Now That the Dust Has Settled...
May 3, 2008 - With the draft over and the first day of Minicamp in the can, it seems like a good time to catch up on a bunch of odds and ends:

Boldin
Anquan said at minicamp that he does not want to be traded. (You can pick up the details elsewhere - news of the day is that he wants to remain a Cardinal.

Current Mash Unit
Here's a list of the players who didn't practice:

• Anquan Boldin (hamstring)

• Adrian Wilson (foot)

• Elton Brown (knee)

• Gabe Watson (kneecap)

• Ahmad Merritt (ankle)

• Leonard Pope (ankle)

• Bertrand Berry (triceps)

• Troy Beinemann (foot)

• Jason Banks (heart arrhythmia but did do some limited stuff in the afternoon)

Draft & Free Agent Signing Aftermath
The way we see it -

• The Cards will probably stick with St. Pierre as #3 QB, with Morelli (whose head has to catch up with his body and arm) at best winding up on the PS

• Our "home run hittng" RB will remain JJ Arrington - Hightower will challenge Shipp, Baylark and Vincent to be our primary short yardage guy.

• Exit Bryant Johnson. Enter productive 6-0 route-running slot guy from LSU (Doucet). We didn't draft a burner, and will have to rely on second echelon and PS guys (like Rector, Urban and Cornelius) to help stretch the field.

• We found ourselves a backup UDFA (said to resemble Terrelle Smith) FB to challenge Castille

• Nothing new at TE - we did add a FA (Tuman) for blocking help.

• No change to the first unit the O-line, but we did bring in a lot of free agent tackles and guards and drafted a mammoth though raw RT tackle prospect, Brandon Keith in the seventh round.

• We drafted two defensive ends to provide depth behind the somewhat fragile Berry and Okeafor (actually 3 DE's when you include Harrington - who, despite playing like a steady strong side LDE - will be tried at OLB. 2nd round pick Calais Campbell provides a different dimension - he's more a tall, long armed big guy than he is a small, speedy Freenie (Berry or Okeafor) type.

• Aside from the addition of Harrington, we did little to help ourselves at LB, but keep an eye on Holloway (who flashed some playmaking potential in camp last year, but saw little or no playing time in regular season play).

• The addition of Cromartie should bear immediate results - He'll become part of a CB group that includes Rod Hood, Eric Green, Matt Ware, Ralph Brown and Mike Adams and from day one should represent our biggest playmaker at the position due to his freakish athleticism

• Rackers is back. We have a new punter - who, while not known for a heavy leg, is supposed to be better than we've had for awhile in the hang-time, inside-the-twenty and directional punting categories.

That's it for now. Buckle those chin-straps!

The Official Cardinal UDFA Pick Up List
April 28, 2008a - Here 'tis. (Note - No Pig Brown).

• Anthony Morelli Quarterback 6-4 231 Penn State

• Dionte Johnson Fullback 6-0 238 Ohio State

• Lance Long Wide Receiver 5-11 186 Mississippi State

• Hercules Satele Guard 6-2 308 Hawaii

• Carlton Medder Guard 6-5 319 Florida

• Peter Clifford Tackle 6-7 312 Michigan State

• Thaddeus Coleman Tackle 6-8 308 Mississippi Valley St.

• Jason Banks Defensive End 6-5 300 Grambling

• Keilen Dykes Defensive Tackle 6-3 294 West Virginia

• Ali Highsmith Linebacker 6-1 223 LSU

• Bryant Robinson Defensive Tackle 6-3 297 Wesley College

• Marcus Brown Cornerback 6-2 200 McNeese State

• Dennis Keyes Free Safety 6-2 199 UCLA

The Unofficial, Uncorroborated Cardinal UDFA Pick Up List
April 28, 2008 -  Disclaimer: The following info is from ASN bloggers who are picking up this info from a variety of sources (some more credible than others). That said, here's what we've got as of 9:30 am Mon. 4/28/2008:

• Anthony Morelli QB Penn St

• Thaddeus Coleman OT Mississippi Valley

• Keilen Dykes DT West Virginia

• Ali Highsmith LB Michigan

• Pig Brown SS Missouri

• Bryant Robinson DE Wesley

• Carlton Medder OL Florida

• Dionte Johnson FB Ohio State

• Hercules Satele OT Hawaii

Darren Urban over at the official Cardinal website published a similar unofficial list (since the Cards prefer to wait til a player is actually signed before making the official announcement). He suggests that the list is likely to expand a bit by the time it's published. (Note the absence of Pig Brown from the new list and the addition of Marcus Brown and Dennis Keyes.

• Cardinals T Thaddeus Coleman (Mississippi Valley State)

• Cardinals QB Anthony Morelli (Penn State)

• Cardinals T Hercules Satele (Hawaii)

• Cardinals DT Keilen Dykes (West Virginia)

• Cardinals DL Bryan Robinson (Wesley College)

• Cardinals G Carlton Medder (Florida)

• Cardinals FB Dionte Johnson (OSU)

• Cardinals LB Ali Highsmith (LSU)

• Cardinals CB Marcus Brown (VMI)

• Cardinals S Dennis Keyes (UCLA

We'll keep you posted.

The Vikes cleaned up in the UDFA market, cherry picking several high profile guys on our radar screen (like Leman of Illinois, Henderson of Maryland, Griffin of Texas, Radovich of USC and Reynaud of West Virginia).

Boldin Bolting?
April 23, 2008 - Just what we need to dampen our excitement going into the draft. We first saw it on the NFL Network crawl last night: "Anquan Boldin has requested a trade." According to Adam Schefter, Q's situation (and reaction) is similar to that of the Bengal's Chad Johnson. He's not happy with his contract and wants outtahere. (According to Schefter, the Cardinals have adopted the same position that the Bengals did; namely: "We're not going to trade Anquan Boldin."

Next we turned to Kent Somers for context. To recap his story in the AZR:

• Drew Rosenhaus (heh heh) is Boldin's agent.

• Anquan wants to renegotiate his contract (one that currently has three years left on it). Cards are hoping for a longer term deal.

• A common Rosenhaus tactic is to demand a trade. Accprding to Rod Graves: "We have not heard that (trade request) from Anquan..."Anquan is a quality person and a great player. We're hoping we can agree on a longer-term deal."

• Boldin and Rosenhaus met with Rod Graves Ken Whisenhunt last summer to discuss a new deal. Rosenhaus, according to the Cardinals, made a proposal, and the Cardinals countered with one in late November or early December.

• That offer, according to Graves, would have made Boldin one of the five highest-paid receivers within three years.

• According to Rod, "Drew did not respond to that proposal. The proposal sat with him over a month. I called to ask him if he was going to respond, and he said he was going to wait until Larry Fitzgerald (contract) was done."

• Rosenhaus has not returned a number of phone calls over the past several weeks, and Boldin could not be reached for comment.

According to Cardinal spokesperson, Darrren Urban, this is not a new story. There had been speculation by web sources like PFT of some sort of a trade in the wind for quite a while, but even after the rumor seemed to have been been put to rest, the TV media apparently simply won't let it die.

Bottom Line: Stay tuned, but meanwhile keep your panties dry and hold the Maalox  - this is not a new story, and there are no new developments.

Cards Add Another LB
 April 17, 2008 - Cards announced the signing of LB Matt Stewart. According to ESPN's John Clayton and confirmed by Darren Urban:

Stewart, an unrestricted free agent from the Browns, signed a one-year contract on Wednesday. The Cardinals were prepared to sign Stewart when he visited a couple weeks ago, but he had to spend time with his wife, who was giving birth to the family's third child.

With the new baby and the wife healthy, Stewart went back to the Cardinals and settled on his one-year contract. He will be joining his third team. He was a fourth-round choice of the Falcons in 2001 and spent four seasons before signing with the Browns in 2005 and spending three seasons in Cleveland.

