Ben Patrick made a diving, sliding catch in the end zone to highlight Wednesday morning’s practice.
Patrick started to come on at the end of last season. If he can develop and Leonard Pope can continue to blossom, then the Cardinals’ tight end position should come out of its nearly 20-year dormant status.
 They really haven’t had an outstanding tight end since Jay Novacek, shortly after they moved to Arizona. Inexplicably, they gave him away. They’ve tried various combinations that have had little impact ever since.
 Also, it was nice to see the Cardinals give local player Brent Miller a shot at tight end. He didn’t make a whole lot of catches at ASU but some of them were huge.
 How many people remember his game-winner in overtime at Washington two years ago?
 ….
Matt Leinart says he was clueless? Yes, it’s true.
At his noon news conference, Leinart had this to say about his attempts to master Ken Whisenhunt’s offense last year:
“I know at this point last year, I had no clue. A little bit, but really had no clue what was going on.
“This year, I feel like I do. I have a command of the offense.”

…

At first center Al Johnson was supposed to take off one practice to rest a sore knee that was repaired in the off-season. Then he kept missing practices. Now, he’s heading back to Phoenix to have it checked out.

The offensive line is probaby the team’s one area where depth is considered an issue

The rookie “showed up” as coach Ken Whisenhunt likes to say.Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie’s two interceptions at Tuesday afternoon’s practice was something fans hope will be a regular happening once the season starts.Too often, Cardinal cornerbacks are in position to make plays but don’t make the most of the situations.The rookie has a history of being able to make them.He can run and leap; he was a track star in college.So he can close in and get in position. If he can also catch the ball, so much the better.He also has a history of using his leaping ability to block kicks. But first things first. If he can intercept passes, the Cardinals have a new weapon…On Tuesday morning Whisenhunt called the early training-camp practices among the best he’s ever seen.“Our practices have been the best group of practices, from the standpoint of focus and intensity that I’ve been around.”

I’d hate to be a receiver trying to hook on with the Cardinals. To say the odds are stacked against you would be like saying you can look for rain in Flagstaff in the afternoon.First, you’ve got the stars: Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Then you’ve got Steve Breaston, the hit of the off-season.Breaston is a lock to make the team as a kick returner and seems poised to take a run at the No. 3 receiver spot.So there are three spots right there. Then you’ve got Early Doucet, the Round 3 draft pick. Unless he’s a complete bust – and there’s no reason to think he will be – he’s got the fourth spot.Then you’ve got a host of players battling for the No. 5 receiver spot. It’s always possible the Cardinals could keep six receivers, but the sixth man might not dress for games.Among the contenders are Ahmad Merritt, who was out injured last season, Jerheme Urban, who filled in at times last year, third-year player Jamaica Rector and the rookie Lance Long.Then there’s Sean Morey, who may have an edge because of his special-teams play.Again, the odds are long.

 Adrian Wilson created the most “oohs” and ”ahhs” at Saturday afternoon’s practice (indoors at the Skydome).That’s when he put a huge hit on running back J.J. Arrington.So it seems Wilson, who went down last season with a heel injury, is back.The Cardinals need Wilson to put down those hits, with one caveat: He needs to play aggressively without picking up penalties.When he does, that’s when Wilson will have arrived as a superstar.The shot on Arrington was clean, the kind of hit the Cardinals need when the season starts.

Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie is a guy you want to see succeed.

He is gracious, polite and thankful for his status as a Round 1 pick in the NFL draft.

He has one kidney, was barely recruited to play college football, landed at a small program, where he was little noticed by the pros until his last year or so.

He can run and leap, though, which makes him suited to play cornerback and special teams (where he blocked eight kicks in college).

But I wonder.

There will be skeptics who wonder about his sprinter’s frame — he’s 6-foot-2, 182 pounds – and whether he can put on the necessary bulk and strength to hold up in the NFL.

As a first-round pick, he needs to become a solid starter – at least! – to be considered a sound draft pick.

Remember, the Cardinals also had a crying need for a running back. And this draft was loaded with them.

In any case, you gotta hope his kid makes it.

The Cardinals’ season is off and running.

The first practice of training camp on Friday morning got a two-thumbs up review from coach Ken Whisenhunt, who noticed the difference from the off-season workouts.

“There was a different energy out there today. It was exciting. It was more of a purposeful practice.

“We have a lot of guys who sense we have a chance to be pretty good.”

Among the big plays: an Eric Green interception of a Matt Leinart pass.

In more general terms, Whisenhunt thinks the Cardinals are a more confident group than the team that started training camp in the coach’s rookie year.

“There’s always optimism coming into training camp. The first practice, everybody is excited and wants to show what they can do.”

That said, “I believe there is a little bit more of a confidence with our team, a belief we can do it.”

The era where training camp meant players beating the hell out of each other twice a day every day is over, coach Ken Whisenhunt suggested as camp opened in Flagstaff.

Sure hitting is always going be a part of it. Coaches want to test young players and work on techniques with others.

“But you have to be smart about it,” he says.

Now that rosters are limited to 80 players – no more exemptions for players who came in from the World League – and with a salary cap, teams must more than in the past to avoid injuries.

“The days of having two practices in pads, beating heads every day for four weeks, I think are gone,” Whisenhunt says.

“If you have a big injury in training camp, it really is a blow to the team.

We still want to be a physical team. That requires some hitting at training camp…” But, “We’re going to be as smart as we can.”

The start of training camp means the start of a five-and-a-half month grind.

And not just for the players!

We in the media work – or are on call – pretty much every day during this time.

Still, to hear the old-timers tell it (we’re not mentioning names, but one answers to “Bordow”) those of us who follow the Cardinals now have it easy.

Back in the day, reporters had to huddle by a phone during training camp to figure out which of the Cardinals’ rookies would remain unsigned and which would report.

Nowadays, the Cardinals are pretty much like every other team.

They know how much they can spend on their draft picks and they go ahead and spend it.

Seems logical both now and in retrospect.