Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings: The Life Of A Running Back

A few stories cropped up early today, so here's a Bird Droppings entry after all to help lead you into the weekend.

azcardinals.com | The Battering a Back Takes
The theory is this: A running back’s body only has so many carries in it before it starts to break down. Tim Hightower hears it, and shakes his head.

Word From the Birds Blog | Cards spending preseason week in Nashville
The Cardinals are going a road trip in the preseason. Not Flagstaff, and not just for a game. Because the Cards play in Nashville on an ESPN Monday night game and because the team’s next game is in Chicago the following Saturday, coach Ken Whisenhunt has decided to spend the week after the Titans’ game in Nashville.

azcentral.com | Arizona Cardinals extend deal with NAU for training camp
The Arizona Cardinals and NAU have announced a three-year extension of the contract to keep the team's training camp in Flagstaff.

NFL - Yahoo! Sports | O-line rankings: Talent and depth rare finds
Grading offensive lines in this era of the NFL is sort of like judging a chili contest without knowing how to differentiate between a jalapeno, a habanero and a Scotch bonnet pepper. Without really understanding, they’re all just hot.

ProFootballTalk.com | Darnell Dockett lets loose on Redskins and Clinton Portis
One reason we love Darnell Dockett's Twitter account -- other than his crush on Oprah -- is that the Cardinals defensive tackle tells it like it is. Or at least how it is, according to Dockett. And according to Dockett, the Redskins have been a mess of late.

KTAR.com | Burns: Looking for stability in Arizona
In these troubling times for local sports, who can we turn to for guidance? Stability? Leadership? Commitment? The Bidwills. Yep. I just wrote that. The Bidwills.

espn.com (Insider) | Mel Kiper: A close look at the NFC West, and where teams can improve
The draft is obviously the focal point of the NFL offseason for me, but it certainly doesn't end there. The picks are only half of the equation. How they fit is where the draft is really made. And part of that has to factor in the new personnel that teams have added around them. So with the draft clearly in mind, let's do a quick summer audit on the situations of the teams in the NFC West.

Sporting News | Six teams that won't return to NFL playoffs in '10
Arizona's prospects plummeted when: 1. Kurt Warner retired; 2. Matt Leinart didn't; 3. Derek Anderson reported for duty; and 4. the Cardinals didn't immediately pounce on Marc Bulger the instant he became available.

Sporting News | Cardinals DT Dockett: Haynesworth's attitude 'cancer to a team'
Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett joined LaVar Arrington and Chad Dukes on 106.7 the Fan in Washington D.C. to talk about the Washington Redskins and the situation they have with Albert Haynesworth. To listen to the interview, go to Sports Radio Interviews. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.