"The Cardinals were still stiff and sore at practice Tuesday, two days after their overtime victory over the Packers.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt was happy with the mental attitude of his team, however, and has planned to back off the practice regimen this week because of the Saturday game in New Orleans.

Tuesday is usually the players' day off, but that changed because of the shorter workweek. The Cardinals didn't wear pads on Tuesday but went through a two-hour workout.

Receiver Anquan Boldin said his sprained ankle and knee have improved and that he's hopeful of practicing this week. Starting inside linebacker Gerald Hayes wore a boot on his right foot because of a sprained ankle.

Teams don't have to file injury reports until Wednesday, so no other information was available.

Boldin expressed optimism about practicing some this week and playing on Saturday.

"Definitely," Boldin said, when asked if he were optimistic, "after seeing improvement today I am."

Boldin suffered the injury in the season finale against the Packers and didn't play in last Sunday's victory."