News is creeping out that the Cardinals will have some new guys running with the first team on Saturday against the Raiders. Whisenhunt confirmed that several guys including Elton Brown, Travis LaBoy, Alan Branch, and as we all know Kurt Warner will see snaps with first team. Matt Ware and Aaron Francisco will also split the starting time at free safety in Rolle absence due to his ankle injury. While that doesn't mean that any of them are necessarily in the mix for a starting job, which Whiz is quick to point out, it has mean something right? It has to be either a lack of quality play by the current starters or better than expected play by this group. The next logical step, at least in my illogical mind is to wonder who's the most likely to unseat the incumbent starter.

Elton Brown: Brown will finally see snaps at RG with the first group after Whiz talked about it for several weeks. He's made no secret about his dissatisfaction with Deuce Lutui and his inability to become a consistent player. For a guy like Brown, entering the final year of his deal, this could be the difference between a middle-of-the-road contract and solid starter-type contract.

Travis LaBoy: LaBoy was the standout from last week when he finished with the team lead in tackles and two sacks and even more importantly he looked better than expected against the run. He was expected to back up Bertrand Berry and provide a consistent pass rush when on the field but his performance last week could have vaulted him into a dead heat with the 33 year old Berry.

Alan Branch: No player have been ragged on by fans and coaches alike the past month than Alan Branch, but Whiz said that he looked better against the Chiefs. While Whiz still described him as a flickering light, he said that his light is staying on more often these days. The Cardinals traded up to pick Branch early in the second round just 16 months ago and they need him to become at least a consistent backup to Gabe Watson.

Kurt Warner: We all know the details of Warner's situation so for the sake of not beating this dead horse anymore, we'll leave it at that.

So the question I pose to you is simple: Who is most likely to become a starter for the first game against the Niners? If you think that multiple guys have a chance, who's your second choice? Who's the least likely?

Much has been made of the possibility of Kurt Warner starting tomorrow's preseason game, but is it really a big deal? Is the coaching staff giving Kurt an opening to win the starting quarterback job or should we take the explanation at face value?

On one hand, it could be said that this is just a way to ensure that Kurt gets a certain number of snaps with the entire first team since Leinart got all of the first string snaps last week. Leinart will still get a chance to work behind the first string line and he'll also be forced to build some chemistry with the second string wide receivers. On the other hand though, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to sit your 'starting quarterback' who missed most of last season with an injury. It almost doesn't make much sense to sit your starting quarterback so that your backup quarterback can get snaps with the 'ones.'

So my question to you is simple, has this quarterback battle/competition/question finally turned into a legit controversy? Are we still to believe that Matt is the starter and it's his job to lose or is it an open competition?

We missed the question of the week last week because Friday was dedicated to breaking down the first preseason game of the year, but we'll try to catch up today. The 2007 Cardinals had their fair share of weak spots including the running game, pass defense, penalties and special teams, but the franchise seemingly did a good job of addressing each of those weaknesses during the off season. With only one preseason game in the books, it's certainly to early to make an definitive conclusion on the weakest area of the 2008 Cardinals, but it's not too early for a progress report. So with all that being said, how did last year's weaknesses look on Thursday night?

Running Game: The running game looked better against the Saints and ended up with 63 yards on 15 carries (4.2 avg) and a touchdown. The best stat of the night for the running game was that they didn't have a single run that went for negative yards, but their overall numbers were helped out by St. Pierre's two rushes for 15 yards. The biggest area of improvement in upcoming weeks should be trying to break through the second level. The longest rush of the night were nine yard rushes by Hightower and St. Pierre. 

Pass Defense: It was obvious from the very beginning of the game that the secondary would be in for long night. By the end of the night, the Saints' quarterbacks had completed 22 of 30 passes (73.3 % completion) for 285 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. All three quarterbacks ended up with QB ratings over 100 and an overall yards per pass play of 8.9.

Penalties: The Cardinals led the league in penalties last season with 137 penalties for 1,128 yards and a point of emphasis during camp has been to cut down on the mental mistakes and lapses that lead to penalties. They didn't appear to play any smarter on Thursday though considering that they finished with eight penalties for 70 yards (projected over a full season is 128 for 1,120). The penalties included a face mask, two delay of game (one on the defense and one on the punt unit), one encroachment, two false starts, one roughing the passer and one personal foul.

