The Cardinals wrap up training camp this week and open the preseason on Saturday with the Saints at State Farm Stadium. Oh, where does the time go? (I kid. It's been long already, as usual.) Time for another mailbag. Questions have been edited for length and clarity. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag with at least a first name and last initial.

From Raine Voights:

"With the injury to BJ Ojulari, what is the most logical replacement? Veteran free agent or someone like Owen Pappoe moving out there?"

They would not move Pappoe. They have bodies on the edge. They will certainly sign a player (or two) for numbers at the least. Whether they bring in someone to play over who they already have, that's still TBD. If there is any player who would "move" I would think they would use ILB Mack Wilson Sr. some out there, although I think that would have happened anyway given that Wilson showed pass-rush ability in New England last season.

From Harrison F:

"Hi Darren. I was at the Red & White Practice on Saturday, and it sure seemed like the backups get a lot more reps than the starters. Kyler and the ones honestly had a rough day. During the scrimmage, they had a couple quick 3-and-outs. Maybe regular season is different, but from a camp perspective, the twos and threes get a lot of rep. All I know is the ones need more reps. Compliments to the defense, the D-line and linebackers are looking outstanding."

I would strongly caution about judging anything based on one practice; you don't know what they were supposed to be working on. The offense looked pretty good -- the ones in particular -- the day before when they were working in pads. The starters will get the amount of reps they need to. Gannon and the staff plan all that out very carefully. Also, the first game that counts is still a month away.

From Mason P:

"What's the difference between open practice and closed practice? Are they doing different stuff? Are they at the point of install yet or is this still just getting basics?"

I'll try and touch on each of these separately.

1. An open practice in training camp means fans. Closed means just media, although when there are no fans, the Cardinals (and most teams) have a rule that only the first 25 or so minutes can be reported upon. Media can watch the rest to get an idea of what is going on, but it cannot be put out there for the public and there is no more video taken by media. In the regular season, closed means no media (there are never fans) but those are rare.
2. Sometimes they are doing different things. Trust me, the coaches are aware in this day and age when fans are in the stands that every single play can be put on video with a phone. So if there is something they want to keep hush-hush, they will wait until fans aren't coming anymore.
3. They installed the playbook back in the offseason work. And then they reinstall when camp starts. So that has been an ongoing process.

From Leeland Harris:

"Hey Urbz. I just read your Zaven and BJ article. Something that struck me was Zaven's mention of mentoring BJ and approaching pass rushing with Ph.D level philosophy. I am NOT trying to be cynical or a jerk, sincerely, but with that said why is Zaven mentoring anyone as a pass rusher when he himself has accomplished nothing as a pass rusher?"

I'm confused. Collins specifically said Ojulari wanted to learn more about the position than just pass rush. That's for starters. Collins never said it was Ph.D work on rushing the passer specifically. He never even said he was mentoring Ojulari, but saying they were working on their games together. And if that is your perspective, then Ojulari should never bother listening to the defensive coaching staff, since none of them have had the same amount of pass-rush success as Collins. That doesn't make any sense.

From JR Coney:

"In your years covering the team, is there any sort of consistent trend in camp every year of the defense being ahead vs the offense being ahead? Or is it random from team to team?"

Generally, the defense is ahead early. That's to be expected. Offense is the more complicated of the two sides of the ball; it doesn't take much to have rust early on.

From Roger Johnson:

"I'm a Greg Dortch fan. He seems to be counted out, then makes big plays each year. How do you see his place on the team for 2024?"

I think it's fair to say he's going to have a place. Gannon likes him very much, and you're right, he just makes plays. He is having an excellent camp and he's listed as a starter on the first depth chart. They moved Rondale Moore to clear the way for Dortch, it seems to me. I think he fits here well.

From Austin Cole:

"Hey Darren. So you have covered the Arizona Cardinals for a while. I understand they all need to not lose their SHOE for too long, but have you seen such depth on the O-line, especially the interior? I think that's one thing that's changed in the last decade -- the tackles are important but interior pressure is where it is at and interior protection is now more important than ever. What you think? Did Aaron Donald change the way the league looks at pressure or was it changing before Aaron Donald? Thank you for your time."

I think it was understood before Donald -- the big reason, for instance, the Giants toppled the then-undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl here in Arizona was because the Giants a) could pressure with a four-man rush and b) got pressure in Tom Brady's face, slowing that incredible offense. Interior defensive linemen have evolved too. Rare are the 350-pound nose tackles that just take up space. These guys can play. So yes, you need to be able to hold up inside. It looks like the depth is very good -- but that is what happens when you make it a priority.

From Joy B:

"I love listening to the podcasts, it's my entertainment while I'm working out. I was a little behind and just got to the July 31 Underground with you, Paul & Dani. Darren please no more comments about no injuries. I had just finished reading about BJ Ojulari. I was feeling really positive about this team's potential. I really hope we're not going down the injury road again this year. Don't jinx them."

