Last week, the Cards gave the 25-year-old defensive end a five-year contract worth $55 million, with $31 million guaranteed.

Calais Campbell joined Dan Bickley and Mike Jurecki on Xtra Sports 910 in Phoenix to talk about his brand-new contract, to give his thoughts on top pick Michael Floyd and to discuss his expectations for the 2012 season in Arizona.

On the negotiation process that led to him signing the long-term deal:

“It’s been a long process. And it was a hard-fought process but it was a great process. The Cardinals organization definitely did a great job and I’m just so happy to be a Cardinal for a long time to come.”

On the possibility that he could still sign another long-term deal before his career winds down:

“Yeah, man. That’s the goal. Hopefully I’m blessed enough to play for a long time. But I try to take it one day at a time and try to make sure this next year is gonna be the best year.”

On his pursuit of a secondary career in Hollywood:

“Me, I’m more on the producing side, but I wanna write stuff too so I’ve been writing a lot and just networking in Hollywood and stuff.”

On the team’s first-round pick, Michael Floyd:

“I’m a fan of Michael Floyd. I liked him a lot in college and I think he’s gonna be a great player. He’s one of those who’s just super-athletic, but he plays the game at such a high level. Like, he’s so physical, and for a receiver that’s rare to see — a guy catch the ball and every time he catches it he tries to get to the end zone. And that’s what we need.”

On his expectations for the defense in 2012:

“I think we can be great. Ray Horton has a great scheme, and he’s definitely a great coach, he’s a great motivator. And it’s crazy, but I think that we can be a top-five defense in every category. That’s our goal and that’s what we want to be. Towards the end of last year we started having that confidence that we could beat anybody — anybody we get on the field with we can beat them. And when you have that confidence and you go out there and you play 16 games, you’re gonna win a lot of games. So hopefully we can win a lot of games this year, win our division and go to the playoffs and try to create some havoc.”

Listen to Calais Campbell on Xtra Sports 910 here

But the real drama came earlier this offseason, when Kolb nearly lost his job as a result of the Peyton Manning sweepstakes. Ultimately, the Cards lost out on Manning, but Kolb wasn’t thrilled with how things went down.

Kevin Kolb joined XTRA Sports 910 in Phoenix to discuss how he dealt with his team courting Peyton Manning. He also touched on his recovery from a late-season concussion and the return to action with offseason workouts.

On getting back into the swing of things with the team with the start of the offseason conditioning program after having to deal with the Peyton Manning circus earlier in the offseason:

“Obviously with some of the stuff that’s gone on at my position, it’s good to put it behind us and move forward and focus on winning games. That’s the most important thing.”

On how long he felt concussion symptoms after the season ended:

“It lingered for about three weeks — if I remember correctly — once I went back home. And that was a little longer than I expected. But a-okay now, everything’s checked out. I feel back to normal.”

On having a full offseason to work with this time around:

“Oh, it’s huge. I mean, everybody was dealt a different role last year. And that’s something you just gotta adjust and go on with. But it is nice. It’s nice not only for the reasons that are apparent as far as OTAs and practices and going through the playbook and running through cut-ups. This time of year is for fine detail. It’s for mechanics. It’s for going back through and looking at your plays and seeing what you could have done better on every situation, and then kind of back off during the season. But I think one thing that most people don’t realize is, this is where you build chemistry as a team. You build character throughout the year, whenever you’re going through hard times, but right now’s when you build chemistry.”

On how he found about and followed the team’s pursuit of Peyton Manning:

“I found out like everybody else found out — on the ticker and all the ESPN coverage or whatever else, and through family and friends because I was trying not to watch most of it. But my thoughts are that this is a business, and if you don’t realize that as a player and a coach and management, then you’re in for a long ride. And so I don’t get my feelings hurt. I do wish there were a few things that were handled a little bit different as far as communication, but I’ve already spoken with the (inaudible) people to make sure that we build on that and get better and they recognize it as well. So, you know, it’s in the past, and I’m glad we’re moving forward with the things that are in place now and I’m obviously happy to be here and be a part of this team because I definitely didn’t want to be anywhere else.”

On if he wanted to be made aware of the pursuit of Manning ahead of time:

“Yeah, maybe just that the possibility was there. It’s their job to try to better every position every year, and that starts from head to toe. So you have to get over that aspect of it. You compete for your job every single day, every single game, every single year — especially at my position. And so, last year was an unfortunate year for myself as far as injuries and the way we started, and we got some momentum there late, and we’re trying to build on that and move forward.”

On if the Manning pursuit has further motivated him to succeed:

“There’s plenty of stuff out there to motivate a player in this league, and I haven’t thought about it enough to really have some motivation. I have plenty of things to prove to myself and this organization, the team, the fans, rather than just think about the Peyton Manning situation. That’s in the past and that’s where it needs to be.”

On the competition he’ll face with John Skelton:

“I mean, that’s the way it always is. That’s the way this business is — you better be a competitive person. And so, I am that, and I was told the same thing last year. As soon as the trade was over, I was told that same thing two days after that. So that’s nothing new for me, and nothing new for John as well. Him and I have an awesome relationship together and we’ll root for one another just like we did last year, whoever’s out there. But I look forward to competing and earning my spot.”

Listen to Kevin Kolb on XTRA Sports 910 here

Peyton Manning could be lurking and the desert seems like a possible landing spot for the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, if he gets released. The Cards went down that road once before with Kurt Warner and it brought a Super Bowl appearance. The young Cardinals defense is only going to get better, the Cards have the best receiver in the NFL, and they look to have a playoff caliber roster, with the exception of their offensive line and maybe quarterback. The position is improved from where it after Warner retired, but the potential to land Manning may be too difficult to pass up, even with the investment they have made in Kevin Kolb. One way or the other, the Cards are asking themselves similar questions to the ones they were asking last offseason.

Ken Whisenhunt and Rod Graves joined KTAR in Phoenix with Doug and Wolf to talk about whether or not he is going to play overseas, what his mindset is when it comes to the season, on the team that he has around him in LA, and what he is doing this offseason to get better.

What impressed him about the way the team finished 2011:

RG: “I’ve got to tell you the thing that really jumped off the page to me was one, how Ken and our coaching staff stuck to the things that they believed in, stuck to the things that they believed would work for our football team. There was not a panic from his office even though there were times when I would go down and be a little wobbly at the knees myself. Ken was always adamant about sticking with what has worked and things he has had success with. The other thing was the attitude, the desire, and the feeling from the players. We had players coming in at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning determined to make sure they were getting it right. It said a lot about our players and the steadfast approach that we took and I think in the end that was something that really jumped off the page to me.”

What the coaching staff and front office is focusing on right now:

RG: “Right now we’re focused on preparing for free agency and taking a good look at what we need to do to get our own players resigned. We’re also preparing for the combine coming up next week so our meetings, for instance today, we have been in meetings talking about potential free agents around the league and lining those guys up relative to our team and having good fruitful discussions on how we can possibly upgrade ourselves. The last couple of days have been filled with a lot of meetings and discussions about free agency.”

KW: “For us, for coaches, it’s really kind of a three stage development. One of the most important things you do as a staff, and we did this with the scouts, GM’s, with Rod, and our guys, is you evaluate your team. You go through and grade your team. You have a grading scale and obviously Larry Fitzgerald is at the top of it and other players are lower. Then we go through a process of going through every play and grading our players again. That takes months and then you have a great evaluation of where you are as a team. That has to happen before free agency and that takes up most of the morning. Then in the afternoon, the coaches are going through and either looking at pro free agents, grading them, breaking down tapes, writing reports on them, or what we’re just getting really started on is college football players. The combine is a big part of that. Rod and Steve Keim give us a list of players, there’s 600 or some players in the draft and coaches can’t look at all of them, so that’s what their side is doing is narrowing those guys down and getting the top players. They give them to the coaches and the coaches go through, look at them, and grade them. Then we all get together in April and read reports, grade players, and come to a consensus. There is no real down time because you’re always trying to improve, get better, and make your team better.”

On the quarterback:

RG: “Let me answer it this way: That is at all positions we try to maintain flexibility and the ability to look at any free agent on the market that we feel has the ability to improve our football team. That can happen through the offseason, it can happen in training camp, the regular season, and any time there is an opportunity we will take a good, hard look at it. We’ll be in position, there will be quite a few players out there once free agency starts that we will have an opportunity to take a look at and some of those are under contract now that teams will make a decision to release after the start of the new year and we will evaluate those players at that particular time. That’s our normal mode of operation and we will be in position to do that. As far as our quarterback position is concerned I’ll pass the baton over to coach and let him address that.”

