Larry Fitzgerald is listed as questionable Sunday vs. Cleveland with a sore groin.
Fitzgerald did a little more in practice Friday than earlier in the week, and, “He’s definitely feeling better,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said.
Whisenhunt said Fitzgerald will work out Sunday morning before the game, then a determination on his status will be made.
Fitzgerald said earlier in the week that he would be OK to play Sunday. On Friday, he said little except that, “It feels better.”…
As usual, this is a tough game to pick.
Except for last week, the Cards have played well at home. One aspect of the game I’ll be curious about will be the fans. Will they start to turn ambivalent about the Cardinals or will they stick with them?
 I think the Cardinals are resilient enough that they’ll play well.
 But the Browns are a team on the rise. They’ve got an excellent passing game, and the Cards’ secondary is depleted.
 Browns 27, Cardinals 24

The Cardinals have signed Mitch Berger as their new punter.

Berger is 13-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowl punter. He has a career average of 43.7 yards per kick with 227 punts inside the 20-yard line in 159 career games.

He spent last year on injured reserve with
New Orleans.

He replaces Mike Barr.

Barr wasn’t the greatest punter in the world, but I liked the way he took responsibility for what happened in the Sunday debacle vs. the 49ers.

While others were scattering and hiding from reporters, including kicker Neil Rackers, Barr owned up to the delay of game penalty on what would have been Rackers’ 27-yard field goal to win the game.

Barr, as the holder, calls the signals on place kicks.

“I didn’t see the clock,” said Barr. “I should have had (the kick) off…It’s my fault.” 

 On the next kick, of course, Rackers missed a 32-yard field goal and the Cardinals ended up suffering what could be a season-ruining loss.

It’s official: Adrian Wilson is out for the season.
The safety will have surgery on his ailing right heel. He hasn’t played since just after halftime of the win over Detroit on Nov. 11.
He will be replaced by Aaron Francisco, if Francisco can himself recover from a sore calf, or a combination of Oliver Celestin and Matt Ware.

Adrian Wilson sounds worried about whether he’ll play any more this season.
Though his injured heel is “feeling a lot better,” this translates merely into being able to walk without a boot.
He’s going to need to do more than that to play safety in the NFL.
Wilson, asked when he might be able to play, says he’s taking things “one day at a time.”
 “I just can’t run. That’s where I make my money.”
Wilson has indicated he’s dealt with the problem, on the outside of his right heel, for years but that it’s gotten worse over time.
“It’s gotten to the point now where I can barely even do anything on it…. I still can’t push off or even have the confidence to even try to push off on it.
“It’s pretty frustrating.”

A fly on a wall in the Cardinals’ locker room Sunday, after their spectacular 37-31 loss to the 49ers, no doubt would have felt its ears burning.

Even after reporters started filing in, the tension was evident. “I got nothing (to say), dude,” kicker Neil Rackers said. He had just missed what would have been a 32-yard field goal in overtime. Then he beat a hasty retreat from the locker room before other reporters arrived.

 Punter Mike Barr at least faced the music.

Barr, who had a tough day punting, also is the holder on place kicks. He took the blame for a delay-of-game penalty that wiped out what should have been the 27-yard game-winning field goal in overtime.

“I didn’t see the clock,” said Barr, who called the signals for the snap. “I should have had (the kick) off…It’s my fault.” Rackers’ 32-yarder then sailed just left.

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley tried to get his players to think ahead. “WE’RE NOT OUT OF IT YET!” he screamed. “A lot of teams are. You decide.”

Sean Morey, who made a 62-yard catch-and-run play that set up Rackers’ field-goal tries, talking calmly of the team’s need to stick together. “We got to stay close and move on. It’s not over.”

 For today’s 49ers’ game, Adrian Wilson once again is inactive. He has a sore right leg that he says has bothered him for years. He now will have missed nearly the past two-and-a-half games.

 Also inactive is fellow safety Aaron Francisco, who has knee and calf problems.

 Other inactives are defensive end Ross Kolodziej, plus guard-tackle Elton Brown, fullback Tim Castille, tight end Tim Euhus, receiver Jerheme Urban and Tim Hasselbeck (the emergency quarterback).

 For the 49ers, quarterback Alex Smith (who has shoulder and forearm problems) is inactive. So is starting defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin.

 Trent Dilfer will play quarterback for the 49ers.

 Among the other 49er inactives is ex-Cardinal LaRon McCoy.

 Antonio Smith told me that Cardinal coaches informed him the league has admitted the personal foul called on him last Sunday was a mistake.

 That’s sad for Antrel Rolle, who would have been the first player in history to have returned three interceptions for touchdowns in the same game if not for the call on Smith.

