Training camp is coming. Perhaps in as few as 58 days.The Cardinals are still finalizing all their training camp plans at NAU in Flagstaff, but it looks like the team will revert to its pre-Dennis Green days and report on a Friday night with practices to begin on Saturday. That would mean players would report July 27. The preseason opener is in Oakland August 11.Green, for some reason, had the team report to camp Sunday night for a Monday morning start. That’s great if you are a reporter (or player) trying to get one last weekend at home, but it stunk for fans who could only see the team on the weekend since it wiped out the lone weekend the team was in Flagstaff. It also was strange because teams can begin practicing 15 days before their first preseason game, and what coach gives up two more days of possible practice?There is also some talk of extending camp past the second preseason game, but logistics — with an NAU campus trying to get the fall semester started — may be too hard to overcome. As for the long-awaited FieldTurf changeout in the Walkup Skydome, it hasn’t happened yet. That means the same nasty AstroTurf is in the dome, guaranteeing that coach Ken Whisenhunt won’t let his players do anything but a walkthrough should they be forced inside because of weather.

It’s been a rough week for the Cardinals during the voluntary organized team activities. They have heard, a few different times from a few different coaches, that they need to improve their focus. It may be that coach Ken Whisenhunt and his staff timed it out — this is the dog days of the summer work, with only a few practices left — or it could be they just feel the need to crack the whip because it got a little sloppy.The Cards installed the hurry-up two-minute offense and it was bumpy for the first-team offense. Interestingly, with Bryant Johnson gimpy with a bad hamstring, the two receivers in the four-wideout set besides Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald were Sean Morey and Micheal Spurlock. LeRon McCoy remains out of the mix — not a good sign considering rookie Steve Breaston has a good shot with his return skills.The Cards used J.J. Arrington out of the backfield instead of Edgerrin James too. I’ll have more on Arrington in tomorrow’s Tribune.On defense, cornerback Matt Ware has been seeing some time at safety. The more you can do, right? To finish up, Whisenhunt conducted another of his post-practice contests. This time, it was field goal kicking from about 22 yards away, offense versus defense. Boldin’s try bounced off the left upright. Most kicks ended up wide left, and the defense won when linebacker Darryl Blackstock and cornerback Eric Green made their kicks. Running back Marcel Shipp was the only offensive player to come through.The result? No sprints for the defense, a big plus after near two hours in the heat.

After Broncos coach Mike Shanahan used a lie detector test on receiver David Kircus — Kircus was trying to avoid being cut by Denver following a barfight — I had to ask Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt if he would do the same to a player.OK, so it was a tongue-in-cheek question. Smiling, Whisenhunt said "I have not used that method before."Chuckling, Whisenhunt added, "To be honest I had not thought about that. You guys (in the media) might want to give me a lie detector (at some point)."What got me about the whole situation was Shanahan’s perfectly serious answer when he was asked if Kircus’ passing of the test was enough of a reassurance to keep him around: "Anybody that wants to go in there and take a lie detector test where his career is based on whether it comes out positive or negative, I’ve got a good feeling."

While coach Ken Whisenhunt wanted to make sure both Mike Gandy and Oliver Ross could play left tackle and right tackle effectively, here’s one that comes as no surprise: Ross, who has been a right tackle his whole career, has settled in to the right side, while Gandy, who has always played on the left, is better on the left side.Whisenhunt will keep them there for now. What is means is that when and if rookie Levi Brown — who is only practicing on the right side — elevates to the starting lineup, Ross will be the one sent to the bench. That was predictable from the time when Gandy signed as a free agent and Brown was drafted, even though Whisenhunt has tried hard to keep all options open.As for Brown actually ascending to the first-string, it’s clear none of the rookies have a chance to jump up until training camp, because Whisenhunt has repeated numerous times he can’t get the total gauge on a player until he puts his pads on and starts hitting.That’s why there is still trepedation with the tight end depth, even after signing veteran Tim Euhus, because Whisenhunt still wants to see those players block.

