Larry Fitzgerald and DRC / Photo by Krag Klages
There is always so much made of the fierce training camp position battles that decide who will start the regular season (think Cardinals' tight ends or 49ers' QB's), but one of the more fun parts of watching training camp practices is following those battles that won't necessarily crown a starter, but are still competitive enough to garner attention.
For example, one of the best rivalries on the Cardinals practice field yesterday wasn't a position battle at all. It came near the end of practice when the wide receivers went up against the defensive backs when what is arguably the best wide receiver in the country, Larry Fitzgerald, went one-on-one with what looks to be the cover-corner of the future, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. This battle isn't new, as it started at the end of camp last year, but it is still a lot of fun to watch.
Every time these two go up for a ball, you can sense the passion and the will to win in an almost singular moment - both of their eyes fixated on one thing...that football. And if you know anything about these two players, you know that they both want the football in the worst way. Yesterday, DRC took the victory, but ask anyone who's watched the Cardinals' camps the last two years, and they'll probably tell you that this war is about 50-50. Which, in my mind says a lot about both players.
DRC shut down opponents last year and looks to be even better going into this season. The fact that Larry Fitzgerald can even come down with the ball is incredible. But to a certain extent, we've all come to expect Larry to win one-on-one drills, so what really wow's the crowd is the fact that DRC can actually cover Fitzgerald. I mean, who else in the league can do that? I'm waiting...That's right, no one.
The other position battle that has of yet come to fruition, but will no doubt, is the running back competition of Chris "Beanie" Wells and Tim Hightower. Though at this point, it is more of a media position battle than an actual one (Wells was still working with the third-string yesterday while Jason Wright took snaps with the second team), Wells has the potential to push Hightower sooner than later. Wells left practice yesterday, but it was just an ankle sprain , so he should be back soon.
Some will argue that this is an actual position battle, but I would strongly disagree...and so would Tim Hightower. Yesterday, when asked about whether or not he fears losing the starting job to Wells, Hightower responded, "He's my teammate and it's my job to get him better and my job to challenge him and help us win. I'm not really getting caught up in whether I'm starting or not."
It is no secret that two backs can be better than one (think Tennessee Titans or Carolina Panthers) and Wells and Hightower both know it. Hightower went on to say, "Two is always better than one - You've got one guy who runs hard and comes in there and then you've got another guy who comes in there and does just as well and it ends up wearing the defense down. They're going to get tired if you've got two backs who are two quality guys who mesh pretty well and complement each other - it keeps the defense on their heels."
They'll push each other, they'll both want to be the best, but ultimately, they'll probably both get a lot of carries. And if the Cardinals actually get a running game...holy cow, look out.
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