Arizona cardinals

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"Can we? Sure we can," head coach Ken Whisenhunt said Monday, when asked if his team can get to the postseason solely on the passing game behind Kurt Warner and the quarterback's array of receivers.

"Do we want to? No. I think, hopefully, it will even itself out as we progress further. I know we're at the point now where we've got so many passing attempts and so many yardage passing that it's going to be hard for it to even out, but I do believe we're going to need to run the ball more."

And McManaman suggests, that's what the Cardinals might do next, starting Sunday when they visit the St. Louis Rams. After their 27-23 loss at the Panthers, the Cardinals ranked 29th in the NFL in average rushing yards per game (81.6) while their passing game (287.7) was rated fourth overall.

Warner isn't going anywhere, but veteran running back Edgerrin James could see his carries significantly reduced in favor of rookie Tim Hightower, who has rushed for six touchdowns, three shy of the team's record for first-year players.

Whisenhunt was asked Monday if such a change could take place, and he didn't mince words.

"I think we've shown we're going to go with the players that give us the best chance to win," he said. "We did that with the quarterback, we did that at linebacker, we did that with the offensive line. So if we feel Tim gives us the best chance to win, then absolutely."

Nothing has been determined, officially, although James on Monday sounded more than resigned to the fact that his days in Arizona appear numbered when he said, among other things that he was "put in a position to fail."

"I'd rather not say anything," he added, "because I might get into more trouble."

James, who has rushed 108 times for 380 yards -- an average of 3.5 yards per carry, let his frustrations spill over last week when he publicly complained about his role. McManaman reports he met privately with Whisenhunt about some of those comments and left the meeting feeling his days in Arizona were done.

Hightower, who has 133 yards on 39 carries, didn't want to enter the fray when asked about possibly becoming the team's new featured back.

"I'm not even thinking about that right now," Hightower said. "Whatever they ask me to do, I'm ready. I've got a lot more to learn, though, because I'm still making mistakes, but I can get better, and that's the key word."

Whisenhunt said, based on what he's seen from the rookie, "You have to consider him" as the possible new featured halfback, although time will tell.

"But yeah," he added, "I feel very comfortable with where Tim is at and what he's been doing for us and his ability to make plays in this offense. And I don't see why if we feel necessary for his role to be bigger, that he won't continue to do well."

Warner, who ranks second in the NFL in passing yards (2,089) behind the Saints' Drew Brees (2,563), said he can see no reason why Hightower wouldn't be able to carry the load if he is called upon more often.

"I think he can. I think he's done a great job," Warner said. "He's been mentally sharp, and he's made a lot of plays for us."

Meanwhile, Whisenhunt certainly gave no indication that he regretted the decision to highlight receivers Anquan Boldin (nine catches, 63 yards), Larry Fitzgerald (seven, 115) and Steve Breaston (nine, 91).

"We had 400 yards of offense," said Whisenhunt, who even went for a fake field goal that failed late in the first half. "We scored 23 points against the No. 3 (scoring) defense in the league. I'll take that any week. Whether we've got to throw it or whether we can run it.

"Whatever we have got to do, if we're operating the way we operated today, we're going to win football games and that's what this is all about."

Boldin, returning after his concussion and facial fractures, also pulled in two TD passes and led the Cardinals in rushing with 30 yards on an end-around.

Boldin reported no problems.

"There are no effects from the injury. I'm fine. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Warner, 37 and in the last year of his contract, would like to play a couple of more years. And as Republic staffer Kent Somers suggested on Wednesday, with a performance this season that could merit him MVP consideration, he certainly looks like he could.

So far, the Cardinals haven't opened negotiations with Warner's agent, Mark Bartelstein, although Bartelstein plans to call general manager Rod Graves this week.

If the two sides come to an agreement, where does that leave Matt Leinart, the 10th overall pick in the 2006 draft?

It's a question Leinart admitted has crossed his mind. But, Leinart said, it's not something that worries him.

"Obviously I want to play," he said. "I want to play now. I want to play next year but right now we're winning, and right now we're doing well, and right now, I'm learning to be a better player."

If Warner signs for two years, Leinart, 25, faces the prospect of being the backup through the 2010 season, unless the Cardinals try to trade him. Trading a talented young quarterback would be a difficult decision to make, given Warner's age.

Leinart isn't stressing about it, saying he believes in the adage that you shouldn't worry about things you don't control.

"I plan on being the quarterback here for a long time," he said. "That's why I came here in the first place. I love it here, so nothing has really crossed my mind. ..."

The Cardinals played without their top two tight ends, Leonard Pope and Ben Patrick, because of injuries. That left Jerame Tuman as the only healthy tight end. In its short-yardage package, the Cardinals used guard Elton Brown as a tight end.

