The Cardinals have released Scott Player after 9 seasons.  He has played in 140 games for the Cardinals and he has punted 714 times for 30,752 yards (43.1 avg, 36.1 net avg).  Player placed 179 punts (25.1%) inside the opposing 20 yard line over his career with the Cardinals.  Player has punted the football 8 times in pre-season for an average of 42.6 yards per kick.  He was beaten out by 28 year old Mike Barr.  Barr has never played in an NFL game in his career yet and he punted the ball 5 times for an average of 42.8 yards per punt.

The Cardinals looked good throwing the ball on offense but their defense was horrible on Sunday Night.  Matt Leinart looked outstanding as he completed 10 of 16 passes for 196 yards with 1 TD pass.  Kurt Warner was also efficient as he completed 6 of 7 passes for 78 yards.  Shane Boyd also was very active when he entered the game.  He completed 4 of 7 passes for 45 yards with a TD pass and he also carried the football 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc).  J.J. Arrington looked pretty good running the football for once as he carried the ball 7 times for 26 yards (3.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Marcel Shipp scored a TD running the ball but he finished the game with only 10 yards rushing on 6 carries (1.7 ypc).  WR Anquan Boldin was unstoppable on Sunday Night as he caught 5 passes for 143 yards (28.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Matt Trannon also had a good game snagging 3 balls for 40 yards (13.3 avg) with a TD.  The Cardinals only rushed for 64 yards on 21 carries (3.0 ypc) but they threw the ball well completing 20 of 30 passes for 311 yards.

The Cardinals did have some big issues on defense as the Chargers rushed for 106 yards on 32 carries (3.3 ypc) and they completed 29 of 45 passes for 400 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825022

The Cardinals will likely place WR Ahmad Merritt on the Injured Reserve list (ending his season) after he needed ankle surgery on Monday.  In 2 pre-season games this season Merritt had caught 6 passes for 74 yards (12.3 avg) as he was making a big push to make it back to the NFL.  He last played in the NFL in 2003 with the Chicago Bears and he has caught 19 passes for 170 yards (8.9 avg) in his NFL career.

The Arizona Cardinals looked pretty sharp on offense but their defense and special teams both looked pretty bad.  Matt Leinart was razor sharp in the game as he completed all 7 of his pass attempts for 70 yards and a TD pass.  Leinart also ran the ball 2 times for 13 yards (6.5 ypc).  Kurt Warner also looked sharp as he connected on 7 of 9 passes for 89 yards.  Shane Boyd really looked good on Saturday Night with both his arm and his legs.  He completed 9 of 15 passes for 109 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  He also scrambled 5 times for 54 yards (10.8 ypc).  J.J. Arrington looked good running the football for once with 7 carries for 35 yards (5.0 ypc).  Marcel Shipp 4 car, 12 yards (3.0 ypc) and Edgerrin James 5 car, 11 yards (2.2 ypc) and one grab for 5 yards (TD) both got their work in.  Ahmad Merritt led the way for the Cardinals’ receivers with 61 yards on 4 catches (15.3 avg).  Sean Morey added 5 grabs for 45 yards (9.0 avg) with a TD catch.  Steve Breaston also had a solid showing with 4 catches for 37 yards (9.3 avg).  The Cardinals would up with 141 yards rushing on 26 carried (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 40 passes for 295 yards.

The Cardinals’ defense didn’t play well as they allowed 143 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.5 ypc) and the Texans completed 18 of 29 passes for 248 yards.  The Cardinals also allowed rookie WR Jacoby Jones of the Texans to return a punt 80 yards for a TD.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270818022

The Cardinals have placed backup fullback A.J. Schable on the Injured Reserve list with a broken foot ending his season.  He carried the ball 1 time for 5 yards and he made 8 tackles on special teams as a rooke last year.

The Cardinals don’t have much experience at the TE position so the competition should be fierce to see who the starter will be.   The smart money is on 2nd year man Leonard Pope because he has the size Coach Whisenhunt is looking for.  Pope stands at 6’8″, 265 pounds and that’s like having an extra tackle on the end of the line.   Pope played in 16 games (6 starts) as a rookie for the Cardinals and he caught 16 passes for 161 yards (10.1 avg).

Troy Bienemann did not play in his rookie season last year and he still opened the pre-season #2 on the depth chart.

Tim Euhus played in 1 game last season for the Steelers and he didn’t catch a pass.  He has the most experience of this bunch as he has played in 24 games (9 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 14 passes for 115 yards (8.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Rookie 7th round pick Ben Patrick will have a fighting chance to earn his way up the depth chart.  He has the best skill set of this bunch so it will be interesting to see how high he climbs on the depth chart if he makes the team.

The Cardinals go three deep in solid receivers.  Larry Fitzgerald is the #1 guy on paper but he needs play like one.   He played in 13 games last season (all starts) for the Cardinals and he caught 69 passes for 946 yards (13.6 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Fitzgerald has great hands but he doesn’t have elite speed.  He has now played in 45 games (all starts) in his career and he has caught 230 passes for 3,135 yards (13.6 avg) with 24 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 16 times for 55 yards (3.4 ypc).

