When Nick Rallis was asked what had impressed him most of all from the debut of first-round defensive lineman Walter Nolen III against the Cowboys earlier this week, the defensive coordinator quickly said, "His motor."
"He played hard. He played through fatigue," Rallis said. "I was joking once when he came off and said 'You look tired.' And he was like 'Man, I am tired.' But he played hard. He didn't loaf. That is the most impressive thing."
Here's the thing: Nolen's motor was one of the things suggested as a potential issue when he was coming out for the draft. But nothing he has done since arriving in Arizona suggests there is any merit. He worked hard enough at his calf rehab that even with about four practices total after months off he was in good enough shape to be activated. And then he did what he did in Dallas.
For those who forgot: A sack, two tackles for loss, a pass batted down in 37 snaps. He was only the fourth NFL player to have such a stat line in his first NFL game, and the first since T.J. Watt in 2017.
"That's all I know how to do, is play fast and violent," Nolen said. "I felt like I brought that to the defense (in Dallas) and I will continue to do that every week."
Veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell said he liked how Nolen was receptive to discussion/coaching from Campbell during the game. Campbell had said after the game he just wanted Nolen to not get ahead of himself and believe he had arrived after one performance.
That he is going against an improved Seattle offensive line in game No. 2 will be something to watch. Nolen, who isn't going to fill up a notebook anyway, wasn't proclaiming himself arrived. He wouldn't say the game was easier than expected, or if there was any one moment where it clicked. (He did have a tackle for loss on his second snap.)
"Really it was me just getting comfortable and trusting in my guys and me being in my spot," Nolen said. "The plays will come to me, and they ended up coming to me."
It's early. But Nolen sure looks every bit of a first-round pick. And if the Cardinals have found their own version of an interior game-wrecker – necessary in today's NFL – their defense will have a much needed anchor for years to come.
-- It's less than ideal that the Cardinals will be without their top inside linebacker (Mack Wilson Sr.) and two of their top three cornerbacks (Will Johnson and Max Melton). Injuries happen. The cornerback situation in particular hurts against a Seahawks passing offense that has evolved into arguably the league's best at the moment. It's also disappointing when the defense was just starting to get guys back and did so well (10 points allowed) to the high-flying Cowboys.
Denzel Burke, Kei'Trel Clark, you are up. (And it's noteworthy that in the first Seattle game, when Jaxson Smith-Njigba was good but not great, that the Cardinals were missing Johnson and Garrett Williams to injury.)
-- GM Monti Ossenfort, during his appearance on Arizona Sports on Friday, said Kyler Murray was in the building working hard to rehab his foot. Ossenfort said he thinks Murray will return this season. Asked if Murray would go back into the lineup at that point, Ossenfort said that was too far down the road to say. "A lot can happen."
-- Since Brissett got into the lineup, the Cardinals lead the NFL in third-down conversions at 56.1 percent, and in those three games, the Cardinals have converted a third down of at least 10 yards to go seven times. The Chargers are the only other team above 50 percent on third-down conversions in that three-game stretch.
-- There are two teams in the league with three edge rushers who have each generated a pressure rate above 14 percent on at least 100 pass rushes, according to Next Gen Stats. One is the Seahawks, not a surprise, given how well they are playing. The other? The Cardinals with Josh Sweat's 29 pressures (14.6 percent), Baron Browning's 19 (14.5) and Zaven Collins' 18 (15.5).
"Zaven was in his bag this week," Campbell said. "That was the best he's played."
Campbell joked that Collins missing a couple sacks this season has actually helped Campbell get some. Collins, Campbell added, should have five or six sacks now. "He'd get the recognition he deserves."
"Hopefully some of them start to fall your way," Collins said. "I like to see other guys get sacks too. I was pressing the pocket on Walt's sack. I was the closest to the QB when I heard a loud bang. I was like, 'Shoot, that's Walt.'
"The nice part is everyone is rushing at an intense level so it lets you cover a mistake when one happens."
-- Running back Emari Demercado had an excellent game in Dallas, in part because of the pass protection he provides. Coach Jonathan Gannon said that was not only noticeable against the Cowboys, but also the game before.
"We missed him in the Green Bay game," Gannon said of Demercado, who had to sit out against the Packers with an ankle injury.
It's funny because Demercado said he was terrible at pass protection in college and wasn't sure exactly how he improved so much (he's been trusted by these coaches since he was a rookie.) Gannon said it becomes a mind game for a back in pass pro.
"Most of the running backs in the NFL that carry the ball a lot are tough because they get hit for a living," he said. "Check that box. Technique, if they want to do it, they will probably get better at it. The thing that separates them is their brain. Emari does a good job of it."
-- Kedon Slovis, who has already been the backup for three games, will stay one play away for the time being. (QB coach Israel Woolfork admitted that during the Packers game, after Jacoby Brissett was dragged down on a hip-drop tackle and looked worse for wear, he told Slovis to start warming up.) Undrafted in 2024, he has yet to appear in a regular-season game.
He said the Cardinals' offense has been the easiest to learn since he's been in the league, and credited Brissett for helping him in the process. "He just does things the right way," Slovis said.
Slovis, who is from Scottsdale and went to Desert Mountain High School, grew up a Cardinals fan and said running out of the tunnel for the Packers game at State Farm Stadium was one of the most special moments in his life.
"Being in a Cardinals uniform means a lot to me," Slovis said.
-- With his two sacks against the Cowboys, Campbell already has five sacks this season – his 15th (out of 19) in which he's reached five sacks. There are only three other players who have had at least five sacks in 15 seasons. All three are in the Hall of Fame: Bruce Smith, Julius Peppers, and Reggie White.
-- The last word goes to Josh Sweat, on if the defense took a step forward in the Dallas game and whether that could be a harbinger of things to come.
"We've been playing really good defense all year. It's just the fourth quarter killing us. It's one of two things that had to happen. Either do better in the fourth quarter – which happened – or completely just dominate the first three so that when (expletive) goes wrong, there's no way they can catch up."
Sweat was chuckling as he said it. Doesn't make it any less true.
See you Sunday.
