• Cardinals Raiders preseason postgame

    Cardinals Raiders preseason postgame

  • Jack Del Rio on Marshawn Lynch

    Jack Del Rio on Marshawn Lynch

  • Cardinals vs. Raiders pregame

    Cardinals vs. Raiders pregame

  • Bruce Arians, Tyrann Mathieu on Arians' nicknames

    Bruce Arians, Tyrann Mathieu on Arians’ nicknames

  • Shot Clock: Cardinals protecting QB Palmer?

    Shot Clock: Cardinals protecting QB Palmer?

  • Kent Somers and Bob McManaman on Cardinals final practice before Raiders game

    Kent Somers and Bob McManaman on Cardinals final practice before Raiders game

  • Somers, McManaman recap Wednesday's Cardinals practice

    Somers, McManaman recap Wednesday’s Cardinals practice

  • Somers, McManaman on punting after Tuesday Cardinals practice

    Somers, McManaman on punting after Tuesday Cardinals practice

  • Shot Clock: Good, bad of Cardinals' 1st game

    Shot Clock: Good, bad of Cardinals’ 1st game

  • Greg Moore speaks with Cards head coach Bruce Arians

    Greg Moore speaks with Cards head coach Bruce Arians

  • Greg Moore and Bruce Arians talk charities

    Greg Moore and Bruce Arians talk charities

  • Bordow, McManaman recap Sunday Cardinals practice, good injury news

    Bordow, McManaman recap Sunday Cardinals practice, good injury news

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    Bordow, McManaman break down the Cardinals’ first preseason game, injuries

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    Gabbert’s big chance, special team auditions

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    Cardinals QB Gabbert looks forward to starting Hall of Fame Game

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    Cardinals report: Crisper practice Tuesday

  • Shot Clock: Arians changes tone with Cardinals

    Shot Clock: Arians changes tone with Cardinals

  • Breaking down an intense Cards practice

    Breaking down an intense Cards practice

  • Cornerback drama continues for Cardinals

    Cornerback drama continues for Cardinals

  • Greg Moore and Bob McManaman break down the Red-White practice

    Greg Moore and Bob McManaman break down the Red-White practice

  • Cardinals Red-White practice preview

    Cardinals Red-White practice preview

  • Somers, McManaman on Gruden possibility, CB battle

    Somers, McManaman on Gruden possibility, CB battle

  • Kent Somers and Bob McManaman break down Cardinals practice

    Kent Somers and Bob McManaman break down Cardinals practice

  • Wrapping up the day at Cardinals Camp- July 27 edition

    Wrapping up the day at Cardinals Camp- July 27 edition

  • Shot Clock: Early hiccups for Cardinals

    Shot Clock: Early hiccups for Cardinals

  • Take away from Cardinals Camp July 24

    Take away from Cardinals Camp July 24

  • azcentral sports' Bob McManaman wraps up the action at Cards camp

    azcentral sports’ Bob McManaman wraps up the action at Cards camp

  • azcentral sports Scott Bordow and Bob McManaman wrap-up Day 2 at Arizona Cardinals training cam

    azcentral sports Scott Bordow and Bob McManaman wrap-up Day 2 at Arizona Cardinals training cam

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    Moore, McManaman wrap up opening day at Cardinals training camp

  • azcentral sports' Kent Somers and Bob McManaman reporting day at Arizona Cardinals training camp

    azcentral sports’ Kent Somers and Bob McManaman reporting day at Arizona Cardinals training camp

  • David Johnson's work load; D-Backs' head games

    David Johnson’s work load; D-Backs’ head games

  • Shot Clock: Cards kick off fan-friendly camp

    Shot Clock: Cards kick off fan-friendly camp

  • Somers sits down with Cardinals rookie Budda Baker

    Somers sits down with Cardinals rookie Budda Baker

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    Kent Somers: Impressions from Cardinals minicamp

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    Kent Somers recaps Cardinals minicamp Wednesday

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    Kent Somers recaps Cardinals practice

  • Shot Clock: Blaine Gabbert a keeper for Cardinals?

    Shot Clock: Blaine Gabbert a keeper for Cardinals?

  • Kent Somers, Bob McManaman talk another week of Arizona Cardinals OTAs

    Kent Somers, Bob McManaman talk another week of Arizona Cardinals OTAs

  • Bob McManaman after Cardinals practice Tuesday, May 30

    Bob McManaman after Cardinals practice Tuesday, May 30

  • Kent and Bob talk new NFL rules and wide out depth

    Kent and Bob talk new NFL rules and wide out depth

  • Arians Family Foundation Fundraiser at Top Golf

    Arians Family Foundation Fundraiser at Top Golf

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    Report card on Cardinals QB Blaine Gabbert

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    Watch out for Dodgers; Cards CBs apply for job

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    What Deone Bucannon’s injury means for Cardinals

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    David Johnson No. 1 on NFL Players Association list

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    No throws for Cards QB, cheap shot in NBA?

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    Kaepernick blackballed? Greinke now trade bait?

