GLENDALE, Ariz. — The anticipation is building at State Farm Stadium in Glendale as the Arizona Cardinals prepare for their first preseason game on Friday against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cardinals are looking to make some noise in their division but first, they’re making an effort to tidy up all the laundry they’ve had thrown on the field in recent years.
Last season, the Red Sea was seeing yellow more often as they'd like as Arizona was the most penalized team in the NFL with 113 accepted penalties costing the Cardinals 878 yards.
Cardinals brass, the team's coaching staff, and the players on this roster know this team can't afford to rack up that many penalty yards in a very competitive NFC West this season.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury is getting ahead of this issue early in training camp by inviting NFL referees in for team meetings to help clean some things up ahead of the regular season.
In what's become a trend at training camps across the league, players are getting the opportunity to watch tape with officials to learn more about their points of emphasis each season and to gather more context as to why refs are making certain calls.
This open line of communication has proven to be helpful for players to call attention to things officials might miss on the field with their vantage point.
The Cardinals open their three-game preseason schedule on Friday, August 13, when they host the Cowboys. You can watch the game on 12 News with special pre and post-game coverage.
You can follow the conversation with Lina Washington on Twitter: @LWashingtonTV. If you have a sports story idea, e-mail Lina at LWashington@12News.com.
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