looking for ways to get better, said H-back Curtis Samuel, who le

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Tyrann Mathieu, Justin Bethel and Frostee Rucker practiced for the first time this training camp Sunday and Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said theres no doubt all three will be ready for the Sept. 11 season opener.Mathieu, an All-Pro safety last season who is coming back from surgery to repair a torn right ACL, participated in several plays 11-on-11 drills with the first unit, surprising himself and his teammates with how much he was able to do.Ive got my swag back, he said. I feel good, confident.Bethel, a cornerback, is returning from foot surgery and defensive lineman Rucker had a foot injury that might have been related to offseason ankle surgery.Arians also welcomed back wide receiver John Brown, out with a concussion since early in camp. However, Brown went back in the locker room after doing some individual work.Arians said outside linebacker Alex Okafor, who did not practice, had decided to keep playing despite a torn biceps tendon rather than opt for surgery.Mathieu returns a much wealthier Honey Badger after he signed a five-year, $62.5 million that included $21.5 million guaranteed and another $18.75 million guaranteed if hes on the roster at the start of the 2018 season.The do-everything player is listed as a safety but played more snaps at cornerback last season before he went down with the knee injury on Dec. 20. It was his second significant knee injury in his three NFL seasons. He sustained a far more severe injury to his left knee in his rookie season.Mathieu said he was real surprised by how good he felt and how much he was able to do in his first practice.I didnt feel any pain. I didnt really get tight at all, he said. I was surprised with where I was at but I also was pleased with what Ive been doing.Bethel, a three-time Pro Bowl selection on special teams, started four games at cornerback last season and was considered a leading candidate for the job this year opposite All-Pro Patrick Peterson. But, in Bethels absence, the job has gone to rookie Brandon Williams.Bethel, who participated in 7-on-7 drills and a little bit of 11-on-11, said he would love to think he could win the starting job but understands that might not happen.Brandons been playing really well, Bethel said. Either way, the way we run our defense, well all be out there at some point.Williams struggled in his first preseason game but was noticeably improved in Friday nights 19-3 loss at San Diego. Arians said Williams also showed improvement in the teams two joint practices with the Chargers.I thought Brandon got really better last week, Arians said before practice Sunday, going against different receivers, seeing different things. I thought he held his own all week.Asked if he thought Mathieu, Bethel and Rucker would be ready for the opener against New England, Arians said, Theres no doubt. Its just a matter of conditioning now, football conditioning, hit, getting the pad level down and all the things weve been doing the last 15-18 days.Okafor, in the final year of his contract, missed nearly all of his rookie season with a biceps injury but came back with a team-high eight sacks in 2014. He got in the coachs dog house last season when he injured his toe during the teams bye playoff weekend and wasnt able to play in the postseason.Arians said he was hopeful first-round draft pick, defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche, would be able to practice some Wednesday. Nkemdiche has been sidelined with a high ankle sprain since rookie training camp four weeks ago.The Cardinals have been outscored 49-13 in two losses this preseason but Arians brushed aside any concern. He was unhappy -- he used a stronger word -- with the offenses performance in San Diego after the game but didnt dwell on the subject on Sunday.He considers 95 percent of the teams problems Friday night to be easily correctable.Nobodys shaken in their confidence in any way. Its preseason, Arians said. I think the tendency (of those outside the team) is `woe is me but when our starters have played maybe 20 plays, thats not even a good half. Weve had bad halves before and come back and won games. So its not a doomsday situation by any stretch of the imagination.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap China Jerseys . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. NFL Stitched Jerseys . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. http://www.wholesalechinajerseysforcheap.com/ . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury. Cheap Jerseys USA . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. Cheap NBA Jerseys China . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Noah Browns circus TD catch against Oklahoma last Saturday was replayed over and over and retweeted for days, but his Ohio State teammates werent as impressed as everyone else. Theyve seen it all before.Brown, a wide receiver whod caught one pass at Ohio State prior to this season, had four touchdown receptions in the Buckeyes 45-24 victory over the Sooners. But the one everyone is still talking about happened at the end of the first half when Brown grabbed a J.T. Barrett pass and hugged the ball against the back of defensive back Michiah Quick as they fell out of bounds.A great catch? Sure, said Barrett, but not a huge deal. The quarterback has been raving about Browns suction-cup hands for months already.I guess thats the funny thing, we see him practice so its almost like its no big deal, Barrett said. And then it happens in a game, when everybody else sees it in the country and its blown up like that, I guess we forget that not everybody has seen that.Brown, a 6-foot-2 New Jersey native, saw limited playing time as a freshman in the 2014 national championship season and was expected to play a huge role last year before breaking a leg during fall training camp. This year, hes second on the team with nine catches for 134 yards, and he leads the way with five touchdowns.But the catch with Quick draped all over him in a nationally televised Saturday night game suddenly put him on college footballs radar.Any time J.T. puts the ball in the air hes putting trust in me, and I try to come down with the ball for him, Brown said. I have to have my quarterbacks back. It felt good to make that play and put some points on the board for us.Like Barrett, coach Urban Meyer said he already knew what Brown could do. And he also knows that Brown is still recovering from the broken leg that sidelined him all of last season.Hes still not at the top end of speed, Meyer said. He still not quite 100 percent, which shows you just how good he can become. We all know he has the ability, but Id say the quality of competition he did it against is always a little sshocking when you have that kind of night.ddddddddddddWORKING ON THE LITTLE THINGSOhio State players said they are using the off week to work on their mistakes and try to improve before embarking on the grueling nine-game Big Ten schedule beginning Oct. 1. Ohio State is No. 2 in the AP Top 25 Poll .Barrett said hes working on communicating better with receivers who had trouble getting lined up in time at various points during the Oklahoma game, leading to forced time outs and a delay-of-game penalty. Also hes striving to get the ball out of his hands quicker and trust his playmakers.Everybody is looking for ways to get better, said H-back Curtis Samuel, who leads the team in receiving yards and is second in rushing behind tailback Mike Weber. Nobody is satisfied with where theyre at. Everybody is just looking to push each other and get each other to that point where they can really explode and really show their talents.HUG A BIG GUYBarrett said he didnt even want to think about what would happen if an Ohio State player dropped the ball right before crossing the goal line. There has been an epidemic the last couple of weekends of players nonchalantly letting go of the ball a stride before crossing the plane.I can only imagine what that day would be like for that man, the rest of the year, from coach Meyer, Barrett said with a grin. I couldnt tell you how awful that might be.Replays showed Oklahomas Joe Mixon dropping the ball early on a 97-yard kick return, but the officials didnt catch it. The gaffe has already cost Clemson and California touchdowns this season.The Buckeyes even have a rule about it.We always make sure we keep the ball high and tight, Samuel said. Thats coach Meyer, keep the ball high and tight. After you score, give the ball to the official and go hug a big guy. Thats what we do.---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacyFor some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mitch-stacy ' ' '