2009 Crystal Ball: Leinart Traded to Big Apple and Dansby Walks

[joeshmo]

What players would you prefer?

I agree that Hill lacks the prototypical size for a 3-4 OLB. You made a very good point there. What's tantalizing is that Dansby has the right size and pass rushing ability to be real good as a 3-4 OLB, but with the Cardinals he's been stuck inside.

Unfortunatly the only UFA that I can see are Suggs and the two coming from our own team in Berry and Haggans. The Draft is loaded with them though, depending on Juniors of course.

Besides Suggs I dont think we are going to find that 3-4 OLB in free agency.

 

[Shogun]

Warner is in a lot better shape than he was last year. He's remained realtively healthy all year despite the pounding he's taken.

He hasn't been as banged up as he was last year, but his arm is going dead from throwing so many passes this year. Compunded with the hits he takes, I would call is a push. Fatigue = nagging injuries.

Warner turned in a Pro Bowl season worthy of MVP consideration. So many of you want to magnify his shortcomings...but the bottom line is he puts points on the board in a big way and he gets the ball consistently in the hands of the team's most talented players: 75 plus catches and over 1,000 yards individually and 25 TDs combined for Fitz, Q and Miracle Baby.

I haven't discounted anything that Kurt has done and he's played well, but point blank - (a) is 37 years old going on 38 next year (b) throwing the most passes he's ever thrown in a single season by far (c) gets scary skittish as soon as he gets touched (d) making more poor decisions as the season goes on and (e) our lack of running game when he's at the helm. Those shortcomings are very valid despite his success this season. Trading Matt Leinart for the sake of an aging quarterback with those kind of issues and making Brian St. Pierre as your backup QB with no QB for the future is foolish.

Brett Favre sucked the latter half of this season and if we extend Warner with the intentions of making him The Guy, we would be in the same boat as the Jets were this year - except without the running game.

As for the LB situation, signing Leroy Hill and drafting Maualuga would make that foursome pretty dynamic, wouldn't you think?

Not really. Counting on nabbing Rey at 21 is setting one's self up for dissapointment at this point in the process. Not everyone is built for the 3-4 defense (not everyone 4-3 OLB can move inside) and even if Leroy Hill would fit inside, he would not have the same impact that he would in a 4-3 AND having Hill, Hayes and Maualuga would be redundant because they similar skillset. Our coverage would be crap and we still would lack a decent pass rush.

Laboy (Feast/Famine player; better off rotational)
[Insert whoever]
Hayes (Stabilizer of the front 7; Solid)
Chike (Minimal impact)

Whatever we decide to do with Dansby, we still need a considerable upgrade on the outside. The cupboard is bare here.

 

[overseascardfan]

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone at ASFN. I wish all of you a warm, happy and safe year ahead...especially to you, Skkorp!

Here is a list of the off-season moves that, IMO, the Cardinals will make:

1. Quarterback Moves: (a) Cardinals sign Kurt Warner to a two year deal, with a club option on a third. Even though Warner is 37, he's in good physical shape (he was able to benefit a great deal from not playing all that much since he left St. Louis--this is his first full season since then), and he fits the Cardinal offense so well with his timely ability to deliver the ball into the hands of the team's best playmakers. Warner has contemplated retirement, but he loves Arizona, the coaching staff, and especially the weapons he has to keep him at the top of the league in passing. (b) Cardinals sign Brian St. Pierre to a three year deal to be the #2 QB. (c) Cardinals trade Matt Leinart to the New York Jets for the #17 pick in the 2009 draft. This decision is made easy for two reasons: the team wants to stick with Warner for the next two years and in that interim Leinart is due a $15M escalator clause. The Jets need to rebuild their offense around a younger QB and Leinart fits their system reasonably well.

2. RB Moves: (a) As expected the Cardinals release Edgerrin James. (b) And while the club will make an attempt to re-sign J.J. Arrington, if a relatively quick agreement isn't made, they will try to sign UFA Darren Sproles of San Diego. (c) The Cardinals are happy with Tim Hightower as their thunder back, but will add another RB in the draft this year...possibly selecting Knowshon Moreno of Georgia if he enters the draft early (most likely) and is still on the board at #17 (very unlikely). Keep an eye on James Davis of Clemson in round three or four. (d) Keep an eye on "Fast Willie" Parker...if the Cardinals can find a way to snag him, they will.

3. WR Moves: (a) The Cardinals will NOT trade Anquan Boldin, and they will do all they can to offer him a lucrative reworking of his current contract...if Boldin resists, he is still under contract, and just like this past year, the Cardinals will expect him to honor that contract. (b) The Cardinals are pretty deep here, so do not expect more than a couple of UCFA additions.

