By Kevin Bonneville
Camp is now under way at Flagstaff. Taking an in depth look at the Cardinals offense is finished, so I will move to the other side of the ball with the defense. First up, the defensive line.
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Calais Campbell: Coming out of Miami, Campbell was highly thought of coming out of college because of his size and his freakish athletic ability coming off the edge. He proved that he was worth the second round pick last season in his only second year in the league. The 23-year-old had 47 tackles and seven sacks and was a constant nuisance for opposing teams quarterbacks. He has freakish height at 6′7″ for an end which allows him to knock down a lot of passes. He also has great speed off of the edge. This is said a lot in sports, but the sky is truly the limit for him. He is that talented and is a guy that is a Pro Bowl guy down the line, if not as soon as this year if he continues make big strides.
Darnell Dockett: Across from Campbell will be Dockett, who has already been to two Pro Bowls and was a first team All-Pro selection last year. Even though he may be known by some for his off the field antics, which includes posting a shower video on his Twitter account during the off-season, the guy has turned into one of the best defensive ends in the game. Why is he so successful year in and year out? There is no guy that works harder than he does in the league and that is why he has gotten so much better since his rookie season. Dockett is looking for a new contract, but don’t expect it to effect his play on the field. The man is a gamer.
Depth guys: Alan Branch will be the main guy backing up both Dockett and Campbell. Branch was considered a steal by most when he was drafted in the second round back in 2007, but he has failed to live up to his potential so far with his play on the field and his inability to stay in shape at times. He started to show some signs of life last season with two sacks to go along with 18 tackles. Kenny Iwebema will provide solid depth behind Branch and is also solid on special teams. Keilen Dykes and Dean Muhtadi will try to duke it out to see if they can make the roster. Dykes made one tackle in two games last year and Muhtadi has yet to see the field in his pro career.
Bryan Robinson: Just because Ken Whisenhunt isn’t a huge fan of starting rookies, Robinson should be the starter at DT when the season starts in St. Louis. At 36 years old, Robinson has certainly lost a step, but he is still good enough to do a solid job of plugging the gap against the run. His 28 tackles last season were the highest he had in three seasons, so it appears as though he has a little left in the tank. Robinson’s biggest job in camp will be to help mentor the next guy that I will talk about.
Dan Williams: I have made no secret how much I loved when he was taken by the Cards in the first round back in April. Most draft experts agreed with me too. They thought that Williams could have went in the Top 10 in the first round, but he fell all the way to AZ at 26. Williams has all the tools to be an elite defensive tackle for years to come and some think that he will start right off the bat, but he has a big learning curve ahead of him with playing the 3-4 at the pro level. It will be best for his development for him to start the year behind Robinson, but don’t expect it to last too long. This guy is going to be a good one.
Depth guys: Is is not or never for Gabe Watson. He has shown some signs of being a good player, but he has never been able to put it all together. Maybe with the addition of Williams, the competition will bring out the best in Watson. If not, this will probably be his last season in a Cardinals uniform. Jeremy Clark will be behind him. He played four games with the Giants back in 2008.
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