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Finalizing the equation of Jefferson trade

Many have asked over the months since the Cardinals traded cornerback A.J. Jefferson to the Vikings at the end of August. Thanks to my friend Tom Pelissero, erstwhile Vikings guru, those trade results have been finalized. Ultimately, the trade was Jefferson and the Cardinals’ seventh-round pick in 2013 for the Tennesee Titans’ 2013 6th-round pick, which the Vikings had previously acquired.

Considering the Cards were on the verge of cutting Jefferson (and the league knew the Cards were corner-heavy) when the trade went down, moving up a round wasn’t a bad result. It gives the Cards, at least before the compensatory picks are doled out, seven total draft picks covering the first six rounds of the draft.

No assumptions about the Hyphen

There was a weary smile when LaRod Stephens-Howling was asked about the assumption that, as a 5-foot-7, 180-some pound guy, he can’t be a full-time running back in the NFL.

“I am so tired of that assumption,” Stephens-Howling said. “I have to hear it every time. I just want to be a running back. I don’t know what else to say about that.”

The Hyphen doesn’t have to say much of anything. He can just point to his day Sunday, after the Cards lost to the Vikings through no fault of his own. He had 20 carries for a career-high 104 yards and a touchdown, and added another four receptions for 45 more yards. Coach Ken Whisenhunt called Stephens-Howling a “warrior” for the performance, and assuming Stephens-Howling stays in such a groove, Whiz said he doesn’t have a problem using him that much.

Stephens-Howling has been in this spot before, as situational guy. He was bounced out of a regular role in college when LeSean McCoy showed up at Pitt, which frustrated him at the time. He’s always been fine to play whatever role the Cards want, but after both Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams went down with their serious injuries, the Hyphen made it clear he was looking forward to increased work. After Sunday’s use, “I feel a little beat up, but that’s how you want to feel after a game,” he said. “You want to feel like you have been in a game.”

He also wanted to feel like he was doing something productive. It hadn’t been the best season for Stephens-Howling before the Vikings’ game. He had been injured. He had struggled, at one point before the Buffalo game he had just one rushing yard on 12 carries. His first game back from his hip and groin problems he couldn’t get going against the Bills despite a start and was outperformed by William Powell. That showing was underscored when Stephens-Howling dropped a screen pass in overtime — a play that would have gained significant yardage — right before John Skelton threw the interception that ultimately cost the Cards the game.

That play “kept me up some nights,” he said, but he had to flush it out against Minnesota. So he had a fresh start, plus a strong week of practice where Stephens-Howling felt for the first time he had his moves back, going into the Metrodome. He “felt more like myself” and turned that into a 100-yard game.

So don’t get all “LaRod can’t be an every-down back” on the Hyphen. He is even keeping his weight up — an issue in the past — when he checked in at 184 pounds last Friday, his highest total since before training camp.

“I’m a solid 184,” Stephens-Howling said, crediting his girlfriend’s home cooking. But it’s good weight. “There are desserts every once in a while,” he said smiling. “Always need those to keep it going.”

– For those wondering, offensive lineman Chris Williams signed with the St. Louis Rams Monday, so he will not, obviously, be coming to Arizona.

Vikings aftermath

Early last week, guard Daryn Colledge talked about how the offense had to play better, but that the defense was always going to keep the Cardinals in the game. Then came Sunday, what may have been the harshest way to demonstrate the point.

I’m not sure what the hardest thing to handle was for the Cardinals. The first stop that led to a punt giving the Cards the ball first in Minnesota territory, only to have the drive go nowhere? The following long drive into the red zone that ended with a fumble and no points? The gift interception at the end of the first half – why on God’s green earth were the Vikings throwing at that point anyway – only to have Jay Feely’s field goal miss? The pick-6 to start the second half that made it a two-score game?

“The plays that were there to be made were being made earlier in the year,” quarterback John Skelton said. “Now we are missing.”

It’s going to be hard not to re-play what could have been in the collective minds tonight.

– The Cardinals have now lost two games this season in which the opposing quarterback had fewer than 10 pass completions (the Rams’ game was the other.) That’s unheard of in today’s NFL. The Vikings ended up with a net of 43 passing yards.