KW: “Well the easiest thing to say right now is that we are in a heck of a lot better position at the quarterback position than we were a year ago today. We’ve got two guys that we feel like can play. They’ve shown at times that they can do things, they’ve shown at times that they are knuckleheads and it’s our job to get the players there on our team to play better. That’s what we’re going to do and I feel excited about that. I feel better about our quarterbacks on our team right now than I did last year from the standpoint of John Skelton; he won a lot of games for us over the last half of the season. At this time last year he was a rookie who played four games and that was it. Of course Kevin Kolb, we saw a lot of good things from him. The second half of the Dallas game was very impressive and more of what we were getting and the first game against Carolina and then against Washington, he made some plays for us and I think both of these guys are going to get better with having an offseason and being able to work on some of the things we feel is going to make them better. So I’m excited about it.”

If there will be a competition at quarterback:

KW: “I think there’s always competition at any position. I don’t think you can ever say that this guy is going to be the guy. We’re always opening it up to let other guys compete for spots and the best players are going to play. That’s the nature of this league, that’s the nature of this game, and that’s the way we go about business. What it all comes down to is how we give them the reps, how we go through the preparations and all that. That’s not going to be any different. We will split the reps up, guys will get their opportunities, and we’re going to make the decisions whether it’s Patrick Peterson, Adrian Wilson, Kerry Rhodes, the quarterback situation, Beanie Wells, or any position on the team like that. Certainly you have your starters and guys you know are going to be the focus of the reps as you get toward the season but when you talk about the quarterback position that’s something that both guys are going to get opportunities because John certainly deserves it from the way that he played over the back half of the season and Kevin certainly deserves it from the reason that we went out, got him, and brought him in.”

Whether they plan to pick up the option on Kolb:

RG: “I think that obviously there’s no reason to think at this particular point that we wouldn’t proceed with seeing the contract through but again things change as we go down the road and we will evaluate things. Right now like coach said we’re focused on getting these two guys ready to play. I’m excited about what they bring to the table and excited about the enthusiasm that both of them have. Both have a strong desire to be the guy and with that I think it’s going to create a lot of fun for us. It will be interesting to watch to see what happens but our focus is on getting these guys ready to go next season.”

Listen to Ken Whisenhunt and Rod Graves on KTAR in Phoenix here

Arizona is 6-1 in the last seven games with impressive wins over Dallas, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Their win over the Browns this past weekend wasn’t pretty but it capped off a four game winning streak, which had never been done since head coach Ken Whisenhunt arrived in the valley. At 7-7, the Cardinals playoff chances are basically a pipe dream. They need a lot of help and their fate might’ve been sealed when the Lions had a very impressive comeback win over the Raiders, but with the way they have played to close out the season, there is a lot of reason for optimism in Arizona.

Larry Fitzgerald joined PFT Live with Mike Florio to talk about what changed for the team after the 1-6 start, what the biggest win was for the team during this impressive late season run, what two losses stick in his mind the most, whether or not it will help him and Kevin Kolb to have a full offseason to work and get to know each other, and why he has had more success with John Skelton as opposed to Kolb.

What the mindset was when the team was 1-6:

“I think guys were just fed up with the situation we were in. Losing six straight games with the talent and the ability that we have on this team, there was a time for a change and Coach Whisenhunt challenged all the men in the locker room. We didn’t have anybody lay down or quit. Nobody didn’t believe and we were able to put it together one win at a time and it’s been a great ride.”

What changed for the team after the 1-6 start to the season:

“Well a combination of two things. Offensively we weren’t playing great football and defensively we weren’t playing great football. I think the single biggest change for us has been the defense. They have played lights out football for the last seven weeks, they have done a terrific job of holding people to field goals when they get down to the red zone, causing turnovers, and it’s been so much fun to watch those guys. It’s been not only one guy but a whole group effort on that side of the ball. We’ve been able to protect the football a little bit better and not turn the ball over as much and it’s giving us opportunities to win games down the stretch.”

What game sticks out as the most impressive win during this run late in the season:

“I would say definitely the San Francisco game for us as a team. Them being in our division, us not really liking them, them not really liking us, to be able to beat them was great for us because they had beaten us five games in a row so I would say the sweetest victory we have had in this run was the San Francisco run.”

What games really stick in his mind as one the Cards should’ve won:

“I would say there’s two that really stick in my mind and hurt me the most. I would say the Baltimore Ravens game where we had them down 21 points coming into the second half and we lost that game in Baltimore in early October. And then I would say the Giants game when we had them down 10 points with four minutes to go and they had a controversial Victor Cruz fumble that coulda been fumble. Maybe it was a fumble or maybe wasn’t a fumble and it ended up not going our way and we lost that game too. Those two really stick out in my mind.”

How much he thinks it will help him and Kevin Kolb to have a full off-season together

“I think it’s gonna be really beneficial for all of us to be able to have a full off-season. Just to be able to get everybody acclimated, him acclimated with us, and us acclimated with him and him being able to get comfortable with what we’re trying to do. That’s gonna be huge for our offense and I’m excited about the guys that we have on this team and in the future as well.”

Why he believes he has had more success with John Skelton as opposed to Kolb:

“It’s hard to put my finger on it. Kevin, him not being in this system sometimes he may be reluctant to let the ball go or throw it to me in certain situations because a lot of times I’m not blatantly open and I know in Philly when he had DeSean Jackson and (Jeremy) Maclin, guys that are running wide open, those guys are really fast and quick out of their breaks and I’m a little different. I’m not gonna be able to beat guys by four or five yards like that so I’m not gonna look as open. I think it’s gonna come with trust and getting to know me a little bit better. John has been here a year longer and he knows kinda how to get the ball to me in terms of just giving me an opportunity even when it doesn’t look good.”

Listen to Larry Fitzgerald on PFT Live here

It’ll feel much weirder if he’s forced to do the same this weekend. Kolb, who has seen his share of struggles in his first year as a starter with the Cardinals, has been looking forward to returning to Philadelphia, which traded him away during the offseason. It’s been reported that’s he’s doubtful, but Kolb seems to think there’s at least a possibility that he returns.

Kevin Kolb joined XTRA 910 in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ to discuss watching his team snap their six-game losing streak with him on the sidelines injured, the play of backup quarterback John Skelton, what it felt like to sit out, the status of his foot injury, the need to practice during the week to play on Sundays, what it might feel like to miss his return to Philly and making sure he holds on to his starting gig.

Was it still fun to see your teammates win even though an injury kept you from playing?:

“Oh yeah, it just changed the whole complexion of the week. You’re just tired of the same thing over and over and saying the same things. It’s good to have a decent taste in your mouth. And what an exciting way to finish the game. That was pretty incredible.”

What was your impression of your backup, John Skelton, and the way he played?:

“I thought he battled. Offensively, as a whole, we struggled there at the beginning and the Rams were doing a good job of bringing a lot of different looks and pressure. … We settled in and put a drive together whenever we had to to get us back in the ballgame.”

Can you gain anything out of being on the sidelines watching?:

“Oh it was terrible, to be honest with you. It was grueling, man. I was nervous before the game and it was just a weird feeling all the way around. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I wasn’t out there for pregame and I was just kind of buzzing around the locker room and just staring at the walls. It was a different feeling. I tried to help out where I could and provide some insight here and there. I don’t know if I did anything good, but everybody hung together.”

What’s the latest with your foot at this point?:

“The bone bruise has shown its face here in the last four or five days. That’s a painful thing and it’s also a thing that’s got to heal as well. We went back in and had a few more looks at it and made a lot of progress [Tuesday], to be honest with you. … Just like any rehab, you get to a point where, OK, the color and the swelling moves out and you hit a little lull there and you say, ‘Well, gosh, when can I get out there and run on it?’ … It was a positive day for me.”

How important is it to practice during the week? Could you not get the reps but still find a way to play?:

“Quarterback’s a little different position than going out and playing defensive end. You’ve got to see the looks. You’ve got to go out there and be a part of it and playing fast. If you’re not, you’re not doing your team any justice. We’ll see how much work I get this week and make a decision closer to game time. … You know that I want to be out there for this one as much as I possibly can, for obvious reasons.”

