Early in the practice, the Cardinals were working on a lot of offensive misdirection and timing plays.

Wells looked uncomfortable running draw plays. He was leaving the backfield too early and didn't "sell" that the play could be a pass.

Later in that practice, however, Wells looked powerful and fast during the team session.

He took one handoff and went off-tackle. He spotted an opening and blew through it, running into the back of one of his linemen in the process. Wells never missed a step and exploded into the secondary.

The Cardinals know Wells will need to develop in some areas. He wasn't asked to do much in the passing game at Ohio State, so he'll need to develop his blocking skills.

Wells assures everyone that catching the ball will be no problem, but he didn't do that much at Ohio State, either.

--Coach Ken Whisenhunt is in his third year and minicamp went smoother than it did the past two years.

"It seems like we're a lot further along at this time than we were last year," Whisenhunt said. "I don't know if it's because of having the carryover from the extra five weeks of the season, or if it's our young guys not making a lot of mistakes.

"I'm excited. It seems like we've built on some of the things we did later in the season last year. That's a good thing."

--The Cardinals have fired two college scouts, George Belu and Dave Razzano.

Belu scouted the Midwest and East. He had been with the team for eight years and was a coach for 38 years before that. Razzano had been with the club three years and in the NFL for 21.

Their departures leave the team with a young staff. The most veteran scout by far is Jerry Hardaway, who has been in the league 21 years.

--Lower back issues kept backup quarterback Brian St. Pierre from practicing at the recent minicamp. Missing practice bothered him more than the back.

"It's the first practice I've ever missed," said St. Pierre, who found watching practice "very uncomfortable."

--CB Greg Toler, the team's fourth-round pick, reminds people in the organization of cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, last year's first-round pick. Both are very fast and came from smaller college programs. Rodgers-Cromartie sees the similarities, too.

"Dominique, he just let me know we have the same game," Toler said. "That's how he was when he came in and he said, 'you'll get through it.'"

Like Rodgers-Cromartie, Toler must learn how to study tape, something he didn't have to do much at tiny Saint Paul's, a Division II in Virginia.

Free safety Antrel Rolle told Toler to pay attention in the classroom.

"He told me to take good notes, that it would take me a long ways," Toler said.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Especially this time of year, there are a lot of season allergies out there. I think maybe this was a seasonal injury, is what it seems to be. I'm going to look into that and see if I can figure that out." -- Coach Ken Whisenhunt on receiver Anquan Boldin and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, who want new contracts, sitting out at minicamp because of hamstring "injuries."