– Those 43 net passing yards – and Christian Ponder’s 58 gross – were the fewest allowed in an NFL game this season, by the way. The Cards hadn’t allowed so few in a game since giving up 37 net passing yards to the Ravens in December of 2000 – a game the Cards also lost, 13-7, to the Trent Dilferific Super Bowl-bound bunch.

- The Cards had the ball for more than 10 minutes more than the Vikings, including holding the ball for more than 11 minutes of the 15-minute third quarter.

– LaRod Stephens-Howling had been off to the worst start of his career running the ball, but he was back on track Sunday. Yes, it was partly due to the Vikings’ defensive alignment, but that doesn’t diminish the accomplishment of his first 100-yard game. You figure next week’s game against the 49ers will be much more difficult, but considering where the Cards were when they lost both Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams, it’s a start.

– Guard Adam Snyder was limping around pretty good because of the quad contusion that sent him out of the game and brought Rich Ohrnberger in for relief. You know Snyder is going to badly want to play against his former teammates a week from tomorrow. We’ll see if he can recover in time.

– Adrian Peterson sure didn’t look like a guy who had ACL surgery less than a year ago. He looked like 2008 Adrian Peterson with his 153 yards on just 23 carries, ramping up to full speed seemingly as soon as he was handed the ball in the backfield.

– Larry Fitzgerald called the offense’s overall lack of production scoring “disheartening.” It seems like the Cards have had more issues this year getting Fitz freed up than ever before. The offense is missing that kind of playmaking.

– I know the TD came late, but Andre Roberts quietly had a productive day (7 catches, 103 yards).

– The one thing Kevin Kolb was doing really well when the Cards were winning – and what has gotten lost a bit when the Cards ended up on the wrong side of things a couple weeks ago and then again today with John Skelton – is the turnovers. They cost at least 10 points today, with the Vikings getting seven on the interception return and the Cards losing at least three on the red-zone fumble by Skelton. Many teams can’t afford turnovers, but for the Cards, that margin is even smaller. The Cards generated a pair of turnovers themselves, but couldn’t win the turnover battle.

That’s enough from 30,000 feet. The Cards will have an extra day to regroup for the 49ers. That game was always big. Now it’s probably something that will determine where they go the balance of the season.

UPDATE: The Cardinals aren’t going to work out quarterback Vince Young, despite rumors to the contrary.

Heap remains inactive

Tight end Todd Heap remains inactive with his bad knee today against the Vikings, on an inactive list that is filled up with injured players.

Only guard Senio Kelemete is a healthy scratch. Sitting out are QB Kevin Kolb (ribs), S Kerry Rhodes (back), CB Greg Toler (hamstring), FB Anthony Sherman (knee), and LB Reggie Walker (concussion). Rashad Johnson is starting in place of Rhodes, while Regan Maui’a is starting in place of Sherman.

The Vikings have all their key players available who were on the injury report, including RB Adrian Peterson, DE Jared Allen and WR Jerome Simpson.

– Also this morning, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that the Cardinals are expected to work out free agent QB Vince Young this week. If true — and I haven’t heard anything about it — it’s an interesting turn. Young, given his background and recent play, wouldn’t have been a guy I’d think the Cards would consider as an option.

Friday before the Vikings

Trips to Minnesota since I’ve been covering the Cardinals have frequently ended poorly. OK, not frequently. Always. My first trip there was for a 2000 preseason game, where four or five Cardinals suffered serious injuries on the one-time crappy turf, including the ACL tear for wide receiver Rob Moore. There were not very close losses in 2000 and 2006 (although the Cards were a Hail Mary away at the end to get an amazing comeback). There was the 2010 loss, which looked like it was in the bag with a two-touchdown lead with six minutes left (Favred!) and then last year, when the Cards simply melted down in the first quarter.

Year-to-year doesn’t matter – it’s a new team here, the Vikings are a new team, and for the most part, nothing carries over – but that’s at least the backdrop for the Cards this weekend. I don’t need to get into the schedule again (but if you forgot, it’s Niners, Packers, Falcons in the next three games) but this is important. The coaches know it. So do the players.