Anquan Boldin is the tough guy of the receiving corps because he will go over the middle of the field with no problems.  He played in 16 games (all starts) last season with 83 grabs for 1,203 yards (14.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 5 times for 28 yards (5.6 ypc).   Look for Boldin to excel in Whisenhunt’s offensive scheme.  Boldin has now played in 56 games (55 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 342 passes for 4,605 yards (13.5 avg) with 20 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 23 times for 116 yards (5.0 ypc).

#3 WR Bryant Johnson has a nice little breakout season in 2006.   He played in 16 games last season (8 starts) and he caught 40 passes for 740 yards (18.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs and he also returned 2 kickoffs for 29 yards (14.5 avg).   Look for Johnson to have another good season as he is the Cardinals fastest WRs.  Johnson has played in 61 games (31 starts) in his NFL career and he has now caught 164 passes for 2,147 yards (13.1 avg) with 7 TD grabs and he also has returned 10 kickoffs for 209 yards (20.9 avg).

The Cardinals drafted Steve Breaston out of Michigan to give them another big receiver for the offense.  He also is an excellent return man that should help the Cardinals out big time.  They hope he’ll develop into a solid #3 or #4 WR in the NFL.

The Cardinals signed special teams assassin Sean Morey away from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the off season.   He played in all 16 games (0 starts) last season with the Steelers and he caught 2 passes for 29 yards (14.5 avg).  He also returned 8 kickoffs for 202 yards (25.3 avg) and he had 16 tackles.  Morey will likely have the same role in Arizona as he had in Pittsburgh.  He has now played in 65 games (0 starts) and he has caught 3 passes for 37 yards (12.3 avg).  He also has returned 15 career kickoffs for 295 yards (19.7 avg) and he has made 52 tackles.

LeRon McCoy didn’t get to play last season for the Cardinals.   He has played in 10 games in his NFL career (4 starts) and he has caught 18 passes for 191 yards (10.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.

This is the reason that the NFL pre-season sucks.  The Cardinals have lost starting right offensive tackle Oliver Ross and starting outside linebacker Chike Okeafor for the entire 2007 season because of injuries suffered in a game that meant nothing!  Ross tore his right tricep on Saturday against the Raiders.  The Cardinals will now start rookie Levi Brown at right tackle which is the blind side of Matt Leinart.  It will be interesting to see how Brown does under pressure.  Okeafor was an impact player on the Cardinals defense last season.  He played in all 16 games and he made 52 tackles, had 8.5 sacks, defensed 7 passes, forced 2 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles.  Over his NFL career Okeafor has now played in 121 games and he has made 322 tackles, has 44 sacks, 1 interception, defended 15 passes, forced 15 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles.  Third-year man Darryl Blackstock will get his big chance to start and show what he can do.  He played in 16 games last season for the Cardinals and he made 11 tackles, defensed a pass and recovered a fumble.  Over his 2-year NFL career, Blackstock has made 23 tackles, has 1 sack, defensed 1 pass, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.

The Cardinals looked a little sluggish despite scoring 23 points last night on offense.  Matt Leinart was so-so completing 5 of 11 passes for 50 yards.  Kurt Warner made a brief outstanding appearance as he completed both of his pass attempts for 73 yards and a TD.  Shane Boyd had a night to forget for the Cards as he completed 7 of 19 passes for 66 yards and an interception that was returned for a TD by the Raiders.  He also ran the ball 2 times for 17 yards.  The Cardinals plan last night was to get a good look at their backup running backs.  With that in mind Marcel Shipp looked good as he carried the ball 7 times for 35 yards (5.0 ypc).  J.J. Arrington wasn’t quite as productive as he carried the ball 9 times for 32 yards (3.6 ypc).  WR Bryant Johnson was the star of the show on the Cardinals offense as he caught 3 passes for 87 yards with a TD.  The Cardinals wound up running the ball 24 times for 103 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Cardinals also completed 14 of 32 passes for 163 yards.

The Cardinals defense looked pretty good as they held the Raiders to 120 yards rushing on 35 carried (3.4 ypc) and the Raiders completed 18 of 32 passes for 155 yards.  The Cardinals have a lot left to work on in the coming 3 weeks before the season starts.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20070811_ARI@OAK

Terrelle Smith is a legit fullback who loves to block and that’s exactly what Edgerrin James and Marcel Shipp need in front of them.  Smith played in 16 games (8 starts) last season for the Cleveland Browns and he carried the ball 8 times for 14 yards (1.8 ypc) and he also caught 8 passes for 21 yards (2.6 avg).  Smith has now played in 107 career NFL games and he’s carried the ball 57 times for 182 yards (3.2 ypc) and he has caught 58 passes for 271 yards (4.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.