this week a the premiere of All or Nothing: A Season with the Arizona Cardinals, via NFL.com. “I thought somebody was going to get hurt, so I cancelled the third day [of minicamp]. The practices were that good. If they bring that attitude to camp, which I know that they will, this team will be better than last year’s.”
Arians is known to embrace a little bravado and swagger (to our delight), but when it comes to talking that openly and candidly about intensity at offseason practices, he could be inviting scrutiny from the NFL Players Association and/or the NFL. Contact is prohibited at the offseason workouts; thus, any comments about an intensity level that could result in player injury implies that contact was indeed happening.
Then again, the hay already is in the barn for 2016. If the Cardinals get whacked for doing too much whacking in offseason workouts, any lost practices will happen in 2017.
Likewise, no risk it, no biscuit.
