The Cardinals have released 26-year old safety Aaron Rouse after he suffered whiplash in a recent car accident which was keeping him off the field.  Rouse had 4 tackles in the Cardinals’ pre-season opener with the Texans.  It’s amazing to me how poorly the players’ union in the NFL is as almost no one has a guaranteed contract leading to a release like this one.

The Cardinals will be without WR Larry Fitzgerald for the rest of the pre-season due to a MCL sprain.  He caught 1 pass for 16 yards in the opener of the pre-season before getting drilled.  It’s in the best interest of the team to let Fitzgerald rest up and this will give them a chance to look at the other WRs on the roster.  Matt Leinart needs to drill the ball to WRs when throwing over the middle so that no more receivers get hurt like Fitzgerald did.

The Cardinals looked like crap the first three quarters last night before scoring 19 points in the 4th quarter to pull out a win.  Matt Leinart started and he completed 6 of 7 passes for 49 yards.  Derek Anderson followed Leinart in the game and he completed 13 of 22 passes for 88 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  Rookie Jamie Skelton looked outstanding late in this game completing 5 of 6 passes for 84 yards with 1 TD pass.  Beanie Wells got his work in last night carrying the ball 11 times for 36 yards (3.3 ypc) and catching 2 passes for 8 yards (4.0 avg) with 1 TD reception.  Tim Hightower (4 carries, 16 yards) and Alfonso Smith (3 carries, 9 yards) pitched in for the Cards in the running game.  Jason Wright was also busy carrying the ball 2 times for 7 yards (3.5 ypc) and catching 3 passes for 22 yards (7.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Cardinals rushed for 68 yards (3.2 ypc) last night and they passed for 204 yards.

The defense was not good against the passing game but solid against the run last night.  Rookie linebacker Daryl Washington dominated in his first taste of the NFL as he had 13 tackles, 1 pass defense and 1 QB hit.  LB Pago Togafau also had a solid game with 6 tackles.  The Texans rushed for 98 yards (3.6 ypc) and they also passed for 258 yards last night.

23-year old running back LaRod Stephens-Howling made the Cardinals as a rookie last season as the kickoff returner.  The 5′7″, 180 pound Stephens-Howling has all kinds of moves and he often gets right up the field rather than running east and west.  He played in 16 games last season for the Cardinals in which he returned 52 kickoffs for 1,257 yards (24.2 avg) with 1 TD return (it was a 99-yarder).  Look for the Cardinals to have good starting position quite often in 2010 due to LaRod Stephens-Howling.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CARDINALS KICKOFF RETURNERS IN 2010:  A-

The Cardinals look to have a very physical offensive line as they shift from a finsesse pass blocking team to more of an attacking run blocking team.  On the left side will be tackle Levi Brown and guard Alan Faneca.  Brown was a Pro Bowl alternate as a right tackle for the Cardinals last season but he will be shifting to the left.  But he won’t be the blind side protector as long as Matt Leinart is starting.  Faneca is a brawler in the running game which is his specialty from his Pro Bowl days with the Steelers.  Center Lyle Sendlein has come a long way since being a undrafted player out of college.  He has a nice upside and rarely makes mistakes.  Right guard Deuce Lutui is a lot like Faneca as he’s a solid run blocker.  Jeremy Bridges will battle Brandon Keith for the right to be the blind side tackle for Leinart in 2010.  Both Bridges and Keith are capable of handling the job at right tackle with the loser in the competition providing depth.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CARDINALS’ O-LINE in 2010:  C+