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Broncos -- and preseason -- aftermath

It's late, it's the fourth preseason game, and the reality is not much can be said until final cuts are made. So this aftermath will be short and sweet. There were some "stars" Thursday night -- Elijhaa Penny ran the ball really well -- but then you hear Bruce Arians talking about Stepfan Taylor being one of the core guys on special teams and you remember that many of these roster spots have already been determined, the process of seeing all these guys over offseason workouts and an entire training camp and three previous games.

(Still, if a guy like Penny isn't picked up on waivers, I can't see how he wouldn't be on the practice squad.)

I tweeted late in the game that if I had a do-over on my guess at the 53, it'd be that Lamar Louis would make the team. He's impressed, and more importantly, Arians keeps talking him up. We'll see. Special teams is the key to these final couple of spots, Arians stressed, and Louis is playing well in that area.

-- Special teams will be impacted with the short-term loss of linebacker Kareem Martin. Martin hurt his MCL and Arians said they are hoping he's only out two or three weeks. You have to wonder, if fellow linebacker Tristan Okpalaugo hadn't gotten hurt earlier (it was announced as a right knee; Arians said after it was a hamstring) and was still playing if Martin even would have been on the field. Bad luck all around.

-- In terms of outside linebacker depth, if Martin is down, Arians said Alani Fua can play outside as well as inside. And if anyone was unsure if Fua was going to be on the team, there's your answer.

-- Earl Watford had never played left tackle in a game. Now he has. Could the Cardinals go with just three backup OL right now -- center Evan Boehm, perhaps guard Cole Toner and Watford, who can play every position? Watford can play all five positions and will be the sixth offensive lineman.

-- The Cardinals have run the ball very, very well all preseason. Bodes well.

-- Robert Nkemdiche played well, in different spots, and was in on a sack late.

-- Not a great night for the top cornerbacks. Justin Bethel sat out because of his foot. Brandon Williams didn't have one of his better games, but it was better than Cariel Brooks, who was in position to be the fourth cornerback and did not play well at all.

-- Nice pick-6 by ILB Gabe Martin late in the game, but I'm not sure it was enough to make the team. Would they keep Martin over veteran Chris Clemons?

-- I don't expect cuts to be announced before the weekend, even though Arians was talking about hard decisions being made Friday.

-- Finally, a 59-yard field goal by Chandler Catanzaro, which would have been the second-longest in team history had it been in the regular season (Jay Feely booted the 61-yarder against Buffalo in 2012). Will Cat Man have chances like that in the regular season?

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