What would it be like for you to go back to Philadelphia but not be able to play?:

“I have no idea, because I wasn’t even expecting the awkwardness that I had at the game the other day. I’ve obviously sat on the sideline before, but I’ve never not suited up. … It’s going to be different if I have to go all the way to the east coast and play in that stadium again and all the emotions and then not be able to play. … Hopefully that’s not the case.”

Is there any thought that you want to get back out there and not let Skelton take a shot at winning the starting gig?:

“I’ve been in those shoes before. That’s always the most popular guy on the team. I was real popular for a long time there in Philadelphia. That’s kind of a running joke in locker rooms and that’s just the way it is. I wanted the best for him. … I’ve gone through too much to ever wish bad upon somebody in this league.”

Listen to Kevin Kolb on XTRA 910 in Phoenix here

Playing against his former team, Boldin turned in his best performance of the season and nobody on the Cards could cover him. He made one-handed catches, drew a number of pass interference calls, and was the most dominant offensive force for the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Without Q, the Ravens would’ve dropped their second straight game and it would’ve been panic time in Baltimore.

Anquan Boldin joined XTRA 910 in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ to talk about whether or not this weekend’s game against Pittsburgh could be a season defining win for Baltimore, how surprised he was that Patrick Peterson wasn’t covering him, what the message at halftime was, if he had more motivation playing against his former team, why he doesn’t often address what happened between him and Arizona, and how fun it is to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Whether or not this could be a season defining win:

“We had a chance to go in and watch film and make corrections. It’s just one of those games where what you do from this point on defines what you are as a team. We said it today, either we can go forward from here or go backwards. Our goal is to continue to move forward.”

How surprised he was at the coverage he was seeing against the Cardinals:

“Yeah we were kinda surprised that they were lining up number 20 against me. Even in this first half most teams come out and one corner plays left and one corner plays right but yesterday I guess they decided they were gonna follow us. We were shocked they were doing that and that was one of the things we wanted to take advantage of.”

On the message at halftime:

“For us the message at halftime was just wake up. We felt we came out really flat and not playing with a lot of enthusiasm. We just said to each other wake up. I went to Joe (Flacco) first and said throw me the ball and I will make a play for you.”

Whether or not he was more motivated playing against his former team:

“I’m motivated every week. I play this game to win. Nothing else. No matter who my opponent is I’m gonna go out and approach it the same way. It doesn’t matter if it was the Cardinals, it doesn’t matter if it was Pittsburgh, it doesn’t matter.”

On why he doesn’t often talk about what happened between him and the Cardinals:

“It does me no good and it does them no good to sit back and talk about what could’ve been. This is a league full of business. They had opportunities to sign me and they didn’t get the deal done. They kinda reneged on a couple of promises they made. So for me I had to make the best decision for me. For me that was moving on to another team. I got an opportunity to come to Baltimore and I’m happy with that decision.”

On the Ravens-Steelers rivalry:

“It’s a fun week. Probably the best weekend in football because of the history of this rivalry with these two teams. There’s nothing like it. I think the closest I came to it was playing the University of Florida when I was at Florida State. Just playing in this rivalry you know it’s gonna be a hard fought game, it’s gonna be tough, and hard hitting. It’s the reason why you play football.”

Listen to Anquan Boldin on XTRA 910 in Phoenix here

Instead, a day later, it was all about what some Atlanta Falcons players say they heard when quarterback Matt Ryan was injured during the game. Several Falcons players say they heard Ndamukong Suh and other defenders yelling for Ryan to get off the field and for the medical staff to bring on the cart. Atlanta cornerback Brent Grimes says cheering for such a thing will come back to people.

Brent Grimes joined 790 The Zone in Atlanta with Two Live Stews to discuss going up against Calvin Johnson,  a play where he made a breakup on the talented Lions wide receiver, how Detroit quarterback Matt Stafford played, what the victory meant heading into the bye, the things that were allegedly said to Matt Ryan when he got hurt and how in the world he dropped the easiest interception ever.

What was your thought process last week as you prepared for Calvin Johnson?:

“Just go out and compete. You know that they’re going to take their shots with him. He’s big, like an NBA two-guard at receiver. He can run. He’s got all the tools to make big plays in this league, so you know they’re going to take their shots at him. You’ve just got to be always ready and when you get your chance, just go and compete.”

There was a big play where you went up and broke up a pass intended to him. What happened there?:

“As the play was developing, it’s going pretty fast. So you’re not thinking, you’re just reacting really. He ran a little out and up. That’s one of his go-to routes, really. … I recovered from the fake and then I saw the ball in the air. I just went up and made a play on the ball. Once it’s in the air, you’re thinking, ‘Can I get two hands up in the air or do I just have to go up with one?’ … I just went up with one and went for the breakup.”

Grade Matt Stafford and what you saw from him as the Lions’ quarterback on Sunday:

“I think he’s a good quarterback. He has all the tools to be a great quarterback. He has the arm talent, can make every throw. He’s accurate, but we did a good job, our D-line, sending pressure at him and keeping him uncomfortable. … That’s what we did to him yesterday. He felt a lot of heat on him and so he was a little rattled in the pocket and made things difficult.”

How much different would the feeling be if you were 3-4 instead of 4-3 in the standings?:

“It’s a huge difference. Just being in this league for the amount of time I’ve been here, the week after a win and a week after a loss is so much different and so much better, especially going into a bye. You definitely want to go into a bye with a win, a little momentum. We’ve won two games in a row now.”

Allegedly Ndamukong Suh said some disparaging things about Matt Ryan when he got injured. What did you hear?:

“I heard that they were yelling at him like, ‘Get him out of here. Get the cart.’ Stuff that you just shouldn’t say. We’re all out there competing and you’re trying to hit the quarterback and intimidate him. That’s all part of the game, but you don’t really want to see anyone get hurt. That’s just not what you want to happen. And I heard several people on the sideline saying that’s what the dudes were doing on the field and I couldn’t really believe that. … For you to mock somebody when they’re on the ground and they are possibly seriously hurt where they might need a cart to take them off the field, that’s just not cool. That comes back to people when they do something like that.”

What in the world happened when you dropped the wide open interception?:

“I don’t know, man. I guess it was just too easy. That one hurt real bad. I’ve never got an interception that came that easy to me, ever in football. That was pretty embarrassing.”

Listen to Brent Grimes on 790 The Zone in Atlanta here

Now Kevin Kolb can do all the talking that he wants about change, but the fact of that matter is that when the whistle blows this Sunday the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming into town to finish off their season. It is now or never for the Cards to turn things around and they will face a big challenge against a Steelers team riding a two-game winning streak.

Kevin Kolb joined XTRA 910 in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ to discuss the emotional state of the Arizona Cardinals, the coaching staff being at the players meeting during the bye week, an accountability issue in the Cardinals locker room, evaluating his own development at this point of the season and why it took so long for the Cardinals to realize that the team wasn’t getting the job done.

Can you explain to the fans the emotional state of this Arizona Cardinals team right now?

“I think the big thing we all wanted to do was and the leaders especially wanted to do was everyone being held accountable. That’s how you win football games. It’s not about a coach breathing down your neck. It’s part of being a professional. Yes, you have to be able to handle the little details that you know makes you a better football player without someone there telling you to do it. That is kind of what it was all about. The finger wasn’t pointed, but it was just saying hey look it is pretty obvious where the mistakes are coming from. We are all making mistakes. Put your ego at the door. Think team first and let’s think of this as an 11 week season. Put the crap that happened over the past 5 weeks behind us and let’s move forward and get it changed around because again as hard as it is on you guys and on the fans you can imagine how hard it is in that locker room when you know you have the talent to go in there and win.”

Your thoughts on the coaches being in the players meeting and guys saying what they felt?

“Our coaching staff is the most open I have ever been around. In my opinion it is great. It starts with Ken Whisenhunt. If you have something that is bothering you let it off your chest and he has an open door policy and that goes all the way down the staff. For us as players to be able to express our opinions in a professional manner. Just like they do to us. That is just a healthy relationship. I think that can only lead to good things down the road and that’s why they’ve had success in the past because of the way that Ken starts it off being an upstanding ego free guy. He’s not concerned about what is good about himself. He’s concerned about wins and making sure that us as players have the same values and the same concerns.”

Was accountability an issue in the locker room during these loses?