 Smith blocked quarterback Carson Palmer on the interception return. The rules prohibit hits on quarterbacks after such changes of possession unless the quarterback tries to play defense.

 That’s what the Cardinals believe happened.

“They agreed it should have been a no-call,” Smith said.

 Smith wasn’t fined on the play, which is normally the case if the call is correct.

 Smith said he regrets Rolle can’t get the touchdown back.

 “I do feel bad. He had a chance to break a record. To have it taken away is bad.” Rolle, though, took the news in stride. “That’s last week,” he said. “I’ve gone past that point already.“I’ve never been too fond of accolades anyway.

“If I get it, I get it. If I don’t, we live to play another day.”…    

 Adrian Wilson seems likely to miss his second straight game with a heel injury. He is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game with a heel injury.

 Also doubtful with a heel problem is backup receiver Jerheme Urban. Backup safety Aaron Francisco, who has knee and calf problems, also is doubtful.

 Backup defensive end Ross Kolodziej is out with a quadriceps injury…

 The prediction ability is fading, but here we go again: Cardinals 24, 49ers 7.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 Eric Green is looking forward to Sunday’s game, big time.

 Green was the guy who had a chance to wrap up a win in the closing minute on Opening Night in
San Francisco.

 The Cardinals were trying to protect a 17-13 lead, and the Niners were driving.

 Green found himself standing over a fumbled football in the end zone. He tried to pick it up but failed. The Niners recovered, got the ball at the 1-yard line and scored for the win.

 At the time, Green bemoaned the notion that he didn’t simply bat the ball over the end line to preserve the Cardinals’ win.

 If he had done so, “Game over. We’re 1-0. But there’s nothing I can do about it now.”  

 As it turned out, this would have been a penalty in the final two minutes of a game. Had he done so, the 49ers would have gotten the ball back, half the distance to the goal from the spot of the fumble.

 That he couldn’t have batted the ball over the end line for the win “doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“I should have fallen on the ball. But that game’s behind me. I’m hoping I’ll be the reason we win.”…

 Adrian Wilson told me he was fined $10,000 for a horse-collar tackle of running back Kevin Jones in the Cards’ win over the Lions on Nov. 11…

Wilson still isn’t practicing. He sat out Thursday with a sore heel. He says his whole right leg is sore, and the problem has lingered for years.

 “I just hope it gets better.

 “I can’t tell you what it is. I don’t know.”

Ten games into the season, the Cardinals are playoff contenders.

With four out of six games left at home, the Cardinals could equal their best season in
Arizona simply by playing to form. If they win their home games and lose the pair on the road, they would finish with a 9-7 mark.

 And this would equal their best-ever record in 20 seasons in
Arizona, recorded in their lone playoff season of 1998.

 A 9-7 record doesn’t seem likely to make the playoffs this season, but you never know.

The Cardinals showed something in
Cincinnati on Sunday.

I was skeptical, having seen them play anywhere from mediocre to poor on the road this season. That’s why I picked them – incorrectly as it turned out – to fall narrowly to the Bengals’ Sunday.

 But, after their typical shaky start, they showed a high-powered offense in the first half, then a smart defense after intermission in a 35-27 win.

 Winning their second game in a row and their second road win of the season, all in one win, means the Cardinals are 5-5 for the first time since 1998.

 And that was the last year the Cardinals were in the playoffs.

 Coach Ken Whisenhunt was especially pleased the Cardinals were able to turn things around early in the game, after spotting the Bengals a 7-0 lead.

 “We start off with a horrible series to start the game, then not a great punt, they go down and score a touchdown.

“To come back and respond…To me, that’s progress.

“We’ve been a team that can come back in the second half. To do that in the first half and take the lead, that’s a big sign of our guys believing in each other.”

 Some notes:

– Karlos Dansby, who had an interception, came out in the second half with a left shoulder injury. He returned for the Cardinals’ last defensive series.

 With rest and treatment, Dansby said he should be able to go this week.

 – Safety Adrian Wilson, who has a sore calf and heel, sat out Sunday’s game.

 In his place, Oliver Celestine made his first NFL start.

 
Wilson said, “I hope I’ll be ready to go this week.”

 — On the plus side, cornerback Eric Green, who suffered an ankle injury in practice Thursday and was hobbling on crutches afterward, recovered quickly and started.

 “Two days, ago, I thought I’d out for about three weeks,” Green said.

 Green managed to play an entire game where the Cards usually employed three cornerbacks (Antrel Rolle and Rod Hood were the others).

 – Backup defensive end Ross Kolodjiez came out with a quad injury and did not return.

 – Also out was backup safety Aaron Francisco, who has a sore knee. He has said he expects to return next Sunday.