2-24-12: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings - Whiz And Graves Speak

Time for some links as we hear from Whiz at the Combine

Quarterback Opportunities
Cards always looking to make roster better, but Kolb, Skelton the plan

Cards Seek Levi's Return
Tackle needs new deal, but team impressed with late-season play

Kolb, Skelton, Manning? Cardinals QB will have to earn the job - ArizonaSports.com
Kevin Kolb started last season as Arizona's quarterback, while John Skelton finished the year with the job. Whoever begins the 2012 season in that role -- be it Kolb, Skelton or maybe some guy named Manning -- you better believe they will have earned the job.

azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Levi Brown: core player or best available option?
General Manager Rod Graves often talks of keeping the team's core of young players together, and the team has done a much better job of it in recent years. Defensive end Calais Campbell is part of that core. But while the Cardinals want to re-sign left tackle Levi Brown, I'm not sure he's included as a "core" player.

Cardinals hoping to bring Levi Brown back - ArizonaSports.com
Levi Brown has been a target of criticism from analysts and fans alike since being selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. The Cardinals are certain to release Brown, unwilling to pay the large amount of money that is due to him this season, but are hoping to bring him back.

Cards: Updates on Campbell, QB situation - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Ken Whisenhunt and Rod Graves just passed through. Jim Harbaugh is within minutes of hitting the podium. It's an NFC West free-for-all, with no time to catch up -- at least yet.

Word From the Birds Blog - With right deal, Levi will be back — and the QB thing
I’ll have more in a story in a bit, but the biggest news coming from today’s media meet-up by coach Ken Whisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves is that the Cards definitely want tackle Levi Brown back, and they want him back long-term. There is a lot that has to happen first, since Levi has a $16.9 million salary cap number and must have a new contract first — and he may choose to be cut and test the open market — but the acknowledgment they want him back is significant (if not somewhat expected, to be honest, as much as many fans were hoping otherwise.)

azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Quick hits from Whisenhunt, Graves
Here are the highlights from the press conferences of Rod Graves, Ken Whisenhunt.

Word From the Birds Blog - For Colts, nothing has changed with Peyton
New Colts general manager Ryan Grigson — brother of Cardinals’ scout Dru Grigson — was of course peppered with questions about the future of quarterback Peyton Manning. Not a surprise. Nor were his responses, which was basically non-responses.

Teams keep eye on Peyton Manning at NFL combine
It was fitting that a large photo of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning lurked behind the podium where Cardinals General Manager Rod Graves and coach Ken Whisenhunt answered questions Thursday at the NFL scouting combine. Both declined to violate tampering rules by discussing the possibility of signing Manning, expected to be released soon. Neither, however, did they make a move to close the door to the possibility of signing Manning should he become available.

Cardinals’ 2012 "to-do" list | ProFootballTalk
With the Cardinals apparently leaving a light on for Peyton Manning and possibly considering pulling the plug on Kevin Kolb, the franchise has plenty of issues to address in 2012. On Wednesday’s PFT Live, I ran down a list of five things the Cardinals need to do.

Cardinals' Adrian Wilson's foray into reality television
Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson evidently has a lot to learn about reality television. Fortunately, The Heat Index is here to help Wilson before he gets any more lessons the hard way. If you are a fan of "Khloe & Lamar" on E!, you probably know by now that A-Dub is much of the focus in the second episode of the second season. The show is a spin-off of "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and features Khloe Kardashian and Dallas Mavericks swingman Lamar Odom. There are certain truths to all of these reality shows, which Wilson should have known before he ever got involved:

Arizona Sports News:

Mike Smith, Coyotes extinguish Flames in shootout
The Phoenix Coyotes are making come-from-behind victories a habit. Just two days after erasing a three-goal deficit to beat the Kings 5-4 in a shootout at home, Ray Whitney scored the only goal of the shootout as the Coyotes fought back from two goals down to defeat the Calgary Flames 4-3 Thursday night.

Arizona basketball rebounds with win vs. USC
Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller has been on freshman point guard Josiah Turner for some time about being more aggressive. Team leader Solomon Hill told the touted youngster the same thing during Thursday's shootaround. Turner responded with what Miller called "the best game he's played at Arizona," scoring a career-best 15 points and handing out six assists, with no turnovers, in the Wildcats' 70-54 victory over USC on Thursday night. Turner's four points in the final 44 seconds of the first half put Arizona ahead for good.

UCLA hands ASU basketball its fourth consecutive loss
A little more than three years ago, Arizona State had a breakthrough moment against UCLA. It unfolded right here on this court, two ranked teams at jam-packed Wells Fargo Arena. Derek Glasser hit a late 3, and the Sun Devils pulled away, becoming the first conference team in three years to sweep the mighty Bruins. James Harden danced that night on the scorer's table in front of hundreds of students who had stormed the court in celebration. Thursday offered a different atmosphere. The arena lacked intensity. Glasser still was in the building, but he was wearing a microphone, providing commentary for a local webcast. UCLA and ASU? Well, it's safe to say they've seen better days. ASU, which scored just eight first-half points in its previous outing, battled for most of the contest but couldn't match UCLA's interior muscle in a 66-57 defeat.

NFL News:

NFL Draft 2012: Rams Already Talking Trade With Multiple Teams - SBNation.com
The Rams have already heard from a number of teams regarding a trade for the No. 2 pick in the draft.

Eagles close to signing Trent Edwards | ProFootballTalk
It’s rare for a G.M. give much away on the podium at the Scouting Combine, but Eagles G.M. Howie Roseman made an exception Thursday. Roseman strongly indicated that the team will sign quarterback Trent Edwards shortly.

LaRon Landry is the Hulk | ProFootballTalk
On March 13, Redskins safety LaRon Landry will become a free agent, unless the Redskins apply the franchise tag. And if the Redskins apply the franchise tag, I sure wouldn’t want to be the one to tell him.

Peyton Manning Has A Billboard In Miami - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
So you're a Miami Dolphins fan and your team hasn't had a franchise quarterback since the days of Dan Marino. How do you solve this problem? By putting up a billboard and asking your team to sign Peyton Manning, of course.