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4-13-11: Bird Droppings - Fitz On QBs And Organizing Practices

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Some stuff for today, including Fitz on Quarterbacks and he shows an apparent belief that the Cardinals will not draft a QB with the fifth pick in the Draft, and some stuff on him organizing practices with some of his teammates.

Word From the Birds Blog - Fitz gets the guys together
A story today from Kent Somers about how Larry Fitzgerald organized a workout today for 20 Cards over at Arizona State University. Kent doesn’t list everyone involved, but among those there were Rex Hadnot, Tim Hightower, Lyle Sendlein, Clark Haggans, Max Hall and John Skelton. With no way to come to the facility now in lieu of the lockout, this was always a possibility. The day after the season, Sendlein even talked about the need to work on their own.

Fitzgerald anxious to get back on the field - ArizonaSports.com
Larry Fitzgerald took batting practice at Chase Field on Tuesday before the Diamondbacks game. The Cardinals' wide receiver is anxious to get on a playing field he is more accustomed to and eradicating the bitter taste of last season.

'Experts' agree: Cardinals need a lot of help - ArizonaSports.com
ESPN has a series going in which a group of analysts, consisting of Mike Tirico, Trent Dilfer, Chris Mortensen and Mel Kiper Jr., discuss every team in the NFL and what they should do in the upcoming draft. Their conclusion? The Cardinals have plenty of holes to fill. Umm, thanks guys.

Video: Cardinals on the clock - NFC West Blog - ESPN
ESPN's Mike Tirico, Trent Dilfer, Chris Mortensen and Mel Kiper Jr. turned their attention to the Arizona Cardinals in their latest draft preview.

Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald takes batting practice
Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald took batting practice with the Diamondbacks before Tuesday's game. "He's still got to stick to football," Gibson said after Fitzgerald's mostly woeful session.

Fitzgerald sends Cardinals a message: Don’t draft a quarterback | ProFootballTalk
The Arizona Cardinals have been heavily connected to quarterbacks in the draft, particularly Blaine Gabbert of Missouri. They held a private workout for Gabbert on March 23, sending a large contingent of high-ranking club officials to Columbia. All along, beat reporters Kent Somers (Arizona Republic) and Darren Urban (AZCardinals.com) have warned against reading into the supposed interest, predicting the Cardinals will take an instant impact defender as opposed to a quarterback in need of development with the No. 5 overall pick. Coach Ken Whisenhunt’s recent comments about this year’s quarterback class appeared to support Somers and Urban’s beliefs, and so too do face of the franchise receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s.

Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals work out at ASU
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald spent the early part of the off-season traveling the world - the Middle East, Africa, Europe - but he returned to work this week, accompanied by some friends.

ASU rolls out university-wide re-branding effort
Arizona State unveiled its new look Tuesday, a university-wide re-branding effort that took a year to complete, one that unfolded under the slogan of "It's Time."

Fitz Takes His Cuts In Cage, Won't Quit His Real Job - Desert Dirt - SB Nation Arizona
Let's just say no one on the Arizona Diamondbacks should worry if a star athlete like Larry Fitzgerald will be able to cross over and play in the bigs.

Fitzgerald weighs in on quarterback situation
Conventional wisdom holds that the Arizona Cardinals must beef up their quarterback play to keep wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald from bolting after his contract expires at the end of the 2011 season. If that happens, Fitzgerald believes it will not come with the Cardinals' No. 5 pick in the April 28-30 NFL draft.

Arizona Diamondbacks, Kirk Gibson show firepower in win over St. Louis Cardinals
If you're going to get tossed, you might as well get your money's worth. Kirk Gibson got that and a hearty ovation from the home crowd at Chase Field on Tuesday night for his nose-to-nose shout-down with home-plate umpire Bob Davidson. It was worth the wait, wasn't it?

Phoenix Coyotes should be motivated by doubters
The fun and games of the NHL postseason is under way, with the Coyotes playing the role of playoff pinata. Run for cover. Skeptics are lining up to take their whacks.

Phoenix Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov not getting the immense appreciation he deserves
Ilya Bryzgalov is practically invisible. He's the most-underappreciated athlete in the Valley. He's the biggest reason the Coyotes are in the playoffs. Nobody in the NHL means more to his team.

azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Larry Fitzgerald, practice organizer
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald spent the early part of the off-season traveling the world – the Middle East, Africa, Europe – but he returned to work this week, accompanied by some friends. NFL players are locked out of team facilities, but 20 Cardinals players gathered Tuesday morning at an Arizona State practice field to work out informally. Players were happy with the turnout, especially since only about eight of them showed up on Monday.

Arizona State University Unveils New Uniforms: Black Is The New Maroon - SB Nation Arizona
Nothing says success like a massive change in brand identity. Go Devils!

