How Mike LaFleur assessed Carson Beck's preseason debut
· Yahoo Sports
Carson Beck’s preseason debut was, to a national audience, eye-opening.
Three months earlier, the Arizona Cardinals’ selection of the quarterback with the 65th overall pick in the NFL draft earned a consensus of scorn. Beck was seen as an immobile, older quarterback with limited arm strength — traits that inherently serve to cap a player’s ceiling at the NFL level. In the third round, it felt like a flawed use of valuable resources, especially on a roster with so many other holes.
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That was the backdrop in Canton last week. The outcome was something entirely different.
Beck commanded the Cardinals’ offense like a veteran, completing 15 of 19 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown — albeit with the second unit, against the Carolina Panthers’ backups. On national talk shows, hosts began wondering whether Beck should supplant Jacoby Brissett as the Cardinals’ starter — never mind that he also remains behind Gardner Minshew on the present depth chart.
At the time, Beck’s head coach, Mike LaFleur, shied away from any grand declarations. Instead, he said — like any good coach — that he would need to go back and watch the tape to properly assess Beck’s performance.
So, where did LaFleur land?
“Carson operated the offense,” LaFleur said. “We got in and out of the huddle, he wasn't rushed, thought his eyes, his rhythm, his timing were — for the most part — in a good spot. And he did that for a ... two-hour window.”
It’s easy to see what LaFleur meant.
There was the third-and-3 early on, when Beck had no one open but knew he had a running path to just enough yardage for the first down. There were multiple plays when he worked through his reads to the back side of the formation.
There was the busted red zone play, which LaFleur highlighted postgame as an impressive example of poise, as Beck threw the ball away, rather than making a bad play worse. There was a first-quarter blitz, when Beck flipped his protection, then threw over the blitz for an easy completion.
Those aren’t plays that will end up on highlight reels, but they show a mental aptitude and a command of the offense — two traits that can help a rookie quarterback get on the field.
But LaFleur’s assessment wasn’t all positive. He pointed to a fourth-and-5 — Beck’s last play of the game — that was “just a tick maybe underthrown.” The ball fell incomplete when rookie receiver Reggie Virgil couldn’t haul in a contested catch.
“What a great learning experience for Carson, in terms of how fast these safeties travel from numbers to numbers,” LaFleur said. “It's that fine line between not trying to be perfect with the ball and putting a little air for some room for error. But also knowing that that ball's gotta get up and down cause people are gonna travel.”
Again, it’s easy to see what LaFleur meant.
With a narrow window down the sideline, Beck tried to float his pass into Virgil, rather than driving the ball with more velocity. That might work in college, but NFL safeties are simply too athletic.
Similarly, Beck nearly got punished for floating a pass on his deepest completion of the day, a 49-yard shot to Jalen Brooks in the second quarter. By putting a bit too much air under the ball, Beck led Brooks into the middle of the field, where he took a shot from a Panthers safety. Unlike Virgil, Brooks was able to hold on, but Beck’s pass made the play precarious.
As LaFleur said, these were “learning experiences” for the rookie, even on a day when he outpaced expectations.
“Learn from it,” LaFleur said, “reset, now let's get back to work.”
Cardinals preseason games to air on Arizona’s Family
The Cardinals’ final three preseason games will all air on Arizona’s Family (CBS 5, KPHO-TV), the team announced on Sunday, Aug. 9.
Paul Calvisi will be the play-by-play announcer, with Sam Acho as the color commentator and Dani Sureck as the sideline reporter.
The Cardinals’ next preseason game takes place in Las Vegas against the Raiders at 5 p.m. MST on Thursday, Aug. 13.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Mike LaFleur assessed Carson Beck's preseason debut