The true quiet of the offseason is creeping in. It's hard not to notice here in my cubicle on the third floor of the Cardinals' Tempe complex. The closest stairwell to me serves as a audio chamber bouncing many voices upstairs from the nearby coaches' offices (and the door they all take downstairs to the locker room). It's a cacophony much of the time of talking when things are going on; today (and for most of the next six weeks) it's a deafening silence.

The rookies will continue training with John Lott for a few more weeks, and I would think there will still be a sparse sprinkling of some veterans (It's possible Clark Haggans will take ill if he doesn't work out every day – at least, that's the impression he leaves with his daily appearances, including today after all his teammates scattered).

This is where the news will become more scarce, just to warn. I'll have a story posted tomorrow on the home page, in part because the office is closed Monday for a three-day weekend. I'll get back at it Tuesday, although enjoy the week because the following week I am taking some real vacation time. I know the diehards out there crave Cards' news all the time, but it's time to recharge the batteries for me (and frankly, there isn't as much to say). That said, I will probably continue to blog as much as I can (even, much to the chagrin of my wife, when I am on vacation, as long as a topic comes up worthy to talk about). Keep checking the blog, or get into Cardschatter and I will be sure to give a heads-up with each new post.

And there will be some news too. Given that a report out of Pittsburgh says the Cards have hired the brother of Cardinals quarterback Tyler Palko – Luke Palko – as a scout, there is one piece of news that hasn't been officially announced. There are draft picks to sign. Trust me, no one knows better than me there is never really true down time in the NFL any more.