Wouldn’t be shocked if the Cardinals’ final road game, at New England, were moved to Sunday night…

The Eagles Asante Samuel, Correll Buckhalter and Brian Westbrook all sat out Tuesday’s practice with injures, as did Clark Haggans and Rod Hood of the Cardinals. Hood is an ex-Eagle and — even with his sore ribs — he’s not missing contact as the Cardinals are practicing light in this short week. So it wouldn’t be surprising if he played in a backup role (probably more than one play, as was the case last week)…

The Cardinals need to get more out of their ever-evolving tight end situation, where the players seem to change every week. Coach Ken Whisenhunt joked that he’ll “flip a coin” to determine which of the four will play this week. But seriously, what happened to Leonard Pope and last year’s draft pick Ben Patrick?

The Cardinals should be able to wrap up the division this weekend…even if they lose Thanksgiving night at Philadelphia.
They’ll clinch the NFC West if the Seahawks lose earlier in the day at the Cowboys and if the 49ers lose at the Bills on Sunday.
Of course, they can take care of matters themselves with a win over the free-falling Eagles…
The Cardinals once again came out of a game fairly healthy.
Kurt Warner took more shots than usual, but he’s OK. And Adrian Wilson’s shoulder problem appears to be minor.
They did lose Matt Ware, the backup safety and special teams player, to a facial fracture. He’ll be out at least for the Eagles’ game.
They’ll have to wait and see on linebacker Clark Haggans, who missed Sunday with a foot injury. Same goes for cornerback Rod Hood, who played only one down on Sunday because of sore ribs and missed practice time.

Brandon Jacobs, the Giants’ star running back who has been struggling with a sore knee, is out of today’s big game.

Also inactive for the Giants are kicker Lawrence Tynes, safety Sammy Knight, cornerback Sam Madison, linebacker Gerris Wilkinson, Tacke Adame Koets, receiver Mario Manningham and defensive end Jerome McDougle.

For the Cardinals, in the team’s ever-changing tight end situation, normal starter Leonard Pope is out, as is Jermame Tuman. Stephen Spach, a recent acquisition, is now starting, with Ben Patrick (who was inactive last week) the backup.

Also inactive are third quarterback Brian St. Pierre, linebacker Clark Haggans (who has a foot injury), tackles Brandon Keith and Elliot Vallejo, defensive tackle Alan Branch (what else is new?) and receiver Early Doucet.

Eric Green will start for Rod Hood (who has sore ribs and who missed practice last week to attend a funeral) and Bertrand Berry wil start for defensive end/linebacker Travis LaBoy.

It will be interesting to see if Hood can play and contribute in reserve. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will start at the other corner; he appears to own a starting job no matter who els is available.

Cornerback Rod Hood, who has had two issues this week, probably won’t start, coach Ken Whisenhunt said at his final media availability before Sunday’s game with the Giants.

Hood has had sore ribs and has missed practice this week to attend a funeral. Normally, the lack of practice time would mean Hood would be out. But because he’s an experienced player, Whisenhunt held out hope he might be able to play if not start.

The Cardinals’ cornerback position, which at times has been a concern (or even a liability) in the past, has been bolstered by apparent return to health of Eric Green and the stellar play of rookie (and now starter) Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and reserve Ralph Brown.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt has a strong “team-first” reaction to Edgerrin James’ request to be released.
“That was something that was brought up a couple weeks ago. It’s the same answer we’ve said all along. We’re interested in doing what’s best for this team and what puts us in the best position to win. That’s what we’ve been consistent with.
“There are a lot of guys on this team who have worked hard to get us in the position that we’re in. We’re excited about where we are. We’ve got a chance to do something that hasn’t been done around here in a long time. Over the course of the next six weeks and into the playoffs it’s going to take a commitment from every one of these guys. We’re focused on that right now.
“Edgerrin I’m sure is unhappy. I understand that.
“But that happens a lot in the NFL. That happens a lot in life. The mark of being a professional is continuing to work. We expect Edgerrin to be a professional.
“I think that’s only reasonable based on the significant …financial obligation that we’ve made to Edgerrin. I expect him to be professional. That’s what he’s been.”
James would only say, “I’m practicing, working and doing what I’m supposed to do.”

The Cardinals are getting reporters from the New York Times and other national outlets descending on them these days as they prepare to play the defending champion Giants Sunday.

It makes me think that if they can win, or beat the Eagles on Thanksgiving night, Kurt Warner might really be the favorite for the MVP.

You know Warner is big when Barack Obama and John McCain are found to be discussing his exploits during their post election-meeting.

…Eric Green was able to practice on Wednesday, which takes some of the pressure off the cornerback situation. Rod Hood is still nursing sore ribs. But with the rising Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie now starting and with Ralph Brown coming off his best game in two years with the Cardinals, cornerback is no longer such a worry point.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt, obviously concerned about the possibility that safety Adrian Wilson could face NFL discipline for his hit on Matt Hasselbeck Sunday, lobbied hard for Wilson at this morning’s news conference.

Whisenhunt argued that the hit looked like it was worse than it was because Hasselbeck ducked down into the hit. He said Wilson didn’t lead with his head and that he didn’t land on him (as was the case in the Buffalo) game…

The Cardinals are awaiting word on Rod Hood’s rib injury. He was expected to undergo a CT scan today.

Losing both Hood and Wilson from the secondary would not be good with the champion Giants coming to town Sunday.

The skies are mostly clear and the forecast calls for temperatures in the low 50s today in Seattle. That’s about as good as you can expect for this time of year and a far cry from last year, when the Cardinals and Seahawks played in the high 30s…

…The Cardinals have made their decision on who to play at tight end, and it’s a bit of a surprise: Stephen Spach, a recent acquisition, joins Leonard Pope at the spot.  Inactive are Ben Patrick and Jerame Tuman. Other inactive players are tackles Elliot Vallejo and Brandon Keith, defensive tackle Alan Branch, receiver Early Doucet and defensive end Kenny Iwebema. Brian St. Pierre is the third quarterback.

For the Seahawks, star defensive end Patrick Kerney is inactive. He’s out with a shoulder injury. Matt Hasslebeck is back at quarterback

The Cardinals’ injury reports haven’t had much to say this season. And that’s obviously been a huge plus for them.

Whether it’s outstanding conditioning or more great luck, they’ve been healthy this season. Only the scary head injury suffered by Anquan Boldin has been significant.

This week, cornerback Eric Green is questionable with a sore knee. But he was able to practice on Friday. It will be interesting to see if he keeps his starting job if he’s healthy or if they go with rookie Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, as they did last week with Green out.

Another point of interest will be which tight ends will play, and how involved they will be with the offense, now that they have –for the first time — four of them healthy and able to play.

The sight of the Cardinals taking the field Sunday in Seattle and the favorite (by three points) and the near-certain NFC West division champs will be one to behold.
The Cardinals have had good results against the Seahawks at home, but not in Seattle in recent years. Moreover, some of the Cardinals have the feeling that the Seahawks ran up the score (42-21) last year, so the inverted status of the teams is a tremendous feeling.
With a 4-game lead, Sunday’s game really isn’t crucial. But the Cardinals can show that the “changing of the guard” theme is for real.