The pads came on Monday for the first time. If there was any uncertainty, that was cleared up when Steve Wilks had the players at midfield all watching as he conducted a handful of one-on-one offensive line vs. defensive line matchups. The Cards take another step Tuesday when they move outside in a closed workout. Some thoughts after practice (and a couple of quotes):

-- When there are 90 men on the roster, the regular locker room can't accommodate them all. The rookies, including draft picks, are always put into an auxiliary locker room. This year isn't any different -- except with quarterback Josh Rosen, who has a spot in the main locker room next to veteran quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon. The reasoning for that was simple, Wilks said.

"The biggest thing there ... (was) we are really trying to get him around Sam as much as possible," Wilks said. "The communication is great. The relationship they have built the last couple of months is good. Any time you can get Josh around Sam so he can absorb that experience, that's why we did it."

-- In practice, the first full one-on-ones between offensive and defensive lines -- later, after that brief opening sequence at midfield -- was clearly won by the offensive line overall. But the defensive line made some inroads when 11-on-11 commenced. It's always an interesting analysis when it comes to the lines battling. If one side does better, does that say something about the side that "won," or the side that "lost?"

-- Among plays that stood out, there was an early pass breakup by cornerback Jamar Taylor as the secondary picked up where it left off; A nice crossing route pass from Rosen to Chad Williams that would have been a catch-and-run TD; A David Johnson run when Bradford juggled the shotgun snap and barely got it to Johnson -- only to have Johnson explode off the left side and get through the line for a big gain; and an impressive catch by J.J. Nelson away from his body on a dart from Rosen.

-- Rookie cornerback Chris Campbell, who has made a few plays in this brief camp, had the lone interception of the practice, grabbing an underthrown (or perhaps miscommunicated route) from rookie QB Charles Kanoff.