You read it, there’s dissension within the Cardinals camp.

Quarterbacks Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson know something about the issue more than anyone else in Arizona, especially after last Thursday, when Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt announced that Anderson was replacing Leinart as the starter in Saturday’s preseason game against the Bears in Chicago.

“I don’t think we’ve performed the way we’ve needed to perform on offense in the preseason,” Whisenhunt said after practice at Vanderbilt University. “And we’re just looking at different players at different spots, trying to find a little groove. It’s a great opportunity to look at combinations of different personnel.”

Whisenhunt insisted that Saturday’s game is not a “dress rehearsal” for the 2010 NFL football season, even though his players will be dressed and rehearsing. But the competition at quarterback has obviously tightened, and Whisenhunt is curious about how both players will react in different roles.

Matt Leinart declined any comment until Friday after Whisenhunt announced the decision. Derek Anderson chose not to say much. “I think the last couple weeks have been good, and I just want to keep building on that,” he said.

There are other changes in the starting lineup. Greg Toler will replace Trumaine McBride at left cornerback. Rookie Daryl Washington will start at inside linebacker for Pago Togafau, and other reserves, such as guard Deuce Lutui, could get some time with the starting units.

But those are honky-tonk acts compared with the…

Chemistry, perhaps that’s the key to winning a Super Bowl.

Or is it defense? A hot shot quarterback with reliable receivers? The wildcat? Those are just some of the questions NFL teams are trying to answer as they prepare for the 2010 NFL football season in a few months.

That’s probably why some of these teams are signing names here and there to get that perfect combination they are hoping will win them the Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals, for instance, have scheduled a visit with Chargers quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, a restricted free agent, as they explore adding depth as well as potential competition for Matt Leinart for that QB spot.

If the Cardinals sign Whitehurst and the Chargers decline to match the offer, Arizona would owe San Diego a third-round draft pick, which is the qualifying contract tender that was used on the quarterback, who was a third-round choice in 2006. That tender is worth $1,176,000 for the 2010 season.

The Cardinals have two third-round draft choices next month, having acquired Baltimore’s third- and fourth-round picks in a deal that sent wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the Ravens.

Leinart is the only quarterback currently under contract on the Cardinals’ roster.

On the other hand, New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has agreed to re-sign reserve defensive back Leigh Torrence to a one-year contract.

Torrence has been with the Saints since being claimed off waivers in…

This week, we’ll go across the border, in Canada.

Because Week 13 of the 2009 NFL football season will kick off in Toronto where the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills will renew their AFC East rivalry on Thursday Night Football.

That’s right, the Buffalo Bills, trying to reach out to fans across Lake Ontario, is scheduled to play a total of five contests in Toronto, one per season through 2012. Unfortunately, the experiment did not begin well last year, with many in attendance supporting the opposing team in the Bills’ 16-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins on December 7.

On the verge of four straight losing seasons with a 3-7 mark, the Bills gave their home fans reason to smile with a 31-14 win over Miami last Sunday.

After averaging 12.3 points in the previous eight games, Buffalo broke out with 24 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, including a 51-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Terrell Owens, the second time the duo hooked up for a lengthy score in the last two weeks.

As far as the New York Jets are concerned, rookie Mark Sanchez will look to bounce back on Thursday as he has continued to struggle, tossing only two touchdowns against seven interceptions in the last three games. Sanchez was 13 of 17 for 154 yards and just one interception Sunday, enabling the defense to carry the Jets to a 17-6 victory over Carolina to snap a three-game losing streak.

Will that be enough to beat the Bills? We’re giving…

Do not bet on it.

Now going into his fourth campaign in the NFL as a member of the Arizona Cardinals in the coming 2009 NFL football season, quarterback Matt Leinart has found himself no closer to the starting spot than he did on that fateful April 2006 day when the Cardinals took the best remaining player in the draft at number 10.

He had the starting spot for five games in 2007 before he got injured. The Arizona Cardinals eventually named Leinart the starter before the 2008 training camp got started, only to lose it to Kurt Warner halfway through camp.

The only way Matt Leinart could see himself starting is probably with another team, even if Warner gets hurt this season or next. That’s because Brian St. Pierre, the Cardinals’ third string quarterback, doesn’t expect to roll over and accept the third string job once again in 2009.

Brian St. Pierre knows the system. He played in coach Ken Whisenhunt’s system as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers a few seasons back. St. Pierre playing impressively during the 2008 preseason ain’t helping Leinart’s chances as well.

Leinart still playing backup to Kurt Warner and on the verge of losing it to St. Pierre certainly doesn’t mean Leinart isn’t trying to win the starting job. It just so happened that he has been a victim of circumstance.

After he was injured in St. Louis in 2007…

We all know the kind of Cinderella run the Cardinals had last year. But will 2009 be the same?

That is the question Arizona Cardinals fans are probably asking themselves with only a few months left before the new 2009 NFL football season kicks off. In a conference dominated by the best division in football, that being the NFC East, the Cardinals came out of the NFC West, arguably one of the worst divisions in pro sports, to come close to winning the biggest prize in pro sports. Go figure.

The Arizona Cardinals, thanks to a rejuvenated Kurt Warner, had probably the best passing game in the NFL last season. Despite that, they couldn’t go past the defense of the Steel Curtain as they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, failing to win what would’ve been the Super Bowl title that could vindicate their franchise.

