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Pushed by Fitz

The other day, running back Ryan Williams was finishing up with his three sets on the military press — 10 reps each with 50-pound dumbbells — when veteran receiver Larry Fitzgerald told Williams he wasn’t done yet. There would be three more sets, with the 80-pound dumbbells.

“He don’t let me slack at all,” Williams said. “When I say I love working with Fitz and I hate it at the same time, I mean, that’s the best way I could put it.

“I did three more sets of 80 with him. That’s the stuff I’m talking about. To have someone do that, who’s been in the game for a minute, I don’t care who your favorite is. You can’t leave Fitzgerald out. That’s how I want to be.”

Fitzgerald isn’t the only veteran doing such things. There are reasons so many of the defensive backs look like they’ve added muscle, and one of them is having veteran Adrian Wilson looking their way and insisting they continue to work hard even in the offseason. You really don’t want to let down A-Dub.

But for Fitz, pushing his teammates is about more than just leadership. Or even about making the team better. It’s about making Fitz — who leaves tomorrow to Malaysia on a Starkey hearing mission — better too.

“I’m just an extremely self-motivated person, that’s all,” Fitzgerald said. “Every day I am trying to run faster, jump higher, lift more. I have always been that way. Especially young guys like (Williams) … yesterday Patrick Peterson, we had a squat competition. I do it with (receivers) DeMarco Sampson, Jaymar (Johnson). I am into that. I love the competition, no matter if it is on the field, the basketball gym, the bowling alley, competition always makes the cream rise to the top. So I love to compete.”

Cap space and Campbell

No, nothing new is brewing on the Calais Campbell contract front. Right now, the franchise-tagged defensive end remains unsigned and isn’t around. To refresh the details, the tag means he will be a Card in 2012 for sure, but until he signs, he’s under no obligation to come to anything.

(Technically, the Cards could also pull the tag at any point before it’s signed, but that would never happen.)

The Cards, by last report out there in cyberspace, had about $2.5 million of cap space. There has been a lot of speculation that a new long-term deal for Campbell would create more, and that’s true. How much, though, is the question. Campbell’s current cap number (tagged players count even as they aren’t signed) is around $10.7M. Now, there are a million ways to structure a contract, and many of them would shave that number down. But let’s say, for instance, Campbell gets a five-year contract. Given the amount of “guaranteed” money — normally, money in those first three years of the deal — he’d probably command (it’s going to be north of $20 million), that’s a good chunk that comes up early in the deal. Whatever you take away from the current cap number, it’s going to be pushed into the next couple years, pressing future caps anyway. It’s not like signing him will suddenly create $10M of cap space.

Of course, just trimming Campbell’s cap number to, say, $7.5M gains more than $3M of space, and at this point, given the roster, that probably would be fine heading into the season. The deadline to sign Campbell to such a deal is a little more than two months away.

No rush to linebackers

Before the draft, it seemed  — at least, in my opinion — the Cards had three areas that most warranted help: offensive line, pass rusher and receiver. The Cards took care of the latter right away with the Michael Floyd pick. They obviously hit the line hard with three choices, including potential right tackle starter Bobby Massie. But, sticking to their board — and perhaps revealing just how much they think of their young players — the Cardinals didn’t take a pass rusher. Didn’t take a linebacker at all.

Right now, the Cards have 14 linebackers on the roster. Six could be classified as outside linebackers, seven as inside guys and Stewart Bradley as a swing guy (although obviously guys can always move around.) Three of the inside linebackers are undrafted rookies (Marcus McGraw, Colin Parker and Paul Vassallo) and one is definitely untested (Quan Sturdivant.) But one the inside, Darryl Washington is established, Paris Lenon continues to outperform everyone’s expectations and both Bradley and Reggie Walker have shown they can fill in.

But it’s on the outside that will always get the attention. Young players usually have a ton of confidence that they will do the job as long as they get the opportunity, and that’s certainly the vibe you get from O’Brien Schofield when you talk to him. Sam Acho had seven sacks after barely playing the first five games, so he seems to be a potential game-changer. Both must up their games. And then what? Will Brandon Williams, signed late last season on to the practice squad after not finding a place with the Cowboys, surprise some people? Can the Cards find a diamond among free agent Antonio Coleman or undrafted rookies Zach Nash and  Broderick Binns? (Clark Haggans could also still return.)