He has experience in both the 4-3 and the 3-4 defense

Stewart is intelligent, experienced and versatile. His savvy and work ethic mostly make up for what he lacks in physical tools. He is well-prepared and puts himself in positions to succeed. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He can play on the right or left side and is a solid special teams contributor. He has some athleticism to cover backs and tight ends in space. But Stewart lacks ideal size, power and speed. He isn't an overpowering player and lacks the explosiveness to push lineman back. He isn't stout in the run game, and he lacks the upper-body strength to be an effective every-down player. He is much more effective in zone coverage than man-to-man. He lacks ideal burst and change-of-direction skills.

Gabe Watson Breaks Kneecap
 April 17, 2008 - You can never have too much depth at any one position - regardless of how deep it may seem. Gabe Watson - #1 on the NT depth chart and backed up by an equally talented though one-year less experienced clone in Alan Branch - injured his kneecap in what was termed "a freak treadmill injury."

He had surgery on it yesterday and is expected to be back before the start of the regular season (although with the Cardinals, you never can be sure about the accuracy of injury-rehab timetables).

One thing to keep an eye on - the second day of the draft next week. If a big second-echelon space eater like Ahtyba Rubin, Red Bryant or even the underachieving Frank Okam is still hanging around by our pick in Round 3, 4 or 5, hey! You never know.

Mon. Night & Thanksgiving Tilts on 2008 Sked
April 15, 2008 - The NFL regular season schedule was released less than an hour ago. Among the Cardinal high points:

• We open at SF

• 3 of our first 4 games are away games

• We open at home Sept. 14 vs. the Dolphs

• We have 5 early Sunday games, 9 late afternoon Sunday games and 2 night games (one on a Monday and one on Thanksgiving)

• We host the Niners on Monday night, Nov. 10. (ESPN)

• We play at Philly Thanksgiving Night - after Seattle goes up against Dallas (NFL Net)

• There are three potential "snow games" - Nov. 16 @ in Seattle, Nov. 27 in Philly and Dec. 21 in Foxboro.

• We're not big on "strength of schedule" and who plays who when. (Every game = 1/16 of the regular season and, therefore, is equally important.

Click here for the entire Cardinal schedule

Cards Continue to Tweak Roster
April 15, 2008 -  The Cardinals added three players to their roster, with possibly 2 or 3 more players on the way. New additions are:

• Bryan Robinson DL (Bengals and others)

• Chris Vincent RB

• Oliver Celestin S

It's possible that former Cardinal DL Rodney Bailey and free agent LB Matt Stewart could join the team along with a punter (possibly Mitch Berger) and 4th QB (Tim Hasselbeck could be re-signed).

More "Catch Up"...
 April 6, 2008 -  New stuff has been going down at a fast & furious rate.

Personnel

• Eric Green and Antonio Smith signed tender agreements

• Cards re-signed CB Ralph Brown

• Cards also re-signed S/CB Matt Ware

• They also brought back former FA C Scott Peters

• And - hidden below the radar - they signed FA QB Brian St. Pierre

• The St. Pierre doesn't preclude the possibility we'll bring back Tim Hasselbeck

• Rumors that Darnell Dockett and Antonio Smith were unhappy salary-wise and would boycott the conditioning workouts were bogus (D-Dock recently signed an extension and Smitty just signed his tender).

Off Field Shenanigans
Photos of Matt Leinart cavorting in a hot tub with 4 or 5 lovelies circulating via the Internet may or may not be accurate (his college coach, Pete Carroll speculates that the photos may have been doctored - & we all live in a PhotoShop era). Newspaper reports were that Matt got wind of them and immediately contacted Coach Wiz to give him a "heads up." That's all we know about (or for that matter care). We've gotta draft to worry about.

Preseason on ESPN
We draw the Saints in the first preseason game to be televised after the annual Hall of Fame game. Game will be aired Thursday, Aug. 7 at 5pm (AZ time). (We always get messed up figuring whether AZ is 2 hours or three hours ahead of the East Coast in the summertime)  but our logical guess is that the game will air at 8 pm EDT. Tirico, Kornheiser and Jaworski will be the on-air hosts.

Playin' Catch Up...
April 1, 2008 - First of all, forget about April Fools Day - we're just delighted to be back..

Starting Jan. 1, we had hoped to have the BRS redesigned and ready to go by the beginning of Feb., with the draft issue following a new format. Instead, we ran into (a) a tough bout with a flu like bug that made it difficult to stay on line for more than an hour at a time and (b) a whole bunch of family issues - including frequent trips to Baltimore and the remake of a downstairs room to accommodate our 91 year old mother in law. I knew we were running behind, but figured we'd catch up by late March. Instead, we were visited by the "blue screen of death" with an error message; which essentially said:: "Your hard drive has betrayed you. Have a nice day." It's been 9 days now. Finally we're back. Getting the BRS back up to speed is our top (and only) priority. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Now for the latest news:

Cards added another LB in Scott Haggans. - He's a big fella (6-4 243) out of Colo State and the Steelers who's best suited to play on the strong side. He had a 72% Run/Stopping Rate going into last year (with enemy ball carriers averaging 3.2 ypc (best on his unit) when they ran into his area. He also had 6 sacks, 3 hits and 5 hurries. He figures to back up and challenge Chike on the strong side.

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Fitz - It's Official! The Deal is Done!
March 12, 2008 - The good news is up on the official Cardinal website. Adding to the previous story:

"The contract saga of the Cardinals and Larry Fitzgerald ended Tuesday when the Pro Bowl wide receiver agreed to a new four-year contract worth a reported $40 million.

Not only do the Cards have Fitzgerald in place through the 2011 season, but now Arizona -- which reportedly only had a little more than $300,000 remaining in salary cap room – will gain almost $9 million in cap space.

The Cardinals, as is their policy, declined to disclose financial details.

“The biggest thing (this helps) is continuity,” offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. “As the year progresses I got a much better feel for what guys could do on this roster.”

Keeping Fitzgerald paired with fellow Pro Bowl wideout Anquan Boldin can only benefit the offense, Haley added.

“In the passing game, it definitely makes a difference to have two guys who are threats,” Haley said. “Our guys might not be specific speed threats and score from 80 yards, but they have the potential to make plays every play.

“It’s definitely an advantage when you are game-planning.”

Now that the Cardinals have Fitzgerald’s deal out of the way, they can now revisit signing free-agent linebacker Brandon Chillar, who visited last week and remains available. They also have a host of “lesser” free agents of their own they want and need to re-sign, including long snapper Nathan Hodel."

It's Only a Rumor. But Still...
March 12, 2008 - Reports are beginning to bubble to the surface that Fitz and the Cardinals have either reached a deal or are close to it.

Trying to follow the story is similar to reading a Faulkner novel (where bits and pieces of the story are revealed in sporadic fashion until all the pieces of the puzzle are in place and present a clearer picture).

We first got wind of it when we quite innocently dropped in on Darren Urban's blog. He referred to comments in PFT (notorious for getting it wrong) and Fitz's website suggesting that the deal had been consummated. But there's nothing available (yet) to corroborate this. (Note - Kent Somers is now reporting that the story was corroborated from "a league source").

This quote pulled by Larry's web site and posted on ASFN would suggest the deal has been done:

"The two-time Pro Bowl star said, 'I'm very happy with this my intent was to stay with the Cardinals, I'm grateful that we were able to get this done."' Fitzgerald led the NFC in 2007 with 100 receptions and 10 touchdowns. Fitzgerald will get $33 million over the next three years $30-million is guaranteed."

According to the website - "In 2008 he will get $17 million $15 is guaranteed if the Cardinals released him after 2008 season he would become a unrestricted free agent, he also has a no trade clause with-out his consent."

Despite the promising news from Somers, we'd still like to see something official coming out of Cardinal Hq.

