PODCAST: Preseason Game 1 takeaways for Cardinals

Listen to the latest show going over what the Cardinals did in their preseason opener.

The Arizona Cardinals picked up a win in their preseason opener on Friday, defeating the Denver Broncos 18-17 on a last-second touchdown and two-point conversion.

The latest edition of the podcast focuses on the game. Seth Cox and I talk about who and what stood out in the game for the Cardinals, whether the win was important or not, and we looked at playing time trends to see if we could glean anything from it.

Enjoy the show! It will be the first of two shows this week.


Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple PodcastsSpotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!


Topics and times:

(1:00) Who and what stood out for the Cardinals in the preseason opener

(29:25) Why getting he win was important

(41:11) Playing time observations, Zach Ertz’s return, roster moves

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OL Hjalte Froholdt named a secret superstar of preseason Week 1

Froholdt appears ready to be in a starting role.

The Arizona Cardinals picked up a win in their first preseason game of the year on Friday. Several players stood out for their play.

But one player was recognized as being a “secret superstar” of the first week of the preseason.

According to Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, Cardinals starting center Hjalte Froholdt was one of the secret superstars of the weekend.

Selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 draft out of Arkansas, Froholdt became the first Danish-born position player ever selected in any professional football draft (Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen was taken in the fourth round of the 1982 draft by the Saints). He’s been around the NFL since, with stops in Houston, Cleveland, and now Arizona after the Patriots waived him. Last season was pretty rough for Froholdt, as he allowed seven sacks on the Browns’ offensive line — though four of them came when he was filling in at right guard.

Nonetheless, Froholdt seemed to know what he was doing when the Cardinals squared off against the Broncos on Thursday night, and he just plastered cornerback Damarri Mathis on this screen pass.

Froholdt also demolished Broncos (and former Cardinals) defensive lineman Zach Allen, one of the NFL’s better and more underrated interior disruptors.

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Froholdt made the list of one of the Cardinals to help their stock rise in the preseason opener.

Froholdt entered the offseason with sox NFL starts, four at center.

He has been working as the team’s starting center all offseason.

While many have felt the Cardinals were going to bring in an established veteran center, perhaps they trusted Froholdt to take the next steps and be a starting-caliber, physical presence in the middle of the offensive line.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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David Blough glad for even a preseason win

Blough has never been part of an NFL win in the regular season in nine appearances. The win on Friday felt good.

The Arizona Cardinals won their preseason opener 18-17 over the Denver Broncos on Friday. David Blough led the game-winning drive.

For a preseason win, the reaction in the locker room was quite happy.

There’s a reason for that. The Cardinals had not won at home since October 30.

It was especially sweet for Blough.

“In this league, it’s so hard to win — at least in my experience of four, going on five years,” he told reporters postgame. “I haven’t gotten to be a part of a ton of wins.  When you can win in this league, you win. It doesn’t matter if it’s preseason, a scrimmage, regular season, or postseason game, you have to take advantage of each win. It’s great for the team. It’s special and I’m happy for our organization.”

Blough wasn’t kidding when he said wins have been rare.

At least in the regular season, he has never played in a win.

He is 0-7 as a starter and the two other games in which he appeared, his teams were blown out.

So coming in and rallying, throwing a touchdown pass with two seconds left and then seeing running back Emari Demercado run in for the two-point conversion, it was really special.

It was extra special because his parents were at the game, knowing the plan was for him to play.

Blough finally got to experience winning in the NFL, even if it was just a preseason game. It still felt good.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Cardinals QB Clayton talks through preseason TD pass vs. Broncos

Tune sped up the snap count and recognized the defense the Broncos were going to give him. the result was some patience and a touchdown.

The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Denver Broncos 18-17 in their preseason opener on Friday at State Farm Stadium. One of the highlights was a second-half touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Clayton Tune to receiver Kaden Davis.

Check out the play:

https://youtube.com/shorts/3bdijhSNOdU?feature=share

 

Tune explained the play after the game and showed he was able to recognize the defense.

Tune sped up the snap count on the play.

