Cardinals Notebook: Patrick Peterson developing quickly

Here are some news and notes from around the Arizona Cardinals...

• Patrick Peterson is quickly living up to his lofty draft status, Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizona writes. Opposing quarterbacks have compiled a QB rating of just 36.9, Morgan notes, and that is with Peterson typically matched against the opposition's top receiver. “I’ve said it from probably Week 4 or 5 (of last season) that he has the potential to be the best defensive player in the league,” Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton told Morgan. “Not just the best defensive back in the league, but the best defensive player in the league.”
  
   
• St. Louis has not just been the Gateway to the West, but the Gateway from the West, at least in Arizona's case, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes. The Cardinals have won seven straight in St. Louis, and they have not forgotten that. “Over the years we’ve been a pretty good team and they were in a rebuilding mode, trying to get back right,” CB Michael Adams told Urban. “We don’t think about it as a team. As a player I do. Certain teams at certain times, they shouldn’t beat you. But it’s your job to go out there and win games. I feel like, when we were 5-11 (in 2010), if the Packers played us, they probably would have thought ‘We should beat these guys.’ But you still have to go out and get it done. You have to respect every opponent and do the job.”
  
   
• John Skelton is still on the mend and his status for Thursday's game at St. Louis is undetermined, Morgan writes. With Kevin Kolb in the top-10 in the league in quarterback rating, Skelton's presence has not been sorely missed, and the question of who will get the starting gig once Skelton is healthy is up for debate. “At some point, when we feel like, based on what he’s done in practice, he’s ready to go, we’ll have a decision to make,” Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “I think it made both of those guys (Skelton and Kevin Kolb) better. We’re reaping the dividends of that right now. Whatever you want to say about picking the quarterback and when we picked the quarterback and how it all came down, the bottom line is we’re 4-0.” Whisenhunt also said that DT Darnell Dockett (hamstring), TE Todd Heap (knee) and RB LaRod Stephens-Howling (hip) would be game-time decisions Thursday. 
  
   
• The struggling Arizona offensive line will have a lighter load with the loss of St. Louis DL Eugene Sims. Sims was ruled out for the game by Jeff Fisher after suffering a concussion against Seattle in Week 4, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.