Cards' Wilson hoping to return to form

Based on an impressive showing Saturday in Oakland, the Cardinals are hoping safety Adrian Wilson is back to Pro Bowl form.

Wilson had a relatively quiet 2007 before he finally had his season ended by a heel injury.

But on Saturday, Wilson looked good, especially on an open-field tackle of the Raiders’ Darren McFadden.

“That was a pretty impressive play,” Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “It was nice to see that, the explosive speed. That was the old Adrian that was a dominant force. You could see the excitement on his face. That’s one of those plays where you know he’s all the way back.”

TACKLING IMPROVES

The tackling, sloppy the first two games, improved markedly at Oakland.

“It was a little bit of an emphasis, and we actually got better,” said Whisenhunt, pointing out that his defensive players “got chewed out pretty good last week for not doing that.”

The improvement “was good to see,” but, “I need to see it another week before we can say we’re making progress.”

That was the case with penalties, which were down in the second game at Kansas City but returned in force at Oakland.

FOUR PLAYERS CUT

The Cardinals got down to the 75-player limit by releasing cornerback Marcus Brown, wide receiver Jemalle Cornelius, defensive end Bryan Robinson — the rookie, not the veteran lineman by the same name — and center Hercules Satele.

The Cardinals now have 76 players.

An international player, linebacker Eduardo Castaneda, doesn’t count against the 75-man roster limit, which all clubs are required to reach by today.

The big cut comes Saturday, when the Cardinals must get to 53 players.

HEALTH UPDATE

Safety Antrel Rolle, who is just getting back to action after missing two weeks with a sore ankle, probably will play more than most starters Friday against Denver, Whisenhunt indicated.

Rolle is making the transition from cornerback.

From watching him in practice, “I think we’ve seen enough to believe he’s going to be a pretty good player at that position,” Whisenhunt said. But, “He needs to get a feel for the game and the speed of the game at that position.”

Also, defensive tackle Gabe Watson, out since the spring with a knee injury, should return to practice next week.

That might allow him to play in the season opener at San Francisco on Sept. 7.

Also hobbling a bit are tight end Ben Patrick and center Lyle Sendlein. It’s not clear yet if they’ll play Friday.