The Cardinals didn't use the formation much, however. For most of the second half, they used four receivers and ran only five times.

According to the Sports Xchange, Pope has a foot/ankle injury and was still wearing a walking boot on Monday. Patrick hasn't played since suffering a knee injury on Oct. 5.

With the status of both men still uncertain, the Cardinals on Tuesday signed tight end Stephen Spach to a one-year contract.

The 6-4, 250-pound Spach appeared in the first two games this season for the New England Patriots as a reserve before being released on September 15.

And finally. ... Whisenhunt is getting second-guessed for calling a fake field goal on fourth-and-15 from the Carolina 21. Tuman caught the pass from holder Dirk Johnson but was tackled five yards short of the first down.

Whisenhunt acknowledged that 15 yards might have been too far but added that "Dirk could have thrown it a little bit faster."

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 PT  

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Cole came unblocked to pound the Falcons rookie quarterback and Philadelphia native in the chest in the first quarter. Ryan's back hit the turf first, then his helmet, which drew a penalty flag for unnecessary roughness.

"[Ryan] took a huge hit early in the game and was able to stick it out and play through a lot of pain," said Falcons receiver Brian Finneran. "He played good. He was poised, sat in the pocket quite a bit. They brought a lot of pressure throughout the game. We were in it until the end there."

Ryan finished with 277 yards on 23-of-44 passes against the team he grew up cheering for. He got his highlight play on a 55-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. And he connected with White for a second touchdown with four minutes left in the game to give the Falcons one last chance, down 20-14.

Ryan's touchdowns balanced out two interceptions, including one in the end zone on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line. He was sacked twice, after being sacked only twice in his previous four games.

He said afterward his back, which trainers had examined on the sideline, was fine. ...

White had a good day against the Eagles, catching eight passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. But he was not happy with his role in the two interceptions that Ryan threw.

Assante Samuel had the first interception when White was running a deep square-in route. Lito Sheppard got the second on a fade route from the 1-yard line.

"Those are both on me," White said. "As a wide receiver, I have to protect the quarterback on those throws. ..."

Ryan opened the game looking for Finneran on third downs.

In the first quarter, on the Falcons first third down, Finneran caught a slant for seven yards to pick up the first down.

On the Falcons second series, on third-and-six from Atlanta's 44-yard line, Ryan found Finneran again for an 8-yard pass on a square-in with Samuel hanging all over him. ...

It's worth noting that Laurent Robinson was a scratch on Sunday morning despite practicing all week and being listed as probable on Friday's injury report. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to work his way back into the rotation with Finneran and Harry Douglas both playing well. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Michael Turner opened the 2008 season by torching Detroit for 220 yards, but came back to earth the following week with a 42-yard day at Tampa Bay. A week later, Turner was on the upswing again with a 104-yard outing against Kansas City, yet followed that up with just 56 yards on the ground at Carolina. In the next game at Green Bay, Turner was super once again with 121 yards. He was then held to 54 yards by Chicago before the Falcons headed into their bye week.

Rested, recharged and primed to resume the cycle, Turner seemed destined to burn up the turf Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Eagles defense had other ideas.

The Falcons' ground attack went nowhere, amassing just 77 yards on 24 carries. Turner contributed 58 yards on 17 rushes, had just one carry in the final quarter with his team trying to play catch-up, and his longest haul of the afternoon went for 22 yards.

Worth noting: Turner didn't get the ball on a second-and-goal from the Eagles' 1-yard line in the third quarter, an opportunity the Falcons squandered when Ryan's pass was picked off in the end zone by Sheppard.

"I wanted to run it, but I think it was a personnel issue where we couldn't get our goal-line package in," Turner said.

One factor working against the Falcons was the revolving door at left tackle.

Todd Weiner started the game in place of Sam Baker, who was inactive with a hip injury. But Weiner went down with an unspecified knee injury in the second half and was replaced by Quinn Ojinnaka.

While the Falcons running backs seemed to disappear into the line play after play, head coach Mike Smith saw something entirely different.

"We really were close," he said. The Eagles "did a very good job up front in terms of putting eight men on the line, [but] I think when we go back and look at [the film] we're going to see that there were opportunities for some big plays that we just weren't able to convert. ..."

With Baker already ruled out this week, the Falcons released reserve tight end Jason Rader on Wednesday to make room for the addition of veteran tackle Wayne Gandy.

And finally this week. ... The Falcons normally leave on Saturday for their road games, but will leave on Friday to travel to Oakland for Sunday's game against the Raiders. "We are going out a day earlier to try and acclimate ourselves to the West Coast time," Smith said.

