Flagstaff is known as one of the crown jewels of NFL training camps. And for good reason. Newcomers to training camp are taken back by the stunning beauty of the area. Flagstaff offers a tangible benefit for teams, too. The 7,000-foot elevation puts the fear of God into players in the off-season to report in top shape, or else they

Cardinals

This will be my final blog entry for the Tribune as training camp arrives tomorrow. Thanks again for reading the Bird Watching blog, and the plan is for someone to take over sooner rather than later.

As for the Cardinals, 2007 will be an interesting year. GM (yes, he officially has that title now) Rod Graves said he wasn’t sure Levi Brown will get signed by Friday night, but I think Brown will be in sooner rather than later.

As for the season, my prediction is that the Cardinals go 8-8 this season, a three-game improvement. I don’t think they will be playoff-ready yet, but it will be a solid start in Ken Whisenhunt’s first year.

See you on the other side.

Well, obviously Alan Branch is under contract now, which means the Cardinals have taken care of almost all their business with players driving up to Flagstaff in about 24 hours.The good news for the Cards is that, with No. 5 overall pick Levi Brown unsigned, the Buccaneers came to terms with No. 4 overall selection Gaines Adams this morning. That gives the Cards and Brown agent Joel Segal some solid parameters from which to work and a whole day (and really, two days given Friday is just about a night meeting for players) to work out a deal. ESPN.com is reporting Adams’ six-year deal is worth $46 million with $18.5 million guaranteed.With 2006 No. 5 overall pick A.J. Hawk getting about $15 million in guarantees, it was long expected Brown would be in the $16 million to $17 million range. The Adams deal seems to underscore that presumption.

There is nothing done yet but it is now clear that, barring a major upset, the Cardinals will have defensive tackle Alan Branch, their second-round pick, under contract before training camp arrives Friday.That would leave just No. 1 pick Levi Brown. And while conventional wisdom says Brown will miss at least some camp, there is still a little time left to try to get their future left tackle in the fold.

Just ran into Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson at the Cards’ complex and man, is he big. Wilson was always worked out hard and had a good physique, but he is bigger than ever before.When I asked him about it, he just gave a small smile and said, "Hey, I’m not joking around."Wilson even cut way short a vacation to some island beach somewhere this offseason because he was so anxious to return to work and preparing for the season. The way he looks now, defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast could use Wilson at linebacker. Wilson has been around the complex constantly this offseason. Reaching the Pro Bowl seems to have only motivated him more.

A lot has been made, and rightfully so, about the money the Cardinals sunk into the new weight room at the team’s Tempe facility. But the team is also upgrading parts of the rest of the facility, installing new carpet in the team’s locker room and main auditorium while tearing out the old media workroom to provide for a bigger (and frankly, more professional) press conference area than the team has had in the past.It was probably long overdue. When Emmitt Smith arrived for his free-agent visit in 2003 and talked with the media, he was brought into the current room, which can be best described as tiny. With the amount of media on hand because of Emmitt, it was crowded.Emmitt walked in and as he climbed up on the small stage, he glanced around and to no one in particular, said "Is this a closet?"

It’s certainly not a secret anymore — not with press releases and everything — but I am moving on to another job at the end of the week as the Cardinals head to camp. Obviously I will still be covering the Cardinals. I appreciate those of you who have been reading this blog (I will still be blogging through Thursday, so don’t forget me yet) and I appreciate those of you who have complimented my work. I hope I won’t lose my readers after the move, but I also hope everyone gives my replacement — Mike Tulumello, who covered the Suns for the Trib for many, many years — a chance.I also hope that, for everybody’s sake, we all transition into the beginning of training camp this weekend with no unsigned rookies. Still nothing to report on Levi Brown or Alan Branch (their agents didn’t return phone messages Monday) but there are still a few days left.

I have said it many times — including in part of my Sunday package today about the Cardinals heading into training camp — but it’s interesting how the team has tried to, while not lower expecations, at least temper enthusiasm that eventually helped make the last couple of seasons so rotten. Camp, as usual, has a bunch of interesting questions that need to be sorted out (the top ones I addressed today in this story). But the best part about the opening of training camp — players report Friday, with conditioning Saturday and practice Sunday — is that optimism, at least in some form, reigns. It should in late July. Reality will hit soon enough.

As I sat and typed in the Cardinals’ training camp schedule for my package coming out in Sunday’s paper, it struck me how different coach Ken Whisenhunt’s practice breakdown was from Cards’ teams in the past.There are a lot of days with just one workout, not even a special teams workout (which was a favorite "second" practice by Dennis Green"). The Cardinals have 21 practice days; 14 of them have just one workout (including the day before a game walk-thru). And most of those will happen late in the afternoon, starting at 3 p.m.In case you are wondering specifics, you can find the full schedule here, after the jump.2007 CARDINALS TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULETeam reports night of 7/27Conditioning trials on 7/28All practices at fields just east of Walkup Skydome; workouts move indoors if it rainsTimes are subject to change. An update schedule can be found at azcardinals.com.The "Red and White practice" on Aug. 4 will be preceded by a full-team autograph session. Fans can also attempt to get autographs after each workout as players come off the field.PRACTICE SCHEDULE7/29 1-3:05 p.m.7/30 9:05-10:30 a.m.3:05-5:05 p.m.7/31 3:05-5:05 p.m.8/1 9:05-10:35 a.m.7:05-9 p.m. at Lumberjack Stadium8/2 3:05-5:05 p.m.8/3 9:05-10:30 a.m.3:05-5:05 p.m.8/4 11:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m. "Red and White practice"8/5 OFF8/6 9:05-10:40 a.m. 3:05-5:05 p.m.8/7 3:05-4:55 p.m.8/8 9:05-10:30 a.m.7:05-9:10 p.m. at Lumberjack Stadium8/9 3:05-4:55 p.m.8/10 9-10:10 a.m. (Walk-thru)8/11 Preaseason game: Cardinals at Oakland, 7 p.m.8/12 OFF8/13 3:05-5:05 p.m.8/14 3:05-5:15 p.m.8/15 9:05-10:35 a.m.3:05-5 p.m.8/16 3:05-4:55 p.m.8/17 9-10 a.m. (Walk-Thru)8/18 Preaseason game: Houston at Cardinals, 1 p.m.8/19 OFF8/20 3:05-5 p.m.8/21 3:05-5:05 p.m.8/22 9:05-10:35 a.m.3:05-5 p.m.8/23 9:05-10:35 a.m. (Walk-thru)CAMP ENDS