Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
If you look ahead to the next offseason it’s relatively simple to highlight several positions the Cards should target. As I communicate with people about the Cards’ largely unexpected success, the most frequent concern is that the roster is surprisingly weak. The conclusion for me is quite easy to reach. No NFL team gets more out of its roster than the Cards. Put another way the historically inept Cards are quite possibly the best coached team in the league. I still think the plan was to compete for the playoffs next season. However that has changed. Suddenly the future is now.
While the roster admittedly has holes it also has both impact players and high effort contributors. This team is well positioned to be built into a perennial contender. So far the Cards have mostly focused on the offense. I expect them to still tweak it next season, but I think the offseason will focus on defense. Hopefully Ojulari can beat his injury jinx. Robinson will be a full season add. So they already have some builtin impact. Several young CBs are showing growth. The safeties are 3 deep. I do think the line will change dramatically.
It’s quite exciting to envision where this team will be if they give Gannon a couple of impact defensive players. The team would remind me a great deal of the Eagle team that went all the way. Add in the fact that several key players are committed to future seasons. Those that aren’t are largely backed up with functional depth.
My biggest future concern is losing coaches. Still Gannon can keep the defense sharp. So as long as a good OC can be kept in place this won’t be the same old Cards. This team is built to last. In the end all the early worry about whether these were the right coaches has been resolved. Good players, good coaches, draft picks and money to spend would seem to be a winning combination for the future.
While the roster admittedly has holes it also has both impact players and high effort contributors. This team is well positioned to be built into a perennial contender. So far the Cards have mostly focused on the offense. I expect them to still tweak it next season, but I think the offseason will focus on defense. Hopefully Ojulari can beat his injury jinx. Robinson will be a full season add. So they already have some builtin impact. Several young CBs are showing growth. The safeties are 3 deep. I do think the line will change dramatically.
It’s quite exciting to envision where this team will be if they give Gannon a couple of impact defensive players. The team would remind me a great deal of the Eagle team that went all the way. Add in the fact that several key players are committed to future seasons. Those that aren’t are largely backed up with functional depth.
My biggest future concern is losing coaches. Still Gannon can keep the defense sharp. So as long as a good OC can be kept in place this won’t be the same old Cards. This team is built to last. In the end all the early worry about whether these were the right coaches has been resolved. Good players, good coaches, draft picks and money to spend would seem to be a winning combination for the future.