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    Kent Somers talks Cardinals rookies

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    Kent Somers talks Daryl Washington departure

  • Cardinals release linebacker Daryl Washington: Somers and Bickley discuss

    Cardinals release linebacker Daryl Washington: Somers and Bickley discuss

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    Shot Clock: Gabbert a terrible fit for Cards

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    Somers sits down with Arians on Cardinals’ offseason

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    Bruce Arians talks about his annual fundraisers

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    Jim Hart to be inducted into Cardinals Ring of Honor

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    Shot Clock: Cards picks make instant impact?

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    Shot Clock: Tap brakes on Haason Reddick pick?

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    Sights and sounds from Cardinals draft party

  • Kent Somers and Bob McManaman talk Cardinals draft of Haason Reddick

    Kent Somers and Bob McManaman talk Cardinals draft of Haason Reddick

  • Keim, Arians striking gold in draft's third round

    Keim, Arians striking gold in draft’s third round

  • Larry Fitzgerald, Chandler Jones talk about Celebrity Softball Game

    Larry Fitzgerald, Chandler Jones talk about Celebrity Softball Game

  • Kent Somers talks with Cardinals DT Frostee Rucker

    Kent Somers talks with Cardinals DT Frostee Rucker

  • Cardinals DT Frostee Rucker on expectations, adding Karlos Dansby

    Cardinals DT Frostee Rucker on expectations, adding Karlos Dansby

  • Top 3 games in Cardinals schedule

    Top 3 games in Cardinals schedule

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    Cards playing dangerous game with RB Johnson?

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    Larry Fitzgerald holding 7th annual charity softball tournament

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    Larry Fitzgerald 1-on-1 with Kent Somers

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    NFL meetings in Phoenix: On Bruce Arians, new rules, the draft

  • NFC coaches take questions at NFL owners meeting

    NFC coaches take questions at NFL owners meeting

It was one game, a preseason one at that, and no Cardinals starter played past the first quarter in the team’s 20-10 victory over the Raiders on Saturday night.

So it’s too early to form conclusions about players and units, but pertinent information about them could be gleaned. Here is what we learned from Saturday night.

1. The backup QB job is probably settled

Drew Stanton played well, completing 11 of 15 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. He was calm, in control and obviously comfortable running this offense.

When he was pressured, Stanton did a nice job moving around, and his touchdown pass to tight end Troy Niklas came after he drifted out of the pocket and to the sideline.

Entering camp, Stanton had a firm hold on the No. 2 job. For him to lose it, he would have to play awful and Blaine Gabbert would have to be great.

It’s early, but as of now it appears Stanton will remain Carson Palmer’s backup, and Gabbert likely will be the No. 3.

2. Defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche isn’t a bust

Nkemdiche has played well throughout training camp and did a nice job on Saturday night. He’s trending in the right direction, but let’s not put him in the Pro Bowl yet.

He made a couple of good plays against the Raiders, but it’s not as if he was in their backfield all night. Once, he got too high and was driven off the ball a bit.

But if Nkemdiche continues along this path, this defensive line should be able to compensate for the loss of Calais Campbell via free agency.

3. Carson Palmer showed some rust

That’s to be expected since he hadn’t played in a game since last season.

Palmer completed 4 of 8 passes and did some good things, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brittan Golden.

But he also overthrew Jaron Brown on a play that should have resulted in a touchdown.

On the play before, he elected to throw to tight end Jermaine Gresham and missed running back Chris Johnson in the flat.

Gresham dropped the ball, blowing a sure first down. But Johnson likely would have scored had Palmer gone to him. Johnson had center A.Q. Shipley and guard Evan Boehm in front of him.

Again, plays like this are to be expected in the preseason. And no one is perfect in the regular season, either.

4. Who is No. 45?

The Cardinals signed inside linebacker Josh Bynes a little more than a week ago, and the veteran has done nothing but make plays in practice and Saturday night.

He led the Cardinals with six tackles against the Raiders, recorded half a sack, forced a fumble and defended a pass.

The Cardinals are expected to keep four inside linebackers, and Bynes, in his sixth year, is now in play for that fourth spot. It could come down to Bynes or Scooby Wright.

5. Special teams improvement

There seems to be little doubt kicker Phil Dawson will be an upgrade over Chandler Catanzaro. Dawson made both of his field-goal attempts on Saturday and was hitting from 60 yards in warmups.

Matt Wile and Richie Leone punted better than they did against Dallas in the Hall of Fame game. Wile’s one punt went 65 yards and Leone’s went 61.

They might be better served to strive for more hang time and less distance, since they out-kicked their coverage.

It was a small sample size, but Kerwynn Williams looked comfortable returning kicks and punts. He returned one kickoff 35 yards and one punt 13 yards.

RELATED: Top units impress in Cardinals’ preseason win over Raiders

MORE: Drew Stanton strengthens hold on Cardinals’ backup QB job

RELATED: Kerwynn Williams gets 1st crack as Cardinals’ returner

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