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Happy Pads Day! And Camp Practice Aftermath

Tune continues to get work; Togiai makes impression at tight end

It wasn't a fight -- we know how those can go south -- but at the end of the one-on-one pass patterns early in Tuesday's practice, there was an early glimpse of how the emotions could rise.

Rookie wide receiver Michael Wilson, while being grabbed by second-year cornerback Christian Matthew, was still able to hold on to a short pass. Immediately, Wilson decided to get up in Matthew's face and say something about it. Matthew reciprocated in kind. And we were off.

"Knowing pro football players, when you put on shoulder pads for the first time, yeah, there will be a little bit of added juice," coach Jonathan Gannon had said about an hour before.

This is the longest week of training camp. The Cardinals, while they will still have high- and low-tempo days, are going six straight days through the Red and White Practice on Saturday (which is expected to be padded.) Emotions figure to get tested as much as football ability and knowledge.

"They aren't going to feel great," Gannon said. "It's how we structured camp. It's a little bit of a test mentally and physically, where the installs are, with what we are asking them to to physically on the field."

The ramp-up of camp is over. The grind is here.

"Honestly I was trying to not to like, die," tackle D.J. Humphries said. "Just keep my technique tight. I don't even know where the ball was going. All I know is I made all my blocks, in position, didn't have any men ... I had one mental error, I take that back. That's pretty much what I was focused on.

"There was a lot of cheering, so it seemed like it went alright."

-- Gannon said with linebacker Myjai Sanders' hand injury, they should "see him out here pretty shortly." Wide receiver Hollywood Brown and tight end Trey McBride continue to dress but do very little. Gannon declined to get into specifics. "Sometimes it might not be what you guys think, depending on the player," he said. "They each have an individual plan." Running back Keaontay Ingram also remained sidelined.

-- The tight ends seem like they are getting thin, whether it is injury-related or rep-related when it comes to their sports science department. It looked like quarterback Jeff Driskel took a couple of snaps as a tight end during points in practice, which would make sense. McBride already wasn't working and Zach Ertz is on the PUP list, and while they were dressed out Geoff Swaim and rookie Joel Honingford also stopped participating. That left only Bernhard Seikovits, Noah Togiai, and rookie Blake Whiteheart at the position.

-- The first 11-on-11 full-padded play of camp was a play-action pass -- under center -- by Colt McCoy. No one was open and he was "sacked" by Cam Thomas.

-- Clayton Tune continues to get a lot of reps, including significant work behind the first-unit offensive line while McCoy sat out a period. It was a mixed bag for the rookie quarterback, but he is definitely going to get his chances to show what he can do this month.

-- L.J. Collier made some early penetration on the defensive line to mess up a couple plays.

-- Togiai, who is having a good camp, caught touchdown passes from both Tune and David Blough. Cornerback Nate Hairston made what would've been a pick-6 on a Blough throw into the flat, and linebacker Josh Woods made a nice goal-line interception of McCoy.

-- For those planning to attend Saturday's Red & White Practice, the times have been changed slightly. Practice is now scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m., with the end about 2:45 p.m.

Linebacker Josh Woods celebrates an interception on Tuesday.
Linebacker Josh Woods celebrates an interception on Tuesday.
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