The first week of organized team activities concluded this afternoon in Arizona and the good news is that there aren't any new injuries and there weren't any surprise absences. The reports that come out of OTAs need to be taken with a grain of salt but I'll pass them along anyways.

• Steve Breaston seems to be the shining star so far after three practices. He'd carried the momentum from a solid mini-camp shortly after the draft. After a rookie season in which he made a name for himself as a returner he definitely made it a point this off season to improve as a receiver. He's making sure that  Early Doucet will have to do more than simply show up to get the #3 job.
• Coach Whisenhunt stated that he has been in contact with both Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett but that he doesn't expect them in for OTAs anytime soon. This isn't as bad as it sounds though. Sure it would be nice to have two veteran players in town, mentoring the youngsters but with them gone right now, Doucet and Calais Campbell are getting considerably more snaps than they would have. Doucet is taking snaps with the second group and Campbell is taking snaps with the first and second defense.
  
• Offensive line coach Russ Grimm found an interesting way to get around the NFL's 'no contact' policy for OTAs by doing one on one offensive lineman drills with a tackling dummy between the guys. Not sure if he did this during his days with the Steelers but it's definitely a way to keep things from getting monotonous.
  



• There's also a 'feel good' article on Antrel Rolle's new job at free safety and how he's moving to a more natural position for his skill set. The good news for Rolle is that he's following up Terrence Holt, who did a great job of underwhelming everyone last year, so the bar is set pretty low. There's an odd about Rolle possibly playing safety on first and second down then switching to corner back to cover slot receivers in the nickel defense. I don't really see the point in 'flip-flopping' him like this because he can't focus on being a great safety if he's playing a third of his time at corner. Oh well, there's still a couple of months before we'll see if that'll work. Hopefully DRC can step up and lock down the #3 job with a close eye on Eric Green's job.
  
• There's also an encouraging story from the Cardinals official site about rookie Tim Hightower. It's encouraging in that the coaching staff has relatively high expectations of him for a guy who was a fifth round pick and is supposedly buried on the depth chart (4th in line). It sounds like they expect him to move up the depth chart and have a legit role for this team in 2008. That could be bad news for veterans Marcel Shipp and JJ Arrington.
  
• The streak of seven practices without a turnover ended today though as a pass from Matt Leinart was tipped by Gerald Hayes and intercepted by Clark Haggans. Coach Whisenhunt has said a couple times though that Leinart looks much better now than he did this time last year, which is great news for the Cardinals. Hopefully a full season and off season under the new system will make light years of difference for Matt.
  

All in all, not a bad first week. We've heard good things about several of the young guys, both quarterbacks have looked good and the team as a whole looked sharp which led to crisp practices. It's way too early for any of this to mean much, but it's still good to hear that is sounds like the Arizona Cardinals are buying into what Whisenhunt is preaching. Thoughts? Has anyone been able to watch any practices?

The secondary took plenty of heat in 2007 and by the end of the season, it was criticism well deserved. They finished the season ranked 27th in pass defense and ranked near the bottom of the league in touchdowns allowed. The secondary, as well as defense as a whole faltered terribly down the stretch. After playing the Buccaneers in week 9 the Cardinals were allowing, on average, 194.6 passing yards per game. Had they finished the season with that average, they'd have had the 8th best pass defense in the league. Instead though they tanked the next eight games allowing over 250 yards passing 6 times and over 300 yards three times (CIN, NO, ATL). They would finish the season allowing an average of 232.3 passing yards per game.

Much like the rest of the defense, the secondary suffered their share of injuries last season. The biggest loss was strong safety and leader of the defense,  Adrian Wilson, who missed missed the final seven games. He was joined on IR by starting corner back, Eric Green, who missed the final 5 games. They also lost top backup safety Aaron Francisco for five games in the middle of the season. The one good thing that came out of the 2007 injury riddled season though was the idea to move former first round pick Antrel Rolle to free safety. Here's how the secondary should shake out in 2008:

Corner Back: The starters should remain the same with Roderick Hood and Eric Green getting the nod for the second consecutive season. Hood had a decent season, his first in Arizona, starting all 16 games and recording five interceptions and 21 passes defended. He signed a 5 year, 15 million dollar deal to come to Arizona and if he can continue to be that productive, he'll be a great free agent addition. Green struggled though in first season as a starter breaking up just eight passes and failing to record an interception for the second consecutive season.
Green is back on a one year tender and unless his production improves dramatically they'll let him walk after 2008, although there is some hope that he'll be an adequate #3 corner when DRC is ready to step up. First round pick, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, isn't going to be pressured into starting from day one but it he'll likely be expected to win the job sometime during the season. His second-to-none athleticism should be an instant upgrade once he's able to add 10-15 pounds. The depth chart should be filled out by some combination of veterans Ralph Brown and Matt Ware and second year player Michael Adams. Only two of these guys will be able to make the cut though. Undrafted free agent Marcus Brown will have to make some noise in training camp in order to snag a roster spot.

Safety: Again the starting safeties are set. Adrian Wilson will be returning as the incumbent starter for the 6th consecutive season, but it will be his first season to prove that he's fully recovered for an injury that caused him to miss significant time. He be joined by Antrel Rolle, who'll be starting his first season as free safety. Prior to the 2007 season, the Cardinals added free agent Terrence Holt with a significant salary but a disappointing season has since seem him leave town for Carolina. Depth will come from Aaron Francisco and Oliver Celestin, both of whom are younger players who are stand outs on special teams. Dennis Keyes, another undrafted free agent, will likely get a spot on the practice squad.

The secondary as a whole looks like it should be improved and if they can stay healthy, they should be well above average. The wild-card will be how quickly DRC becomes a starter. Once he's firmly entrenched, the Cards will have three explosive play makers in the defensive backfield. So how good do you think the pass defense will be? Can Rolle succeed in his first season as a safety?