On the first play of the game, Darius Robinson made a tackle. Shortly thereafter, he received a holding penalty.
It was a good start for the Cardinals’ “other” first-round pick, who has been playing at a high level since training camp practice and should be the cornerstone of the defensive line for years to come. But with all the veterans sitting out Saturday’s season opener, there were plenty of other young players doing all the drills.
Rabbit Taylor-Demerson, the safety, played into the third quarter and showed off both his big shot potential and definitely his speed. There was one play in the first half when no one was in the flat near Saints tight end Dallin Holker and out of nowhere Rabbit exploded into the frame and took him down. The speed of second-year inside linebacker Owen Pappoe was also on display.
“I like Rabbit, man,” Pappoe said with a grin. “The future of this defense is bright.”
It’s a preseason game and, as Jonathan Gannon said, there are things to learn. The coach blamed the 58-yard bomb just before halftime on a communication problem, although rookie cornerback Elijah Jones appeared to be in coverage. Rookie guard Isaiah Adams had his ups and downs.
But Starling Thomas V continues to push at cornerback. Rookie Xavier Thomas had a sack (and earned praise from Gannon – “He played high, with a lot of momentum, with a lot of effort. … He caught my eye.”
And they have to like what they see in Robinson.
— There are still two preseason games left, plus two key practices against the Colts that will likely be more important in the evaluation than a run-of-the-mill practice. But the battle for the quarterback spot behind Kyler Murray will be interesting. Desmond Ridder has struggled more than Clayton Tune, but Ridder played against better players as a starter. That should change next week. Gannon also pointed out that Ridder didn’t get much help — the offensive line that started struggled.
But it would have been nice to see Ridder pair up with Andre Baccellia on the fourth down, which should have been a touchdown. That would have made a big difference both on the scoreboard and in the analytics.
— Rookie running back Trey Benson, who rushed for 21 yards on eight carries, was just trying to come to terms with playing in an NFL game for the first time. “Even the guys on the other team,” Benson said. “I was like, ‘Is this really like Tyrann Mathieu?’ It was crazy. It was surreal.”
– Running back Michael Carter looked good (5.9 yards per carry and one touchdown) and DeeJay Dallas looks to be a key part of the special teams. Emari Demercado did not play due to a minor shoulder issue, but some decisions need to be made about how many running backs to keep.
— Gannon said the Cardinals emerged from the game with no injuries. The team will travel to Indianapolis for a joint practice on Tuesday.
