Paris Johnson Jr. got to know Jim Harbaugh a little, when Johnson was a highly-sought recruit and Harbaugh was trying to get him to come to what Johnson of course refers to as "that school up North."

That's the phrase any Ohio State product, like Johnson, uses when talking about the University of Michigan, where Harbaugh coached at the time. The Cardinals left tackle acknowledged that "despite the rivalry, I think he's a great leader, and outside of the game I think he's a great person."

Harbaugh's teams, Johnson said, play hard for him. There is an old-school philosophy to the football too.

When the Chargers come in Monday night, "this is a matchup that excites you."

The Chargers like to run the ball and grind out the offense. That's what Harbaugh does. It's how he ran the 49ers in the NFC West from 2011-2014 – the Cardinals saw that plenty – and what he did at that school up North. Justin Herbert is a talented QB, but he's not putting up numbers the way he has in the past. Harbaugh wants ball control, and to lean on a defense that is allowing a league-low 13.2 points a game.

The Cardinals are trying to find their footing with a consistent offense. They will have Marvin Harrison Jr., and Zay Jones. They need to keep the ball, so that the Chargers can't.

"I don't think that's changing much for our mindset," Johnson said. "We want to put points on the field each time whether we are playing someone who wants to hustle down the field or take their time.

"Each series is so valuable. It's a reminder each game, 'Dang, we might only have two shots in the second quarter to get points.' Now those two drives might feel like one. You have to assume you're not getting too many shots out there."

-- The game is national, but in that vein will not be on cable, but only streaming on ESPN+. If you are in the Valley, it can be seen over the air on FOX 10. If you are out of state, you'll need to stream.

-- If you are coming to the game, it is a blackout theme. The Cardinals will be wearing their all-black uniforms, and fans are encouraged to wear black.

-- I've seen a lot of Cardinals on "Monday Night Football." The last one was kinda important – it was the 2022 game against the Patriots in which Kyler Murray tore his ACL on the game's third play. There was the 2020 game in Dallas, Kyler's first game back home, in which he tore up the Cowboys through the air after his epic high school career in the area. There was the last time they played the Chargers on Monday night, in Glendale, the day of the major Phoenix flood that made the I-10 impassable for a while. You remember that one, right?

And of course, there was the Monday Night Meltdown, which will live forever burned into the memory banks of anyone who follows the Cardinals.

-- Harrison OK, the Cardinals seeking consistency in the passing game, and the Chargers perhaps missing all their main cornerbacks. Something to watch.

-- Next week will be a fascinating watch for the return of Darius Robinson. As he gets closer to the date where he has to be activated to the roster (Oct. 30), he has yet to practice much despite his window to return from IR having been open for two weeks. The Cardinals can always put him on the roster even if he isn't ready to play and make him inactive until he is ready, but obviously they'd like him on the field sooner rather than later.

-- The roof is expected to be open for the game against the Chargers, the first time the roof will be open this season.

-- Every once in a while I get asked about my favorite guys to cover over my 25 years, and Tony Jefferson is definitely on that list. To see him still playing with the Chargers – after missing all of the 2023 season – is cool to see. One of my vivid Monday night memories from the Cardinals is Jefferson’s end zone interception against the Ravens in 2015.

-- The Cardinals signed DeeJay Dallas for his special teams skills and it's worked with the dynamic kickoffs. Dallas had the first-ever TD return with the new kickoff rules, and on the season he is second in the league with a 32.3-yard average on 11 returns.

-- The last word belongs to linebacker Kyzir White, who was drafted by the Chargers and played the first four years of his career with them before leaving in free agency for a year in Philly before signing with the Cardinals.

"It's going to be cool going against them. But it's a totally different feel. The GM gone, all the coaches gone, still have some teammates I played with, but it's different. Business is business. I'm definitely thankful for them to give me the opportunity to get my foot in the door. No hard feelings. None at all."

See you Monday. Dressed in black.