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Cardinals rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. looks for consistency after a breakaway

Vaseline3 weeks ago

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Cardinals rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. looks for consistency after a breakaway

It was exactly how the visions of Marvin Harrison Jr. expired in April and August. Six catches. 111 meters. A touchdown. A victory. The Arizona Cardinals in first place. This is why they drafted Harrison fourth overall.

And yet, in Harrison’s eyes, it wasn’t satisfying.

“It feels good,” Harrison said. “In this competition everyone shows flashes sometimes. The best players do it week in week out and show consistency. So that’s kind of where I am now.”

Harrison would know. In Week 2, he broke out with 130 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams. Over the next five games, he managed just 15 catches for 166 yards. For a month he was completely pedestrian, an uninspiring part of an uninspiring passing attack.

So the goal is to make sure Sunday in Miami is replicable. Harrison believes this is possible because he is “playing faster” than he was at the start of the season.

“I make decisions faster,” Harrison said. ‘I read the defense. That’s part of my preparation, my film study during the week, getting an idea of what the defense likes to do. By allowing myself to go out there and play fast, I think I’ve gotten better at that every week.”

To that end, he pointed to two plays from Sunday. On his first reception of the play, he identified Cover-2 and as soon as a linebacker followed Michael Wilson through the play, he knew he would have an open pocket on the right side of the field.

“I was under the (middle linebacker) and just trying to sit in the zone there on the far crosser,” Harrison said.

Later, on a key third down reception, he quickly discovered man coverage – another area of growth. That gave him a little indication of how to route his route to best help Kyler Murray. “I knew there was a man there,” Harrison said. “I had to open up quickly.”

These are the moments of mental recognition that only come with film study and practice.

“These games are huge for a rookie and I think the sky is the limit for him,” Murray said. “So to have a game like that and be able to build on it is huge.”

However, Harrison also acknowledged that he hadn’t done anything different this week in particular. His development has not come from a single turning point or epiphany, but rather from the continued progress made through accumulating positive weeks of practice. This week was different simply because “I happened to be in positions to make more plays than before,” he said.

And why did he believe that was the case?

“The play calling, Kyler giving me opportunities to make plays, the defense we got,” Harrison said. “It takes not just me, but all ten other guys on the field to succeed as a player. So I’m not the only one.”

Cardinals open practice window for Jonah Williams

When right tackle Jonah Williams went down with a knee injury late in the first quarter of Week 1, it threatened to end his season. However, Williams’ recovery was surprisingly quick and in October the Cardinals realized he would likely return this year.

On Wednesday, they took their first official step toward that goal, opening Williams’ practice window. Williams, who was a limited participant in his first practice, must now be activated to the 53-man roster on Nov. 20 or he will not be eligible to return this season.

After signing a two-year, $30 million free agency, Williams made an immediate impact in Week 1. He helped protect Murray as the Cardinals scored on their first three drives.

“It was a really fun 22 photos,” Williams said. “I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed being part of the team and it was fun. … It would be disappointing at any time of the year, but I thought, man, I’m going to sprint out the gate and then fall down after the first three steps.

Kelvin Beachum has performed well at his position, with just nine pressures and three sacks on 223 pass-blocking snaps, but Williams’ eventual return will be a boon for this offensive line. Head coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t give any indication of when that would be, but it seems possible it could happen as early as Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

Vaseline3 weeks ago

0 3 minutes read

Cardinals open practice window for Jonah Williams

Vaseline

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