Cardinals vs. Bills: 'Nicked up' defense getting ready for 'different' Buffalo offense

After practice on Thursday, Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt was asked about the state of the defense, considering the injuries that it has suffered, albeit several minor ones. On Wednesday, six players on the defensive side of the ball were on the injury report, four of whom did not practice at all, including two cornerbacks. "We're a bit nicked up," said Coach Whisenhunt. "But hopefully we'll have everybody or close to everybody back on Sunday and we'll play the way we've been playing."

Cornerback is a position of concern right now. Cornerbacks Greg Toler and Mike Adams did not practice at all on Wednesday. Because players are hurt in the secondary, Ken Whisenhunt noted "we're still going to have guys in and out" in rotations. "We know who the starters are going to be," he explained to the media. "But we don't know for sure who's going to be there in capacity until we get to Sunday."

Luckily, the team has depth at the position, something that Whiz made a point to say. "Last year we really struggled and we were glad that we had more depth there this year," he said. "We've needed that depth and we'll need it again this game."

Darnell Dockett is another key player who did not play a significant amount last Thursday against the Rams. "He didn't play as much as we'd have liked during the Rams game," Whiz said. "Fatigue was part of it. Hopefully this week of practice and having those extra days without having a setback in the Rams game will help him."

The defense will be facing a Bills offense that can score points. Patrick Peterson noted that quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick leads the league in both touchdowns and interceptions, and they don't give up a lot of sacks, so the Bills can put points on the board.

"They give you a number of different looks," said Whisenhunt about the Buffalo offense. "It's kind of a different offense from what you see, the conventional type. And they've got a lot of speed guys."

With C.J. Spiller and Stevie Johnson, they do have some talent at the skill position.

Will Arizona be up to the test? That has yet to be seen.