The Hall of Fame weekend in Canton brings the ceremony, the gold jackets and the speeches, but Thursday night is where the football starts rolling again. The Cardinals and Panthers open the preseason in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, and even with the caveat that it’s still preseason, there’s plenty to keep an eye on at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
For Arizona, the spotlight begins with Mike LaFleur. The 39-year-old is set for his first game-day run as a head coach after spending the past three seasons running the Rams’ offense. He framed the night as a chance to let the players operate without the usual hand-holding.
“We get to pull the training wheels off,” LaFleur said ahead of Thursday’s contest. “There’s no coaches behind [our players].
There’s no coaches prepping them. … It’ll be cool to see just a lot of these guys’ demeanors, if you will, when it’s real, when the bullets are live.
Just because it’s preseason and the win/loss doesn’t count, it doesn’t mean that this isn’t real football.”
He also made clear that the goal is growth, not fireworks. “We don’t need to peak [tonight], we just need to continue to improve,” he added. “… What’s going to be different is because it’s live, naturally, the competition level is going to go up.”
The Cardinals will also get a first look at Carson Beck in NFL action. The third-round pick from Miami, drafted in April, is competing for the backup job behind Jacoby Brissett. Beck said he wasn’t expecting to start, but he’s ready for the moment.
“I had no clue I was going to start,” Beck said after Tuesday’s practice in Glendale. “I thought I was going to play, but I had no expectations.
Obviously our schedule has been crazy right now. But I’m looking forward to it. ...
It’s a game at the end of the day. Not really any nerves.
More excitement than anything.”
Carolina, meanwhile, heads into the game with one rookie already sidelined after third-round pick Chris Brazzell II suffered a season-ending PCL injury this week. Even so, there’s still a fresh crop of first-year players worth tracking.
That list starts with Haynes King. The undrafted free agent from Georgia Tech joined the Panthers at the end of April and has been working behind Bryce Young and Kenny Pickett while trying to earn a roster spot. Pickett will start Thursday night, but King still sees the preseason debut as a big step.
“I’m very excited,” King said this week when asked about making his preseason debut. “I haven’t played at this level yet. [So] just to go out there and showcase my ability-and to do it with the guys that we’ve been working hard [with], whether it’s training camp, OTAs, all that stuff, and just getting to know the guys-and to finally go out there in a game setting, it’s going to be pretty exciting.”
Other Panthers rookies to watch include first-round offensive tackle Monroe Freeling, center Sam Hecht and defensive back Zakee Wheatley.
And beyond the rookies, beyond the new head coach and the first snaps for Beck, there’s the simplest reason this game matters: it’s live NFL football again. After a full stretch of practices and the first episode of Hard Knocks with the Seahawks debuting this week, Thursday night marks the first live NFL action since Seattle beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LX back in February.
No red jerseys on quarterbacks. No controlled reps.
No whistles cutting plays short. Just football.
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