 Cards Add a Couple/Lose a Couple
March 4, 2008 - After a quiet weekend (where 32 teams were asked to "Start Your Engines!" (along with the perception being that 31 shot out of the gate, leaving the Cardinals standing there with their thumb in their mouth), things started to percolate later in the weekend, with a couple of moves consummated late Monday. Here's a thumbnail recap.

• WR Larry Fitzgerald and the Cards are still working on an extension.

• Steeler G Alan Faneca signed with the Jets

• Cardinal DE/OLB Calvin Pace visited Miami and the Jets (and agreed to terms with the Jets)

• Cardinal  WR Brian Johnson visited Buffalo and isn't expected back..

• Cardinal OT Keydrick Vincent left for greener pastures.

• Cards agreed to terms with former Steeler TE Jerame Tuban (known for his blocking)

• Cards agreed to terms with former  Titan DE/OLB Travis LaBoy (6 sacks last year

While sad to see Pace leave, the Cards appear to have replaced him with someone of near-equal talent in Travis LaBoy, but costing considerably less in guaranteed (cap-vulnerable) compensation.

Although the Cardinals are happy with the potential of their young TE's Leonard Pope and Ben Patrick, neither (at least so far) was considered the kind of blocker (former TE) Ken Whisenhunt was looking for to help kick-start the Cardinals' power running game in 2008.

Free Agency - Start Your Engines...
Feb. 29, 2008 -  Free agency started at midnight. Here's an update of Cardinal players who are "on the loose", on the semi-loose or tied up:

• UFA ILB Karlos Dansby received the Franchise tag.

• Exclusive RFA's WR Jamaica Rector, CB Mike Adams and TE Troy Bienemann were tendered offers and cannot go anywhere unless unsigned by training camp..

• Restricted Free Agents DE Antonio Smith and CB Eric Green were tendered 1st Round compensation offers.  Elton Brown was tendered a 4th Round compensation offer. (in other words, if another team wants to pick up Smith or Green, it will cost them a 1st rounder. If they want to sign Elton, they'd owe us a 4th rounder.

• Offers were not tendered to (Exclusive RFA) LB Brandon Johnson and (RFA's) WR Ahmad Merritt. DE/FB Bo Schobel, LB Daryl Blackstock, WR Jerheme Urban and TE Tim Euhus.  (This doesn't necessarily mean they're "gone forever." They could be re-signed later, and Wiz has indicated that we might attempt to re-sign Merritt and/or  Urban should we lose UFA Bryant Johnson.

• The following are Unrestricted free agents and are free to sign with any other club with no compensation: QB Tim Hasselbeck. QB Tim Rattay,  WR Bryant Johnson,  G Keydrick Vincent,  DE Joe Tafoya, DT Rodney Bailey, DT Ross Kolodziej, LB Calvin Pace,  CB Ralph Brown, FS Matt Ware, SS Oliver Celestin,  FS Bhawoh Jue, P Mitch Berger, LS Nathan Hodel.

Check out our FA Status Chart (format based on info from the official Cardinal website)

Off Season "Cap Moves"
Feb. 24, 2008 - (We're b-a-a-c-k! The combination of a long bout with so-called "flu like symptoms and outside conflicts have kept us away from the BRS since before the Pro Bowl. We'll start to pick it up in advance of the draft season, but we may delay our Annual Draft Issue til mid-late March while we work on a much-needed site upgrade -including the elimination of the dreaded "frames").

• The Cards cut S Terrence Holt, OT Oliver Ross and DL Chris Cooper. Holt underperformed, and his release was not unexpected. Ross was injured for all of 2008 and the Cardinals had moved on. Cooper was a high-motor lunchpail guy who provided important depth but didn't see much action last season.

• Cards also restructured Bertrand Berry's contract. (Glad to have you back, B-Train).

• Rod Graves said yesterday that - regardless whether they could renegotiate his (obscenely incentive-loaded) contract or whether they'd have to pay it as-is - Larry Fitzgerald will play for the Cardinals next season.

• The status of Calvin Pace, Bryant Johnson and others is in question in light of tight cap space.

• NFL Network report - that the Cards were $2-million over the cap - was challenged by Rod Graves.

That's it for now.

Fitz Voted  to Pro Bowl/Dockett & Edge Alternates/Dansby Snubbed
Dec. 19, 2007 - Larry Fitzgerald was tabbed a Pro Bowl starter. (Congrats!) Darnell Docket - whom most Cardinal observers should have been elected to the Pro Bowl was selected on of three alternates (which means, if any of the DT's on the current lineup gets injured, Darnell will be Hawaii-bound. Karlos Dansby (who's had a terrific year) got hosed.

The lesson to be learned here (to be ingrained deep in the guts of every Cardinal players) is: "If you're good, and  want to be recognized and not overlooked, win more games.

Cards Ink Berger
Nov. 29, 2007 - The mystery is over. Mitch Berger won the three way completion (with Mike Gardocki and Tom Rouen) to replace punter Mike Barr. He'll also be Neil Rackers' holder. He's a 13-year veteran, spending most of his careers with the Vikes and Saints. He was on IR last year with the Saints (pelvic injury). Welcome aboard, Mitch.

Rash of Personnel Changes in Wake of Brutal Loss to SF
Nov. 28, 2007 - Read this and weep:

• Adrian Wilson will have surgery on his heel and is expected to be placed on IR

• Eric Green (groin tear) has been placed on IR

• Punter Mike Barr has been cut.

• Reserve TE Tim Euhus has been cut.

Cards are expected to remain thin behind Wilson at safety, since Aaron Francisco is still pretty iffy

The Cards are bring in punters (including Mitch Berger and Tom Rouen) to replace Barr. Barr had been taken to task for shanking one punt and line-driving at least one other last week.

SInce Barr was also the holder for Neil Rackers, it is expected that backup holder, Sean Morey will take over that job. (He couldn't do it any worse than Barr - who muffed at least hold and failed to monitor the clock to call time-out and avert the delay-of-game penalty which forced Rackers to (unsuccessfully) re-kick - Barr's responsibility. .

It's hard to read minds, but you have to wonder whether or not a few border-line injury calls are being made right now because the coaches feel our chances of making the playoffs took a near-fatal hit in the Niner loss last Sunday.

B-Train Gone For Year/Cards Sign Schobel
Nov. 14, 2007 -  For the third straight year, pass-rush specialist and defensive team leader, Bertrand Berry has been sidelined for the second half of the season. Once again it was due to a torn triceps (same injury/different arm). He was put on IR yesterday.

Cards moved immediately to provide depth at the WLB/RDE position by signing former Indianapolis DE Bo Schobel.

There's an irony here - The Colts moved quickly to replace the injured Dwight Freeney by signing former Cardinal DE Simeon Rice. The Cards wound up with a former Colt in Schobel.

The new Cardinal is the brother of Buffalo Pro Bowl DE Aaron Schobel and Philly TE Matt Schobel. He started his pro career with the Titans and was cut by the Colts at the end of training camp. He weighs in at 6-5 264. Last year he appeared in 14 games for Indy and wound up with 21 tackles and a shared-sack.

Bye Week Housecleaning
Oct. 31, 2007 - The Cardinals used the time off to make a few roster changes:

• They released offensive lineman, Brad Badger

• They promoted TE Ben Patrick from the practice squad

• They added Travarous Bain to the practice squad

Reading the tea leaves - The release of Badger suggests that  Coach Whisenhunt is feeling a little less antsy about injuries to Levi Brown, Mike Gandy the team's offensive line depth overall. The elevation of Patrick suggests that Wiz is still looking for answers at TE. The addition of Bain (a very good athlete corner who came from a small college background at Hampton) bolsters our depth in the secondary - something that may come in handy if we want to make a serious run at playoff contention during the final 9 games of the regular season.