– This is an early game, kickoff 10 a.m. Arizona time. The Cards had one of those in New England, but that was after flying in on a Friday. The Cards don’t fly to Minnesota until tomorrow. They can’t afford to sleepwalk through the first quarter.

– I watched the video of Vikings defensive end Jared Allen meeting with the Minnesota media. Not surprisingly, he was asked multiple times about the Cards surrendering 22 sacks the past three games and the opportunity he had. Not surprisingly, he dodged bulletin-board material. Who knows? Maybe he actually made a good point:

“I’ve been in this league for so long, I’ve played teams where they’ve given up … I always go back to the Texans, who had given up, like, 50 sacks and we came in there like Week 10 or Week 11 (when he was with the Chiefs),” Allen said. “All we saw were bootlegs. Teams also know that. So you can’t sit there and say, ‘We’re going to lick our chops and get after the quarterback,’ because you’re going to get burned in the run.”

The Allen pass rush – he’s only got four sacks this season, below expectations — will be under the microscope Sunday, whether it is against D’Anthony Batiste or Bobby Massie.

– Linebacker Daryl Washington repeated the same message over and over: We have to stop 12 and 28. That’s Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson, in case you weren’t sure. Obvious, yes. But last year, quarterback Donovan McNabb was god-awful against the Cards (another reason why it confounds me a Cardinals fan would suggest signing McNabb) and yet the Vikings rolled. Peterson was awesome (three first-quarter TDs) and Harvin is a Swiss knife of a playmaker.

– Speaking of Peterson, it is still amazing he has returned from ACL surgery so quickly (he blew out his knee Christmas Eve 2011). He already has 499 yards rushing. “He’s not quite as bombastic in what he used to do,” Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton said, “but he still has our full respect.”

“He just never ever doubted,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. “The only time he showed any doubt was when we were flying back from the game when he was injured in Washington. But after that it was full speed ahead from a mental standpoint and he’s never regressed.”

– The Cards are allowing just 16.2 points a game, fourth in the NFL behind the Bears, 49ers and Seahawks. Whatever the rest of the stats say, that works for Horton. “That’s the only stat that should be measured,” Horton said.

– It hurts to be missing safety Kerry Rhodes, down with the bad back. That means the Cards will have gone through a game without Rhodes, Adrian Wilson and Darnell Dockett so far. It’d be nice to have all the key pieces in place, and Rhodes is having a pretty good year. Horton more or less shrugged it off. “Hopefully we’re not built like a house of cards where one guy gets hurt it is doom and gloom,” he said. “I don’t think we are built that way.”

– In case you missed it, my visit this summer to Minnesota turned into this story about how Larry Fitzgerald loves his home state. (But don’t worry, he loves being in Arizona too.)

– Minnesota native Michael Floyd isn’t getting the kind of work he was hoping – 7 catches, 84 yards – but he’s hanging in there. “The ball doesn’t come that way often, so when it does, you have to make the play,” he said. Floyd made the spectacular catch against the Bills after failing to come down with one a couple of weeks previous. Both Ken Whisenhunt and offensive coordinator Mike Miller say Floyd is doing fine in his steps forward.

“If we were doing better offensively (overall), he’d probably be more involved, have more statistics,” Whisenhunt said.

John Skelton, you’re up.

Different place, but D-Wash remembers Simpson

The Vikings signed wide receiver Jerome Simpson this offseason, and while he is off to a slow start — he was suspended to begin the season and back problems have made his status iffy — he is expected to be active against the Cardinals. Which Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington is hoping for.

Perhaps you remember that Simpson, playing for the Bengals last Christmas Eve, made sure Washington was front-and-center of all the highlight shows when he did a full-on flying somersault over Washington at the end of a catch-and-run to score a touchdown. Simpson landed on his feet, Washington was left grabbing at air, and it was a blow in a terrible first half in Cincinnati.

This isn’t about revenge. Washington knows that Simpson just made a play. But he promised that Simpson wouldn’t escape his grasp again.

“I mentioned it during training camp that I was glad we got a chance to play that guy again,” Washington said. “If he does it, it doesn’t matter — he kind of made me a celebrity in a different way, so I appreciate it Jerome Simpson.