“I just think you have so many new faces and so many new guys there that there is just a lot of change. I think some people – look the finger points at me first – like I always say. That’s the way it goes. I just feel like we are figuring each other out and hey where can we expect things? Where can we not expect things? You know what I am talking about? As a team you learn yourself and you learn who to lean on in certain times and who not lean on and that’s fine. That’s how a team is supposed to work. That is a tough question. It’s just one of those deals where I don’t think the accountability…maybe accountability is not even the right word. Maybe it is just touching up the details. Just like any business does. When things aren’t right what do you go to do? You go in there and start fine tuning things. What did we look over in the first five weeks that we are not doing? That’s more of what it was about. It’s just saying alright look obviously what we are doing is not right. We are right there and we can’t finish a football game except for the one football game against Minnesota. What can we do when you walk into the door and look at yourself in the mirror and say okay what can I do? Forgot about placing the blame somewhere else. What can I do to make us get over that step in the last five minutes of the game or over the last two or three points or whatever it is that we would have won those football games for us.”

Evaluate your own development right now? Where are you in the whole process?

“I feel like I had my best two days of practice last week during the bye week. I feel like it sinks in more-and-more every day. Now my play assessment has to be indicative of that. I hate to have the turnovers that I’ve had. Misfortunes or not and some of them were bad luck. That’s part of the game and that can’t – look the ball is in my hands – regardless of what happens and I have to take care of the ball. I think the one thing we are all keying in on this week when we go back in and watch film. There may be two or three plays that we have to execute in order to win football games. I had a few of those along with the other guys. The biggest thing is pointing the finger at yourself and saying what can I do better to help us to win? There was plenty to point at my own jersey. I am doing my best to make sure that is getting taken care of and just trying do my own job and not worrying about everyone else and trying to do my own job.”

Why has it taken so long for guys to get on each other about doing your own jobs and realizing that the team just wasn’t getting it done? What is your assessment on that?

“That’s a good question. I think that first of all that happens in every locker room that I have ever been in. Every time you lose ball games things start to tighten up. That’s why we as players say man we just gotta keep winning because everybody likes a loose atmosphere while winning. That is when it is the most fun right? Ken Whisenhunt gave us enough…he treated us enough as professionals and enough as men to give us some leeway and say hey look like the first time it happened – forget the meeting thing. He expects the details to come from ourselves and that’s the way it is suppose to work. Now not everybody has that same personality. That same thought and so he was saying and all I was saying and everybody else is that hey look it shouldn’t be on the coaches to make us do these things. Now it’s going to be because we need that as a team and maybe getting our tails kicked in made us realize some of those things as individuals and as coaches and as an entire staff, so looking back we would like to address now that we lost four games in a row. That happens in a lot of locker rooms when a couple of losses pile up. I go back and think about my boys in Philly and I know how they are thinking the same thing we are thinking. I remember having the same conversations with Andy Reid in those locker rooms when we were two or three games and on a losing streak. That is what we did. Tighten up all the details and it’s nothing different than anyone else going through our situations and it’s just something that has to be done.”

Listen to Kevin Kolb on XTRA 910 in Phoenix here

Now Kevin Kolb can do all the talking that he wants about change, but the fact of that matter is that when the whistle blows this Sunday the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming into town to finish off their season. It is now or never for the Cards to turn things around and they will face a big challenge against a Steelers team riding a two-game winning streak.

Kevin Kolb joined XTRA 910 in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ to discuss the emotional state of the Arizona Cardinals, the coaching staff being at the players meeting during the bye week, an accountability issue in the Cardinals locker room, evaluating his own development at this point of the season and why it took so long for the Cardinals to realize that the team wasn’t getting the job done.

Can you explain to the fans the emotional state of this Arizona Cardinals team right now?

“I think the big thing we all wanted to do was and the leaders especially wanted to do was everyone being held accountable. That’s how you win football games. It’s not about a coach breathing down your neck. It’s part of being a professional. Yes, you have to be able to handle the little details that you know makes you a better football player without someone there telling you to do it. That is kind of what it was all about. The finger wasn’t pointed, but it was just saying hey look it is pretty obvious where the mistakes are coming from. We are all making mistakes. Put your ego at the door. Think team first and let’s think of this as an 11 week season. Put the crap that happened over the past 5 weeks behind us and let’s move forward and get it changed around because again as hard as it is on you guys and on the fans you can imagine how hard it is in that locker room when you know you have the talent to go in there and win.”

Your thoughts on the coaches being in the players meeting and guys saying what they felt?

“Our coaching staff is the most open I have ever been around. In my opinion it is great. It starts with Ken Whisenhunt. If you have something that is bothering you let it off your chest and he has an open door policy and that goes all the way down the staff. For us as players to be able to express our opinions in a professional manner. Just like they do to us. That is just a healthy relationship. I think that can only lead to good things down the road and that’s why they’ve had success in the past because of the way that Ken starts it off being an upstanding ego free guy. He’s not concerned about what is good about himself. He’s concerned about wins and making sure that us as players have the same values and the same concerns.”

Was accountability an issue in the locker room during these loses?

“I just think you have so many new faces and so many new guys there that there is just a lot of change. I think some people – look the finger points at me first – like I always say. That’s the way it goes. I just feel like we are figuring each other out and hey where can we expect things? Where can we not expect things? You know what I am talking about? As a team you learn yourself and you learn who to lean on in certain times and who not lean on and that’s fine. That’s how a team is supposed to work. That is a tough question. It’s just one of those deals where I don’t think the accountability…maybe accountability is not even the right word. Maybe it is just touching up the details. Just like any business does. When things aren’t right what do you go to do? You go in there and start fine tuning things. What did we look over in the first five weeks that we are not doing? That’s more of what it was about. It’s just saying alright look obviously what we are doing is not right. We are right there and we can’t finish a football game except for the one football game against Minnesota. What can we do when you walk into the door and look at yourself in the mirror and say okay what can I do? Forgot about placing the blame somewhere else. What can I do to make us get over that step in the last five minutes of the game or over the last two or three points or whatever it is that we would have won those football games for us.”

Evaluate your own development right now? Where are you in the whole process?

“I feel like I had my best two days of practice last week during the bye week. I feel like it sinks in more-and-more every day. Now my play assessment has to be indicative of that. I hate to have the turnovers that I’ve had. Misfortunes or not and some of them were bad luck. That’s part of the game and that can’t – look the ball is in my hands – regardless of what happens and I have to take care of the ball. I think the one thing we are all keying in on this week when we go back in and watch film. There may be two or three plays that we have to execute in order to win football games. I had a few of those along with the other guys. The biggest thing is pointing the finger at yourself and saying what can I do better to help us to win? There was plenty to point at my own jersey. I am doing my best to make sure that is getting taken care of and just trying do my own job and not worrying about everyone else and trying to do my own job.”

Why has it taken so long for guys to get on each other about doing your own jobs and realizing that the team just wasn’t getting it done? What is your assessment on that?

“That’s a good question. I think that first of all that happens in every locker room that I have ever been in. Every time you lose ball games things start to tighten up. That’s why we as players say man we just gotta keep winning because everybody likes a loose atmosphere while winning. That is when it is the most fun right? Ken Whisenhunt gave us enough…he treated us enough as professionals and enough as men to give us some leeway and say hey look like the first time it happened – forget the meeting thing. He expects the details to come from ourselves and that’s the way it is suppose to work. Now not everybody has that same personality. That same thought and so he was saying and all I was saying and everybody else is that hey look it shouldn’t be on the coaches to make us do these things. Now it’s going to be because we need that as a team and maybe getting our tails kicked in made us realize some of those things as individuals and as coaches and as an entire staff, so looking back we would like to address now that we lost four games in a row. That happens in a lot of locker rooms when a couple of losses pile up. I go back and think about my boys in Philly and I know how they are thinking the same thing we are thinking. I remember having the same conversations with Andy Reid in those locker rooms when we were two or three games and on a losing streak. That is what we did. Tighten up all the details and it’s nothing different than anyone else going through our situations and it’s just something that has to be done.”

Listen to Kevin Kolb on XTRA 910 in Phoenix here

However Ken Whisenhunt wants to phrase the Arizona Cardinals putrid first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, the 28 points the Cardinals allowed in the first 15 minutes of play eliminated any chance they had of winning in Week 5. That’s exactly what happened as the Cardinals fell to 1-4 on the year with a 34-10 loss against previously winless Minnesota.