While it was nice to have a veteran like Badger on the roster as a "security blanket", talented youngsters like Patrick and Bain (if they can be developed) are part of the team's future. We like the moves.

Cards Sign Hasselbeck/Release Moses
Oct. 16, 2007 - As predicted, the Cardinals added Matt Hasselbeck's brother Tim to back up Tim Rattay and the injured Kurt Warner. Warner apparently tore at least one ligament in his left (handoff) wrist. He feels he may be able to fill some sort of role this Sunday in Washington, but this will depend on how well he can move the arm and grip the ball.

Hasselbeck is married to Elisabeth Hasselbeck, one of the four celebrities on ABC's The View. To make room for him on the active roster, the Cards waived DE Quentin Moses (though there's a good possibility we'll add him to the practice squad if he clears waivers).

Cards Sign Rattay/Put Leinart on IR/Other Moves
Oct. 9, 2007 - Darren Urban (official Cardinal website) reports that , after a brief workout in front of Coach Whisenhunt & the Cardinal staff, former Niner QB Tim Rattay was signed to a one-year deal. It was only one of several moves:

• Matt Leinart was put on IR (That's it for the season)

• Cards signed Keydrick Vincent

• Added to the Practice Squad was former Cowboy Matt Baker (whom Todd Haley is familiar with)

• Backup center Chuki Okobi was released.

• Lang Campbell was released from the Practice Squad

• Matt Trannon was released from the Practice Squad

Rattay
Said Rattay - “I was in San Francisco when (Warner) was in St. Louis when they were really going. I have admired him from afar. Just to be around him and learn from him would be great.”

(The Cards were also interested in Vinny Testaverde, but Testaverde removed himself from consideration today). Rattay  was drafted by San Francisco in 2000; remaining  there before being traded to TB during the 2005 season. He signed with Tennessee as A FA, but was cut when the Titans chose to go with two QB's

Vincent
He's a natural guard who says he's willing to play anywhere he's needed ("I trust Russ"). Vincent was signed for depth, with Levi Brown (ankle) and backup, Elton Brown (knee), still gimpy. Vincent - who had been cut by the Ravens at the end of camp said: “I have been waiting this whole time since I have been cut wanting to go to the right situation.”

Cards Look to Bolster QB and O-Line
Oct. 8, 2007 - Darren Urban reports (and the AZR confirms) that the Cardinals are taking a long, hard look at former Steeler offensive tackle, Keydrick Vincent (subject to his passing a physical and a conditioning testt).  He also reports that Ken Whisenhunt in today's press conference advised that it would be unlikely the Cards would acquire a QB via a trade, but would be more likely instead to go the free agent route. This would rule out QB's like Ken Walters and Jake Plummer who are under contract to other NFL teams.

It's speculated that interest in VIncent was created when backup-backup offensive tackle Elton Brown came down with a game knee (which he said was giving him trouble before he started in yesterday's game against the Rams. It also raised concerns by some  that both Browns (Levi and Elton) might not be ready to play vs. Carolina next Sunday.

(Note - Coach Whisenhunt described Leinart's collarbone injury as a "small break").

Will Eric Green Suit Up Sunday?
Sept. 20, 2007 - We were skimming down the "Injuries" list on today's Gannett sports page and were a bit stunned to discover that CB Eric Green was listed as "Out" and that the cause was "a team decision."

Team decision? What the bleep did that mean. Naturally, we started checking our various sources for more information. There was nothing from Urban's blog on the Cardinals' official website. Nothing from Somers' AZR blog.

The only thing we could find was that Eric was excused from Wednesday's practice to be present at the birth of his child in Florida. Some teams have the standing policy that "if you can't practice Wednesday, you can't suit up Sunday.

We're not talking about an injury here, and Eric's play at CB is important to the effectiveness of our defense. We're hoping and assuming  everything is OK with Eric, Mom and child. If so, we can't believe Coach Whisenhunt will keep Eric off the field in Baltimore. We'll try to clear this up as soon as possible. Stay tuned.

Updates - As of 11:18 ET (Thurs.) - Remark on ASFN blog that the print edition of the AZR reports that Green will return to practice today. (Nothing yet on Green from  the online edition of AZR.

Cards Shore Up Center/OL Positions
Sept. 12, 2007 - Cards signed former Steeler center, Chukky Okobi and re-signed OL Brad Badger. It was thought that the signings of both players had been delayed until after the "guaranteed salaries" cut-off date. One roster spot was already open, but they had to release LB Brandon Johnson to free up the other. Okobe is expected to push rookie Lyle Sendlein for the starting center job.

C Al Johnson (whose knee tendon was pulled away from the bone - but not torn) is optimistic about returning to active duty sooner not later. (Est. time: "not as long as a month." Although his self-prognosis - that he hopes to be back for the Ravens game - may be pushing things a little, the news does give cause for some optimism.

Bloody Friday - Turk Whacks 21
Aug. 31, 2007 - Darren Urban on his blog has announced the following roster cuts:

QB - Shane Boyd, Lang Campbell
RB - Steve Baylark
FB - Roshon Vercher
WR - LeRon McCoy, Mike Spurlock, Matt Trannon
TE - Alex Shor
OT - Brandon Gorin, Quasim Mitchell, Elliot Vallejo
OG - Brian Johnson
OC - Scott Peters
DT - -Jonathan Lewis
LB - Buster Davis, David Holloway, Pago  Togafau
CB - Mike Adams, Darrell Hunter, Justin Wyatt
DS - Brandon Keeler

Biggest surprise was 3rd round draft pick, Buster Davis. (It wouldn't surprise us if he's reunited with SF coach, Mike Singletary - who busted Buster's hump during Senior Bowl drills - so we could be facing Buster a week from Monday). We were pulling for a some other guys who were released  despite flashing something during preseason (specifically, Trannon, Holloway, Togafau, Johnson and Hunter). We can hope these guys make it to the Practice Squad (but they have to clear waivers first.

Equally as interesting as the guys who were released were "the survivors" (at least for now - there could be additional cuts to make room for guys we pick up on waivers or in free agency).

• Tim Castille becomes our #2 FB.

• Steve Breaston and Sean Morey become our #4 and #5 receivers (we apparently are only keeping five).

• We're keeping four TE's (at least for now): Pope, Bienemann, Patrick and Euhus.

• C-G Lyle Sendlein is a "survivor" as is C-G Nick Leckey and G Elton Brown. We kept T-G-C Brad Badger apparently for veteran depth (assuming we don't pick up an OT from the outside)

• On the defensive line, Tafoya, Kolodzeij and Bailey live to fight another day.

• We deferred final decision on Okeafor. (He's still with us for now). And Brandon Johnson stood off challenges by Holloway and Togafau.

• Cards opted to stay with a veteran CB (Ralph Brown) and Whisenhunt may have sent a subtle statement to his defensive players by keeping Oliver Celestin. (Celestin did not have a remarkable preseason but was quite noticeable late in yesterday's game when he maintained outside contain to shut down an end around - something the Cardinal defense had been awful at to date).e

We see two patterns emerging from these moves: (1) a preference for guys with at least a couple years worth of experience over rookies and other youngsters and (2) after almost pleading with Trannon, Holloway, Togafau, Davis and several border line players prior to yesterday's game  to step up and show the coaches that previous big plays they made were not one-time flukes, no one stepped up, and Whisenhunt cut them all.
 

Cards Drop Punter (That's Why)
Aug. 30, 2007 - So much for "competition" for Scott Player. Scott will have to compete for a job on another team. The Cards cut him one day after signing former Steeler Tom Barr to (according to Coach Whiz) "provide some competition" for Player. (This didn't make sense to us yesterday (why bring in someone to compete only 4 days before the final cutdown date). So now we know why. (Whisenhunt issued the obligatory "it's a tough biz...we wish him well...time to move on" statement). End of story.

