The preseason is over. The veterans and guys who know they have locked up roster spots, it's a great time. Football counts the next time the Cardinals play a game. But the next hours and days are hard for many of the others on the bottom half of the list. Take guard/center Cole Toner, who looked like he might be the Cards' choice as a seventh offensive lineman but then ran into some issues in Atlanta. It made Thursday's game in Denver a little more important.
"I'm definitely not comfy," Toner said. "I played the whole game today, so usually that doesn't portend good things, but honestly I don't know.
"I'm confident. I don't know. We'll watch the film tomorrow. I thought I played well. I didn't play that well in Atlanta so I needed to come back and play a better game, which I did. So I'm proud of myself for that. It's on to the regular season -- if the opportunity presents itself for me."
That was a lot of Thursday. Some impressed Bruce Arians, like Rudy Ford and Elijhaa Penny. Some didn't, although Arians wasn't being specific. This is about a "final" roster, but it's also about a lot of guys getting their dreams crushed, and Arians is cognizant of that.
-- The good news is the Cards came out of the preseason fairly healthy. Rookie defensive tackle Pasoni Tasini hurt his right knee, although Arians said it was likely a sprain and not serious. That'd be good, because Tasini figures to be a practice-squad candidate.
-- No decision yet on the punter, although I thought Matt Wile probably won the job.
-- I thought Ford, the rookie safety, looked good playing in the second half, and Arians noted him specifically. Ford and Harlan Miller looked like they were in a battle for a last secondary spot. Both are practice squad-eligible, so maybe that's where the one goes who doesn't make the roster.
-- Here's my guess -- and it's just a guess, although educated after watching the last six weeks -- at the 53-man roster.
-- The Cardinals will meet as a team Friday morning and then the players have a few days off. That's good because the front office has plenty to sort through with all the cuts coming. I am not sure what the schedule is for releasing guys when it comes to the Cards, but names could start trickling out as it happens. Arians has a press conference late Friday morning.
