Quick Hits: Arizona Cardinals Style

There's been a lot of NFL news for the middle of July, here's how some of it will effect the Cardinals:

• Brian Urlacher agreed to a contract extension yesterday and basically it gave him a bigger signing bonus and raised his per year salary to 7.5 million. Hopefully Karlos Dansby sees news like this and realizes that his $9 million a year offer was pretty absurd. The club can't negotiate with Dansby until after the season but be sure that every linebacker who signs a contract will be measured against KD.
• The Cardinals were pretty good at shutting down opposing tight ends last year and the recent trade of Jeremy Shockey to the Saints means that they'll face one less really good tight end in 2008. The Giants still have a pretty decent tight end in Kevin Boss but Shockey's a dynamic player whom the Cardinals won't have to deal with unless they meet the Saints in the post season.
  
• The trade of Jason Taylor to the Redskins is complete and even though the Cardinals had to face the 2006 Defensive Player of the Year either way, he's definitely on a better team now. Taylor is replacing the injured Phillip Daniels and is an instant upgrade to an aging defensive line that struggled to put pressure on the quarterback. He'll test Levi Brown in week 3.