Or is it? Player was Neil Rackers' holder. It looks like special teamer/WR Sean Morey will get that gig.

We think there are three plausible reasons (four if you include Player's new bleached mustache) for the move: (1) Barr's net punting average this preseason was greater than Player's gross punting average and (2) assuming that in both cases, "salary = cap dollars", Player was said to earn $750K a year. Barr is expected to pull down roughly $265K. Why not increase cap wriggle room by about a half-mil without sacrificing punting yardage? and then there's (3) (what we like to call "the conspiracy theory"). Perhaps the Cardinals are trying to put together something (in the form of a trade or free agent pickup) that would bring in a high profile TE, OL or LB - and need the extra cap room to make it happen.

In any case, the deed's been done - we can't wait to see Barr in action tomorrow night vs. the Broncs. And keep your eyes zero'd in on the Transactions wire: (Despite absolutely zero substantiation, we think something's cooking).

Television Note
Attention all you out-of-towners - the game will not be telecastcast  by NFL Network "live" tonight (Thurs.). According to our DirecTV grid, it  will be aired Sunday at 4pm ET. Which lays a "trap" -

The main reason for watching this game is to see which backup players earn a roster spot. Cutdown from 74*  to 53 players is Sat. Sept. 1,  but  the game won't be telecast til the day following the cuts. Suggested workaround: If you subscribe to SIRIUS or NFL.com Game Plan, you can listen to the radio call in "real time" tonight (Thurs.) instead (We think that's 9pm ET - but recheck the time in your location).

Cards Add Punter (Why?)
Aug. 29, 2007 - Cards added punter Tom Barr to the roster. He's a Rutgers grad and most recently was with the Steelers but lost out to Gardocki and Sepulvida the past 2 years.

Why another punter when the Cardinals have a perfectly good one in Scott Player and cut their 2nd kicker/punter (Ricky Schmitt) two days ago?

We're allowed to speculate (just so we document anything we post as such) so here goes:

Our guess is that the Cardinals were holding an empty roster spot open in the hope of landing a TE or OLB, and when none appeared on the first wave of roster-cuts, the coaches decided to make use the vacancy in the best available manner..

Although Player - a former Pro Bowl punter - has been a Cardinal fixture for several years, his directional kicking hasn't been all that nifty and his hang time and both gross and net yardage average OK but not sensational. By now we're guessing that his cap-numbers are considerably higher than minimum.

Enter Barr. Compared to Player's 42.6 gross yard punting average, Barr has averaged 45.0 gross and 43.8 net (in other words, Barr's net is greater than Player's gross - not too shabby. And - he'll probably  accept a much lower salary package.

The coaches are saying that they brought in Barr to "provide competition" for Player. Sure. Right. Final cuts are four days from now.

Now for the speculation part - We think the Cardinals (who have possibly a couple of million dollars in cap room available to sign additional players) may be positioning themselves to create an even bigger surplus in order to land a higher profile LB or TE before the start of regular season. If they can work out the right deal, Player is history and Barr is our new punter. If they can't, they can always maintain that Scott "won the competition" and then keep him. Or perhaps they could still opt to release Player and keep Barr purely on merit.

Something to ponder as we prepare for Preseason Game #4 and the big cutdown date 2 days later.

Turk Strikes One Day Early
Aug. 27, 2007-  With the first cutdown deadline tomorrow at 4pm (ET), the Cards moved early to remove  10 players from the active roster:  Two (T Oliver Ross and WR Ahmad Merritt were placed on IR).  Cards released 8 others (WR's Greg Lee and Todd Watkins, TE/FB John Bronson, G Jon Hameister-Reis, Ray Blagman, CB Travarous Bain, S Hanik Milligan and K Ricky Schmitt)..

The only real surprise was Milligan - a coverage team specialist was considered expendable due to the addition of WR/Gunner Sean Morey. We had been monitoring Bain's progress because he was an UDFA who was a highly regarded member of the "Hampton Gang" (one of several prospects coming out of Hampton College this year). He was raw but with some potential. Maybe if things fall our way, he'll wind up on our practice squad.

Schmitt was the "extra kicker" in camp. As the roster thins, it becomes less necessary to have a second kicker around for special team drills. Lee was a highly regarded UDFA who spent time with NFLE this past year. He and Watkins (whom Whisenhunt singled out as having made significant strides) were apparent victims of the talent logjam at WR. Injured OLB Chike Okeafor remains on the roster but, if his rehab prognosis isn't considerably more optimistic than the original one, he'll probably go on IR to save a roster spot before the final cutdown from 75 to 53 players Sept. 1.

The Cardinals only needed to reduce their roster by 9 to get down to 75 active players, but released a 10th in order make a roster spot available for a waiver pickup should the right one (Whisenhunt says he  might troll for a TE) come along.

The final cutdown will be the difficult one - in fact, if yourf ranchise's talent level is steadily improving, the process becomes increasingly difficult each year because you have to release more and more good players.

"Biggie" Up for HOF
Aug. 27. 2007 - Legendary two-way RB/DB Marshall "Biggie" Goldberg - who starred for the Cardinals from 1939 to 1948 (interrupted, we believe, by a service hitch fin 1944 -45) - was nominated for induction into the NFL Hall of Fame. He and Emmit Thomas will be joined by 15 other (non-"senior") candidates who will compete for 4- 7 open spots. We're pulling for Biggie and holdover candidate, (current Cardinal assistant head coach) Russ Grimm to make it.

(Note - There are very few Cardinal alumni whom we don't predate as fans. Goldberg - at least in his pre-military heyday - was one of then, starring for the Cards 2 seasons before this Cardinal fan (then a 4-year old fledgling  baseball Cardinal rooter) began to ask his Dad each Sunday evening in the Fall: "Did the Chicago Cards win today?")

More Cardinal History
Cards are starting the tradition of nominating an Alumni Honorary Captain prior to each game. This week (for the SD preseason game) the honorary captain will be a guy who should remind us of 2 overachieving sawed-off LB's Buster Davis and Pago Togafau, former Cardinal MLB, Ronald McKinnon.

Roster Moves
Cards reached an injury settlement with FB AJ Schable, released QB Toby Korrodi and signed FA QB Lane Campbell (6-1 212, William & Mary - most recently in the Arena League and the Atlanta Falcons)

Cards Make Some Roster Changes
Aug. 15, 2007 - Chike Okeafor had surgery on his bicep, but is expected to remain on the active roster for now (he'll be evaluated in 2-weeks, although typical recovery period can be 4-months).

FB BranDon Snow (who left the team for "personal reasons") has been released.

Cards picked up 6-4 320 guard Brad Badger an 11 year vet who broke in with Grimm in Washington, most recently a Raider and currently listed behind Sendlein and B Johnson on the guard depth chart but thought to have a legit chance of sticking if he performs well enough) and 6-3 312 center Scott Peters (listed behind Lyle Sendlein on the center depth chart).

Cards Finally Sign Levi
Aug. 2, 2007 - The long wait that threatened to turn into a soap opera is over. Levi Brown and the Cardinals agreed to a six year deal. Better late than never, but as the writer's fifth grade teacher liked to say: "Better never late!" (Levi is expected to miss at least 7 practices).

Being drafted #5 won't automatically award Brown a starting position. Veteran ex-Steeler tackle Oliver Ross is in the way. Ollie (who accepted a $1 million paycut in the offseason) feels he will remain ahead of Brown on the depth chart if he does his job. Ross's comfort level with former coaches, Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm has restored some of his confidence. No knock on Ross, but the politics and economics concerning top draft picks suggests that, if he doesn't screw it up, Levi will eventually become the Cardinals' starting RT (& sooner not later). Some other specifics:

• He'll be slotted behind Ross at RT.