“At the same time,” Washington added with a smile, “if he’s out there, he needs to be on the lookout. Straight up. However I get to him, I’m going to make sure I get to him this time.”

Left tackle logic

It’s not like Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was breaking any new ground when he said this morning on a conference call that teams need to have the left tackle position solidified in today’s NFL. Minnesota — thanks to their 3-13 record a year ago — was able to draft Matt Kalil with the third fourth pick overall and have been able to do just that. The Cardinals, with Levi Brown done for the year and D’Anthony Batiste (below) filling in, are trying to make do the best they can. The Cardinals did bring Pat McQuistan back this week after releasing him after the third game, and maybe that means a change is possible.

Even Kalil has needed help once in a while, although Frazier said it hasn’t been nearly as much as the coaches expected. The Cardinals have done some things to help Batiste, although they also have to help out rookie right tackle Bobby Massie too. And the more help needed for the tackles, the more it changes what a team can do in the passing game.

“When people can force you to keep seven people in or even eight people in, it just reduces your potential to make plays down the field, so you better have a dynamic guy outside when you go max protection and a dynamic quarterback as well,” Frazier said. “You don’t want to end up having to utilize people often to help on the offensive line. You are going to have to do it sometimes, but to get into a situation when you’re doing it much more than releasing players, you simplify to the point where you make it a lot easier for defenses to defend you.”

Jefferson traded to Vikings

UPDATE: The trade has been officially completed. The Vikings get A.J. Jefferson. The trade involves “an exchange of undisclosed, conditional 2013 draft picks.” I’d think that would mean a swap of picks between the teams, meaning the Cards get one, the Vikings get one. We’ll find out the rounds involved as we get closer to the draft, but I can’t imagine we’re talking about high picks here. Conditional usually means it’s based on the play of the player involved, so Jefferson’s performance — or at least, the number of games he plays, or something like that — will make an impact.

—

Well, this is one way to relieve the logjam of defensive backs the Cards have — cornerback A.J. Jefferson tonight tweeted out he was being traded, and then tweeted it was to the Vikings. Nothing has been officially announced. Kent Somers reported draft picks are part of the equation. I would assume the trade will be announced sometime over the weekend. If Jefferson is dealt for a pick or two, it would give the Cards an open roster spot, which could be filled, for instance, with another linebacker, since the Cards are a little thin in that category right now with only seven. I’m still curious to see if the look at another offensive lineman.

It was a wild ride for Jefferson in two-plus years, from an undrafted guy that was inactive almost his whole rookie season to suddenly being a starter after the lockout to being benched halfway through last season. It seemed like his spot on the team was tenuous anyway. If the Cards decide to hang on to 10 defensive backs now — five cornerbacks, five safeties — it means, among others, that Michael Adams has once again prevailed to make the roster. There is no better story than Adams creating the kind of NFL career he has.

A ride for a Gorbachev, and other NFL stuff

Life isn’t all about the NFL draft the next few days. Turns out Mikhail Gorbachev — yes, the one-time leader of the Soviet Union and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize — is in town to speak at a fundraiser for the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He needs to get back to New York, where Cardinals president Michael Bidwill just happens to be headed Sunday for some NFL meetings, Bidwill said during an interview on Ch. 12 this morning while previewing the draft. Since Bidwill is also a pilot, he said he will be giving Gorbachev and his group a ride.

Of course, life is mostly about the draft in my part of the world. So we wait for the first pick coming in less than four hours. There’s been lots of talk about potential trades. Nothing yet though.

– Reportedly the Vikings have CB Morris Claiborne as the No. 1 player on their board. Goodness, I hope that’s because Luck and Griffin are already locks to go elsewhere.

– It sure seems like there could be a trade possibility when the Cards are on the clock. A lot can happen between then and now. Options could be there, though.

– I know this is the last place where you’re thinking “Pro Bowl,” but the league is reportedly thinking about suspending the Pro Bowl. Clearly, that game has gotten worse the last couple of years. It did bring up this interesting tweet from Dominique Foxworth, president of the NFLPA: “The Pro Bowl is an important tradition we are in talks with the league to improve and preserve the game for our players and fans.” It definitely needs improving to give it a reason to go on.

