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| Thursday, October 28 | |||||
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Injuries likely will force coach Vince Tobin to alter his plans for revamping the Arizona Cardinals' offensive line for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots.
Rookie L.J. Shelton and second-year player Anthony Clement still will start at left and right tackle, but James Dexter, slated to move from starting right tackle to left guard, is listed as doubtful after missing the last three games with a partially torn left triceps. "We thought we had a good chance of getting him back, and he thought he had a good chance," Tobin said. "We've listed him as doubtful, but that doesn't mean he's out. We'll probably make that decision come Sunday." Matt Joyce, who lost his tackle job but is supposed to be Dexter's backup at guard, didn't practice Wednesday and Thursday because of a pulled muscle in his back and is listed as questionable for Sunday. If Dexter and Joyce can't play, the job will fall to Chris Dishman, who has started there the last 16 games but was the odd man out in the reshuffling. Dexter tried to practice some Wednesday and wasn't optimistic about his chances of playing this weekend. "I didn't do much today," he said Thursday. "I did some activity yesterday and it kind of swelled up on me last night. We just have to take it day by day. We'll have to see tomorrow how I'm feeling." He said doubtful is a good way to describe his chances of playing Sunday, but said he's hopeful he could play the next week against the New York Jets. Joyce, not at all happy about being moved from starting tackle to backup guard, has a much better chance than Dexter of being able to play Sunday, Tobin said. "He's got a muscle in his back and I think sometimes those can respond overnight," Tobin said. Joyce wondered how well he could be expected to be the starting guard without having a chance to practice at the position. "It would be a pretty difficult undertaking," Joyce said. "I played there in the fourth quarter against Washington, but it was only the last two minutes. It's a huge difference, a completely different game." Tobin doesn't think moving from tackle to guard should be that big of a deal.
"I've always believed that a lot of people make a lot more of things like that than really is there," Tobin said. "If you're an offensive lineman you're an offensive lineman. I know there's different techniques and this type of thing, but it's the same thing with playing left outside linebacker or right outside linebacker, left end or right end. I understand that they're different, but then you line up and you go and you play, because that's what you're paid to do." | ALSO SEE Upbeat Dye visits Cardinals
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