Arizona’s offensive line could not handle Minnesota’s strong defensive front led by Jared Allen. Kevin Kolb hasn’t looked particularly strong out in the desert throwing five touchdowns and six interceptions in his first five games. The Cards need to find a way to get Larry Fitzgerald the football more in this offense. At 1-4 Ken Whisenhunt has got a lot of work to do in Arizona.

Ken Whisenhunt joined 620 KTAR in Phoenix on In the Red Zone with Doug and Wolf to discuss the changes the Arizona Cardinals will be making during the bye week, his impressions of Kevin Kolb’s play so far this season, the Cardinals offensive line performing up to expectations and the areas the Cardinals will look to build on during the bye week.

What do you think needs to change in the course of this bye week?

“I think we are going to go back and look at a lot of things we are doing. Obviously areas of emphasis for us are going to be third downs and red zone. Those are two areas that we are going to work on tomorrow with the guys. I think it comes at a good time. It’s chance to get a little break and get the focus back on some of the details that we need to make sure will help us execute some of these situations where we are coming short. Our guys are working well. They are working hard. We are just not able to get it done on game day and that is very frustrating for us as it is for our fans, but we believe that what we are doing is the right way to do it and it’s gonna work out for us here very soon.”

How did Kevin Kolb play in your opinion in this game?

“I think it’s hard to judge it based on the number of tipped balls that happened early because that puts a bad assessment of what the whole day was. He was going to the right place. He had open receivers. Let’s face it if you want to be 100% truthful the first ball of the game was open. We threw it and we dropped it. That’s not Kevin’s fault and sometimes those plays early in games make the difference for you. You gotta be able to make those plays like if A.J. Jefferson had held onto that potential interception that could have changed the course of the game, but the second one he was going to throw to was to Andre Roberts, who was wide open, and about 15 yards down the field. The ball got tipped and they intercepted it. The next one the guy came around the edge of our tackle and knocked the ball out as he was getting ready to throw that one. The first three times early in the game it was not successful and it wasn’t necessarily Kevin’s fault. He did some good things in the game, but he also did some things that we need to continue to work on as far in the pocket and making some of the reads and sticking with them. When you are down three or four scores early and you are going against a team with the front Minnesota has and you know you have to throw the ball to catch up it is very difficult.”

Is your offensive line doing what you expect from them?

“I certainly don’t think you can judge it based on this game. If you put any offensive line in that situation it is going to be difficult. You put them down that many scores having to throw the ball to catch up. If we are able to run the football and do some of our play action game that will certainly help the line and the protection of the quarterback. When you are going against a Jared Allen and a Brian Robison and Kevin Williams, guys that know you are going to throw the football, they can pin their ears back. You beat them on one play it is not going to change the course of the game dramatically at that particular time. It’s a whole different arena. There was a number of good plays by our offensive line in that game, but everyone wants to focus on the couple that the guys get beat. If you are an open edge as an offensive tackle in the NFL. How many times did we throw it? 42 snaps in the game? You are going to get beat on the edge especially in a stadium where there’s noise. That happens. We gotta minimize those opportunities. We tried to do that by adjusting our protection and giving them help, but they are rushing four guys and dropping seven into coverage. It’s unrealistic to think you are going to get guys open in the pattern if you keep six or seven guys in to protect. You have to put those guys out to counter their seven guys in coverage. In order to do that you expose those tackles to the open edge and that is a very difficult situation. It’s easy to sit back and criticize when you see them getting beat on a play. I understand that’s part of the game, but we’ve gotta do a better job of not putting our line in that situation in the first place. If we don’t turn the ball over and keep them out of the end zone then maybe we are not talking about this today.”

What areas of the game can you actually build on?

“There was some progress for us as far as doing some things a little bit better. There’s a couple of plays that we repeated from the week before that were run game plays and some play action stuff that we actually hit and we made some good plays on and that was something you wanted to see. As a coach you wanted to see some improvement. There were some things on the defensive side of the football where we had some opportunities to make plays. In fact we had a couple of lapses where we missed some tackles and then later in the game we came back in the very same situation and we stuffed them and we made some very good plays. The positive thing I saw there was our guys didn’t quit. They continued to try to work at it. We gotta eliminate one of two guys making mistakes and let the player get out and make a big play on us. We had one of our safeties fall down on one of the largest pass plays of the day. That happens, but those things seem to happen at the most inopportune times. I liked the way our guys continue to stay in the game in the battle. We started the second half with our defense getting a turnover and then we went down and scored a touchdown. When you are down as much as we were I thought that was a sign that our guys still believed and still had fight in them and that’s the attitude we have to have going forward in order to get out of this.”

Listen to Ken Whisenhunt on 620 KTAR in Phoenix here

If there’s a silver lining for Arizona from last Sunday, it was that Beanie Wells had the breakout game that Ken Whisenhunt desperately needs for the Cardinals offense to be successful. The former Ohio State standout rushed for 138 yards on 27 carries with three touchdowns, easily his best career performance. The 100 yard performance was just his second of his career, and the three touchdowns also were a career best. Wells now leads the NFL with his five rushing TDs. It was the kind of performance that Whisenhunt knows Beanie is capable of when he’s not hampered by lingering injuries as has been the case over the course of the past year. Now seemingly healthy, Wells seems poised to finally show Cardinals fans why he deserving of his first round status and the feature back of the future for Arizona’s offense.

Beanie Wells joined Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix with Doug & Wolf to discuss the changes he made to his running style against the way he ran the ball against the New York Giants last week, running more physical than he had previously in his NFL career, earning more carries with his dominant performance, the drafting of Ryan Williams motivating him this offseason, and feeling frustrated just two short weeks ago after injuring his hamstring.

Who is this new Beanie Wells we are seeing? Are you feeling better? Is there something new about you or we didn’t realize how good you were a long time ago?

“I don’t think anything has changed. I go to work and practice just like I have been year in and year out. I just like to think I am getting an opportunity right now. I gotta thank coach for that. I gotta thank my offensive line for doing a great job. In this game that is all you can ask for is an opportunity to showcase what you can do and that’s what I have been given.”

So when you watch film of yourself you don’t see yourself running harder or more physical than before?

“No. Not at all. If you go back to last year at the end of last year it was one of those years where I had the knee injury all year. It kind of lingered. Right now I think you guys are just seeing a healthy me. I think it is more comparable to how I ran my rookie year to how I am running now. I feel similar.”

Talk about your mentality now when you get that many carries? I know the game against the Giants was a loss and it can’t feel very good. At the same time do you think you are getting more carries because you are earning them? Is it a matchup thing?

“I don’t know. It’s hard to say. As the weeks go on I will know that. Sometimes it could be matchup or the coach could show that much dependability to give me that many carries. Either way I am just excited about it. It’s something I always wanted and I am finally getting that chance. I’m not looking back. I am not worried about anything else other than the chance to get in and that’s going out there and being productive and helping us win football games.”

When the Cardinals drafted Ryan Williams did that send a message to you? Did that put any added motivation coming in this season?

“Definitely so. I would be lying if I said it didn’t. Whenever somebody drafts another running back and somebody at the same position you definitely feel a little bit threatened. You feel like the coaches don’t think I can get the job done. That’s how I felt. I took that this offseason and kind of ran with it. I have to tell the truth.”

Your hamstring kept you out of that third game here. How are you feeling now physically and how frustrated were you?

“I was real frustrated. I wanted to be out there especially missing games last year I knew I didn’t want to miss any games this year. It was unfortunate I had to go and miss that game against Seattle and I definitely think that I could have been a difference maker in that game. It sucks that I wasn’t a part of it. As far as how I am feeling right now? I’m sore just as anyone else is in the National Football League after four weeks of football. It’s something I am going to have to deal with throughout the season just like everybody else in the league. I am not going to worry about that right now and just try to work hard and help us find a way to close out these games.”

Listen to Beanie Wells on Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix here

But few are talking about the game’s outcome today as one play has seemed to overshadow the contest itself. Trailing 27-24 with fewer than three minutes remaining, receiver Victor Cruz made a reception and then went to the ground and dropped the ball to keep the hurry-up offense going. He wasn’t touched on his way down however, and the Cardinals picked the ball up hoping for a fumble. Instead, Cruz was ruled down and the Giants kept the ball and won the game. Antrel Rolle helps explain his view on the ruling in this interview.

Antrel Rolle joined PFT Live with Mike Florio to discuss being 3-1, the Victor Cruz fumble, what he’s been taught to do in that situation as a defender, how the Giants shut the Cardinals down late, motivating factors for the Giants, the fact they get to spend a month at home now and why this week’s game against Seattle won’t be a trap game.