• He's flying in from Virginia tomorrow to take his physical in Phoenix Friday morning and isn't expected at Flag until later in the day. He'll probably miss the first of 2 practices on Friday.

• The 6-year deal is said to include $18.1 mil in guaranteed money.

Ross was probably helped by the signing-delay in Brown’s signing, because he received more attention taking snaps as a first-teamer. “I probably feel this year the best since I have been here,” he said (considering his two disappointing seasons with the Cardinals so far).

Some quotable quotes from his teammates

“I’m not saying you expect your first-rounder to not be in camp, but it is becoming the norm more and more every year. Obviously, you want to be with the guys one way or the other and you don’t want to miss any time so the sooner you get here the better. But that is part of the game...He will catch up...but yeah, he better be ready to go." - Reggie Wells

“(Levi) showed a lot of athletic ability (in the offseason) and he will be able to contribute. He wouldn’t have been drafted where he was if he couldn’t.” - Deuce Lutui

New Titles for M. Bidwill and R. Graves
July 27, 2007 - We're more about function than title; but, nevertheless, changes in title can often signal the strengthening, weakening or shifting of influence within an organization. In this respect, it looks as though the hands of Michael Bidwill and Rod Graves will be strengthened.

According to today's AZR, Bidwill has been elevated to President, (he was formerly VP & General Counsel). Graves has been elevated to General Manager (he was formerly VP Football Operations). Congratulations to both.

Branch In Fold
July 26, 2007 - The Cardinals and their second round pick, NT Alan Branch, have agreed to terms.

Branch and last year's 4th round draft pick, Gabe Watson are both mammoth, stout NT's, both run stuffers and both former Michigan Wolverines - call them the Boys From Ann Arbor. While Watson is ahead of Branch on the depth chart, they're two peas in a pod who figure to see a similar amount of action in rotation. The tandem promises to give the Cardinals their first physically dominant presence at DT since Fritz Shurmer's "El Beefo" duo of Keith Rucker and Reuben Davis back in 1993.

Branch's signing leaves former Penn St. OT Levi Brown the only unsigned rookie. Prognosis is that he may miss a few days of camp because of a "wait & see" attitude by agents to see where 1st round picks will be slotted. Cards and Brown have a couple of extra days of grace after tomorrow's start of  training camp since real workouts won't start til Sunday (team meetings are scheduled for Friday. Timed conditioning runs are planned for Saturday).

Cards Ink 5th Round Pick
June 20, 2007 - Cardinals made their first draft pick signing of the offseason by bringing 5th round draft choice, Steve Breaston into the fold. The receiver/returner was signed to a 3-year deal.

Patrick Also Signed
It didn't show up on AP's daily "Transaction" log, but the Cards announced that they've agreed to terms with 7th rounder, TE Ben Patrick.

Bubble Bursts: Brown, Clancy & Ayanbadejo to Be Released
June 5, 2007b - Looks like the rumors were true. (We saw the crawl on NFL Network this evening). Cards certainly didn't let any grass grow beneath their feet. Along with Milford Brown and Kendrick Clancy, FB Femi Ayanbadejo was also shown the door. (Note - Kent Somer quotes Ken Whisenhunt as "confirming" that Clancy and Brown had refused the teams request to restructure their contract and "will soon be released"; so while the dirty deed may not have been officially done, it evidently is about to be).

Whisenhunt stressed that the salary cap had nothing to do with the decision:

"I didn't want it to come down to a situation in training camp where we had to make a decision about these guys based on the money. Also, if they didn't want to restructure, I wanted to give them the opportunity to get on somewhere else. They decided they didn't want to restructure, so I respect them."

Brown and Clancy were going to be backups despite being paid starter's dollars. Whisenhunt said the team wanted to keep both players, but not at their current salaries.

UDFA Brian Johnson and Elton Brown move up to second-string guard to replace Milford Brown.  Gabe Watson replaces Clancy as starting NT.

Ayanbadejo's release apparently had nothing to do with restructuring.It isn't shocking; He just isn't big enough to be the bruising blocker Whisenhunt wants from his fullbacks (Leading candidate to fill the new FB  role becomes FA pickup Terrelle Smith). Femi's third-down skills were made less important with re-emergence J.J. Arrington in that role.

Milford Brown and Clancy on Bubble?
June 5, 2007 - Initial reports that G Milford Brown and Kendrick Clancy might turn out to be salary cap cuts were downplayed because the source of this rumor was the somewhat undependable Pro Football Talk (PFT). But then the two local dailies (AZR and EVT) ran with the story and added info which gave additional credence to the PFT article.

The Cardinals were said to be asking each player to restructure his contract or face the possibility of being released. A statement attributed to the Cardinal front office was that they weren't insisting on the restructuring to "create cap space" but instead to preserve the integrity of their pay-structure (i.e. so that starters were paid starter-money and backups were paid backup money).; the implication being that Brown had lost his starting position at LG to Reggie Wells and Clancy was stuck behind wider-bodied nose tackles,  Gabe Watson and Alan Branch.

We're not sold that - at least from the standpoint of run-blocking - Wells will turn out to be the answer at LG. The situation, therefore, can't but make us wonder out loud why  (a) if the Cardinals have excess talent at LG and NT and (b) Alan Faneca would be happier in Arizona under old coach Russ Grimm, then (c) why not try to work out a trade of Brown and Clancy to the Steelers for Faneca. We'd wind up with a Pro Bowl LG and Wells would be better suited to press for playing time at either offensive tackle position.

Cards Sign TE
May 30, 2007 - Tim Euhus (drafted by the Bills a few years ago and spending some time with the Saints and most recently the Steelers) was signed to a free agent contract.  Ken Whisenhunt - who was said to be looking for blocking help at TE to help bolster his new power running game - found the TE position quite thin. They like 6-8 Leonard Pope's receiving potential but the only other legit TE's on the roster were  newcomer, Troy Bienemann, 7th round draft pick Ben Patrick and 2nd year UDFA Alex Shor. And Patrick has missed all 16 minicamp and OTA practices to date.

The hope has to be that Euhus will give us the blocking help at TE the Cardinals so sorely need. To make room for Euhus on the roster, the Cards cut WR longshot Evan Prall.

What Minicamp Tells Us
May 15, 2007 - Actually, not a whole lot.

Not that we expected much. The Cardinals' first minicamp was an opportunity for rookies and veterans to get acclimated to the new coaching staff, new systems and terminology -  and with one another.

Naturally, we approached minicamp with our eyes and ears wide open in the hope of gleaning information - any information - about what we could expect from new players, new coaches and new ways of doing things. Like everyone else covering the Cardinals, we looked between the lines every statement, read a ton of tea leaves and formed a few conclusions - not as many as we had hoped but nonetheless we did come away with a better sense of the Cardinals than before minicamp started. Perhaps the best way to approach this would be position by position:

Quarterback
No surprises. One observation (either by media person or fan) that both Boyd and Korrodi had stronger arms than Leinart and Warner, but the latter were much more accurate.

Running Back
Nothing new to report. Edge was excused from the first days' practice but was said by Wiz to show up "ready."

Wide Receiver
Word is that Todd Haley is pushing Fitz to get to an even higher level. Reading behind the lines of interviews and highlight footage of Fitz and Q, you sense a focus on downfield blocking. Fitz talks about it. Q's highlight film on NFL Network showed more crunching hits downfield than great catches on the part pf Anquan. LeRon McCoy has been cleared to practice. If he can stay healthy, he could turn out to be difference maker. We're told 6-6 235 lb Matt Trannon (UDFA - Michigan St.) is catching a few eyes. (Ed Note - If Trannon finds it difficult to catch on in a very crowded group of talented receivers, he's got the size to possibly make it as a TE - of course, he'll need to be willing and able to block).

