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Championship!!!!
Notebook: Levi also may be out but Cards get back Johnson at center
By DARREN URBAN
Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin may miss Sunday's game because of a hip injury suffered against Baltimore last weekend.
Make no mistake, Anquan Boldin is mad.
He could chuckle about it a little Friday, after missing his third straight day of practice with a hip injury, but he acknowledged being sidelined – with a crucial home game Sunday against Pittsburgh – ticked him off.
Still, despite his 14-catch, 181-yard game last week, there is a good chance Boldin won’t play against the Steelers. Coach Ken Whisenhunt listed him as doubtful, the same as starting right tackle Levi Brown (ankle sprain).
Boldin tried to push himself physically a little Thursday which left him sore.
“I know this: He is a tough kid and I would never say for sure he wouldn’t go,” Whisenhunt said. “But it’s doubtful.”
An absent Boldin would be a blow to the Cardinals’ offense. Bryant Johnson would take Boldin’s spot if Boldin cannot play. Boldin will try his hip out pregame Sunday to see if he can go.
“You want to be smart about it,” Boldin said. “There are a lot more games in the season, so you don’t want to put yourself in jeopardy in the long run.”
The Steelers will definitely be without their best receiver. Hines Ward, who hurt his knee last weekend, was officially declared out Friday.
Brown will also make an attempt pregame to see if he can play for the Cardinals. If he can’t, Elton Brown will get the start at right tackle.
One piece of good injury news came at center, where Al Johnson has practiced the past two days and is expected to start after missing three games with a knee sprain.
“I am going to feel it a couple times in the game,” Johnson said. “But I’m going to ride her until the wheels fall off. It’ll be all right. I will feel it, but I will feel it in a couple weeks too.”
LEINART ON STAGE
One of the subplots Sunday will focus on quarterback Matt Leinart Sunday, given the use of both he and Kurt Warner last week by the Cardinals.
Whisenhunt said Leinart has had a good week of practice in preparation.
“The thing with Matt, he responds when people push him,” Whisenhunt said. “He certainly wants to answer what people have said about him and certainly he can do it.”
GLOVE STORY
It came about quietly, because Warner was on the bench at the time. But his decision to wear gloves on both hands at midseason last year was a little strange.
Still, Warner grew to like it. It has shown too, since he has a 122.5 passing rating in the three appearances he has made since donning the gloves.
“Now it is more of a comfort thing,” said Warner, who completed 15-of-20 passes last week in Baltimore. “I don’t know if I am throwing the ball any better than I did before. It’s kind of the security of maybe having a little more grip on the ball than before. I don’t feel like I am throwing the ball any different. Maybe the spirals are a little tighter if you ask the receivers – I used to be known for my ducks – but other than that, I don’t notice that much of a difference.
“But now if I throw without them, it feels like something is missing.”
NO HELP
Cardinals reserve center Chukky Okobi was with the Steelers all the way up until the end of training camp before he was released. But despite the wave of teams that have signed released players in part to try and pump them for information, Okobi doesn’t see how it would help.
“Unless I know exactly what they are calling and when they are calling it, how does it help?” Okobi said. “I don’t know what (the Steelers) are going to do. You may be able to help as far as personnel or talking about different individuals but I don’t think there is anything I or anyone else here could tell that you didn’t see on tape already.”
EXTRA POINTS
While rookie defensive tackle Alan Branch has practiced since last week with a cast on his fractured hand and is healthy enough to play, Whisenhunt still has not decided if Branch will be made active for his first regular-season game. …
Two of the seven active Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks will be in Sunday's game: Warner and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger. The other five are New England's Tom Brady, Indianapolis' Peyton Manning, Green Bay's Brett Favre, San Francisco's Trent Dilfer (with Baltimore) and Dallas' Brad Johnson (with Tampa Bay).
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=1952
By DARREN URBAN
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Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin may miss Sunday's game because of a hip injury suffered against Baltimore last weekend.
Make no mistake, Anquan Boldin is mad.
He could chuckle about it a little Friday, after missing his third straight day of practice with a hip injury, but he acknowledged being sidelined – with a crucial home game Sunday against Pittsburgh – ticked him off.
Still, despite his 14-catch, 181-yard game last week, there is a good chance Boldin won’t play against the Steelers. Coach Ken Whisenhunt listed him as doubtful, the same as starting right tackle Levi Brown (ankle sprain).
Boldin tried to push himself physically a little Thursday which left him sore.
“I know this: He is a tough kid and I would never say for sure he wouldn’t go,” Whisenhunt said. “But it’s doubtful.”
An absent Boldin would be a blow to the Cardinals’ offense. Bryant Johnson would take Boldin’s spot if Boldin cannot play. Boldin will try his hip out pregame Sunday to see if he can go.
“You want to be smart about it,” Boldin said. “There are a lot more games in the season, so you don’t want to put yourself in jeopardy in the long run.”
The Steelers will definitely be without their best receiver. Hines Ward, who hurt his knee last weekend, was officially declared out Friday.
Brown will also make an attempt pregame to see if he can play for the Cardinals. If he can’t, Elton Brown will get the start at right tackle.
One piece of good injury news came at center, where Al Johnson has practiced the past two days and is expected to start after missing three games with a knee sprain.
“I am going to feel it a couple times in the game,” Johnson said. “But I’m going to ride her until the wheels fall off. It’ll be all right. I will feel it, but I will feel it in a couple weeks too.”
LEINART ON STAGE
One of the subplots Sunday will focus on quarterback Matt Leinart Sunday, given the use of both he and Kurt Warner last week by the Cardinals.
Whisenhunt said Leinart has had a good week of practice in preparation.
“The thing with Matt, he responds when people push him,” Whisenhunt said. “He certainly wants to answer what people have said about him and certainly he can do it.”
GLOVE STORY
It came about quietly, because Warner was on the bench at the time. But his decision to wear gloves on both hands at midseason last year was a little strange.
Still, Warner grew to like it. It has shown too, since he has a 122.5 passing rating in the three appearances he has made since donning the gloves.
“Now it is more of a comfort thing,” said Warner, who completed 15-of-20 passes last week in Baltimore. “I don’t know if I am throwing the ball any better than I did before. It’s kind of the security of maybe having a little more grip on the ball than before. I don’t feel like I am throwing the ball any different. Maybe the spirals are a little tighter if you ask the receivers – I used to be known for my ducks – but other than that, I don’t notice that much of a difference.
“But now if I throw without them, it feels like something is missing.”
NO HELP
Cardinals reserve center Chukky Okobi was with the Steelers all the way up until the end of training camp before he was released. But despite the wave of teams that have signed released players in part to try and pump them for information, Okobi doesn’t see how it would help.
“Unless I know exactly what they are calling and when they are calling it, how does it help?” Okobi said. “I don’t know what (the Steelers) are going to do. You may be able to help as far as personnel or talking about different individuals but I don’t think there is anything I or anyone else here could tell that you didn’t see on tape already.”
EXTRA POINTS
While rookie defensive tackle Alan Branch has practiced since last week with a cast on his fractured hand and is healthy enough to play, Whisenhunt still has not decided if Branch will be made active for his first regular-season game. …
Two of the seven active Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks will be in Sunday's game: Warner and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger. The other five are New England's Tom Brady, Indianapolis' Peyton Manning, Green Bay's Brett Favre, San Francisco's Trent Dilfer (with Baltimore) and Dallas' Brad Johnson (with Tampa Bay).
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=1952
