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The Arizona Cardinals kick off the 2017 NFL preseason with the Hall of Fame Game against the Dallas Cowboys in Canton, Ohio. 

Follow along with us here for updates, news and analysis.

Third-quarter thoughts

I completely dig former University of Arizona middle linebacker Scooby Wright, but the madman is going to get screamed at for not finishing an open-field tackle as the Cardinals opened the second half in Canton against the Cowboys.

The defensive backs looked even worse at the outset of the second half when EZ Nwachukwu was allowed to get wide open on a 14-yard scoring pass from Cooper Rush. It appeared that the Cardinals called out the pick block, but alas, no one responded and well, that’s what you’re going to get this early between second- and third-stringers.

Loved the anxiousness from rookie running back T.J Logan when he wanted to return a kick out of the end zone, but thankfully, a teammate alertly demanded he take a knee and let the Cardinals operate from the 20-yard line. Nervous energy can be a bad – and dumb – thing.

Loved the big play by Cardinals rookie Chad Williams on the nice slant rout. Trevor Knight with a great throw and Williams, the third-round pick, finished it very well with a run out of bounds on a big gain. He will be one of the six wide receivers Bruce Arians decided to keep once the roster gets cut to 53 men.

Punter Matt Wile came in as a kicker and booted a 38-yard field goal with 4:34 left in the third quarter to give the Cardinals an 18-17 lead. Why is a punter kicking field goals for the Cardinals, you ask? Its’ that position flexibility the team always talks about and, of yeah, remember that Bruce Arians wasn’t going to play any of his starters tonight – even on special teams, apparently.

For the record, regular kicker Phil Dawson doesn’t kick more than two days in a row during the preseason. That includes camp practices, yes.

“That’s how I’ve always done it,” Dawson told me the other day.

Watch and learn

Wide receiver Chad Williams is in the midst of his first training camp and preseason after getting drafted in the third round this year out of Grambling State, and the rookie seems to be embracing his surroundings.

He’s earned praise from his teammates for how he’s worked to acclimate, and coach Bruce Arians has said the team could count on Williams if he continues to improve.

Having a role model in Larry Fitzgerald to learn from probably helps, and it looked like Williams is applying what he’s noticing from Fitzgerald to Thursday’s game.

In the third quarter, Williams followed up a catch with a block on an ensuing sequence – juggling roles like Fitzgerald is known to do, as the NBC broadcast team pointed out.

It remains to be seen how much responsibility Williams could receive this year, but being versatile could easily help his pursuit.

Some first-half observations

I liked Blaine Gabbert, who is gunning to try and overtake Drew Stanton for the No.2 quarterback job behind Carson Palmer. I’m not sure he’ll ever get it, but he hasn’t hurt his chances in this exhibition game against the Cowboys, finishing the first half by looking very sharp and going 11 of 14 for 185 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

“I didn’t know Gabbert had this kind of arm,” NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth gushed during the final seconds of the first half.

Gabbert showed some decent touch on his intermediate throws, which we haven’t seen enough of during the early portions of training camp. We’ll need to see a lot more moving forward, of course, but this was a good start for a guy a lot of us were surprised received a one-year deal from the Cardinals.

On the flip side, it wasn’t such a good first half for cornerback Brandon Williams, who got burned on two straight pass plays in the second quarter. First, he got burned on a long pass completion by biting on a stutter-step move and then he was hit with a pass-interference call. Not good if he wants to outplay Justin Bethel, who isn’t playing, and win the starting right corner job opposite Patrick Peterson.

I’m wondering how much more newly-signed veteran Tramon Williams, who also isn’t playing tonight, will get a chance to win that job at right corner.

I thought second-year defensive tackle Robert Nkemidche flashed for a while, showing us his ability to shoot into the backfield and be disruptive, but I want to see a lot more before I’m sold he can move ahead of anybody starting ahead of him on the defensive front – Frostee Rucker or Josh Mauro, specifically.