4. TE Moves: (a) They like Stephen Spach and will sign him for next year and may even bring Jerame Tuman back, hoping this time he can stay healthy. (b) The Cardinals believe that Ben Patrick and Leonard Pope will emerge as healthy, solid much-improved players next year.

5. OL Moves: (a) The Cardinals will re-sign the versatile Elton Brown...they hated losing Keydrick Vincent last year and won't make that mistake again; (b) All focus will be to develop the current strength of the starters and the abilities of young promising backups Brandon Keith and Elliot Vallejo. (c) If C Alex Mack is available in the second round the Cardinals would likely take him, otherwise they look for a player like Alabama's Antoine Campbell in the fourth or fifth round.

6. DL Moves: (a) The Cardinals will re-sign DE Bertrand Berry to an incentive laden contract slightly higher than the one he negotiated this past year; (b) They will come to terms with DE Antonio Smith on a deal loaded with incentives; (c) They like the depth they have with Calais Campbell, Kenny Iwebema, Gabe Watson, Alan Branch and Keilen Dykes and will focus on bringing that depth along in a big way.

7. LB Moves: This is where things get very interesting. (a) The Cardinals will not slap the franchise tag again on Karlos Dansby this year and will make a strong effort to re-sign him...but odds are he will take an offer somewhere else...which is OK because the Cardinals do have a plan. (b) They will try to get Chike Okeafor to take a pay cut the way Berry did. It's possible Okeafor would take the deal, but not likely. Again this is OK because the Cardinal have a plan. Their plan? (c) The Cardinals use both their first round picks on 3-4 linebacker types...they will take two from this pool of players: (1) Rey Maualuga, USC; (2) Brian Cushing, USC; (3) Brandon Spikes, Florida; (4) George Selvie, South Florida; (5) Tyson Jackson, LSU; (6) Everette Brown, Florida St.; (7) Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech. The best fits: Maualuga (takes Dansby's WILB spot) and Cushing (takes Okeafor's SOLB spot). (d) Keep an eye on UFA LB Leroy Hill of Seattle as one of the Cardinals' primary off-season targets.

8. DB Moves: (a) The Cardinals do not re-sign Eric Green, instead they draft another DB in the second or third round from a pool of the likes of: (1) Victor Macho Harris, CB, Virginia Tech; (2) William Moore, FS, Missouri; (3) Nic Harris, FS, Oklahoma; (4) DeAndre Wright, CB, New Mexico; (5) Vontae Davis, CB/S, Illinois; (6) Courtney Greene, FS, Rutgers.

9. ST Moves: (a) The Cardinals WILL draft a punter this year...most likely Chris Miller of Ball State or Kevin Huber of Cincinnati in the sixth round.

I actually differ in opinion on some of your points. I actually feel if Kurt has a bad game he may be gone and the FO may feel its time to hand the reigns over to Matty Franchise. Teams in need of a short term fix at QB may offer him more than we do and I think the escalators in Leinart's contract are performance based like Fitzgerald's.

I also believe we will retain Dansby as we will have the dough to make it happen especially with the cutting of Edge, Berry and maybe Chike.

As for the draft I think we may end up trading Boldin as Breaston has developed into a solid #2 with Doucet like to take the slot with Urban. If we can get a 1st and 3rd or something like DET got from DAL we should pull the trigger.

With all that here is my draft and FA:
1a) CB Malcolm Jenkins
1b) OG Duke Robinson
2) C Alex Mack
3a) OT Alex Boone
3b) S Patrick Chung
4) DT Terrence Taylor
5) RB Marlon Lucky
6) P Kevin Huber
7) QB Willie Tuitama

FA:
DE/OLB Terrell Suggs
Re-sign Dansby

 

[Shogun]

What players would you prefer?

I agree that Hill lacks the prototypical size for a 3-4 OLB. You made a very good point there. What's tantalizing is that Dansby has the right size and pass rushing ability to be real good as a 3-4 OLB, but with the Cardinals he's been stuck inside.

Karlos HATES taking on blockers and would get get eaten alive if he had to take on tackles on a regular basis. He's not even that good of rusher. He's perfect where he's at now because he's good at coming. He's one of the best ILBs in the league. No need to mess up anything that already works well.

 

[Goldfield]

I would love to see us sign Sproles and let Edge walk. Let Sproles and Hightower split the carries. Sproles can spread out to WR at times and Hightower can be short yardage.

