Friend’s death makes Rolle’s job doubly tough

Antrel Rolle has the toughest duty of any Cardinals’ player this week. Not only does he have to step into the starting cornerback role vacated by the injured Eric Green, he does so at the time he will be grieving for a friend since childhood: the murdered Sean Taylor.

“That was my little brother,” Rolle said of Taylor.

The two grew up minutes apart in Miami. They either played with or against each other since they were about six years old, playing small-fry football.

Later they were teammates at the University of Miami.

Taylor was 24 when he died, one year younger than Rolle.

“We always pushed each other,” Rolle said. “He stole bits and pieces of my game. I stole bit and pieces of his game.”

Rolle indicated Wednesday he really hasn’t started the grieving process.

“It really hasn’t hit me that I’m never gong to see his face again.”

But from now on, Rolle says his No. 21 will represent Taylor’s No. 21, and that, “I’ll do everything I can” to keep his memory alive.

“I know how much he loved the game.”

Along the way, “I watched him grow. I watched him become a man.”

Rolle said the often-troubled Taylor had to act as the man of his household at an early age, and that, “He dealt with a lot, a lot of rough times."

“A lot of people didn’t understand Sean and his ways. A lot of times I didn’t really understand his ways. But I understood when it was time to jump on when it was time to jump off.”

Rolle suggested Taylor was a loner and that, “I think a lot of people misunderstood that. Off the field, he was a kid inside.”

Coach Ken Whisenhunt said he understands Rolle’s situation:

“It’s tough for everybody. Any time you lose a young man like that unexpectedly, it’s tough. But you have to get up and play. We’re counting on Antrel. Certainly it’s rough and he has to fight through it. But we’ve got to be ready for Sunday.”

PUNTER TO BE NAMED

The Cardinals were close to naming their new punter, Whisenhunt said.

Candidates to succeed Mike Barr, who was cut after a rough outing Sunday, have included Chris Gardocki, Mitch Berger and Tom Rouen.

The new punter also will serve as Neil Rackers’ holder on place kicks.

MAKE THAT KICK

Heard from a passing motorist outside the Cardinals’ south Tempe training complex: “Hey Rackers! Next time make that (expletive) kick!”

Oddly enough, the Cardinals’ place-kicker was outside the building at the time the heckler passed by, but he apparently didn’t hear him.

FLUSHING IT OUT

Hard to tell if Kurt Warner’s mind or body was hurting more on Wednesday.

Warner suffered some banged-up ribs in the third quarter of the team’s spectacular loss Sunday.

“I’m sore all over,” he said. “But that’s part of the deal.”

Even worse might be the psychological effects of the loss to the bottom-feeding San Francisco 49ers.

Though Warner said the right things about moving on to Cleveland, at home Sunday, he also said, “It’s going to be hard to put that one behind me for a while.

“I’m definitely looking ahead. Not focused on last week. Still disappointed, though.”

Whisenhunt warned the Cards have to put the game behind them.

“If you don’t you’ll be behind the 8-ball starting out…you may never catch up.”

“I think I heard Anquan (Boldin) say, ‘Nothing I do will change what happened in that game.’

“We need to move on.”

EXTRA POINTS: The Cardinals signed cornerback DeMario Minter, a Round 5 pick by Cleveland (No. 152 overall) in 2006, to the practice squad.