National Football League

Coach likes intensity as Cardinals wrap up camp

Published Aug. 21, 2010 2:25 a.m. ET

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Maybe it's the thin air. Perhaps it's all those forecasts that Arizona's reign atop the NFC West is about to come to an end.

Whatever the reason, coach Ken Whisenhunt said one of the things that pleased him most in his fourth training camp at Northern Arizona University was the intensity of the Cardinals' practices.

''That's been consistent through the three weeks,'' he said. ''Usually in training camp you'll have a lull that you have to fight through, and it can get pretty bad at times. This year we didn't have that.''

Arizona held the final afternoon workout Friday on its practice fields among the pines at an elevation of 7,000 feet. Two practices had been scheduled, but Whisenhunt canceled the morning workout.

''I think our chemistry has developed rapidly with this team,'' he said. ''I think the competition that we've had between the offense and the defense has aided that a lot. You guys have seen a number of the scuffles that we've had, and that's been a byproduct of the units wanting to win.''

The Cardinals will have a morning workout on Saturday, then head down Interstate 17 to Phoenix for a flight to Tennessee and a nationally televised preseason game against the Titans on Monday night. They will stay for a joint practice with the Titans next Wednesday and will work out at Vanderbilt University on Thursday before playing at Chicago on Saturday.

Running back Tim Hightower agreed that it had been an aggressive three weeks.

''It seemed like a lot more guys were competing,'' he said. ''It seemed like the defense really challenged the offense, which was a good thing. I think offensively we did a good job of responding to the challenge as well. So I think it was a really good, physical camp.''

Whisenhunt said he called off the morning practice because he felt his team needed the break after running more than 80 plays in a night workout on Wednesday, followed by a difficult practice on Thursday.

''I knew it was going to be tough to get back up for an afternoon practice, especially one in pads, but they fought through it,'' he said of the Thursday effort. ''It wasn't our best practice, but they did fight their way through it. That's when I thought `You know give them a chance to rest their legs, heal up some injuries, get some treatment, do some of our weightlifting.'''

He said the concept of giving teams this kind of a break came from coach Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh, where Whisenhunt was the offensive coordinator.

''I think one of your jobs as a head coach is having a good feel for your team,'' Whisenhunt said. ''I've done things like this at different times during the four years (in Arizona). This was another one of those, but I think it is important.''

The team leaves with two of its top three wide receivers injured. Larry Fitzgerald has a sprained right knee and hopes to be ready for the season opener Sept. 12 at St. Louis. Early Doucet is out with an abdominal strain and might not play until the final preseason game Sept. 2 against Washington. Inside linebacker Gerald Hayes missed the entire camp while recovering from back surgery and there is no timetable for his return.

Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, always one to keep the intensity as high as possible, said he was glad to get out of Flagstaff

''It was a very physical camp. It was fun, though. I don't even know if I want to break camp,'' he said, adding - perhaps as a joke, perhaps not. ''I just want to leave from here. I hate this place.''

Still, he said, ''Camp was good. I think we kind of grew as a team. We've still got a lot of work to do.''

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