Cardinals feeling confident as season nears

Aug 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians and General Manager Steve Keim look on during training camp at University of Phoenix. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals brought their training camp to an end Friday with a brisk morning workout in front of a smattering of fans at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The players packed their bags, checked out of the nearby Renaissance Hotel and returned to their homes. On Saturday, they left for Sunday night's preseason game at Oakland.

"I think we did a good job establishing our identity," defensive end Calais Campbell said, "figuring out what kind of team we're going to be."

Across Phoenix from Glendale to the east suburb of Tempe, workouts will resume at the Cardinals' facility Monday and Tuesday ahead of the team's final preseason game at Denver next Thursday. Cuts to reduce the roster to 53 will follow.

Coach Bruce Arians, always a master of one-liners, says it will be nice to sleep in his own bed and, besides, "my liver likes a break, too."

"I thought we had an excellent camp," he said. "I hate to use the word potential because potential is a negative thing for me. But we have potential to be a pretty good team. We still daily make too many mistakes that beat ourselves with penalties and missed assignments."

There was one new injury. Defensive tackle Xavier Williams, an undrafted rookie having an excellent camp, hurt his left elbow and was to undergo an MRI.

Inside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon still did not practice due to a hamstring injury and won't make the trip to Oakland.

Running back Chris Johnson and cornerback Jerraud Powers will go. Johnson hopes to see his first game action since he was signed. He has been slowed by a hamstring problem. Powers said he definitely will play, especially after Arians nicknamed him "milk man," implying he was milking the injury to get out of practice.

Powers had two interceptions in the final practice.

"The milk man delivered today," Arians said.

And the training camp for first-round draft pick D.J. Humphries ended the way it had started, with severe criticism for the big tackle from Arians.

"He's just got to mature," Arians said. "Talent's not the issue. The maturity level, building trust. You can't turn blitzers loose on the backside of a quarterback and have any trust."

The coach said it's undetermined how much the starters will play Sunday. Palmer might not go past the first quarter, and backup Drew Stanton won't play much either.

Phillip Sims, trying to unseat Logan Thomas as the third quarterback, will play third, with Thomas finishing up the game.

Arians has said it's possible he might have two quarterbacks on the active roster and one on the practice squad.