One thing is for sure about last night’s practice, the Arizona Cardinals are ready to play against somebody else. It was a common theme among all the players who spoke of the practice, as all the players seemed tired of going up against their teammates. Although the intensity was high, there were mixed results from the play.
The offense started off by going three and out on their first two drives, but then revved it up and had some big plays, including a long touchdown pass from Kevin Kolb to tight end Rob Housler. Towards the middle of the practice, Kolb threw two interceptions on back-to-back possessions, with Patrick Peterson picking off the first one. The competition grew as the evening progressed, with the offense and defense going after each other both verbally and physically. Both sides were taking great satisfaction at the success they were having, as the momentum shifted from defense to offense throughout the night.
During the goal line drill at the end, the offense picked it up again. Larry Fitzgerald made a juggling catch for a touchdown, followed by a naked bootleg by John Skelton that fooled the entire defense. The defense did not appreciate the way Skelton practically walked into the end zone holding the ball outstretched in his hand. After that embarrassing defensive play, things really heated things up, and the intensity of the night went to an entirely new level. The competition was fierce at the end, with players diving all over the field. The defense finished strong by forcing a fumble on the last play, and coach Whisenhunt decided to call it a night before somebody got hurt.
When asked about who won, the players came up with different responses. Calais Campbell said "I play defense, of course I thought we won." When Kevin Kolb was asked about who won, he provided the politically correct answer by saying "We tied. We were asking for a tiebreaker but Whiz wouldn’t give it to us." Larry Fitzgerald provided a psychological answer by saying "probably defense… they had a lot of spirit… they competed well," hoping to motivate the offense even more. Jeremy Bridges, who was definitely one of the more vocal players throughout the evening, probably said it best when he was asked who won by simply stating "The Cardinals."