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Cardinals Get Early Work In London

After arriving, team has plan to help players get adjusted to time difference

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Money linebacker Deone Bucannon (left) and linebacker Kareem Martin share a laugh during the Cardinals' light workout Tuesday.


BRENTFORD, England – With a castle looming behind them and cows less than a football field away, the Cardinals got on the grass for the first time here Tuesday afternoon.

"I'm tired and this is not cool," weary tackle D.J. Humphries said. "I want to go to sleep and I can't go to sleep. If I go to sleep, it'll all be thrown off. I've got to stay up, there are cows over there, the grass is long, got a castle right here, and I'm pretty sure it's haunted. I'm pretty sure I saw a ghost a minute ago. This is a sight."

The team traveled through the night Monday, jumping ahead eight hours, and in an effort to get body clocks adjusted as soon as possible, players were put through about 10 minutes of light calisthenics near their hotel at Syon Park.

The Cardinals will begin their normal week of practice Wednesday afternoon.

"That was a seriously long trip – can't lie about that," wide receiver Jaron Brown said. "Probably take me a

day or two to get used to it. But it's good we came early to get acclimated."

The sleep deprivation was about the only thing the Cardinals had gotten out of their trip thus far.

"It's a little bit of a blur," tight end Troy Niklas said. "We haven't seen a whole lot, but you definitely know you're in London because of the accents."

Getting in some work, albeit not much more than stretching, was designed to keep the players awake as they deal with an eight-hour time difference. They got on the field about 2 p.m., which was 6 a.m. Arizona time.

Niklas loved the idea. He had traveled to Europe before for a game, having played in Ireland with the University of Notre Dame in college. In that instance, the Fighting Irish not only went from the plane to a workout right away, but actually had a full-padded practice.

"This is nice we don't have that full-on practice, just get a workout in and ease into it," Niklas said. "But it'll be beneficial for everyone on the team."

That makes sense to Humphries.

"Whatever we've got to do to be ready for this game, I'm here," Humphries said. "I never understand it but it always seems to work so I'm just going to listen like I always do."

On their arrival day, the players get in some stretching to stay awake with the time change



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