I see the Cardinals trading Boldin to use his cap numbers on the OLine and D.

Fitz, Breaston, Early, and Urban can be productive enough at the WR spots. Sproles(If signed) would also help there.

I think Dansby will get a huge payday on another team. Fine with me. Chike takes a paycut or is released.

We need two blocking TE's. We need a punter.

I would wait till next off season to trade Leinart if he isnt the guy.

Focus everything else on improving that D.

 

[CaptTurbo]

Appreciate the effort Mitch was an entertaining read.

One question though. Whats the point of taking 2 LB's in the draft when our DT's arent good enought o keep the lineman off of them?

IMO a defense is built around the nT is a 3-4 and we dont have a legitimate one. Dockett is a DE but he gets slammed because it seems everyone thinks he is a DT. We badly need a real NT.

 

[TJ]

Kurt has done a remarkable job for this team this season, but the $64 question is: will he keep it up? I am going out on a limb and say that we let him go and give Leinart the reigns. After watching this season progress, our team has unequivocally proven to have significant flaws that many 2-14 and 3-13 teams have.

For example, we are dead last in rushing ypg. No secret. Two reasons for this are a) poor interior run block and b) lack of commitment to the run. Kurt has a tendency to check off a run for a short pass, which is less effective. We became way too predictable towards the end of the season. With the wideouts on this team, we don't have to be the best running team in the league, but we at least have to have it in our back pocket to keep opposing defenses on their toes.

Second, did anyone see how many TD passes we allowed?? Without researching, I think the # is 35. More than two per game. Unacceptable. Many reasons a) our pass rush, which was highly touted before the season, did not live up to expectations b) our secondary is way too thin and c) poor tackling.

Bottom line is that this team cannot afford to pay two QBs starter money and Matt Leinart is fit for the job. We have several holes that need to be addressed so we can be contenders year in and year out. I'd rather have a more balanced squad than one that relys on slinging the ball all over the place.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Taking Moreno (doesn't matter where) would be a HUGE mistake... I hope like hell the Car*s saty FAR away from this sucker pick...

 

[Shogun]

Taking Moreno (doesn't matter where) would be a HUGE mistake... I hope like hell the Car*s saty FAR away from this sucker pick...

Explain yourself.

 

[az1965]

Leinart will not be traded.

Pope should get cut or traded.

We will not tarde Q.

Dansby will be a tough decision. I think we WILL slap the franchise tag if we cannot negotiate in time.

We do need upgrades at following positions:

DL - Smith is average, Campbell should be tried here. Dockett needs better players around him to play better. Nose tackle has been hurting and average at best.

LB - Need replacement for Chike. Keep Dansby.

DB - Need a #2 CB, move Hood to nickle situations. While Rolle has play making abilities at FS, he is often lost in free space and makes too many tackling blunders trying to make big plays. May be some coaching in the offseason.

Punter - Have been struggling since Player was let go. Need to get a good one either thru draft or FA.

DC - Must upgrade on the defensive coordinator!

 

[Totally_Red]

Unfortunatly the only UFA that I can see are Suggs and the two coming from our own team in Berry and Haggans. The Draft is loaded with them though, depending on Juniors of course.

Besides Suggs I dont think we are going to find that 3-4 OLB in free agency.

Suggs was interviewed on NFLN and he was wearing a St.Louis Cardinals baseball cap. Is that a subtle(or not subtle) hint about where he'd like to play? Of course he has to escape the dreaded franchise tag in Baltimore first.

 

[SuperSpck]

Sproles and Suggs would make my heart sing, but I'm not setting my life on it. How often do these things happen how I'd like them?

IF we keep Pendy I think Mitch King would be an interesting prospect that would fit in with what the DE's seem to do around here (booby prize for the best joke here).

Anyway, I think keeping Leinart on the team is the smart call. I'm sure a lot of Packers fans were pushing to trade Rodgers, but time on the bench isn't always time wasted.

I also like having an heir in the wings now.

Like a talented OL making a marginal RB look better, a good D line will make the lack of depth at LB a little more managable.

Smith could be let go in FA and Dockett needs more time off. This means more Campbell. I think we all know Iwebema's going to take longer to develop and if Branch is a bust the team needs to continue it's search for a good NT to work with or replace Watson.

WOLB needs to be addressed as part of the line too, but a dream signing like Suggs could help that.

 

[Dback Jon]

Punter, Robbie Dehaze, NAU - UDFA...

 

[TJ]

Leinart will not be traded.

Pope should get cut or traded.

We will not tarde Q.