Special Teams: The 2007 Cardinals were plagued with shaky field goal kicking and sub-par punting and in an effort to improve both situations they brought in veteran punter Dirk Johnson.  Neil Rackers didn't have any hiccups on field goals or extra points but the punting of Johnson didn't inspire much confidence. His raw average was decent (44.3 on 7 punts) but his net average of 31.9 would have ranked 39th in the NFL last season. He'll have to improve his hang time so that his coverage units have make it down field (allowed four returns for 47 yards) and he'll have to fine tune is directional punting to drop a kick inside the 20 instead of settling for touchbacks.

So the question to you is what most critical area for the 2008 Cardinals to improve upon if they want to accomplish their goal of making the playoffs? Also, which area is in the best shape right now and which area will end up being the biggest problem this season?

This just in: Edge isn't a young cat anymore. Today is the day that most people agree running backs start to wear down and deteriorate, his 30th birthday. Don't tell Edge that though, he'll be quick to tell you that he won't fall into that 'cliche:'

"That’s like a cliché," James said, laughing. "I don’t think that applies to me. After all I’ve done, the way I take care of my body, I’m not even concerned with it. Some guys, they haven’t even played as long as I have and they are missing practices, not able to play every game.

While no one can outrun father time, Edge has been incredibly durable the past five seasons (averaged 333 carries) and he keeps himself in amazingly good shape. Another aspect that won't effect him as much as it does other aging backs, is that his game is based on excellent vision and quick, decisive cuts instead of flat out foot speed. There's also optimism that the Cardinals new zone blocking scheme (much more to come on that next week) will fit Edge's running style better than the man/power scheme that has been a Cardinal staple since he came to the desert. In addition to this, Edge has a higher motivation, he wants to be remembered as one of the best running backs to play the game. With a season similar to his 2007 campaign he'd move into 7th on the all-time rushing list and would be within 1,000 yards of top 5 all-time.

While it's possible to point to certain aspects that could lead to Edge having his best season in the desert, there's also some concern that a promising rookie and an offense designed around passing could cut into his carries. While everyone is probably getting carried away with Tim Hightower talk, it's clear that the coaching staff likes the way that he runs and if he can maintain the intensity once the hitting starts, he could be in line for his fair share of carries.

So here's the question to the Cardinal fandom: How many more productive years does Edge have left? Also, is Edge a top 5 back of all time in your mind, if not where does he rank? Is he the Cardinal back since the team came to Arizona?

The obvious choice after the wildfire that started yesterday is what in the world to do with Anquan Boldin but with two stories in the past 24 hours (seen here and here), I'll refrain from beating a dead horse. If you want to weigh in on how the Arizona Cardinals should handle Boldin, please follow either link above and add you comments, concerns and thoughts. 

The first practice of camp in the books (9:05 - 10:30 this morning) and another practice is scheduled this afternoon, but the Cardinals first round pick is still unsigned and not in camp. According to Rod Graves, talks are ongoing and both sides are hopeful that a deal can be reached sooner rather than later. The negotiations should go quickly since the 15th pick (Branden Albert) and 17th pick (Gosder Cherilus) have signed. With DRC being the 16th pick, the sides should just have to slide in between those two contracts. We shall see though, several days ago the team was sure that he would miss any of camp. He's the rookie that will probably see the most playing time and certainly the rookie who needs every practice rep he can get. So I pose the question to you, when will DRC sign and report to camp?

 
The Arizona Cardinals seem to have one unified goal this season: make the playoffs. When you see/hear interviews from coaches and/or players, you don't hear things like 'we're just trying to get better or grow as a team,' they are talking about winning and winning early and often. They would likely have to win the West to get into the playoffs and that would certainly be the safest way. The Seahawks represent the biggest challenge in obtaining that goal. Their schedule is of course very similar to the Cardinals except that they play Green Bay and Tampa Bay instead of Minnesota and Carolina. The Rams should be a much better team than they were in 2007 as long as they can stay healthy and the Niners should improve but both teams have too many questions marks to seriously contend for the division crown, IMO. It is conceivable that  the West could be decided on the final game of the season when the Seahawks come to Arizona. So the question I pose to you is how many wins will the Cardinals have to amass to win the West? Also, can they do it or are they still a year away? Is this a 'playoffs or bust' system?

