Kansas City, Mo. ? A couple of old friends who have meant a lot to each other will get together in Kansas City tonight with no chance to talk over old times.

Dick Vermeil will be trying to get his injury-weakened Kansas City Chiefs a good tuneup for the regular season, while Kurt Warner is busy restarting a career that at its peak took Vermeil’s St. Louis Rams to the 2000 Super Bowl championship.

Now, Warner is quarterbacking the Arizona Cardinals, who meet Vermeil’s Chiefs in their second exhibition game tonight.

Vermeil says he’s certain of one thing: The Cardinals will be glad to have his former Super Bowl MVP.

“Kurt Warner is the No. 2-rated quarterback in history of the National Football League. He’s a great player,” the Chiefs coach said. “We’re not game-planning to stop Kurt Warner. We’re just going in to play defense, probably just like they are, just coming to play defense.”

In a 13-11 victory last week over Dallas, Warner marked his Arizona debut by hitting 14 of 19 passes for 151 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown strike to Larry Fitzgerald.

• 6Sports video: Chiefs to face Cardinals (08-19-05)

He’ll be out tonight to gain an even finer comfort level.

“Just getting a good feel with the receivers, the timing aspect of things, and continuing to build confidence in those guys, to know they’re going to be where I expect them to be or I know where they’re going to be based on how they run routes,” Warner said.

“And that’s where I want to get at this point. I feel very comfortable with the offense and my reads within it, I feel good with seeing the field and those things, and now just the finer things of the game.”

Arizona also will welcome Marcel Shipp and Anquan Boldin back to its ranks. Neither has played in an exhibition game since 2003.

Shipp, listed as rookie J.J. Arrington’s backup at running back, led the Cardinals in rushing in 2002 and ’03 but broke his left leg and dislocated his left ankle during a scrimmage last season.

Boldin, a wide receiver, broke his nose during a routine drill earlier this month. He returned to practice this week fitted with a clear plastic shield inside his faceguard for protection.

The Chiefs, coming off a lackluster 27-16 loss last week to Minnesota, have much to work on. The first-team offense failed to score a touchdown, and their defense, bristling with new starters and a supposedly new attitude, did little to distinguish itself.

One key newcomer, outside linebacker Kendrell Bell, will miss a second straight week. Bell missed much of last season because of a groin injury and has been slowed in his first Chiefs camp because of a shoulder problem.

“Next week at this time, Kendrell should be getting ready to play a few snaps,” said Vermeil.

Keyaron Fox, the top backup linebacker on both outside positions, also will be out. But the home crowd will get its first opportunity to see rookie linebacker Derrick Johnson, the No. 1 draft choice, who has looked impressive in camp.

Despite the injuries to Bell, Fox and defensive end Carlos Hall, Vermeil said he was heading into the rest of the exhibition season confident the defense had shown marked improvement.

Fans, impatient for improvement after three straight seasons of woeful defense, will be watching closely to see if he’s right.

“They’re ahead of where they were last year,” Vermeil said. “It ain’t even close. And all I have to do is look at the takeaways, the interceptions they’ve had. We’re way ahead, and I think the temperament of the defense, the discipline within the scheme, the fundamentals within the scheme, we’re better there.”