We actually went on two there, so we tried to draw the coverage with the first cadence,” he said after the game. “I knew that the safety to his side was blitzing, so right then and there I knew I had it. Snapped the ball and let Kaden run a good route and throw it to him.”

The result was a seven-yard touchdown pass that make the score 17-10, setting up the Cardinals’ last-minute touchdown drive that resulted in the last-second win.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Jonathan Gannon pleased with rookie QB Clayton Tune’s play in preseason opener

Tune’s play earned praise from his head coach.

Rookie Clayton Tune was the quarterback to get the most playing time for the Arizona Cardinals in their preseason opener, an 18-17 victory.

Thus far in the offseason, he is getting a long look to be the Cardinals’ third quarterback on the roster behind Kyler Murray and Colt McCoy. If Murray is not ready to play at the start of the season, Tune could be the primary backup.

How did he do in his NFL preseason debut?

He completed 13-of-23 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown and interception. The interception probably would not have happened had Rondale Moore not slipped when he was making a cut.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon was pleased with Tune’s play.

A rookie in his first NFL game, he probably wants a couple of throws back just like I want a couple of things back,” Gannon said postgame. “I thought he made some plays with his legs, which is huge in today’s NFL. You see he’s a mobile guy. He placed a few throws in there, but like I said he’ll go back in there and all our guys will go back in there and say, ‘All right, let’s get onto details and how can I get a little bit better?’ But I was pleased with the operation from him.”

He was inaccurate on a few throws. He made mistakes but he also settled in and led scoring drives in the second half.

He will likely get extensive playing time in the final two preseason exhibitions as well.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Defensive snap counts for Cardinals in preseason opener vs. Broncos

See how the 64 defensive snaps were divided up on Friday.

The Arizona Cardinals played their preseason opener Friday night at State Farm Stadium, defeating the Denver Broncos 18-17.

The defense played 64 total snaps.

How was the playing time divided up?

Below are the individual snap counts for the defensive players, grouped by position group.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Offensive snap counts for Cardinals in preseason opener vs. Broncos

See how the 79 offensive snaps were divided up against the Broncos.

The Arizona Cardinals played their preseason opener Friday night at State Farm Stadium, defeating the Denver Broncos 18-17.

The offense played 79 total snaps.

How was the playing time divided up?

Below are the individual snap counts for the offensive players, grouped by position group.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals players whose stock went up in preseason opener

The Cardinals won the game and also had some players improve their chances for playing time or a roster spot.

The Arizona Cardinals picked up a win in their preseason opener Friday night, beating the Denver Broncos 18-17 on a last-second touchdown and two-points conversion.

More important than the final score was the play of individual players.

Which players helped themselves in the game?

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals 18, Broncos 17: Highlights from Arizona’s preseason win

Catch all the big plays from both plays in the Cardinals’ preseason-opening, last-second 18-17 win.

The Arizona Cardinals opened up the Jonathan Gannon era with a win at home. After falling behind 10-0 in the first half and 17-10 with 1:30 left in the game, quarterback David Blough led Arizona on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, throwing an 18-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brian Cobbs with two seconds remaining in the game. Then, undrafted rookie running back Emari Demercado, after initially appearing to get stuffed at the one-yard line, drove the pile forward to score on a two-point conversion to give the Cardinals a last-second 18-17 win over the Denver Broncos.

Both teams made plays.

After combining for 13 points through three quarters, they combined for 22 fourth-quarter points for an exciting finish.

Catch all the big plays and highlights below:

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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FINAL SCORE: Cardinals beat Broncos 18-17 on last-second TD, 2-point conversion

The Cardinals trailed 17-10 with 1:30 to go and ended with an 18-17 home win over the Broncos in the preseason.

The Arizona Cardinals had not won a game in State Farm Stadium since beating the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football. In one game under new head coach Jonathan Gannon, they have themselves a home win.

Thanks to two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, including an 18-yard touchdown pass from David Blough to Brian Cobbs and a two-point conversion run by undrafted rookie running back Emari Demercado, the Cardinals picked up an 18-17 last-second win in their preseason opener.

Here is how it went down:

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.