As we head to halftime, it’s Cardinals 15, Cowboys 10 in Canton, Ohio, and when the second half begins, we’ll get a long hard look at undrafted rookie free-agent quarterback Trevor Knight along with one of my favorite players in camp, David Johnson-look alike running back Elijhaa Penny, whom I believe will crack the final active roster.

–Bob McManaman

Gabbert getting it done

Blaine Gabbert, who is getting the entire first half to see if he can move into the No.2 spot behind starting quarterback Carson  Palmer, has looked decent against the Cowboys’ non-starters tonight.

His 29-yard completion down the middle to wide receiver Jeremy Ross was especially notable considering Gabbert has been fast-balling a lot of his intermediate throws in camp and they haven’t been caught or always near his target.

He also hasn’t taken off on a ton of runs – something he has done repeatedly in camp when his first or second option isn’t there. Gabbert completed each of his first seven passes for 136 yards. Impressive.

Cowboys get a TD

Rico Gathers with a fantastic catch in the end zone over the coverage of safety Ironhead Gallon. Pass plays covers 26 yards and the Cowboys cut the score to 15-7 following the extra point.

Gathers had the inside position on Gallon, but plenty of inches, too.

Defensive backs need to step up in this game to impress coach Arians and staff.

We have touchdowns

Andre Ellington bullied his way through the tackles for a touchdown plunge with the No.2 offense and the Cardinals complete a 75-yard drive behind QB Blaine Gabbert.

Lots of work from RB Kerwynn Williams on the drive.

Extra-point attempt is good, but defensive penalty on Cowboys makes Cardinals go for two points on the 1-yard line.

And … Gabbert’s pass to J.J. Nelson is broken up in the end zone so we line up again at the half-yard line. Gabbert bulls his way in for the two-pointer and it’s 15-0.

Warner recognized pregame

Former Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was recognized pregame, walking out onto the field along with the other Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees – while receiver Larry Fitzgerald (who isn’t playing in the game against the Cowboys) smiled and clapped.

“Amazed that I’m actually standing here right now,” Warner told NBC’s Michele Tafoya.

Warner was clearly able to make it to the game in time, but some of his family members needed some help getting to Canton, Ohio. A couple hours before kickoff, Warner tweeted that his kids were stuck in Chicago and asked United Airlines if they could help them get on a flight to Cleveland.

But instead, the Cardinals stepped in with Mark Dalton, the team’s vice president of media relations, tweeting that President Michael Bidwill was sending his private plane to pick up Warner’s crew – a party of 13 that included family and friends.

The group did arrive in Canton while the game was still going on, making it in time to attend Warner’s induction party later in the evening.

Now that’s teamwork.

Tafoya caught up with Warner later in the game, and he elaborated on what it meant to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after a unique career path.

“It makes it really surreal,” he said.

Warner played in the Arena League and NFL Europe and work at a grocery store before finally making it to the NFL.

“No one will ever have my story,” he said. “No one ever will take the path that I took and to me, that’s one of the things I’m most proud of is that I get a chance on Saturday night to be able to share my story and hopefully encourage and inspire other people because this is more real. The crooked path is much more real than the straight-line path to the Hall of Fame.”

Watch the running game

Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin is calling all the plays tonight instead of head coach Bruce Arians and I suspect he’s going to call a ton of running plays.

With that in mind, I don’t think Arizona is keeping more than four running backs.

This is the chance for four backs to jockey for position to win the final two spots behind David Johnson and Chris Johnson.

It’s a huge game for all of the reserves, but especially for the two I think will win the final two spots on the roster — rookie T.J. Logan and Elijhaa Penny. Expect both to get tons of reps tonight in Canton.

Preview podcast

Kent Somers breaks down what we’ve seen in camp so far, offers his favorite Kurt Warner memories and previews what to expect in the Hall of Fame Game.

Related reading

MORE: Blaine Gabbert among 3 areas to watch in preseason opener

MORE: As preseason kicks off, Cardinals hoping special teams improve dramatically

MORE: Cardinals rookie wide receiver Chad Williams ready to contribute

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