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 PT  

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Recently, however, the offense has been just as crafty.

And, Ginsburg added, "That's saying something for a unit that's been as bland as a rice cake."

The Ravens ran a few trick plays earlier this season, just to keep things interesting, before taking it to another level Sunday against the Raiders. Using two quarterbacks in a single-wing set, Baltimore gained 75 yards in four plays -- including a memorable 43-yard completion from backup quarterback Troy Smith to starter Joe Flacco.

When all was said and done, Baltimore, the Ravens amassed 375 yards and held the ball nearly 13 minutes longer than the Raiders in a 29-10 rout.

Head coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron installed the single-wing package months ago in mini-camp, but waited until Week 7 to unveil it. The Raiders had no idea it was coming.

"That stuff gave us an advantage, and it worked against those guys," Flacco said. "You see those things put in during practice and you're always just hoping that they actually get called."

The Ravens still have a few tricks left.

"There's a lot of other things we're practicing that we are going to show as time goes on," Harbaugh said Monday. "We think we're creative. We think we have a chance to be an exciting offense; we think we've been that."

"So far, Cam has done an incredible job of game planning," Smith said. "He keeps coming up with different ways to get guys the ball in certain situations."

Who knows how -- or even if -- the Ravens will use the formation Sunday in Cleveland?

"We could see using that package every game. I think people that are preparing to play against us are going to have to be prepared for it every week," Harbaugh said. "We're just scratching the surface of the things that we have in. That's going to be a viable part of our offense all the way through."

So is the notion of rotating three running backs.

Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and LeRon McClain have shared the workload, and there's no telling who will line up in front of them. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata was employed as a tight end near the goal line Sunday because, as Ginsburg suggested, any offensive line can use a guy that's 6-foot-4 and 345 pounds.

Cameron also used McGahee and McClain at wide receiver as well as tight end Todd Heap.

"The sky's the limit," Smith said. "We haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg yet."

That kind of switch goes both ways. A few weeks ago, offensive guard Ben Grubbs lined up as a defensive tackle and Cameron has a formation that uses members of the defense as wide receivers.

"Cam is amazingly creative in matching personnel to scheme," Harbaugh said.

Some of those ideas may never be used in a game, but it sure keeps things interesting during practice.

"That kind of stuff makes it more fun for the players. It gets them more involved," Harbaugh said.

The Baltimore defense, meanwhile, couldn't be happier about seeing something new and exciting from the offense.

"It kind of keeps it fresh," linebacker Ray Lewis said. "When we're at practice, we see where our offense is going. It's kind of exciting when you see a new flavor. ..."

For what it's worth, Harbaugh dubbed the team's two-QB formation "The Suggs Package." The formation was jokingly named after linebacker Terrell Suggs endorsed Smith over Flacco twice in a radio interview before backtracking and saying he merely wanted to see both quarterbacks on the field.

"I meet with Suggs every Tuesday night and he tells me what to run," Cameron said after the game. ...

"It was a coincidence," Suggs said. "I was misunderstood, but we had it in anyway. I ain't no offensive coordinator. I ain't no genius."

Meanwhile, Suggs made it clear that he has no problem with Flacco being the starter.

"I went to him and told him," Suggs said, "that I really don't care who our quarterback is as long as we're winning. ..."

Other notes of interest. ... Rice had a career-best day, gaining 155 yards of total offense with a team-high 64 rushing yards on eight carries, a team-high three receptions for 37 yards and 54 kickoff return yards on two returns.

He had five first downs in the second quarter, finishing with six for the game. His elusiveness in the open field made Raiders linebackers lose their footing.

The second-round draft pick had a touchdown nullified due to a penalty and gained 19 yards on an option pitch from Smith. For the season, Rice has 15 receptions for 166 yards to rank second on the team behind wide receiver Derrick Mason.

"The new thing for me is catching it," Rice said. "Whatever I can do now to help my team, that's what I'm trying to do. ..."

McGahee moved into fourth place on the team's all-time rushing chart, gaining 58 yards and a touchdown to move up to 1,558 yards and 10 touchdowns for his career. He moved past Bam Morris (1,511 yards), still ranking behind Jamal Lewis (7,801), Priest Holmes (2,102) and Chester Taylor (1,599). ...

Meanwhile, Pro Football Weekly suggested on Monday that McGahee will continue to get the lion's share of carries if he continues to show the improvement that has marked his play in recent weeks. ...

Williams was placed on injured reserve Wednesday; he will have season-ending surgery to repair a bone spur underneath his Achilles' tendon. It's an injury that Williams has battled since June.

