--The Cardinals like to keep their injury situation quiet during the season. There were rumors that Kurt Warner's left hip was bothering him, but no one would confirm them. Warner underwent surgery this week to repair a torn labrum and remove loose particles from the hip. The team thinks he will be able to participate in voluntary practices in May or June. The club obviously knew about the injury when it signed Warner to a two-year, $23 million deal earlier this month.
--This is a key off-season for nose tackle Alan Branch, the second round pick in the 2007 draft. Branch has been a bust so far. He needs to lose weight and show that he's motivated to stay in the league. "It's an important off-season for him," coach Ken Whisenhunt said.
--Ken Whisenhunt and former offensive coordinator Todd Haley are fierce competitors. While assistants with the Jets, they fought so hard in one-on-one basketball games that they nearly came to blows several times. That competitiveness is continuing now that Haley is head coach in Kansas City. The Chiefs signed away former Cardinals linebacker Monty Beisel, but not before the Cardinals came in with a last-minute offer. Beisel reportedly turned the Cardinals down because he had already given his word to the Chiefs that he would sign.
--The Cardinals will begin their off-season program on March 30 under strength and conditioning coach John Lott. Whisenhunt credits the team's good fortune on the injury front last year to off-season work with Lott. Whisenhunt puts a heavy emphasis on player participation, and the Cardinals have normally had about 80 percent of their players working in the program.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "The 'R' word is not in my vocabulary." -- DE/OLB Bertrand Berry, 33, who signed a one-year deal this week.