What does it mean to be 3-1 after losing the first game of the season?:

“It feels good. This team is just continuing to climb and climb and I think we’re making extreme progress week-in and week-out.”

Everybody’s talking about the Victor Cruz play, which wasn’t ruled a fumble. What was your take on it?:

“I actually didn’t see the play, didn’t see when he dove down and got back up. I saw him running but I didn’t see him hit the ground. I kind of missed that part of it, but I did see the replays on TV. I wasn’t aware of that rule, but the rule says if a player declares himself down and isn’t trying to complete a process then he’s down. You can’t challenge that call. I think it was a great call by the ref because he clearly shows he’s not trying to run.”

What is a defender taught to do in a situation like that?:

“You just try to tag him off, definitely try to tag him off in that circumstance. It was a play that happened and I think it was a great call by the refs.”

What did you guys do to shut down the Cardinals after they took a 27-17 lead?:

“I think we just had to buckle down and play relentless ball. They definitely got a few more rushing yards than we wanted to allow. … They gave us a dog fight for 60 minutes. The defense, we just tried to play relentless. We came up big at the point in time where we needed to.”

Do you think both your Giants and the Washington Redskins are for real or do you still think there’s a gap there?:

“I can’t really worry about what the Redskins are doing at this point. I can only worry about the Giants and what we’re doing as a team. … When the time comes for us to face the Redskins again, then we’ll see who’s going to be the better team at that point.”

Did you guys find motivation in people overlooking you for the Eagles or Cowboys?:

“We took motivation within ourselves. We know we were faced with a lot of difficulties, a lot of adversity. At the same time, we never doubted ourselves. … We’re playing for each other out there and [Sunday] was a pure example of what our team identifies themselves as. We played great team ball. It might not have been the best game or a perfect game … but at the end of the day we played together.”

How nice will it be to basically be at home now for a month — three home games and a bye?:

“We definitely take things one game at a time here, but we’re full aware of what we have coming up.”

Any worry now about the Seahawks being a trap game since you are 3-1 and they are 1-3?:

“We could care less about what’s on paper. We go and we watch film, we study our opponents and we play every team as if they’re the best team in the league. … Record means nothing in this league. You can get a totally different team week-in and week-out.”

Listen to Antrel Rolle on NBC Sports here

Fitzgerald joined KTAR in Phoenix to talk about how he feels the start of the season has been for the new-look Cardinals, what it is about the Giants and their secondary that presents problems for him and the Cardinals offense, his thoughts on how Kevin Kolb and he are progressing in terms of getting comfortable with one another, and how he’s taken it upon himself to be a bit more vocal with his leadership on this year’s Cardinals squad.

How he feels the season has gone so far:

“If it was ideal we would be 3-0, but that’s not the case right now. We’re sitting at 1-2, I’m disappointed in our last two performances, felt like we could have performed better and the outcomes could have been better. But we can’t do anything about that now, those games are behind us. All we can do now is look forward to playing against the New York Giants which is a really good football team, well coached, disciplined, used to winning. We’re going to have our hands full with them for sure, but I think we’ve got a good game plan for them.”

What about the Giants’ secondary presents challenges for him and the rest of the Cardinals offense on Sunday:

“Well it’s the same thing any time you play a Tom Coughlin football team. They’re disciplined, they’re tough, they’re physical, they’re going to come up and tackle you, they’re not going to shy away, they’re never going to turn down a challenge. It’s just added for fun me to go up against Antrel, he’s like a brother to me, it’s been close to ten-plus years. Those kinds of challenges are always fun and bring out the best.”

How he thinks he and Kevin Kolb are progressing getting comfortable with one another:

“I think we’re getting better week in and week out. I think he’s getting more comfortable with me, I’m getting more comfortable with him. I’ve been really encouraged by the way he’s been able to adjust to the game plans week in and week out. He’s only been here eight weeks, he’s at a huge disadvantage not having the offseason program and all the time that most quarterbacks are able to have. But he’s made the best of it, he’s gave us extra time with his feet in the pocket when things are breaking down. And he’s really got this fire and moxie about him that’s infectious in the huddle.”

If he’s taken it upon himself to be more of a vocal leader on the Cardinals this year:

“Maybe a little bit, I don’t do anything out of my comfort zone. I still try to lead by example, but now I feel it’s my responsibility if I see something I don’t like or is not something I feel is good for the team, I’m going to address it, I’m going to get it off my chest and say it. But I’m going to do it in a way that does not alienate guys. I don’t want to do that. I want everybody to be on the same page and working for one common goal, and that’s winning and having success. But at times throughout the course of the season, there’s 53 men, different personalities, different agendas, and sometimes things need to be addressed.”

Listen here to Fitzgerald with Doug & Wolf on KTAR in Phoenix

Newton stole all kinds of headlines, throwing for more than 400 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. His 422 yards matched Matthew Stafford for the most by a rookie quarterback in NFL history.  The rookie’s performance stole the show, but it was Kolb — who threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns of his own — who picked up the victory.

Kevin Kolb joined ESPN Radio with Scott Van Pelt and Ryen Russillo to discuss winning his first start in Arizona, how impressed he’s been with  Patrick Peterson, the challenge of learning a new system, his ability to be mobile in the pocket, the weapons he has around him outside of Larry Fitzgerald, how the Cardinals reacted to how well Newton was playing, and if he watched the Eagles at all on Sunday.

What was the mood in the locker room like after you held off the Panthers?:

“It was awesome just because we got our first win, but there was a lot of mistakes. There always is Week One, especially when you’re a team like us that has 60 percent new players. So we knew that was going to come, but it’s nice to come out with the victory even though we made those mistakes.”

How impressed have you been with Patrick Peterson, who had the critical punt return for touchdown Sunday?:

“He’s made plays all camp and had a pick returned to the house during preseason as well. He’s a dynamic player. I’m obviously pretty happy he’s in red and white. As he just grows as a corner, he’s going to be an elite corner very soon.”

How much of a challenge has it been to learn the new system?:

“It’s a big challenge, it really is. If I said anything different, I’d be lying. The thing for me is every day is more beneficial — and every game and every situation. I’m just trying to put the notches in my belt and keep learning and getting better. I think the biggest thing is just never stop striving to get better.”

How have you been able to develop as a mobile passer in the pocket and get receivers to understand that part of your game?:

“We work on it in practice. When I first came here and when I was in Philly, I tried to implement that into 7-on-7 and team periods. A lot of guys just want to stop when the play breaks down in practice and, shoot, that’s when big plays are made. … I want to say that at Houston, under Art Briles, that’s when he really taught me to understand that part of the game.”

Does everyone focus so much on Larry Fitzgerald that they don’t understand some of the other weapons you have there?:

“Absolutely. They’re going to do their best to take No. 11 out of the game because they know how important he is to our team, but we have athletes all the way around. … Even though they may not be big names yet, it’s coming and we look forward to putting up some big numbers.”

What was the reaction like of your teammates to what Cam Newton was doing?:

“I think about the third quarter, everybody looked at each other and went, ‘Man, this guy can really play.’ … He made some tight throws throughout the game to keep drives alive, third-down completions, a big, strong guy in the pocket. As long as he keeps pressing, he’s going to be a great player. And I think he will because he wants to be a star in this league.”

Did you watch the Eagles on Sunday?:

“I didn’t; I didn’t at all. I just saw that they won and it looked like Mike moved around a lot. … Like I’ve said all along, if we don’t win it, I want them to win it. And I truly mean that.”

Listen to Kevin Kolb on ESPN Radio here (Interview begins at 9:45)

It’s out with the old and in with the new for Ken Whisenhunt and the Arizona Cardinals as Arizona tries to erase the memory of their dismal 5-11 season in the putrid NFC West last season. It sure didn’t help that the Cardinals had some real poor play at the quarterback position. Rod Graves went out and aggressively tried to correct that problem by trading for Kevin Kolb. The jury is still out on whether Kolb can lead a football team, but the Whis is extremely happy about his team’s play in the preseason. He is confident Kolb can take on this challenge and is encouraged by his enthusiasm.

We’ll see how excited the Cardinals are to start a new season when they take on the Carolina Panthers this Sunday. This game is being dubbed as the safest pick in any survivor pool if you partake in that sort of thing. It’s hard to envision Cam Newton leading the Panthers to a victory in his first start, but this is the NFL. Whisenhunt is faced with a tough challenge in preparing for a team with a whole new coaching staff and a rookie quarterback meaning there’s no tape to study on his opponent.