That’s why the Arizona Cardinals have decided to make some changes, hoping that they can improve where the left off last year.

For starters, the Cardinals now have a new one-two punch in the running game. RBs Beanie Wells and Jason Wright will make a much better running duo than Tim Hightower, who will handle goal line duty, and the departed Edgerin James.

Kurt Warner and backup Matt Leinart will return, giving them good depth at the quarterback position. LB Cody Brown and S Rashad Johnson are great draft picks that should help them establish a young, strong defense for many years.

The Cardinals are almost certain to be better than last year’s version that nearly won the Super Bowl. The only problem they might have this season is Kurt Warner who is 39 years old since the list of QBs who have been successful at that age are limited to no one. Thankfully, Warner has Larry Fitzgerald to keep the passing game interesting, and their opponents, guessing.

Another deep playoff run might require Matt Leinart to…

The Road to Super Bowl XLIV Begins

The 2009-10 NFL Football Season is here,

marking the fiftieth season of the Original Eight charter members of the American Football League, whose owners became collectively known as “The Foolish Club.” The fifth league to use the AFL moniker (previous leagues in 1926, 1934, 1936-37, and 1940-41, all [...]

This’ll probably make any Jets center think twice before bending over in front of the former USC quarterback.

While we continue to count the days until the brand new 2009 NFL football season gets here, we got some reports that claim that the former USC quarterback the Jets drafted a few weeks ago loves it doggy style. Yep, THAT and a tattoo that reads ”SANCHEZ” on, get this, at the back of his lower lip.

Yes, you read it, New York Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez felt that the back of his lower lip was the best spot to have a tattoo where ABSOLUTELY no one would be able to see it. Unless of course, Sanchez is hammering you from behind and he lets you inspect his mouth just for curiosity’s sake.

As it turns out, that’s exactly what happened. A couple of years ago, when Mark Sanchez was still gunning footballs in USC, an anonymous female fan was allegedly dog-styled in the shower by the USC standout. During what probably was a vigorous sex marathon, the woman managed to inspect the inside of his lower lip, and, lo and behold, she found the now infamous ”SANCHEZ” tattoo.

Now, I don’t know why Mark Sanchez decided to have a tattoo in there but here’s to hoping that the guy will improve his decision making when he takes the field this season with the New York Jets.

After all, he is filling in the shoes of…

Player behavior. Wow, now that’s new.

As you all know by now, (unless you could care less about sports…) Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida is coming and online sportsbook from every corner of the hemisphere is ready for it. Yes, that means they’re just salivating for your hard earned cash.

The Arizona Cardinals are entering American football’s biggest stage for the first time in the history of their franchise. The Cardinals were once dubbed as the second worst franchise in sports, next only to the Chicago Cubs. But since the Cardinals have already broken their curse, so to speak, the Cubs are now the only franchise to hold that distinction.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, on the other hand, are going for their second Super Bowl title in four years. The last time these guys got to the Super Bowl, it was Super Bowl XL when, with Bill Cowher in the sidelines, Pittsburgh beat the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl.

What’s interesting here is, other than Cowher, almost the entire coaching staff of the Steelers then now reside in Arizona, coaching the Cardinals this year all the way to Super Bowl XLIII. This year’s version of the Steelers will be seeing familiar faces from the Cardinals sidelines and it should be interesting to see how each performs.

And aside from these very interesting storylines…

Quarterbacks sure get all the glory in the NFL these days.

And while most of the league’s better quarterbacks are being slowed down by injuries this 2008-09 NFL football season, we can’t help but wonder who are the best young quarterbacks in the business who just might take this game that we love away from Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Tom Brady.

American Football is arguably considered to be the ultimate team sport, but quarterbacks still get more than their share of the glory. And the question is if you could pick who are the young quarterbacks in the 2008-09 NFL football season that just might become the next Peyton Manning or Tom Brady who will it be?

First, we have Matt Leinart of Arizona Cardinals. Leinart is the total package. He has both the mental and physical aspects of the game down cold, and he’s only going to get better. Playing in a pro-style offense at USC has prepped him for the pro game. And playing under the bright lights at Southern Cal prepped him for all the media hype of the NFL.

His leadership skills and maturity have also already been well-noted. It still puzzles me why this guy hasn’t totally taken over the show in Arizona aside from the fact that the Arizona Cardinals are surprisingly doing just fine with…

Probably because he doesn’t want to find himself in the wrong end of a vicious hit like Boldin did two weekends ago.

You read it, the 37-year-old Kurt Warner is contemplating on calling it quits after the 2008-09 NFL football season. After watching his teammate Anquan Boldin go down with a concussion in the closing moments of an already lost game to the Jets two Sundays ago, Warner says he’s considering retirement more than ever.

”I’m definitely considering retirement more than I ever have before,” Kurt Warner said, ”but that doesn’t mean it’s more than 50 percent or anything like that. I’m just going to consider it.”

These comments came after Yahoo! reported that Warner sent his wife a text message about retiring immediately after Anquan Boldin went down with the concussion. Warner’s wife said he meant immediately, while Warner said that wasn’t the case.

”There’s no question that I texted her and said that I was contemplating and thinking about it because she’s wanted me to retire for a couple of years now,” the Arizona Cardinals quarterback said. ”It wasn’t I was going to retire last week. It was more I’m just really trying to keep this thing in perspective moving forward.”

”It’s a great game and it’s done great things for me and…”