State of the Arizona Cardinals, as They Prepare for Titans

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Losing rookie backer Will Davis for 4-6 weeks is a blow to a defense. There is hope he can play again this season, as he was coming on strong with two sacks, twelve tackles and increased playing time.

Now more than ever the Cardinals need Chike Okeafor to battle through his back issues and get back on the field. Though he has missed the last two games, he is still tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. The immediate future looks bright as Okeafor participated in practice this week and will likely play.

Having the luxury of signing Monty Biesel off the street is fortunate though. Biesel was on Kansas City's roster briefly this season, and has 43 games with the Cardinals under his belt. Biesel can fill in admirably at linebacker and is a special teams warrior.

One quiet development of late is receiver Early Doucet apparently passing Jerheme Urban on the depth chart. Although it is still not reflected officially on the team-issued depth chart , Urban was a healthy inactive two games in a row, and has not registered a productive game since the fifth game of the season.

Last season Urban was a very productive fourth receiver with nearly 500 yards receiving on 34 receptions—impressive considering the three above him all had over 1,000 yards. The curious bit is that Doucet hasn't obviously outplayed Urban and is not as fast.

Maybe Urban was benched for one too many drops in key situations? Perhaps the coaching staff is eager to groom Doucet to take over Anquan Boldin's role on the team for next season?

There were all kinds of people weighing in on Matt Leinart and questioning what the outcome of this weekend's game versus the Titans would be if Kurt Warner was unable to play. Fortunately for Cardinals' fans, Warner has practiced in full and is likely to start, so for the short-term the point is mute.

For the long-term however, there is growing concern about Leinart's lack of readiness to take over should Kurt go down with a serious injury. For this set of eyes, the team should strongly consider signing a proven veteran such as Jeff Garcia to back up Warner for the pending playoff run.

This article also appears on NFLTouchdown.com

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