Dansby will be a tough decision. I think we WILL slap the franchise tag if we cannot negotiate in time.

We do need upgrades at following positions:

DL - Smith is average, Campbell should be tried here. Dockett needs better players around him to play better. Nose tackle has been hurting and average at best.

LB - Need replacement for Chike. Keep Dansby.

DB - Need a #2 CB, move Hood to nickle situations. While Rolle has play making abilities at FS, he is often lost in free space and makes too many tackling blunders trying to make big plays. May be some coaching in the offseason.

Punter - Have been struggling since Player was let go. Need to get a good one either thru draft or FA.

DC - Must upgrade on the defensive coordinator!

Looks good to me. I would add that we need upgrade at ST coach as well.

 

[ajcardfan]

Suggs was interviewed on NFLN and he was wearing a St.Louis Cardinals baseball cap. Is that a subtle(or not subtle) hint about where he'd like to play? Of course he has to escape the dreaded franchise tag in Baltimore first.

He was promised he wouldn't be tagged again. Also, he hasn't been subtle at all about wishing he could play here. He flat out said so during an interview at as ASU basketball game last spring. Then, for good measure, he repeated it on a radio interview on KTAR this summer.

 

[azsportsfan01]

I would love to get Rey Maualuga but there is no way he is there when we pick. He will be a top 10 pick and wouldn't be all that shocking if he is grabbed in the top 5.

 

[Stout]

But...I do expect the Cardinals to have a stronger running game next year, for one. .

Well, you can't have it both ways. By your plan, which is upgrading nothing or next to nothing on offense, the running game will be running in place.

 

[ajcardfan]

I would love to get Rey Maualuga but there is no way he is there when we pick. He will be a top 10 pick and wouldn't be all that shocking if he is grabbed in the top 5.

I don't think so. As undergrads declare, he is steadily dropping down the draft boards.

 

[Stout]

I don't think so. As undergrads declare, he is steadily dropping down the draft boards.

He'd be great to have, but only if we don't re-sign Dansby, and even then it would be treading water at the position. We need OLBs in the worst way.

 

[daytripper]

My crystal ball says the first change made this off season will be defensive coordinator

 

[Stout]

My crystal ball says the first change made this off season will be defensive coordinator

I like daytripper's crystal ball!

 

[azsportsfan01]

One thing I would do. If Nnamdi Asomugha hits the free agent market I give him a blank check and allow him to write his own figure in. I would take him over anyone who has the potential to be available. Having Asomugha and Cromartie would be sick. There are many more pass rushers than shut down corners.

 

[conraddobler]

They may well trade Matt.

And good call on the Jets, history buffs will remember that we drafted Joe Namath and he refused to play for us and wound up at the JETS.

So it'd be the second comming of a major screw up and biblical cosmic beatdown if it went down that way.

So it probably will.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

i think if we had that kind of off season,we'd be battling St.Louis for division door mat next year. In your moves we are losing our best defensive player and our future QB.I would like to add to the talent base rather than subtract. Losing Okeafor is addition by subtraction. The St. Pierre love needs to stop. The guy has been in the league for many years. He is what he is, a 3rd string,emergency QB. I would let Antonio Smith and Elton Brown hit the streets as well. Both can easily be replaced by younger,cheaper talent and be just as productive. Calais Campbell will make the loss of Smith insignificant.

I like the choice of LB in round 1.Hopefully we have 2 first rounders after Boldin is traded.
The CB pool is ok this year. Vontae Davis will be gone by time the Cards pick in round 1 so he won't be available in round 2. Macho Harris is from Vtech. I say stay away from all Vtech CB's. When has there been a good one in the NFL and don't say DeAngelo Hall.
I think Whiz will definitely upgrade the TE position. Pope may be let go. Patrick will stick around. He may be the only guy that returns. One thing i could see, especially if Leinart is the QB and Boldon traded, is to swing a trade for Tony Gonzalez. A 3rd/4th rounder should get it done. That would give Leinart a security blanket and be another weapon to off set losing Boldin. A blocking TE, Manumaulea(however that's spelled) from SD would be a good guy to bring in as well.

Whiz even said in his presser the other day that from day 1 the need is to upgrade both lines. I think that's where the focus of the draft will and should be. First round we slect one your LB's, Brandon Spikes is really starting to intrigue me, and the best OL.Alex Mack,Jason Smith, or Ciron Black come to mind.

 

[Garthshort]

If the Jets make an offer for Leinart in the next month or two, this time next year, Bill Bidwill will still be trying to make up his mind.