Tight End
We still need a blocker to help the running game go. In this respect, Leonard Pope (whom we like a lot) remains a work-in-progress, the rookie Ben Patrick is better known for his receiving skill than as a blocker. And the positive buzz about FA pickup Bienemann centers mostly around his receiving skills. So our question remains: Where's our blocker?

Offensive Line
Nothing's settled. Emphasis has been on versatility and seeing how different players perform at different positions. Expect to see more shuffling until Russ Grimm and Wiz are comfortable with the combination they like. At least one Cardinal O-lineman has mentioned that Grimm is looking for guys who can move. Some players have been urged to lose weight at varying amounts depending on how many pounds the coaches feel a specific player's frame can handle. A lot of attention was devoted to walk-thru's to familiarize linemen with different blocking schemes vs. both 3-4 and 4-3 fronts and stunts.

Defensive Line
Gabe Watson says he's dropped 30 - 35 pounds. Although Wiz says the Cardinal will utilize a hybrid defense with both 3 - 4 and 4 - 3 fronts (because he's not sure we have the personnel to make the 3 -4 our base defense yet), the rumblings we're picking up suggests that Coach Whisenhunt may be discovering that the guys on our current roster may enable Clancy Pendergast to move toward a 3 - 4 faster than expected. LDE Chike Okeafor has played OLB in the past and is lining up that way, and we hear Bertrand Berry (who is not ready to go full speed yet recuperating from injury) may play some OLB as well. (Note - Reggie Wells on SIRIUS says he's seeing a lot of 4-3 in drills). In the minicamp drills televised via NFL Network, we saw #91 (Rodney Bailey) in Leinart's face on on snap.

Linebacker
We were advised by one media onlooker to keep an eye on 5-10 LB Pago Tagafau "who's said to be a 'tackling machine.'" Hmm. We already drafted 5-9 LB Buster Davis. Makes you wonder whether the job description for one of the linebacker positions under various schemes may call for short stumpy guys who fly around. Daryl Blackstock is said to be receiving more reps - toggling between DE and LB.

Secondary
Travarous Bain was said to have made a leaping interception in Day One drills. The guy in the #23 jersey who you see on the reruns of the minicamp highlight footage is CB Darrell Hunter.

Special Teams
Neil Rackers will do double-duty this season as an on-air guy for FSN-AZ. Other than that, nothing new about special teams other than that there's a lot of buzz about the Cardinals adding personnel who figure to significantly improve this unit.

Cards Sign FA Returner.
May 5, 2007 - The Cardinals signed 7-year FA return-man Ahmad Merritt. He signed a UDFA deal with the Bears in 2000, remained on the roster for 4 years and then was signed and cut during camp by the Cowboys in each of the following 2 years. There's nothing in the team write up to suggest he's a particularly explosive receiver or returner. (no TD's were mentioned in his resume), but it's no secret the Cards seek a much improved return-game, and Merritt figures to get a legitimate shot at beating out guys like Breaston, Morey and Spurlock and proving he can do the job.

So How'd We Do?
May 2, 2007 - There may be a couple more veteran free agent signings between now and the end of training camp, but most of the additions and subtractions to the Cardinal roster are now complete. What better time, then, to examine what we've got - position by position as we get ready for our first minicamp:

Quarterback
Leinart and Warner represent a solid young star/veteran backup one-two punch. Youngsters Toby Korrodi and  Shane Boyd figure to battle for the #3 backup spot. Boyd is a "slash" type athlete. Korrodi is said to be extremely accurate but lead-footed. We're OK here depth-wise, but we're greedy - we'd have  liked  to see a bit more seasoned or talented presence at #3.

Running Back
Most likely no changes (James, Shipp, Arrington). Cards added FA Steve Baylark who will have an uphill battle for an active roster spot. This unit is relatively set, though -given the wear & tear of the position, a little more backup depth wouldn't have hurt.

Fullback
Major changes appear to be in the offing. While Femi Ayanbadejo provided an excellent 3rd down option, Coach Whisenhunt has indicate the desire to add a more physical lead-blocking component to the fullback position. He brought in  free agent veteran smashmouther, Terrelle Smith (Browns) and UDFA's Tim Castille, Rashon Vercher and Brandon Snow to compete for the lead-blocking FB position. It's unclear whether AJ Schable (who toggled back & forth from DE last year) or  John Bronson (a TE/H-Back) would also be part of this  mix. There appears to be enough new warm bodies here to provide a good lead-blocking presence by the time we break training camp.

Wide Receiver
The trio of Boldin, Fitzgerald and Johnson will be back. All three are considered "big" receivers; not necessarily "burners" but with more timed-speed than so-called "possession receivers." Backups Todd Watkins, Gregg Lee and LeRon McCoy are also cut out of the same mold (although McCoy has greater straight-ahead speed). Lee had terrific college credentials at Pitt and is currently playing in NFLE. The one thing lacking on this unit has been a home-run hitter who can run sharp routes and explode out of his cuts to take the pressure off Fitz, Q and BJ. Former QB Michael Spurlock comes closest to fitting that bill, but never really established himself in this role. Cards added Sean Morey (who's also a returner) drafted their home-run guy in Steve Breaston (Michigan). He's considered a dangerous kickoff and punt returner, but could also represent the needed-compliment to our starting-three. UDFA Matt Trannon could turn out to be more of a Novacek type "small TE." Fellow UDFA Evan Prall (who's also a lights-out return artist) is a small-college developmental project. There seems to be enough raw talent among present players and newcomers to fill in this roster unit quite satisfactorily.

Tight End
Prior to the draft, the Cardinals were down to last year's 3rd round draft pick, 6-8 Leonard Pope, free agent Alex Shor and veteran FA pickup Troy Bienemann (Saints). Nathan Hodel is really a long snapper. John Bronson is more of a FB/H-Back/TE utility man. Last season, the Cardinals utilized former DT and OT Fred Wakefield as a 2nd TE in blocking situations. The feeling going into the draft was that Whisenhunt - a former TE himself - was on the prowl for a blocking TE. Instead, the Cardinals selected Delaware all-purpose TE Ben Patrick in the 7th round. Although he has the size to be a good blocker, he's considered to be a better pass-catcher than blocker. This leaves the Cardinals without a strong blocking presence at TE to help with the run game.

Offensive Line
A disaster during the first half  of last year - they couldn't open up holes for Edgerrin James. They couldn't protect Kurt Warner and then Matt Leinart.  The number of changes and shifting of linemen from position to position during preseason and early last season made our offensive line look like Grand Central Station at rush hour. Then, after one more group of major changes were made during the Bye Week (which moved Reggie Wells to RT, promoted 2nd round draft Deuce Lutui toRG, established Nick Leckey as starting center and moved Milford Brown to LG to replace Wells) things started to settle down - Edge was able to run well enough to wind up with1,200 yards and Leinart was given more time to throw.

Since then, starting LT Leonard Davis returned to his home state of Texas to sign a long-term deal with the Cowboys. His physical presence was kind of like the mountain you see out your window each morning; but our RB's weren't gaining the yards over his position that they expected to and Leonard was flagged entirely too many times for false starts and holding. Prior to the draft, the Cardinal brass quietly added a competent grinder with starting experience in T/G swingman Mike Gandy (Buffalo). They also added a center (Al Johnson) who snaps the ball from a 2 - 3" higher point than Leckey and addresses "muffed snap" problem that happened too often last year.

The depth of the O-line seemed much better with Wells, Lutui, Johnson, Milford Brown backed up by veterans Gandy (who could certainly qualify as a competent starting G or T), Oliver Ross and Elton Brown, but the feeling was that we could use more top-rung talent; particularly at tackle in light of the void left by the departure of Leonard Davis. The Cardinals filled that void big time by making Levi Brown their 1st pick in the draft. This gives the Cardinal offensive line a much more solid look, with L Brown, M Brown, Johnson, Lutui and Wells pushed by Gandy, Oliver Ross, Leckey, Brandon Gorin and Elton Brown. The Cardinals are also taking a look at veteran FA tackle Quasim Mitchell (Carolina) and  brought in a slew of undrafted free agent linemen; most notably Texas center Lyle Sendlein, Ohio St. guard Tim Downing and Cal Davis guard Elliot Vallejo. Most of the UDFA's appear to be development types who lack lower body strength and whose upsides can be capitalized on with a solid year of weight room training.