– Finally, for ongoing, interactive draft chat, feel free to follow me and ask questions on Twitter, @cardschatter. I’ll respond as much as I can as we go through the afternoon and evening.

Vikings aftermath

Beanie Wells came around the corner, looked at Vikings cornerback Cedric Griffin, lowered his shoulder and blew Griffin up.

Griffin’s helmet and skullcap went flying. Wells picked up nine yards. It was an angry run, and why wouldn’t it have been? The Vikings were already ahead, 28-3. There was no reason to be anything but upset if you were a Cardinal.

“I don’t know what it was,” Wells said, with a disappointed chuckle. “I was just trying to run the plays.”

It was fitting in some ways, Wells’ run. It came in the middle of the Cards’ longest drive of the day, one that ultimately ended with a punt after QB Kevin Kolb couldn’t connect with tight end Rob Housler for a touchdown, and then Kolb being sacked for a 17-yard loss.

A play such as Beanie’s is an exclamation point after a win. When the Cards lose like they did, it feels like a waste. There is no great analysis after Sunday. The Cardinals are playing poorly, and it caught up to them against the Vikings.

– Perhaps the most interesting thing postgame was the way coach Ken Whisenhunt flowed in a simple eight-minute press conference. Clearly steam when he first came out, he reset himself a few questions in and softened his approach.

“I will say this: I was angry starting out (talking) and I am still angry, but I do believe we have some good players on this football team,” Whisenhunt said. “I haven’t lost any confidence in our players or our team. We are going to look at what we are doing and we are going to put (players) in the best situations not to make those mistakes.”

When there was a follow-up to the idea Whisenhunt could make some changes, he said “It’s hard in season. Let me be clear, when I first said those things, there is a lot of emotion that goes into that. I am disappointed because I thought we were past this as a football team. But I want to be clear, we have a chance to have good football players.”

– I did think it was interesting when quarterback Kevin Kolb noted postgame about the need to work on details. “It starts with meetings, it starts with showing up to work on time getting in early and getting your work done, all the stuff professionals are supposed to do,” Kolb said. You have to wonder to whom that is referring.

– Kolb did stand in the pocket a couple of times until his receiver got open and delivered the pass. That was a good sign. He did have four passes hit at the line of scrimmage – one was intercepted – but Whisenhunt said he didn’t want to tinker with Kolb’s release.

“I don’t think you try to change the arm angle,” Whisenhunt said. “This team is known for that. Some throws Kevin made later in the game he was trying to throw it around the rush. That’s tough.”

Said Kolb, “Some of the balls later in the game I was dropping my arm trying to throw it underneath some of the guys that were running in there.  That’s another thing, just having to change a little bit here and there, making adjustments. The quick passing game, those (defenders) know it, and they are big and tall.”

– Early Doucet was the go-to guy Sunday. He had a career-high eight receptions for 92 yards, and the Cards targeted him 16 times. Doucet, by the way, already has a career-high in yards with 309, and if he hadn’t lost a touchdown catch because of a Jeremy Bridges penalty, he would have had his second 100-yard game of the season. Technically, Andre Roberts is the other starting receiver, but clearly Doucet is the No. 2.

– Everyone waiting for Deuce Lutui to play is probably going to have to wait to see if Rex Hadnot gets hurt. Hadnot has been solid, so Lutui isn’t going to surpass him that way. And when Daryn Colledge suffered a concussion Sunday, it was D’Anthony Batiste subbing in at left guard. Clearly, Lutui is seen as a right guard only – although if Colledge missed significant time, it’d be interesting to see if they’d stick with Batiste, try Lutui on the left, or maybe move Hadnot over there.

– Jeremy Bridges started in place of Brandon Keith at right tackle. I don’t think Bridges had his best game, but then again, who did?

– There was more Sam Acho-for-Joey Porter at linebacker than O’Brien Schofield. It says something about Acho. And probably Schofield too.

That’s all for now. The beauty of an early game in Minnesota is getting back home before the kids go to bed. What else is there to say, anyway?