Posted by Darren Urban on August 23, 2012 – 10:39 pm

The story of the night tonight was John Skelton and Kevin Kolb, obviously. I think both players will still have their proponents and detractors, especially after adding in the offensive line issues. It sure feels like the game didn’t exactly clear up the picture, and it will be stunning now if a starter is named before the last preseason game.

But I am sure there will be much more QB talk, and I covered a lot of it in the game story. Besides, I’m quarterback-talked out. So here are some other things out of this game (which sometimes have to do with the QB, I will admit):

— The Cards wanted to take a look at D.J. Young at left tackle. Well, they looked, and it wasn’t pretty. They had to find out quickly if Young was viable. “That’s what you have to do,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said, although he acknowledged Young probably didn’t play well. “You want to look at the tape, but that’s the way it seemed.” The offensive line looked better with D’Anthony Batiste at left tackle and rookie Bobby Massie on the right. We’ll see if the Cards go in that direction.

— Beanie Wells looked just fine back on the field, with six carries. He only gained 12 yards, and some of that was on him and some on the line that just didn’t look good early. “Beanie looked like it was his first night out there,” Whisenhunt said.

“I still have rust to knock off,” Wells said. “I have to pick my legs up a little more. It’s one of the reasons I needed preseason. I always need the preseason. I haven’t played football since Dec. 24. But it’s progress.”

Wells was sporting the aerodynamic bald look now that he was back on the field. Well, at least I tried to give him that option. Nope. Just the reaction after he got a bad haircut two days ago. “I’ve already got a sensitive hairline, so …,” Wells said. “I’m gonna be thinning out pretty early”

— Larry Fitzgerald got five catches for 91 yards as he finally made an impact. Not that he was worried about it. “It’s just preseason,” Fitzgerald said. “We don’t gameplan.”

— Ryan Williams only had three carries but averaged five yards and Whiz was pleased with how he bounced back in game No. 2 for him. He certainly seems on pace to be ready when the bell sounds.

— Guard Daryn Colledge finally has an NFL reception (that’s him barreling through the defense below). And he’s converted 100 percent of his catches for first downs.

— Running back William Powell is leading the NFL is rushing this preseason. He had another 71 yards (on just seven carries) and has 231 yards on 33 carries (a 7.1 average) and three touchdowns. Yes, it’s against deep backups usually, but seven yards a carry is seven yards a carry. When you have the head coach bringing up your name, unprompted, in the postgame presser, that’s a good sign. It’s going to be a tough call between Powell and Alfonso Smith.

— Jamell Fleming saw some time at cornerback tonight with the first nickel package with William Gay playing the nickel role. Patrick Peterson didn’t have his best night, getting beat a couple of times by rookie receiver Kendall Wright. Defensively, though, the Cards were OK when turnovers weren’t putting them in bad spots. The Cards outgained the Titans, 410 yards to 217.

That’s it. It’s late and I have to be up in four hours to leave for the airport (no charter for me in the preseason, so …) Whiz will have an afternoon press conference tomorrow, and there’s a chance we will hear about most if not all of the initial cut from 90 to 75 players.

Tags: Beanie Wells Posted in Blog