Time will tell, but it appears that, with the above additions under the watchful eye of respected new line coach Russ Grimm, this should be a much improved and deeper unit with better over all talent.

A Word About the Defense
Clancy Pendergast plans to incorporated considerably more 3-4 principles into an emerging "mix & match" hybrid defense which will require players to assume multiple roles and present different looks and false looks to opposing offenses. You'll see DT's moving outside to play DE. You'll see DE's and OLB's toggling back and forth between the two positions. You'll see NG's dropping back into coverage. Goodness knows where Adrian Wilson will be likely to pop up in various packages. This will entail different and more varied assignments given to our defensive players and, until we see them in action, it will be difficult to project how well they'll fit into their new roles.

Defensive Line
Many of the pundits emphasized the need for the Cardinals to upgrade its defensive line - primarily at DE. Frankly, we didn't see it. Starters Chike Okeafor and Bertrand Berry provided good pressure on the passer. When Berry went down, Okeafor's sack production increased and Antonio Smith and Calvin Pace provided good backup depth. Although Darnell Dockett didn't enjoy the same kind of year that put him above the radar in his his rookie year, he was asked to do more things less likely to make many highlight reels. Fellow DT's Kendrick Clancy and Chris Cooper also had solid seasons, and while rookies Gabe Watson and Jon Lewis didn't make rookie of the year, they had solid rookie seasons and appear to have solid futures.

Prior to the draft, the Cards added veteran free agents Rodney Bailey (Steelers), Joey Tafoya (Seattle) and (former Cardinal) Ross Kolodziej to add ballast to an already pretty deep and solid unit. But one thing Coach Whisenhunt said he wanted to do was to make us tougher and more physical at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The Cards traded up from #38 to #33 to draft Michigan wide-bodied space eater, Alan Branch whose stock had inexpiably dropped like a stone from a possible top ten value into the second  round. Big Red also added UDFA Ray Blagman who will have his work cut out competing for a roster spot.

We're not going to get bogged down by a lengthy debate about the validity of  the reasons why Branch's value may have plummeted or (though we think the reasons are bogus) totally discount the "where's there's smoke they're must be fire" element. Instead we'll simply say that, when we've seen him playing to his highest level he is flat-out unstoppable as a run-stuffing force - in fact, the best defensive tackle prospect we've seen in more than fifty years of watching football. Does this project to similar success in the NFL? We're not fortune tellers, but what we can say is that there's no way we should (or could) have passed up the opportunity to draft him because, if he plays to his capacity, he can transform our entire defense. every team we play will think twice about even considering running between the tackles.  Bottom line - We already had a very good young defensive line which figured to get better. With the addition of Branch it could now become great.

Linebacker
Next to our offensive line, we considered this to be our biggest problem area. Karlos Dansby and Gerald Hayes (when healthy) performed at high levels, and free agent signee Monte Beisel (Pats) filled in admirably for Hayes when Gerald was injured. But starting WILL backer, Orlando Huff didn't live up to expectations and probably won't be back. Fans are still waiting for Daryl Blackstock to fulfill his rookie promise, and Brandon Johnson has yet to make a statement. Cards experimented with moving DE Calvin Pace to SLB, and he picked it up pretty quickly in his first year of the experiment. He adds a little versatility to the unit.

With Pick #3 in the draft, the Cardinals added FSU inside backer Buster Davis. He's a hitting machine who closes in on the ball like a heat-seeking missile and is equally as explosive (For those of you who have TIVO'd Senior Bowl practices, check out his interaction with Niner assistant coach Mike Singletary). Davis will tell you that if he had been 2 - 3" taller than his 5"-9", he'd have been a top 20 pick. Based on the tape we've seen, we're not sure we'd want to take him up on that. He should see a lot of playing time and could be a Zach Thomas or Sam Mills type of force earlier than later. While (due to his height) he projects to be an inside backer, his presence should enable Gerald Hayes to move outside to play SAM with Dansby moving over to be our starting WILL guy. He also could pair up with either Beisel , Dansby or Hayes when we go to a 3 -4 with Okeafor and Berry dropping back to assume OLB roles.

All in all, we think the Cardinal LB unit is treading on a bit of thin ice depth-wise. If our luck holds out, there's enough quality here for us to get by, but this unit could still stand some more upgrading.

Secondary
By the time last year was over, our corners had been exposed by opposing passers. David Macklin was smart in zone coverage but a step too slow to play man. Antrel Rolle played too far off his man and got consistently beaten underneath. Eric Green displayed the best functional speed and athleticism of the three but was inconsistent and was victimized all too often. Macklin won't be back. The Cardinal coaches feel that Rolle's and Green's deficiencies were less due to their own athletic limitations than they were to the need to refine specific techniques. The Cards also added veteran Eagle CB Roderick Hood (who's expected to challenge Green for a starting position, with the odd man out playing a lot of nickel) and experienced Browns corner Ralph Brown to provide more veteran depth. A year ago, they  added UDFA's Darrell Hunter and Justin Wyatt (who's playing in NFLE) and 6-2 veteran Matt Ware (Eagles). They may have stolen free agent UDFA Travarous Bain (Hampton) and also added smurfy UDFA Michael Adams. It's hard to say who'll start, who'll back up and who'll fight for survival with a new position coach (Teryl Austin) and an infusion of new corners, but it looks like the unit will be deep enough in competent talent. What may be missing is the presence of a lights-out playmaking star corner, but that could change if Austin can improve the play of either Rolle and/or Green.

Adrian Wilson is a fixture at SS (there are some who feel he's the best in the  NFL). Aaron Francisco earned a promotion to starting FS (with the expected departure of former starter Robert Griffin). The Cards added former Lion Terrence Holt - considered a quality pickup - presumably to add quality depth and push Francisco. Hanik Milligan backs up Wilson at SS and is considered one of the NFL's premier special teamers. Cards also brought in UDFA's Will Gulley and Brandon Keeler who will fight for roster spots. Although youngster Francisco is a solid citizen at FS, the feeling among some observers is that the Cardinals' secondary play could be much improved by the presence of a  centerfielder with enough speed to get to either sideline to help out our corners covering deep patterns. Perhaps Holt can be that guy.

In any case, our secondary appears to be OK and deep, but its relative effectiveness will depend on how much improvement Austin can get from his young starting corners.

Special Teams
Both Neil Rackers and Scott Player are fixtures. Whisenhunt saved a training camp roster spot by bringing in UDFA kicker/punter Ricky Schmitt. Often overlooked in roster reviews is the long snapper who is made more conspicuous when you don't have one  (ask the Giants and Cowboys). We've got a really good one in Nathan Hodel. Cards need better production from their coverage teams, and it appears this was a major consideration in the addition of several veteran and undrafted free agents. In addition, LB Buster Davis figures to be a dynamic force covering kicks and punts. In recent years, the Cardinals have lacked a genuine reliable home run threat in the return game. Spurlock showed flashes as a rookie last year. One look at Steve Breaston's college highlight tape should make you very excited about our potential explosiveness in the return game next season. And don't be surprised if Spurlock doesn't impress the new coaching staff.

Recap
Nothing's ever a lock, but to us the Cardinal roster is one year more experienced, several positions have been upgraded and they figure to be better organized to win under their new coaching staff. Our division is tougher competitively from top to bottom, but there's no reason at all why we should expect anything other than a playoff birth next season.

Cards Sign TE/OL