Everybody loves comfortable things.
Comfortable shoes.
A comfortable bed.
Heck, even comfort food is rarely discouraged.
For the Arizona Cardinals it was a common word tossed around with the media after the first day of organized team activities Tuesday at their Tempe headquarters. For head coach Bruce Arians, most of his staff, quarterback Carson Palmer and others the start of OTA’s had a much different, more relatable tone than early last summer.
“Where we’re at this point is light years from where we were last year,” Arians said. “It’s like night and day.”
The biggest benefactor may be Palmer who Arians said was coaching his teammates under the bright Arizona sun Tuesday compared to last year when he was mostly learning Arians’ offensive scheme.
“Comparing today to a year ago this day, there’s no comparison,” Palmer said after the Cards initial workout. “This was fun. This was enjoyable. Myself and other guys were out here last year just swimming. Inside your head you’re thinking about 80 different things. Today I was thinking about one thing.”
It was also a first time back on the practice field for last year’s first-round pick Jonathan Cooper, who missed the entire season after breaking his leg in the preseason against the San Diego Chargers, as well as linebacker Sam Acho who broke his right fibula in-season against the Saints.
“I’m feeling good,” the seemingly always smiling Acho said. “I’m excited to be back on the field. I got my cleats on, my jersey. It’s been about nine months since I’ve been able to play football.”
Eric Sorenson
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