There is a chance the Cardinals could be looking at cutting players next week, as the infamous June 1 date comes and goes. The Cards, who have 88 players on the roster, don’t need to do it for salary cap room. But if a player isn’t going to fit with what coach Ken Whisenhunt is going to do — and if he has a chance to catch on somewhere else — letting him go now would be the classiest thing to do.Figuring out who are potential targets would be pure speculation. There are positions that seemed to be logjammed, like nose tackle (where the Cards have draftee Alan Branch as well as Gabe Watson and Kendrick Clancy) and fullback (where the Cards signed a host of rookies, in addition to Terrelle Smith and the undersized Obafemi Ayanbadejo).Then again, the Cardinals may just trim the massive number of undrafted free agents on the roster, since getting guys reps right now is difficult.The team has organized team workouts through next Thursday. One way or another, the roster could change by then.

It’s official: The Cardinals signed veteran tight end Tim Euhus (pronounced YOU-us), cutting undrafted rookie wideout Evan Prall — the long longshot from East Stroudburg.It’ll be interesting to see where Euhus — who was with coach Ken Whisenhunt last season in Pittsburgh for about a month of the season — lines up tomorrow in the voluntary workouts. How high on the depth chart will he start?

For anyone interested in the details of the dogfighting scandal down in Atlanta — and how deep Falcons quarterback Michael Vick may be in trouble — SI.com has this solid story.Why anyone would be interested in this pasttime is beyond me, but obviously, there are those who like it. The question is how much Vick will be affected by it. And on a level much closer to home, will Vick be around when the Falcons visit University of Phoenix Stadium two days before Christmas?

The Cardinals are expected to sign a veteran tight end soon: Tim Euhus, who spent last season in Pittsburgh (playing one game) under new Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt. Euhus spent the first two years of his career in Buffalo, playing in 23 games there.Euhus, 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, only has 14 career catches. But Whisenhunt has been searching for depth at the position the entire offseason. In two-tight end sets, inexperienced free-agent Troy Bienemann has been in the lineup along with 2006 third-round pick Leonard Pope.Given Whisenhunt’s desire for a veteran at the position, Euhus’ arrival may not have anything to do with gimpy rookie tight end Ben Patrick, who has been unable to practice. But Patrick can’t be — and shouldn’t be — comfortable with the development.Once Euhus signs, the Cardinals will have to cut a player as well, since their roster is at a maxed-out 88 players (83 allowed, plus five unsigned draftees). Some undrafted player is about to have his dream end.

As expected, running back Edgerrin James returned to voluntary organized team activities today as the Cards commenced their third week of OTAs. The team has workouts scheduled every morning through Friday, and then again next week from Monday through Thursday. The on-field work will then be over until training camp (practice for camp begins the morning of July 30).The running backs got a double boost of help, with undrafted rookie Steve Baylark finally getting a chance to get on the field after his semester at UMass went long. Receiver Bryant Johnson (hamstring) returned to workouts, but rookie tight end Ben Patrick (hamstring) still is off to the side. There is a chance Patrick is going to miss what will total 19 possible practices with the veterans by the end of next week. It can’t help.Overall, not the Cards’ best showing at practice. It could have been because of four days off or the increasing heat, but the team — especially on offense — was not nearly as sharp as it has been. There were too many dropped passes, some missed assignments, and a couple of coaches made sure the players knew they better raise their game.

NFL commissoner Roger Goodell has been doing more than just cracking down on problem players or trying to find ways to play more regular-season games out of the country. He also made it a priority — which was nice for those in my business — to revamp the media access policies.

Now — with the weight of the NFL behind the rules to enforce them — asssistant coaches from every team must be made available for interviews. No more Bill Belichick saying his assistants can’t talk (although to be honest, I will believe that when I hear it happened from my Boston writer friends). Players must talk after games and once a week (call it the Brett Favre rule, after Favre talked only once every two weeks last season, and frequently skipped games).

Again, we’ll see how these rules play out. But Goodell’s interest in fixing some of the problems was encouraging.

Covering the Cardinals, access has never been a problem. Many of my beat writer brethren around the league are jealous how the Cards operate on that level. While the were some steps backward when Dennis Green was coach, we could still talk to assistants. Ken Whisenhunt is planning on opening practice again for the media as every Cardinal coach had done before Green, and Whisenhunt’s personality calls to mind that of former coach Dave McGinnis.

As for players, thankfully the Cards have rarely had any jerks in the locker room, and I am going into my eighth season. There are times a guy won’t want to talk for one reason or another, but never as a permanent trait.