Video: Larry Fitzgerald Takes 'Batting Practice' With Diamondbacks - Desert Dirt - SB Nation Arizona
It really should be called "swinging practice" given the number of times Larry Fitzgerald actually connected with the ball. It turns out that hitting a baseball, even a batting practice cookie, is harder than it seems. We all know what a great athlete the Cardinal's wide receiver is, and yet he didn't stand a chance in the cage.

NFL.com news: No quit in him: Leinart looking for starting QB opportunity
Matt Leinart might be down, but he says he's definitely not out. The former USC quarterback, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2004 and helped the Trojans to successive national championships, told the Daily Trojan in a story published Monday that he has a lot more football in him despite not throwing a pass as the Houston Texans' third-string quarterback last season. That was quite a comedown for a player taken 10th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals.

Early verdict favors Rams' Laurinaitis - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Selecting Ohio State middle linebacker James Laurinaitis in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft raised questions, initially, as to why the St. Louis Rams passed on a potentially more talented middle linebacker in Rey Maualuga. Two years later, Laurinaitis has put to rest that question while raising another: Might the third-year Rams linebacker outperform the Seattle Seahawks' Aaron Curry, the undisputed top-ranked linebacker in the 2009 draft? Initial reviews suggest he might.

Arizona State's Omar Bolden seeks answers, but stays positive
Omar Bolden was in the spotlight Tuesday, modeling Arizona State's new uniforms and doing it with style. When introduced at a media gathering, he strutted onto a small stage wearing dark shades. The overflow crowd loved it, but it was hard not to wonder: Was this the last time Bolden would wear the new threads?

Word From the Birds Blog - Tell us your game day story
Many of you – all of you? – have your traditions on game day. It might have to do with tailgating or face painting or something else off the beaten path, as you gear up for a Sunday of football at University of Phoenix Stadium. What the Cardinals want to know is your story. About your tradition(s).

This NFL mock draft produced a shocker - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Mock drafts are like equations with multiple variables. Changing one variable can throw off the final projection significantly. The value comes in the exercise itself -- thinking through possibilities -- more than through the final result. The thinking that went into a three-man Insider mock draft featuring Todd McShay and two NFL scouts produced two NFC West surprises, one mild and one wild:

NFL.com news: Smith-over-Rodgers sent 49ers, Packers on opposite paths
Of course, there are no do-overs when it comes to the NFL draft. You simply live with the picks you make, whether they work out or not. But what if teams could go back and rewrite history? This week, NFL.com will do just that by looking at each draft from 2004 to 2008 and assign do-overs based on what we know now. Today, Michael Lombardi rewrites 2005.

NFL.com news: Texans nailed their '06 first-rounder, but not many others did
Of course, there are no do-overs when it comes to the NFL draft. You simply live with the picks you make, whether they work out or not. But what if teams could go back and rewrite history? This week, NFL.com will do just that by looking at each draft from 2004 to 2008 and assign do-overs based on what we know now. Today, Pat Kirwan rewrites 2006.

NFL Network ramping up coverage plans for NFL draft - The Huddle: Football News from the NFL - USATODAY.com
The owners' lockout dominates NFL headlines these days. But that reality won't stop the league's own channel from beefing up its already lavish plans for coverage of the upcoming NFL Draft as its plans more than 38 hours of live draft coverage. The draftees, after all, are presumably going to end up playing in the NFL someday. More importantly, what else is there for the NFL Network to show? New wrinkles this year include a record 10 cameras in team draft rooms, with this year's teams being on candid include the teams with the top three picks — Carolina, Denver, Buffalo — as well as Arizona, San Francisco, Dallas, Seattle, Atlanta, the New York Jets and Green Bay.

"The Brady 6″ highlights the inaccuracies of the draft | ProFootballTalk
I’ve seen plenty of excellent productions from NFL Films over the years. Tonight, I’ve seen one of the best yet. And that’s saying a lot. The Brady 6, a look at the events that resulted in Tom Brady being the seventh quarterback picked in 2000 and the aftermath of that indignity, demonstrates in a striking way the flaws inherent to the NFL draft. Nothing the scouts do can measure a man’s heart, his drive, or his determination.

NFLPA's lawyers at court to talk to mediator - ESPN
Lawyers for the NFL players arrived at federal court in Minneapolis to meet with the judge who will oversee court-ordered mediation with the league.

Reports: Kenny Britt of Tennessee Titans arrested after car chase in hometown - ESPN
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt faces three charges stemming from a police chase in his hometown of Bayonne, N.J., according to reports.

Madden release date moves back three weeks | ProFootballTalk
With the lockout lingering, the folks at EA are feeling the effects of the labor impasse. And so will the rest of us. Eric Fisher of SportsBusiness Journal reports that the release date for the latest version of the Madden franchise has been pushed back three weeks, from August 9 to August 30.