Well, last week I made my annual journey up to Flagstaff to check out this years edition of the Cardinals and get out of the scalding hot valley for a few days. The weather was hot for Flagstaff, low 90’s and the team in each of the sessions I went to were in shoulder pads and shorts so there was almost zero hitting over three days. Clearly, the days of twice a day sessions in pads with hitting are long gone as coaches deal with smaller roster limits, high priced talent that can’t afford to get injured and general conservatism about not burning their players out. Still, there was plenty of room to watch drills, players up close and see who is standing out and getting reps.

1. The defensive line is going to be much deeper and really effective. The starting rotations look to be Antonio Smith, Bryan Robinson and Darnell Dockett with Okeafor and LaBoy as the OLB’s. Backing them up are Clark Haggans, who is a beast, Bert Berry and then Alan Branch, Iwebema and Calais Campbell. Of course the depth at the nose changes the day Gabe Watson is healthy and as I mentioned before Alan Branch is going to have his hands full to get reps ahead of Robinson. You can’t tell until the games start but the additions of LaBoy, Haggans, Campbell, Robinson and Iwebema is going to make this a really solid group that can stuff the run and get after the QB. Campbell is a freak when you see him up close, he is so tall and so fast they had him working on kick coverage two slots in from the gunner position! I’m feeling real good about the front five in this offense.

2. The linebackers look solid with Hayes and Dansby as starters but i’m curious as to whether Ali Highsmith and some of the other guys will step in as quality back ups. Right now it still looks thin in the depth department but Hayes and Dansby up close and in drills show why they are starting, they are that much better then the guys behind them.

3.  Antrel Rolle looks like he is going to be ok at free safety. What I really liked is when they went into their dime package, they moved Antrel in to cover the slot guy, Adrian Wilson moved into a linebacker slot and Francisco come on to take over at deep safety cover. Coupled with the rush package on the D-Line this is a very solid unit.

4. Cromartie is a freak. This guy is tall and skinny but he can flat out run and he closes on the ball like lightening. He didn’t make any picks while I was watching but he had a lot of tips and break up’s just due to his ability to close on the ball and change direction. Once he gets his technique down this guy is going to be really good in coverage. It’s early but he might be a rare solid pick by the Card’s in the first round.

5. Early Doucet and Lance Long are absolutely the number 4 and 5 receivers in my opinion. Doucet runs and cuts, and even physically resembles Boldin and he looks like he is going to be an NFL quality receiver. The surprise of the camp is Long who doesn’t ever drop a pass, makes really quick cuts and reminds me a Wes Welker type. He’s a long shot due to a lack of college production but so far he looks dramatically better then Rector and Urban. Steve Breaston has made huge strides and looks like he is going to be the number 3 guy this year. He made some great catches and has real speed so it’s good to see him move into that role.

6. Tim Hightower is putting J.J. Arrington’s job in jeopardy. I’m not surprised that Marcel Shipp got cut as he is a very expensive cap cost for not a lot of production. He’s a great guy by every account and will probably latch on with some quality team like New England that will value his all around game, but get him at veteran minimum salary.  If I were Arrington I wouldn’t buy any real estate in Phoenix as Hightower is getting a lot of carries and I still get the vibe that the Cardinals will do a deal with Boldin soon and using the cap money of Shipp and Arrington makes the most sense. Edge looks fast and solid, Hightower looks like an NFL back and I think the Cards will shop the waiver and cuts soon to get their third guy behind them. I believe there is a guy named Shaun Alexander sitting at home looking for a place to play.

7. Ben Patrick and Leonard Pope are starting to get it. Patrick is making some outstanding catches and runs his routes really well and Pope is looking very confident as well. I think the tight end position is in good hands for the next few years the way it is shaping up.

8. Ok, controversy time. Listen people, I know it’s drills and pre-season but just as an observer there is no question in my mind that Warner is the better quarterback right now for this team. He is confident, makes every throw and has a clear command of the offense and personnel around him. He works with the first team a lot of the time and I wouldn’t be shocked if Matt falters in pre-season to see Warner get the call early. Lienart looks ok, but a guy drafted where he was drafted entering his third NFL season shouldn’t just look ok.

9. The offensive line looks good, but you can’t tell until the games. I like Lyle Sendlein more then I like Al Johnson anyways, so while its a shame he’s injured I think they will do just fine with Lyle at center. The issue is this team has very little depth on the offensive line past the starters. Expect them to grab some guys off the waiver on last cuts if a quality tackle or guard becomes available. I like the size and speed of the second tier guys but they are clearly young and raw and not ready for the big time.

Summary: This is the most talented group I have ever seen the Cardinals come to camp with top to bottom.  There are going to be some very tough cuts to be made and thats a good thing for a change. Bottom line, this teams success rests almost totally on whether or not Matt Leinart gets the job done at QB. He is still the big question mark and as he goes, so go the Cardinals. They have all the weapons, the defense is substantially upgraded and the O-Line is solid. The question will be can Matt run the show or do the coaches have to go to the clearly superior vet to get this team from “rebuilding” to ” play off contender” status.

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