Ken Whisenhunt joined KTAR in Phoenix with Doug and Wolf to discuss what Chester Taylor brings to the Arizona Cardinals offense, where the Cardinals offense stands before the first regular season game, game planning against the Carolina Panthers with a new head coach in John Fox and a rookie quarterback in Cam Newton, his first impressions of Cam Newton and the feeling in the Cardinals locker-room at the start of the 2011 regular season.

What does Chester Taylor bring to this team?

“Well he’s a veteran that has been very successful in the league in a number of different roles. That is what we needed. I mean we got some young guys and obviously when Ryan Williams got injured it created a little bit of a void from that standpoint. We still feel good about where Alfonso Smith is, but to have the opportunity to get a veteran presence in here that can help us in a number of different areas whether it is first or second down carries or as a third down back or in a rotational style situation. He is a known quantity from my perspective, from what we have seen of him and I think it is a good fit for us.

Where do you feel the offense is right now after no OTA’s or off-season workouts?

“Well I guess we will find out Sunday? I think we have a new quarterback. We’ve got a number of missed practices that we don’t have that we usually have been able to get extra reps or implement more of our schemes, but I like the feel that we have with this group of guys. I like…the thing that I am really encouraged about is the number of plays we made in the preseason. That’s exciting because it’s a number of different guys. I think we are going to be an offense…this game is going to be difficult from the standpoint that we don’t really know what we are going to get a bit like preseason. Even though we are game planning you don’t know specifically what to game plan for, but I think we are going to grow and I think we are going to grow rapidly. I hope there is a situation in this game that we make some plays early and get some confidence and continue to build our group, but I like our offense. I think that we are going to be a good offense and that’s exciting after the struggles we had last season.”

How do you game plan against a new head coach, defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and a rookie quarterback?

“There’s one thing you have to be careful about and that’s chasing ghosts. You go back and you look at other teams that these coaches were with and the schemes that they ran and you look at what they did in preseason in the second and third games and try to see is it similar? Is it the same type of philosophy? Just try to get an idea of what they are going to do and then you just draw on your knowledge or your experience in what you expect to face in the first game, so there’s a lot of different variables you are looking at. There is no known evidence of what they are going to do in a regular season game, which most of the time you play your first game and you don’t ever know for sure, but a lot of times you’ll at least have experience with a staff or with a player that you would know what they did the year before and we don’t have that. It’s going to be a little bit of an experimentation of trying to find out or things we are going to have to adjust to in the game, but that’s all part of it. We’ve experienced that before. I think the one thing is we got some veteran players. We have been able to this whole period of 4 or 5 weeks. We’ve been together and it has been one big adjustment for our team. We have been fighting through that for a number of weeks. I think that will help prepare us for this first game.”

What do you see when you look at Cam Newton?

“I think he’s a guy you gotta make sure you understand he can hurt you with his feet. As far as a guy who’s going to drop back and throw the football and win games for them right now like you see some of the veteran quarterbacks? That’s tough. That’s tough for a young player, but when things break down he can move in the pocket and he can chew up some yardage getting down the field. You’ve seen that in preseason games, so I think he’s a guy you gotta make sure you are very disciplined in your rush lanes, in your contain and understand you don’t want to let him create big plays with his feet and try to make beat you by playing a normal quarterback game. He’s a good football player. There’s a reason he was taken with the first pick in the draft and there’s going to be an adjustment for a young player just like there is with all young players and it’ll be an interesting chess match this first game.”

What’s the feeling in the locker-room right now? Can you even gauge that?

“Well I sense that there is an excitement about our team. I sense that from our fans, which is fabulous. The attendance we had in the pre-season games and that atmosphere you could see that building and that’s really exciting, but from our players I sense an excitement about the group of guys that we have. I think there is some confidence. Like I said when you hit an 80-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald, when you hit a 34-yard reverse for a touchdown, when Kevin Kolb comes in here and has the type of confidence that carries over to the defense. Then you have defensive guys making players like Patrick Peterson’s interception return or some the sacks we got whether it was Darnell Dockett or Calais Campbell or a O’Brien Schofield or some of those plays. I think those players are getting excited about the opportunity to make some plays and erase the 5-11 season from our mindset. From that standpoint that is my gauge. How solid that feeling is? How can we weather some of the down times? Every seasons has its ups-and-downs. It’s not always easy, but I feel like we have a pretty strong group as far as believing in themselves and hopefully that’ll translate into playing well Sunday.”

Listen to Ken Whisenhunt on KTAR in Phoenix here

Fitzgerald felt he would be lying to say his contract situation was not on his mind entering this season, but never took it out on the field with him when he plays. It sounds like the deciding factor for Fitzgerald was the fact that the organization appeared to be committed to winning by trading for Kevin Kolb, and adding free agents like Stewart Bradley and Daryn Colledge. With money matters resolved, Fitzgerald and Kolb can focus exclusively at becoming one of the league’s most explosive combos.

Larry Fitzgerald joined KTAR in Phoenix with Doug and Wolf to discuss the team’s camp and preseason to date, re-signing a new eight-year massive contract extension worth as much as $120 million,  the funniest thing his teammates have said about his new mega-deal, whether his previously unresolved contract situation had affected him earlier in the offseason workouts, his chemistry with Kevin Kolb in training camp thus far, if the organization’s aggressive pursuit of Kolb convinced him that the team was committed to winning and one he wanted to remain a part of for the remainder of his career.

Other than getting paid how is training camp going right now?

“Training camp is going well. I really feel good about the way guys are working right now. The guys are coming together. I really am happy with the nucleus of the group and that’s really what is important. I think the first two [preseason] games we have played have been okay for as much time as we have played with our starting quarterback, but I think things are turning in the right direction and moving forward.”

Funniest thing a teammate said about your contract so far?

“Honestly it has been cool. My teammates just said they are happy for me. I think that is the ultimate sign of respect for your peers to care enough to say anything to you. I’m happy to be with this team for the future and happy to be with my teammates.”

How much were the contract negotiations/becoming a free agent weighing on you mentally? Was there any type of distractions?

“No. I don’t allow the business part to distract me. Obviously I would be lying if I told you it wasn’t on my mind, but when I step in between those lines that’s where I can let all my problems outside of football go and that’s my domain.”

When you talk about the domain tell us about the chemistry between you and Kevin. How is the chemistry with you and Kevin Kolb developing? How long does it take to develop this kind of chemistry where you feel comfortable? Are we overrating the chemistry factor early on here?

“No it’s not overrated at all. You want to have that good continuity between the quarterback and the receiver and that takes time. It takes repetition and it takes awhile to have that good rapport. I think the more we throw every single day the more comfortable he will become with me and the more comfortable I will become with him. The thing I like about him is that he gets the ball out of his hands quick. He makes very fast decisions and he is going to give me an opportunity to go make plays, which is something that any receiver would be licking their chops for.”

Did the signing of Kevin Kolb have any impact at all on your decision to remain a Cardinal ?

“I wanted to be a Cardinal. I am happy I am going to be able to be a Cardinal, but signing Kevin I knew that the organization was doing everything it could to make us be in contention again and make a playoff push like we did two years ago with Kurt [Warner]. I know with the signings of Stewart Bradley and D.C. [Daryn Colledge] and guys like that. The team is really making that conscious effort to make sure we are fighting and scratching for that NFC West Championship where I think we have a great opportunity to win it.”

Listen to Larry Fitzgerald on KTAR in Phoenix here

Last week vs. Oakland, Fitzgerald reeled in a 43-yard pass from quarterback Kevin Kolb where he caught the ball with one hand and a little help from his helmet.

On Friday in Green Bay, Fitz caught one pass on the night for 15 yards. It didn’t even result in a first down. But you’ll be hard pressed to find a better catch in the NFL all season long.

NFL.com ranked it as the #1 catch in Friday’s preseason action. It’s almost like calling Gone With the Wind the best movie that was released on January 17, 1940. Enjoy.

Not exactly what you want to see in the preseason.

The team already had incumbent starter Tim Hightower, a steady and reliable player, on the roster. And just two years earlier they had invested a low first round draft pick on the über-talented Beanie Wells out of Ohio State. Add in third down specialist LaRod Stephens-Howling, and the addition of Williams would make for a very crowded backfield.