It’s not like the Cards didn’t sack opposing quarterbacks last year. As a team, they had 42, tied for seventh in the NFL. The Cards had an NFL-best nine different guys with at least two sacks. The way defensive coordinator Ray Horton does things, pressure by committee works and is much harder for which to handle. But developing those linebackers, especially the rushers on the outside, is one of the keys to any 3-4 scheme. After passing in the draft, development will be one of the things to watch at the position.

Ryan Williams: “I’m not worried at all”

Ryan Williams knows there are people who doubt he can return to form this season after his patella tendon ruptured last year, ruining his rookie season. He knows, ultimately, he can’t prove anything until the season starts.

“I kind of feel like the most anticipated player of the year, and (fans) haven’t even seen anything but a couple weeks of training camp,” the running back said.

Williams is the guy who craves football. His biggest fear isn’t coming back from this injury, but being cut from the team. The rehab is just another hurdle in a life full of hurdles. Williams isn’t going to guarantee anything, but he comes about as close to that line as he can without stepping over, and he acknowledges his confidence in what he can do in 2012 is plentiful.

“Nothing was ever easy for me,” Williams said. “Coming from where I came from, I had to get out of that area. … I was the one who always had to prove to everyone not to put me on the backburner. Don’t doubt me and I will make you a fan. I had to work my butt off for everything.

“This situation, I’m not going to say it was fun to go through, but it’s nothing. I believe in myself and I believe I will be back. I asked (head athletic trainer) Tom (Reed), and I trust Tom and I feel he will be honest with me, and I asked, ‘Do you think I will be 100 percent?’ He said ‘I feel you will be better than you were before.’ “

Now, part of Reed’s job is helping players mentally return as much as physically. Encouragement is part of the process. But Williams clearly believes in himself.

“I still have time,” Williams said. “I am running and cutting and doing things I didn’t think I’d be doing this early. I’m not worried about it.”

The Cardinals must have confidence. Even though Williams went through what he went through — and starter Beanie Wells is still rehabbing from his own knee surgery — the Cards didn’t draft a running back nor sign an undrafted rookie. There’s always a chance that could come (it seems likely the Cards will at least get another body for OTAs and maybe minicamp) but there has to be a belief Williams will be there by camp and ready to go.

“Coach (John) Lott always puts a bug in my ear,” Williams said. “He keeps it honest too. He said, ‘If you don’t take this opportunity and take it full throttle, I promise next year we are going to (draft) a running back. If you do, we won’t see another running back for a couple years. It’s up to you.’ Some people get nervous with stuff like that, but not me. I love challenges like that.

“Man, I’m not worried at all. I’m telling you, I feel so good about what’s about to happen this year, no one can tell me different.”

Tall tales from the Northwest(?)

OK, I couldn’t let this one go: Seattle-based ESPN West blogger Mike Sando tweeted out today that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said new guard and former Card Deuce Lutui is now a vegan.

Sando admitted he didn’t believe it at first — Carroll did say Lutui had reported at 208 pounds, so obviously the coach was having some fun — but that when asked to clarify, Carroll stuck to his vegan claim. (Mike’s full take can be found here.) I told one person down in the Cardinals’ locker room today that out of every player I have ever covered with the team in 10-plus years, Deuce would be the last guess to go vegan. The idea was met with a raised eyebrow or two from a couple of the players to which I mentioned it.

Carroll said Lutui’s weight is “way down.” Good for Deuce. Maybe he finally gets it. He always insisted he could play heavier, a belief that clearly made it tough for him to accept what the coaching staff wanted from him weight-wise. Maybe last year’s deal with the Bengals and issues in Arizona got through to him. It’s just too bad it took so long, and watching how his season progresses in Seattle will definitely be something with which to pay attention.

UPDATE: Well, his agent confirms Lutui is, in fact, a vegan. Wow. And now Deuce himself is talking.