With all of the talk this offseason about Anquan Boldin's contract situation it got me thinking about who would be the top two recievers several years down the road. First, I'll assume that Fitz's contract will keep him in the desert for at least the next four seasons (10 million a year should guarantee that). With that being said, that leaves two 'front-running' contenders in Steve Breaston and Early Doucet. A case could be made for each being that Breaston's speed would compliment Fitz and could stretch the defense on a regular basis. On the other hand, Doucet looks like he could be an younger version of Boldin and we all know how productive Boldin and Fitz have been together the past couple of years. There are some other candidates on the roster including the speedy Jamaica Rector and former Gator, Jemalle Cornelius. The Cardinals could also draft another reciever sometime in the next couple of seasons or they could open the purse strings and sign Boldin to a long term deal?

So I pose the question to you, who will be the top two recievers for the Cardinals three years from now? Also what would be the best combination for the Cardinals offensively and for the organization as a whole? Feel free to throw out an potential draft picks for upcoming seasons or potential free agents you'd like to see in the desert.......

ESPN recently did a coaches poll that yielded some not-so-surprising results. Most would agree that Rodney Harrison is considered a dirty player and the coaches, in this case, agreed. ESPN polled all 32 NFL head coaches on four different subjects (smartest offensive player, smartest defensive player, owner with the best reputation and dirtiest player) and for what it's worth only 18 coaches voted for a 'dirtiest player.' The results though, even with a small sample size, is pretty clear with 11 of 18 votes going against Patriots' safety, Rodney Harrison. Other receiving votes included Roy Williams (2) and Antonio Pierce, Hines Ward, Kevin Mawae and Olin Kreutz (each receiving one vote), and one coach said that he could think of a dirty player. So how is this Cardinal-related?

The article also mentions that safety Adrian Wilson leads the entire NFL in personal fouls since 2001. He's been flagged a total of 17 times since then with Harrison and defensive end Will Smith coming in second with 14. They also mentioned that Wilson leads the league in unnecessary roughness penalties since 2001 with 8. That immediately led to me pose this question to myself, have I ever watched Wilson play and though he was a 'dirty player?' For the life of me, I can't remember a play when I thought 'who that was dirty,' but my memory isn't the best in the world. The Baltimore game stands out in my recent memory, where a Wilson penalty set up the Ravens for the game winning field goal, but that was questionable at best and even the NFL.com recap mentions that.

So that finally brings me to the question: Adrian Wilson, dirty player or just an aggressive hard-hitting safety? On a discussion note, do the Cardinals have a 'dirty' player?

Much has been made of Antrel Rolle's move to free safety and the consensus seems to be that he's got the tools to excel as a safety. Rolle was known as a physical corner so few question his ability to step into a role that requires a player to be a sure tackler. There is one thing that Rolle will have in his favor, he's got a Pro Bowl safety to learn from. Adrian Wilson's career has been highlighted with three seasons of at least 90 tackles, two seasons of at least 5 sacks, five seasons with multiple interceptions and a 2006 Pro Bowl. Together they have the potential (yea I hate that word at much as the next guy) to form one of the best safety combinations in the league. Rarely does a team have two really good safeties and I can't wait to see it on the field. They should make a unique combination with Wilson ranging all over the field supporting the run and the pass and Rolle ranging in center field just waiting to capitalize on every quarterback's mistake. One things keeps popping into my head though, can they both be Pro Bowlers, if not which one is more likely to make it to Hawaii?

How good do you think Rolle can be at safety and can he be productive in his first season? Will he need a season of transition or is he finally ready to live up to his draft status?

We've talked about several free agent running backs (including Kevin Jones, LaMont Jordan and Cedric Benson) and haven't talked about several others (Shaun Alexander, Ron Dayne and Travis Henry) for various reasons. The recent arrest of JJ Arrington got me thinking even more about the possibility of signing another running back. Arrington's arrest may or may not effect his status with the team for the upcoming season, but regardless the depth at running back is questionable at best. A significant  injury to Edgerrin James might just be the worst single injury that the Cardinals could sustain in 2008. 

So that got me thinking, if I'm Rod Graves, what would I do? Would I want to look at a another running back to sign or does the current crop of free agents have too many question marks, including injury concerns (Jones & Jordan), age concerns (Alexander, Dayne) or off the field baggage concerns (Benson & Henry)? What would you do? If you have another guy on your mind, feel free to share as well.