"We tried to work it and hoped that it would improve," Harbaugh said. "It's just not getting any better."

To fill Williams' roster spot, the Ravens signed receiver Terrance Copper, who was released Sunday by the New Orleans Saints. As Sun staffer Jamison Hensley suggested, Copper's strength is more on special teams than as a receiver.

The Ravens' options to fill Williams' void as the No. 3 receiver are: Return specialist/receiver Yamon Figurs, who said his knee bruise has improved; rookies Marcus Smith and Ernie Wheelwright; or Copper.

"We've got a lot of options in there," Harbaugh said. "Whatever guy or combination of guys give us the best chance will be active and will be playing."

Filling in for Figurs last Sunday, strong safety Jim Leonhard averaged 15.8 yards on four punt returns. His 46-yard return set up McGahee's 1-yard touchdown run, and a 22-yarder led to a 38-yard field goal by Matt Stover. ...

And finally. ... The primary criticism Harbaugh offered in his post-game remarks were focused on the Ravens being penalized eight times for 52 yards, including a combined six from offensive linemen Chris Chester and Jared Gaither with each player negating a touchdown with a flag. ...

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 PT  

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"What is frustrating is that we didn't play our best game," Edwards said. "I'd rather walk off that field today with us playing the best game we can and still losing that game. I'd feel a lot better right now."

Edwards completed 21 of 35 passes for 227 yards. Decent numbers, to be sure, but his day was clouded by an interception and two fumbles, one resulting in a safety. There were also some uncharacteristic errant throws.

As Buffalo News staffer Allen Wilson noted, every quarterback has days like this. Edwards hasn't had many rough outings in his first two years, but Sunday was one of them.

"Yeah, I think it is partially that and partially you have to give a lot of credit to the Miami Dolphins," Edwards told Wilson. "I thought they came out with a great game plan and executed it from the first snap until the last snap. They were just ready to play, and I don't know if we were ready to play the entire game. We had spurts where we were clicking and then there were times where we were making mistakes."

Many of the mistakes were authored by Edwards.

As Edwards pointed out, the Dolphins' defense made his job tougher. The Dolphins rushed two or three men and dropped everyone else into coverage.

That left Edwards with few open targets to throw to.

"When there's three or four guys on a route, you can do the math where it's two guys covering one of our receivers," he said. "It's harder to find guys down the field when you're only rushing three guys. You've got to go through your reads and get the ball to the open guy. And when they brought pressure, they really did a good job of covering up our receivers, our tight ends, our backs."

When the Dolphins brought pressure it was effective, too. Of course, the Bills gave Miami's pass rush plenty of opportunities. Buffalo was in a lot of passing situations, facing long yardage because of its inability to get much on first and second down.

The Bills converted only 4 of 14 third downs. Eight times they faced third-and-5 or longer. Eight times they had to give up possession. Both of the Dolphins' sacks came on third-and-long.

That's not to say the loss falls solely on Edwards' shoulders. The defense couldn't stop Miami's passing game and the Bills' offensive line had its struggles, too.

Meanwhile, Josh Reed is out indefinitely with injuries to his ankle and Achilles' tendon, leaving the Buffalo Bills minus one of their most reliable third-down receivers.

Though head coach Dick Jauron wouldn't say today how much time Reed might miss, it generally takes players two to three weeks to recuperate from such injuries, depending on their severity. Jauron also didn't indicate which ankle Reed hurt late in the second quarter on Sunday.

Reed ranks second on the team with 26 catches for 288 yards. He is also second on the Bills, and tied for 16th in the AFC, with eight catches for 116 yards in third-down situations. Without Reed, the Bills will have to rely more on slot receiver Roscoe Parrish and rookie second-round pick James Hardy to play behind starter Lee Evans.

Losing Reed could hurt the Bills' passing game.

"Josh is obviously a big element to our offense," Edwards said. "He creates mismatches on those linebackers inside. He's a big third down receiver for us. That might be part of the reason in the second half that we were not able to keep the drives alive. ..."

According to Pro Football Weekly, the passing attack has been held back by the slow development of Hardy. The touted newcomer from Indiana was expected to break into the starting lineup immediately, but he hasn't shown enough polish to become even the consistent red-zone threat that most figured the 6-5 newcomer would be.

And as the Sports Xchange notes, Parrish continues to struggle on offense. He had just one catch for 3 yards against the Dolphins. But the increased opportunities created by Reed's absence could lead to more. ...

Other notes of interest. ... Marshawn Lynch still has not come close to rushing for 100 yards in a game, as he was held to 61 yards on 13 carries. However, his 4.7 average was a season best.