What the Cards have in Lindley

So the questions began yesterday, asking me my thoughts on Sports Illustrated’s Peter King saying that sixth-round draft pick Ryan Lindley — the second of two sixth-round picks, mind you — not only had a better chance to make an impact as a rookie than guys like Miami’s Ryan Tannehill or Seattle’s Russell Wilson, but could be playing by midseason. I know Peter a little and respect him greatly as a reporter. I wouldn’t be shocked if someone from the Cards whispered in his ear how much they like Lindley’s potential. But to be playing by midseason? I can’t see that as anything but ridiculous — barring injuries.

But Darren, you’ll say, the Cards just did it with Max Hall and John Skelton in 2010, and you would have said the same thing about those guys in May that year. Which is true. But I will argue 2010 and the Hall situation is precisely one of the reasons Lindley won’t play. Hall wasn’t ready, but the Cards had nowhere to turn once Derek Anderson failed.

This year, the Cards have two guys who they can go to in Skelton and Kevin Kolb. Neither, I believe, is in the place of Matt Leinart, who had already had multiple chances to convince the coaches he was the right choice and never did win them over. There is a little matter of the $7 million bonus the Cards just gave Kolb, which you don’t do and then dump a guy (which is what it would take for Lindley to be in a spot to play.) And there is also the circumstances of both Lindley’s rookie status — we know coach Ken Whisenhunt would rather not play rookies too soon — and where the season would have to be to create a Lindley opportunity. The Cards would have to be 1-7 or 0-8, I believe, and have not one but two QBs to be terrible for Lindley to get a shot. I just don’t see that happening.

(He’s got to beat out Richard Bartel for a roster spot too. Bartel isn’t going to just give it up.)

So what do the Cards have in Lindley? Football-wise, they have a big, strong pocket passer with potential. It may even be better in the locker room, at least according to his former college receiver and new Cardinals teammate DeMarco Sampson (pictured below with Lindley.)

“Just having him on the team, it’s selfish, but those last two seasons at San Diego State, he helped me a lot, having me stop all the partying, keeping me on the straight and narrow,” Sampson said. “He’s an uplifting guy. He’s a great teammate. He’ll never try to tear anyone down.

“He has a lot to learn, but he’s a good listener. He takes criticism well. He’s all upside to me. I’m biased I know, but he’s the type of guy you want on your team. I’m willing to put money on, if they wanted him to play receiver, he’d try it to help the team.”

There are reasons to like Lindley and what he can be. But you take a guy in the sixth round to sit, learn and develop. Not to play right away.

Getting some work in

The Cardinals are in phase two of their offseason work, which includes time spent with coaches on the field with their positional units (save for a little bit of time when the QBs can throw passes to the receivers, tight ends and running backs). No helmets, against air, but after an offseason without any of it, it’s welcome. (I will have a story on the quarterbacks getting work with new QB coach John McNulty later today.)

Right now is about fundamentals, whether it is dropping into coverage for the defensive backs, coming off the snap the right way for the offensive and defensive lines, or running the right routes to catch a pass. It’s about repetition (and, in Patrick Peterson’s case below, jumping for a ball tossed during a warm-up drill.)

The work in this phase goes for another couple of weeks, twice a week, until organized team activities start up. It’s basic, and short, and yet it’s always nice to have something that looks like football come up. It seems like the season ended years ago. Then again, it seems like training camp is right around the corner.

– Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald — who was out there for the workouts today — was ranked the ninth-best player in the NFL in 2011 by profootballfocus.com. Their analysis? Fitz would be even better with better quarterback play. I think that goes without saying.

Pondering things on a sad day for the NFL

With everything going on today with the death of former NFL star Junior Seau, talking about football-related matters seems trivial (especially when I saw the story about a shooting tragedy locally here near where I used to live.) Indeed, before the Seau news broke, even the Saints bounty player suspension news wasn’t exactly uplifting. Interesting in that case that the league said part of the evidence against linebacker Jonathan Vilma was that he offered a $10,000 bounty to knock Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner out of their playoff game in January of 2010. Not that we have to rehash all of that again.