The Cardinals moved quickly to find some reps for Williams, trading Hightower to Washington early in training camp for a low draft pick and veteran defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday. This signaled that Wells would be the starter, but Williams would be counted on in a big way as a rookie.

That all changed on one play on Friday night.

Williams was injured on his first carry in a 28-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Officials and his Cardinal teammates immediately called to the Arizona sideline for assistance after Williams was dragged down from behind by Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings. Talk about your ironic initials.

Williams was carted off the field and head coach Ken Whisenhunt feared that his rookie running back had suffered a ruptured patella tendon in his right knee, ending his season before it ever got off the ground.

Williams himself confirmed the severity of the injury via his Twitter account on Saturday morning.

So now what? The Cardinals had an abundance of depth at the position three weeks ago, and now it’s a concern. Wells looked good on Friday, gaining 44 yards on 11 carries. Stephens-Howling could still be used as a change-of-pace type runner. The only other healthy runner on the roster is Alfonso Smith, a 2nd-year player out of Kentucky, who got 12 carries against the Packers, ran for 39 yards and scored on a one-yard touchdown run. There’s an obvious need to add someone at the position.

But what’s out there? Surprisingly, there are still some familiar names available in free agency. Among them: Brian Westbrook, the former Eagle and 49er, who ran for 340 yards on 77 carries last year in San Francisco. The downside? He’s injury-prone and he’ll be 32 years old on opening day.

Want a guy with fresh legs? Tiki Barber is still looking for a team, and he hasn’t carried a football in almost five full years. Oh, and he’s 36 years old.

There’s also Kevin Smith (the former Lion, not the robust film director). Smith is only 24 years old, but suffered a serious knee injury late in the 2009 season. He came back and played last season for the Lions, but gained only 133 yards on 34 carries in 6 contests. Remember Mike Hart, the mighty might from Michigan? He’s on the free agent list, but has already taken a job as the offensive quality control coach on Ron English’s staff at Eastern Michigan University.

Other recognizable available names are veterans Clinton Portis, Fred Taylor, Laurence Maroney, Julius Jones, Ladell Betts and Dominic Rhodes. The Cardinals may go the route of bringing in someone immediately from the above list of names. Or they might wait and see what the cut list around the league looks like. Or, there’s always Alfonso Smith.

Any way you slice it though, this is the first major bummer of the year for the Arizona Cardinals. Hopefully there’s not many more on the way.

Mike Shanahan has a knack for finding gems to tote the rock and with the quarterback situation being so shaky in Washington and with Ryan Torain spending so much time on the trainer’s table, Hightower may finally get the shot that he always wanted in Arizona.

Tim Hightower joined XTRA Sports 910 in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ to talk about how it felt to play his first preseason game for the Redskins, how different the fans are in Washington compared to Arizona, whether or not Washington’s scheme fits his style better, if he feels more wanted by Washington given the fact that they traded for him, and how he felt when the Cardinals drafted another running back this offseason.

How it felt playing his first preseason game for the Redskins:

“A lot of emotion. Just being from that town, driving by that stadium a lot of times trying to avoid the traffic to the games, and then to actually be a part of it, it was pretty special.”

How the fans are different in Washington compared to Arizona:

“It’s completely different. You have diehard fans no matter win or loss. You’ve got people so excited everywhere. You’ve got Redskins banners everywhere, flyers and stuff everywhere, and it’s just a different feeling. I appreciate Arizona and I feel like we had some good fans in Arizona but you can just tell the history of the team and it’s a completely different atmosphere.”

On the offense and how it fits his game:

“It really fits my game. It’s a lot of stuff that I did in college. It really compliments the running back from the standpoint of it allows you to attack the line of scrimmage. I’m the type of back where if I can get going and hit the line of scrimmage with speed and not have to stop a lot and stop and start a lot. It really gives me a chance to kinda get into a rhythm and find holes in defenses and exploit weaknesses.”

Whether or not he feels wanted by the Redskins because they traded for him:

“I definitely do feel wanted. I do feel like I’m a major part of this offense. I feel like I’m contributing in a major way and I feel like they brought me here for a reason. Not to do my job, to help the team win, but I feel like they have a lot of confidence in me so going into that already that helps me out a lot as a player where you know your coaching staff believes in you. You know your team believes in you. You know they feel they can get it done. From there it’s a responsibility that I put on myself to do just that.”

If Washington was a place that he was considering:

“It was. It was definitely. For the main reason that I wanted to be in a place that fitted me, I wanted to be in a place where I could flourish, where I could be a leader, where I could help a team win, and help a team go to a Super Bowl and compete at a high level. That’s something I felt like Washington had. Their system and style of play, I felt like it complimented my style of play very well. That was something I definitely looked at. I didn’t really know how high the possibilities were but when the door opened I obviously walked through it.”

Whether or not he thought he found it awkward that the Cardinals drafted running back Ryan Williams in the second round:

“I did. Beanie and I are very close. He’s actually a very close friend of mine, but right after my first year when they drafted him I was a little bit upset at first. I didn’t understand why. I didn’t understand the nature of the business and how things work. I kinda took it personal. I felt like it was a knock against me and they were calling me out. We went to the Super Bowl and I had a fairly decent year, but I felt like that was a knock on me. Then when this last one took place right before a contract year for me I kinda felt like it maybe was time for me to start looking elsewhere and maybe my time was up.”

Listen to Tim Hightower on XTRA Sports 910 here

There’s renewed optimism in the desert though heading into 2011, primarily because of the addition of Kevin Kolb. The former Eagles quarterback obviously has huge question marks considering his inexperience, but there’s enough talent elsewhere on both sides of the ball for fans to reasonably believe that the Cardinals can be competitive again this year in the NFC West.

Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt joined XTRA 910 in Phoenix with Bickley and MJ to discuss the buzz and excitement amongst his players this year compared to last, what Kevin Kolb’s strengths are based on his limited up-close observations, how much of his offense is in place at this point in the preseason schedule, the potential to add another receiver like, say, Randy Moss, whether the Cards would ever consider keeping four QBs on the 53-man roster this year, what he’s seen thus far from  first-round pick Patrick Peterson, and the balance he hopes to have on offense.

How would you describe the excitement surrounding this year’s team compared to last year?:

“I don’t get into that too much. I think every team is different. I think a lot of times the perceptions are colored by a 5-11 season. I think when you look back over last year, there’s not a lot of positive memories. Our guys worked hard in camp last year. … I will say this, I do agree from the standpoint our players have been working hard in camp and it does seem there is a chemistry evolving.”

What are Kevin Kolb’s strengths at QB and how much of your offense is in place at this point?:

“We’re still trying to push and put as much of it in as we can. We don’t have a lot of our individual packages in. … We’re trying to install as much as we can every day and then we’ll pull back for the games. His strengths: his abilities to handle this information and process it. … That provides leadership in itself, being able to process the plays and understand what we’re trying to get done. He’s got a quick delivery, he’s accurate with his throws, he showed some mobility in the game the other day. … I just really like the total package.”

Would you consider adding Randy Moss?:

“I think we’d have to cross that bridge if we ever seriously considered that. You hear a lot of different things about what he was like. … To be quite honest with you, I haven’t looked at any tape of what he did in Tennessee. That would be the most important determining factor … do you still think he can contribute?”

Is it a luxury if you keep four quarterbacks this year?:

“I would think so, yeah. Unless the fourth quarterback was on the practice squad, that would be the only way. But then again, the guy’s never going to get any reps. You only have so many reps during an in-season practice. Your first-team quarterback has got to get most of your team reps. And then all of your scout-team stuff, you want your second-team quarterback to get most of those so he’s at least throwing the ball. … That fourth one would be a tough situation.”

What have you seen from first-round pick Patrick Peterson at cornerback?:

“He’s working to earn the starting job. I wouldn’t say it’s a matter of time. I would say he’s going to have the opportunity to show us he’s ready to do it. … The guy’s going to get to that point at some point, then he’ll play. But you know what? It’s raised the level of play at that position.”

When it comes to balance on offense, would you like to be 50-50?:

“It depends. … There’s something to be said for the mentality of being able to run the football. If you get the kind of team that we can hopefully grow into, you’ll have the lead in games. And the way you’ll be able to win those games is to be able to run the ball late in games. Would I like to be 50-50? Sure. I think anybody would like to be 50-50. In today’s NFL, is it skewed a little bit more toward the passing game? Yeah, it is.”

Listen to Ken Whisenhunt on XTRA 910 in Phoenix here