Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt

Post-Practice Press Conference – Monday – 9/6/10

Opening statement:
“Happy Labor Day to everyone. I hope they are enjoying their day. Labor Day for us always kind of signifies the first week of the season, so it is always an exciting time. We had some good work today.”

On Chris Miller working with Derek Anderson on his footwork to improve his accuracy:
“When I said in the last couple of days that we have seen improvement that was one of the areas. To be an accurate thrower you have to have good footwork. Especially when you are tall like Derek (Anderson) is. He’s worked hard at it. We’ve seen the results, especially over the last two games. It is nice to see him working on the little things. To be honest with you that is what we have done with all the guys that we’ve had here. It paid off for Kurt (Warner) from holding the ball in the pocket and even scrambling for a first down at times. It is an important part of that position.”

On Derek Anderson working on throwing touch passes:
“You see us working over the top of things and throwing around things in practice and that is all to help develop touch. Quarterbacks have to have a feel for that. There is going to be times that you have to zip it in there because it is a tight window. I haven’t seen any issues with that. I haven’t noticed anything that has stood out over the last few weeks so hopefully we made progress with that.”

On what were the things that excited him about Derek Anderson when he looked at his Pro Bowl season:
“For me it goes back to more than the Pro Bowl season. When I was in Pittsburgh we played him twice a year and I got a chance to see him a number of times, whether it was pre-game warm up or in games against us and I had always thought and from speaking with (Strength and Conditioning coach) John Lott, who was there, that he had talent. That he was an intriguing guy because of the way he could throw the football. Obviously in the 2007 season when he played for them, I remember playing him and we played them about the 11th-12th game of the season, somewhere in there, and he was playing well. I thought well, that is not surprising to me because of what I had seen from him the times that I had been around him in Cleveland.”

On how the practice squad is shaping up:
“I think we’re going to be a little better than St. Louis in the practice squad area. You know, I think we got all of our guys. We definitely have all of our guys, we’re just trying to get them here. We got three of them back that were with us and we got five other guys that are new.”

On if it’s tough to flip the switch to regular season mode:
“(It) wasn’t tough. You can tell it in the intensity of the practice today. They’ve been practicing well the whole camp. I think that’s been a theme for us, so it really wasn’t anything that was a concern.”

On if they sprinkled any Rams preparation into previous practices during the preseason:
“If we did, it was by accident. It wasn’t anything conscious that we did. Today was really the first day where we’ve worked on some of their looks. Some of the things that we saw in the preseason, some of the pressures mirrors kind of some of the things they do. In kind of a round-about way, we have seen some of the defensive types or styles.”

On how hard it is to prepare for an unknown quarterback like Rams rookie Sam Bradford:
“Well, they said he’s the starter so he’s going. I believe that’s the case. I think it’s always a little bit more difficult because you have not seen regular season game type of work. That’s the thing you face whether it’s a new quarterback or not. I think that you try to look at what they’ve done in the preseason and think that maybe they’ll do some similar things because it’s not, for instance, having a veteran quarterback where you can do very little but still gear it up a notch in the regular season. I think we have to prepare based on how we think they’re going to attack and that’s based on what we’ve seen last year and then what we’ve seen them do in the preseason and just try to figure it out the best way we can that way.

On what he saw in CB AJ Jefferson in the preseason to keep him on the squad:
“You know, there were two things that I saw, two plays that actually come to mind. One was the kickoff return where he ran the guy down. He has speed. That’s what really showed up, good long speed. Another one was a long pass where he was in coverage and he didn’t panic. He stayed with it. To me, that’s a skill for young players that’s hard to find. Usually, when the ball is in the air they panic and they either grab the guy or cause a penalty. I didn’t see that out of him. That was encouraging to see, his development as we started from camp and as we progressed. Being calm under that pressure is a good quality for a young corner to have.”

On the chances of WR Larry Fitzgerald playing in the season opener:
“I feel good about Larry (Fitzgerald’s) chances of playing. Nothing has changed. His rehab has gone even better than we had anticipated. I expect to have him on the field.”

On if it’s important to have WR Larry Fitzgerald on the practice field to work on timing:
“I think that’s part of it, yeah. He has to get his wind back too. All the conditioning that you can do just doesn’t replace what you do on the football field. You could see that today a little bit. I anticipate that he will be fine for the game.”

On the Peter King article that quoted him as comparing backup QB Max Hall to Kurt Warner:
“I don’t think I ever actually said that he looked like Kurt (Warner). I said, ‘Who does that remind you of?’ And he made the assumption that it was Kurt, I think if you talk about that. I think that I’m excited about Max (Hall) from the progress he’s made as a rookie quarterback. Once again, I think we have to rein that in a little bit. He hasn’t played a regular season game, but I do like the progress that I’ve seen. I like the way that he competes. Those are qualities that, since you mentioned it, do mirror Kurt. Maybe they come from similar type starts where people didn’t think they could play and they’ve had to work against the odds and somehow they prevailed. That’s a sign of a tremendous competitor. That’s what you see in Max.”

On the status of RB Beanie Wells’ knee:
“I mean, his knee is not 100%, but we’ll see how he progresses during the week.”

On what CB Greg Toler did to separate himself to become the starter:
“He had to work on the little things as far as his techniques and competing for the spot. I think what happens when you have competition, especially tight competition like they had at that position, you really get focused in on the details every day. It becomes a part of what you do knowing that if you slip up, the other guy has a chance of passing you by or as in Greg’s spot, he’s not going to be the starter if he doesn’t get it right. It makes your work ethic, not that Greg’s ever had a bad work ethic, it’s been more about how to work. What I’ve seen is his confidence, his attention to detail on the practice field, which I think are functions of having to compete against Trumaine (McBride).”

On former Cardinals QB Matt Leinart signing with the Houston Texans today:
“I’m happy for Matt (Leinart). I’m excited that he’s got the opportunity, but I think we’ve talked enough about that situation and it’s time to move forward.”

On G Reggie Wells being gone and if he is working out new players for his right guard position:
“You have to do that just in case. We’ll see how that progresses. Deuce (Lutui) is going to start in that position and obviously Rex (Hadnot) had a very good preseason and good training camp. I feel very good about him. We know Jeremy Bridges can do it too. I feel comfortable about the guard position and we’ll see how it shakes out.”