Joy, Joy Joy. If you listen to the pod, I am sure I have mentioned a time or two I don't believe in jinxes. In case I have not, then let me just say I don't believe in jinxes. It is terrible what happened to BJ. He's a good kid and the Cardinals needed him. But this is the stuff that happens in the NFL. As a great veteran once said to me, if you play, it's not a question of if you're going to get injured, but when. It stinks. But it's part of it.

From Robert K:

"Can you give us an update on tight end Tip Reiman? Is he able to catch the ball? Has he impressed in camp or is he taxi-squad bound?"

Robert, you're showing your age. Not a lot of us out there who remember when it was called the taxi squad. (That's the old school name for the original version of the practice squad.) But Reiman most definitely won't be on the practice squad. He's going to be on the roster, he's going to be their main blocking tight end, and as my friend Craig Grialou likes to say, he's caught more balls in camp than he did in college. Yes, he can catch.

From John Turilli:

"Do you think building a championship football team comes from building through the draft or building through free agency or a combination of both? I think James Conner was a free agent and Kyler, Trey and Budda were draft picks. We added many draft picks over the last two years. Do you also think we will find out this year or next if the draft process works?"

If you don't hit on a lot of draft picks it's tough to sustain anything. But even then, as the players do well early in their career, they need contracts (look at the 49ers with Purdy, Aiyuk, Bosa and Samuel, for instance. Draft picks eventually can cost too.) But Monti Ossenfort clearly wants to have mostly draft picks and the free agents are a certain type: the right age, probably not splashy. That's how his roster-building is going to look.

From Cindy Dobbins:

"Darren, the new onside kick rule baffle me. How in the world did they come up with that? There is no surprise factor, and with the announcement it is coming, the other team will just stack the line as kicking it too far is a penalty. It seems as though the NFL is discouraging on side kicks. Do you think this rule change will last?"

If the collateral damage of the dynamic kickoff is the onside kick, but the league gets a) lots more kickoff returns and b) a safer play, the league has no problem making onside kicks virtually impossible. Think of it this way: If they didn't change the rules, the kickoff was going to go away period -- and then there wouldn't be onside kicks anyway.

From Jeremy Fehr:

"Hey Darren, I have a couple of questions

1. I'm going to be camping during the first Cardinals preseason game. Is there anywhere you know of online I could watch it at a later date?
2. I don't know if you guys have already done this on the podcast, but it might be fun to dive into the differences between a Kingsbury training camp vs a Gannon training camp."
3. Years ago Ron Wolfley sang the happy birthday song on air during a preseason game. I'm curious if anyone had to pay for that, and if Ron got in any trouble for it."

Here are some answers, Jeremy.

1. It will replay Monday at 9 a.m. on NFL Network. Unless you have NFL+, you can't watch it online.
2. That's possible. Trying to remember how exactly Kliff's camps were, other than they would have practice first thing in the morning.
3. Pretty sure Happy Birthday's copyright is long expired. Now, if you are saying the general public had to pay a price for having to listen to Wolf sing, then maybe yeah.

From Ted Beck:

"I am very optimistic about the upcoming season and feel that the Cardinals are going to be much improved. Looking at past Cardinals' coaches in their second season (Super Bowl era), the most successful second seasons have been Coryell in '74 (10-4, won the East), Whisenhunt in '08 (9-7, won the West and went to the Super Bowl), and Arians in '14 (11-5, made the playoffs as a wild card team). Do you have any type of feeling that 2024 could be one of those kinds of years? Thanks for all the great work you do."

I don't rule anything out. This year's team needs to hit its stride early offensively to make a push I'd think. But I'm not ruling anything out. This year's team truly has a chance to have a fascinating season.

From Rob S:

"Darren, thanks for all the great content, I can't get enough of all the Cards articles and podcasts. I know you probably wanna be all professional and gracious but will you pretty please compare and contrast the previous and current regimes in brutal clarity? You hear players, coaches, and GM all talk about increased accountability, cleaning house, bad contracts, predictable offensive scheme, etc. but no one comes out and just says it. You know you want to...just do it...just this once...c'mon... tell us."

Yes, those quotes are out there. I think they stand by themselves. I'll say this: you don't make changes unless things get bad enough to make changes. But there are a lot of moving parts there. To think a team that struggles mightily are only struggling because of a coach and/or GM just isn't true. A team doesn't win because of one or two people, and they don't lose that way either.

From Dylan L:

"I need help Darren! I want to buy a jersey but I don't like to buy the obvious ones. I bought Andy Lee jerseys to prove my point. So, Ojulari, Trey McPlay or Wilson? What say you?"

This came in before Ojulari got hurt, so I'll let that go. But all three of those are good choices. McBride obviously broke out last year, but I think Wilson has a real chance to make a big jump this year. Plus he wears 14, which was the number I always wore when I played sports (a career that ended very quickly.) I mean, this is a very personal choice for you. I don't see any of these guys going anywhere anytime soon.