The Cardinals decided on draft day to essentially stick with what they have for the 2008 season.  Edgerrin James will be the main man in the running game for the Cardinals in 2008 without a doubt.  He doesn’t have the speed he used to but he’s still a tough inside runner.  James played in 16 games (all starts) last season for the Cardinals and he carried the ball 324 times for 1,222 yards (3.8 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught 24 passes for 204 yards (8.5 avg) in 2007.  Look for James to remain effective as long as the Cardinals have a good passing game to keep the pressure off of him.  James has now played in 128 games (all starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 2,849 times for 11,607 yards (4.1 ypc) with 77 TD runs.  He also has caught 418 passes for 3,260 yards (7.8 avg) with 11 TD grabs in his NFL career.

Marcel Shipp will likely be James’ caddy again this season for the Cardinals.  He has a little bit of power and a little bit of speed but the Cardinals running game will crawl to a halt if anything happens to James.  Shipp played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this season and he has carried the ball 15 times for 41 yards (2.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 4 passes for 25 yards (6.3 avg).  Shipp had a chance as a feature back a couple of years ago and he failed.  Shipp has now played in 88 games (28 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 605 times for 2,197 yards (3.6 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He also has caught 113 passes for 937 yards (8.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career.

J.J. Arrington was the third down back for the Cardinals last season and it’s likely the role he will serve again in 2008.  Arrington is a fast guy but he doesn’t have the size or power to handle an every down job in the NFL.  Arrington played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals in 2007 and he carried the ball 26 times for 78 yards (3.0 ypc).  He also caught 29 passes for 241 yards (8.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Arrington likely will never amount to anything more than he is right now.  Arrington has now played in 47 games (5 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 152 times for 467 yards (3.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 62 passes for 438 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Rookie Tim Hightower from Richmond was a power runner in college but we’ll see how well that translates when he’s playing against the big boys of the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C

Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner will be in a duel for the starting QB job in 2008.  Based on the QBs play the last two years it shouldn’t be that hard of a decision.  If the Cardinals are smart they will start the cagey veteran…..Kurt Warner.  Warner took over for the injured Matt Leinart last season and the Cardinals’ offense took flight.  Sure, Warner does throw quite a few pickoffs but he nullified those by racking up many more TD passes.  He still has enough arm to make all of the throws needed in the Cardinals’ offense but he often looks like a statue in the pocket.  Warner played in 14 games (11 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he completed 281 of 451 passes (62.3%) for 3,417 yards with 27 TD passes and 17 interceptions (89.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 17 times for 15 yards (0.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Warner has come a long way since packing groceries before the Rams called him all of those years ago and he has very impressive career numbers that he should add to this season.  Warner has now played in 93 games (85 starts) and he has completed 1,926 of 2,959 passes (65.1%) for 24,008 yards with 152 TD passes and 100 interceptions (93.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 134 times for 278 yards (2.1 ypc) with 3 TD runs.

Matt Leinart was supposed to be the savior of the Arizona Cardinals when they drafted him out of USC two years ago but he has not improved one bit as a football player.  He has a strong enough arm to succeed but he often holds the ball too long and throws it into spaces that he shouldn’t resulting in turnovers.  Leinart also doesn’t have much mobility in the pocket making him often a sitting duck.  Leinart will have a hard time beating out Kurt Warner unless he really improves in training camp.   He played in 5 games (all starts) last season for the Cardinals and he completed 60 of 112 passes (53.6%) for 647 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 interceptions (71.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 11 times for 42 yards (3.8 ypc).  Leinart’s career numbers look awful and it will be interesting to see if he can improve on them this season.  Leinart has now played in 17 games (16 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 274 of 489 passes (56%) for 3,194 yards with 13 TD passes and 16 interceptions (71.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 33 times for 91 yards (2.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.

Brian St. Pierre will be the #3 QB for the Cardinals this season and he has ties to Ken Whisenhunt’s days in Pittsburgh so he knows the offense.  He doesn’t have a strong arm and the Cardinals would likely have to take some plays out of the playbook if St. Pierre were forced into the starting lineup.   He only has played in 1 game (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has thrown 1 incomplete pass and he has carried the ball 4 times for -3 yards (-0.8 ypc).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B-

Brandon Keith is a mountain of a man at 6′5″, 343 pounds but he slid so far in the draft because he played at Northern Iowa.  Russ Grimm has to be ecstatic to have gotten a prospect like Keith in the 7th round.  He projects more to guard in the NFL as he is excellent at pulling and trapping.  If he plays at guard the Cards might have something because of his size which would be great for that position.

Chris Harrington always plays 100 mph on the field and that effort is likely what got him drafted by the Cardinals.  He is 6′5″, 264 pounds but he plays faster than the 4.9 40 he gets timed at.  Harrington played in 49 games (36 starts) at Texas A&M and he made 156 tackles, had 15 sacks and had 25 tackles for a loss.  He will have to add weight if he wants to be anything more than a situational pass rusher in the NFL.

The Cardinals wanted a physical running back and Tim Hightower is definately that as he is 6′0″ 226 pounds.  Hightower could handle either running back or fullback so it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals use him.  Hightower rushed for over 1,900 yards as a senior with the Richmond Spiders.  This is a huge jump in competition so it will be interesting to see how he responds to the challenge.  He also is a ace on special teams and that’s where he will likely make an impact as a rookie for the Cardinals.