The Cardinals have a nice blend of youth (Matt Leinart) and experience (Kurt Warner) at the QB position.  The job without a doubt now belongs to Matt Leinart.  He made some rookie mistakes which was to be expected by he also made a lot of great throws….especially against the Chicago Bears, which was a game the Cardinals should have won.  Leinart doesn’t have a great throwing arm, but he’s smart and gets the ball to the right guy most of the time.  With experience, Leinart could develop into a Pro-Bowl QB….and that could come sooner rather than later.  He played in 12 games (11 starts) last season and he completed 214 of 377 (56.8%) passes for 2,547 yards with 11 TD passes and 12 interceptions (74.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 22 times for 49 yards (2.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.

Kurt Warner was the starter last season and he was yanked after 5 games and replaced by Leinart.  But, Warner didn’t play that badly and he’s been a good sport about his demotion.  Warner has seen the mountain top and the outhouse so Matt Leinart would be wise to pick Warner’s brain often for info.  Warner played in 6 games (5 starts) last season for the Cards and he completed 108 of 168 (64.3%) passes for 1,377 yards with 6 TD passes and 5 interceptions (89.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 13 times for 3 yards (0.2 ypc).  Kurt Warner has had a story book career as he was stocking shelves in a grocery store before he got his big break in the NFL and he rose to the apex of the game by being the QB of a team that won a Super Bowl (Rams).  Warner has played in 79 games (74 starts) and he’s completed 1,645 of 2,508 passes (65.6%) for 20,591 yards with 125 TD passes and 83 INTs (93.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 117 times for 263 yards (2.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.

Ben Patrick was projected to be drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round according to many experts.  So you could imagine what the Cardinals felt when they saw him still available in the 7th round.  TE has been a black hole in the Cardinals offense for quite some time and they hope Patrick will develop into a good starting TE for them.  He’s a big guy at 6′3″, 275 pounds but he’s not super physical in blocking for the run yet but that’s something the Cardinals will work with him on.  He runs a 4.85 40 so he’s not the fastest guy around but he’s a good receiver.  In 42 games (24 starts) at Duke and Delaware, Patrick caught 143 passes for 1,420 yards (9.9 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Patrick was an excellent pick in the 7th round for the vastly improved Cardinals.

Steve Breaston was drafted in the 5th round by the Cardinals which was right about where most experts expected him to be drafted.  He will likely be no more than a #4 WR for the Cardinals who are loaded at the position.  He’s got nice size at 6′1″, 180 pounds but he’s not too fast as he runs a 4.55 40.  Breaston has good hands and he’s not scared to go over the middle so he will likely play the slot for the Cardinals in their 4 WR sets.  He also is a good return man and will battle for both the kickoff and punt return jobs for the Cards.  At Michigan, Breaston played in 48 games (25 starts) and he caught 156 passes for 1,696 yards (10.9 avg) with 10 TD grabs.

The Arizona Cardinals have released DT Kendrick Clancy, OG Milford Brown and FB Obafemi Ayanbadejo.  Ayanbadejo just didn’t fit in with what the Cardinals want to do on offense.  He played in 14 games last season for the Cards and he carried the ball 9 times for 37 yards (4.1 ypc).  He also caught 17 passes for 139 yards (8.2 avg).  The Cardinals wanted to restructure Clancy and Brown’s contracts and when they refused they were released.  Brown played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Cardinals and he recovered 2 fumbles.  The Cards will likely miss Brown who is a huge man at 6′5″, 330 pounds.  He should have no problem finding a new job soon.  Kendrick Clancy played in 11 games last season for the Cardinals and he made 29 tackles, had 1 sack and forced a fumble.