8-27-11: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings - Gameday

Here we go, game three of the Preseason. Hopefully we will get a good look at Kolb leading some drives into the endzone tonight. I also want to see how the starters on Defense hold up against Phillip Rivers and company after getting torn apart last year.

And on a completely unrelated note. Today is the last day of my Sophomore year of college, I have a little test to take this morning and then I am done with class for a while. I will also be getting an Associates Degree in September.

Arizona Cardinals: 5 things to watch in preseason home opener vs. San Diego Chargers
Areas of focus Saturday night as the Cardinals host the San Diego Chargers.

Arizona Cardinals' Rich Bartel ready for big chance
Opportunity is not disguising its coverage Saturday night for Rich Bartel. The Cardinals' backup quarterback can easily see what's at stake for him.

Arizona Cardinals defense adjusting on the fly - ArizonaSports.com
This offseason the Cardinals hired Ray Horton to be their defensive coordinator, but with only two preseason games left the players admit they're still learning.

Cards Part Of $1M King Foundation Gift
Bidwill serves on NFL board that granted contribution

Bartel In The Third
Quarterback's progress evidenced by chance in game against Chargers

Word From the Birds Blog - Friday before the Chargers
The Cardinals finally get to play a home game. And it’s the third game of the preseason, the one where starters play the most and — mostly — it’s the best way to judge a team. It’s still a preseason game, of course. No gameplanning, nothing set up. The Cards continue to test out new parts of the offense and defense. Still, quarterback Kevin Kolb knows the impact that this game can have. "The biggest thing, this is the one, when you look at the scores, this is the one where you measure everyone up," Kolb said. "And we want to measure well."

Cardinals need O'Brien Schofield to step up - ArizonaSports.com
The Cardinals selected O'Brien Schofield in the fourth round of the 2010 draft believing they were getting a top-notch pass rusher at a discounted rate. Roughly 19 months since tearing his ACL, the hope is the linebacker will turn into the dominant pass rusher the Cardinals need.

Defense may be Cardinals' biggest question mark - ArizonaSports.com
The Arizona Cardinals are making a lot of changes, with the most prominent being the one at quarterback. And yes, while it is tough to integrate a new signal caller -- especially over the course of a truncated offseason -- the most difficult transformation the team faces may be on the defensive side of the ball. The Cardinals are, after all, implementing an entirely new system with defensive coordinator Ray Horton. Cardinals play-by-play man Dave Pasch told Sports 620 KTAR's Doug and Wolf he will be focusing on that side of the ball Saturday night.

Juggernaut Index, 13-16: C’mon Kolbists, get behind the Cards - Roto Arcade - Fantasy Blog - Yahoo! Sports
No, I won't go so far as to suggest that Big Red should dust off his NFC West championship belt just yet (pictured above). But we should all be a bit more interested in the Arizona passing game this year.

Arizona Sports News:

Josh Collmenter's scoreless outing lifts Diamondbacks to series-opening win over Padres
When Josh Collmenter was on the mound Friday night, the only thing touching home plate was the track of his pitches. Never overpowering, the rookie righthander with the funky delivery is putting together a season that only Randy Johnson has topped in one regard for franchise history. Collmenter lasted only 5 1/3 innings but they were scoreless ones that sent the Diamondbacks to their fourth consecutive victory, a 5-0 shutout of San Diego in front of 34,074 at Chase Field.

Phoenix Mercury blow lead, lose to Connecticut Sun
Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault used one word to summarize a wild game against the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night. "Wow," Thibault said. Tina Charles scored 17 points and Asjha Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Sun rallied from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter and from five points down over the final 31/2 minutes to beat the Mercury 95-92.

Xavier Gomez leads McClintock football to rout of Tempe
Junior quarterback Xavier Gomez rushed for three touchdowns and passed for three more to lead Tempe McClintock to a 47-14 victory over host Tempe on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

(YES!!!)

NFL News:

Hurricane Irene causes New York Giants-Jets game to be postponed until Monday - ESPN New York
With Hurricane Irene churning toward the New York/New Jersey area this weekend, the New York Giants' game against the Jets has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday.

What we learned: Friday night | ProFootballTalk
Below is our quick look back at Friday night’s two game slate.

NFL donating $1 million to MLK memorial in Washington D.C. - ESPN
The NFL is donating $1 million to the new memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. on Washington's National Mall.

Terrelle Pryor joins Oakland Raiders in final training camp drills - ESPN
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor has taken the practice field for the first time with the Oakland Raiders.

Lane Kiffin says it’s "almost impossible" to win with Al Davis | ProFootballTalk
When Al Davis fired Lane Kiffin as coach of the Raiders three years ago, Davis said Kiffin was a "disgrace to the organization." Kiffin says the real disgrace is that the organization is led by an owner who demands control but can’t get out of bed in time to get to work. In an interview with ESPN.com, Kiffin said he doesn’t see how a coach can win in the current climate in Oakland.

ESPN Magazine editor defends "White Michael Vick" | ProFootballTalk
ESPN the Magazine has been relentlessly criticized this week for publishing an article headlined, "What if Michael Vick were white?" and especially for publishing an image with the article of how the magazine pictures a white Vick would look.

Peyton Manning of Indianapolis Colts could come off PUP list 'shortly' - ESPN
Colts coach Jim Caldwell says Peyton Manning could be activated soon from the physically-unable-to-perform list.

Curtis Painter shows signs of life | ProFootballTalk
Colts President Bill Polian has already said that Kerry Collins will start Indy’s season opener if Peyton Manning isn’t ready. While it’s probably too late, Curtis Painter is doing his best on Friday night to change Polian’s mind.

Frank Gore starting to show frustration | ProFootballTalk
Long one of the most well-liked 49ers, running back Frank Gore has had a hard time hiding his frustrations this camp regarding the lack of a new contract.

Three things revisited: Rams-Chiefs - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The Rams beat the Chiefs 14-10 last night. Mike Sando from ESPN put together a short list of three things he wanted to see from the Rams going into that game. Hit the link to find out what they were and if those expectations were met.

NFL Game Recaps:

St. Louis Rams vs. Kansas City Chiefs - Recap - August 26, 2011 - ESPN
Sam Bradford was lights out. So was Arrowhead Stadium. As for the Chiefs, well, the light still hasn't come on this preseason. Bradford led St. Louis to a pair of touchdowns on its first two series, Steven Jackson churned up the Kansas City defense and the Rams rolled to a 14-10 preseason victory Friday night.

Green Bay Packers vs. Indianapolis Colts - Recap - August 26, 2011 - ESPN
Packers quarterback Graham Harrell pulled out the victory Friday night. Colts backup Curtis Painter got something much more important -- respect. Harrell led Green Bay to a staggering 11 points in the final 35 seconds, rallying the Super Bowl champions for a 24-21 win that sent Indianapolis to its ninth straight preseason loss.