Cardinal Of The Week: Preseason Week Two

Welcome to the Cardinal of the Week poll for week two of the Preseason. The Cardinals may have lost the game, but the Preseason is for us to look at how some of the players look in certain situations, not to look at what the score was. Normally with losses I would do an Anti-Cardinal of the Week poll (which would have probably been won by Levi Brown this week), but since this is the Preseason we will look at some of the guys who played well.

Also, last week Cornerback A.J. Jefferson won with 31% of the vote, Preseason superstar Max Hall was the next closest to him with 21%.

O'Brien Schofield: Three tackles, QB hit, sack, forced fumble

Cardinals fans have high expectations for the former Wisconsin Badger this season after his return from a knee injury before the draft that caused him to drop from the late first or early second round of the draft to the fourth round, and the Schohawk did not disappoint in his return to Wisconsin. During his time with the second team defense Schofield nailed Packers QB Matt Flynn to force an incomplete pass, he also registered a sack that caused Flynn to fumble but the Packers recovered it. With aging veterans Joey Porter and Clark Haggans in front of him, Schofield should get a good chance to see some playing time and hopefully he can continue to show some of the pass rushing ability that he showed last night.

Darnell Dockett: Three tackles, two QB hits, sack

Dockett helped lead an impressive effort by the first team defense against the Packers offense. In what turned out to be a nice look at how Horton is going to run the defense, 9-0 was able to get some pressure on Aaron Rodgers, and he was even dropped back into coverage like a linebacker on one play where he made a tackle. Calais Campbell and Dan Williams also joined Dockett as members of the defensive line to record a sack to show that even though Horton will run a more traditional Pittsburgh style 3-4 defense, he will still let our pass rushing Defensive Linemen do their thing.

DeMarco Sampson: Three receptions on four targets, 68 yards

This guy just keeps showing up. He has been lighting it up in Training Camp, and now he is continuing to just make catches in the preseason. He also looks like a guy who can contribute on Special Teams where he has been in position to make tackles several times, and he had one of his tackles taken away by an offsides penalty on the kickoff. As a big target with "deceptive speed" (since when was running a 4.41 in the 40 yard dash deceptively fast anyway?) expect to see plenty of him this season if he can continue to catch everything being thrown his way like he has so far.

Rob Housler: Five receptions on eight targets for 68 yards

With Todd Heap and Stephen Spach out with minor injuries, Housler got a chance to play for most of the game and he made the most of it. While House still needs some work as a blocker, he showed that he can be a good receiver making several good catches. Being able to learn behind a vet like Heap should help Housler out a lot.

Some people who were also considered were Richard Bartel (whose Interception that was from an Anderson-esqe decision knocked him out of the running), Calais Campbell, and Beanie Wells.