– Great and heartfelt anecdote from Saints offensive lineman Eric Olsen about going up against Seau at a football camp when Olsen was a kid. A must-read.

– It was painful to see Seau’s mother trying to deal with this. If you ever think it might be time to give up, always remember there are people close to you that don’t want you to give up.

– I thought Chargers.com did a great job handling the situation.

– Congrats to Steve Keim for his front-office promotion. I’d guess this would help in the future when teams sniff around him for GM work (although it won’t stop it). And it’s a big deal getting Jason Licht back. They liked his work during his first tenure. It never hurts to have someone coming in who already knows how everything operates.

– For those wondering, the Cards had about $2.5 million of salary cap space as of Monday. With the news they have about $4.5 million to use in the rookie pool, they will still need to find more room they should be OK for now. (As Adamjt13 points out in the comments, the Cards actually should already have enough room with the offseason top 51 rule. My bad. He explains it well here, even if I may have been the media guy getting it wrong he was forced to update the article.)

– Finally, this is a great story written by former NFL defensive lineman Trevor Pryce. The next time you wonder why a player wants to “hang on” — or even why they’d subject themselves to an often brutal lifestyle, this is the answer.

Front office changes: UPDATE

In the NFL, the week or so after the draft is the time when personnel changes happen. The rules are such that personnel men can’t move from team to team as the draft approaches for obvious reasons. But new jobs are offered and teams make moves with scouts and the like right after, in that month or so when the scouting finally gets a break before gearing up for another marathon of work before the next draft.

So today comes a couple of reports concerning the Cardinals. A report first came out of New England, where Shalise Manza Young tweeted Patriots director of pro personnel Jason Licht was leaving the Patriots to take an unknown role with the Cards. Then Adam Caplan tweeted out Cardinals director of pro personnel T.J. McCreight was leaving to take a job with the Colts (which I have since confirmed.) The Cardinals have not announced anything officially.

If Licht sounds familiar, it’s because he worked for the Cardinals in 2008, hired away from the Eagles and was with the Cards for the Super Bowl year. He left after the Super Bowl to take the Patriots job, and McCreight was the one hired to replace him.

(Here’s a story I wrote about McCreight and fellow pro personnel guy Quentin Harris, for those wondering about what the job entails.)

UPDATE: It was all true and now official: Licht has returned to Arizona. McCreight, as I noted earlier is working for Indy. And on top of everything, Steve Keim — who was in the mix to be the Rams’ GM earlier this offseason, has been promoted to VP of player personnel. Read all about it here.

Eason gets his mind right

A year ago, newcomer Nick Eason played defensive line — mostly on the inside — at around 325 pounds. And it was too much.

“I thought about last year, how I played,” Eason said. “I thought about my game and a lot of it had to do with me not having myself prepared in the offseason with the lockout. I mean, I worked out, but I didn’t take it to the level I needed to. And when you get to camp, pretty much if you are not in shape then you won’t be in shape to be ready for the season.”

So Eason decided to change. A boxing fan, he was boxing as part of his workouts (and is still doing it once a week) and the pounds started coming off. By the time he showed up to the Cards’ offseason conditioning work, he had shaved 37 pounds off his frame. At 288 pounds, Eason said he wants to play this season about 295 pounds. It was all about being smarter as a 10-year veteran.

There was also a realization last year that he needed to do more after he was forced to start once starting nose tackle Dan Williams broke his arm, after backing up ends Calais Campbell and Darnell Dockett most of the season.

“My role changed,” Eason said. “All of a sudden I am starting,” Eason said. “A lot of time when you are running second on the defensive line and (a starter) goes down, you don’t have a backup. Your role triples. You are getting more reps than the starters.

“This year, I hope no one gets hurt, but I will be prepared more than I was last year. Plus I feel better. As you get older you want to be lighter on your joints. I want to take care of my body and play at a level I played at when I was a younger guy.”

Eason said he’s played lighter before, and it worked. “I was in great shape,” Eason said. “Best shape I’ve been in.”