Sports360AZ
Tuesday marks the beginning of Cardinals minicamp, and from my vantage point, there’s quite a few story lines you should keep an eye on if you’re a Cardinals fan.
First and foremost is the battle for the No. 1 slot at quarterback between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know what went down last season with Kolb and his truckload of injuries which severely hampered his season, which allowed Skelton to make a beeline for the top spot.
And Skelton made the best of a bad situation, going 5-2 in the seven games he started in place of Kolb.
Head coach Ken Whisenhunt is embracing competition at every position, and the fight for this position will most definitely be THE most chronicled one of all.
From what I saw from Kolb during OTAs, he looked good, had good footwork, good field vision and hit his receivers with relative ease.
I can also say the same thing about Skelton.
The 24-year-old displayed the same qualities when he was under center, which has to make quarterbacks coach John McNulty a happy man.
I like competition. It seems to bring out the best in a man.
This should be a fight that should go on all the way until the Seahawks come in town on September 9.
Staying on the offensive side, I’m really excited to see what running back Ryan Williams and the entire running game will do this year.
Williams’ season came to an abrupt end last August in a preseason game in Green Bay, as he ruptured a tendon in his right knee.
A tragedy for a young man who was looked upon at the time as being a strong counter to Beanie Wells in the backfield.
The wonderful thing about the human body is that it can and does heal from injuries, and Williams is back and ready to show and prove.
Wells is also coming off knee surgery as well, and has been slowly upping his output since OTAs began a few weeks ago.
The Cardinals are smart to ease their stallion back into things, instead of rushing him back, risking a freak injury and Wells being on the shelf even longer.
Beanie has to continue to be a force in this offense, if the Cardinals want to take that “next level” step and make a run for New Orleans in February.
If he and Williams can stay healthy and play with and off each other like they are capable of doing, then the Cardinals running game will be a force to be reckoned with this season.
On the defensive side, Dan Williams is a guy I’m looking at, among others.
The Volunteer was coming into his own last season, before breaking his arm in San Francisco in Week 11.
When I spoke with him during Week Three of OTAs, he said he was about “98 percent” back, and had full mobility and motion in his left arm.
Williams is a major cog in that front line, along with Darnell Dockett and Calais Campbell.
Three monsters up front can cause much damage to opposing offenses week in and week out, which is just what the Cardinals want to dial up every week.
I could go forever with this team, as they are an intriguing bunch who should do very well this season, if they stay relatively healthy, play up to, if not beyond their potential and don’t beat themselves.
