3 guys last night that I'm concerned about

[Russ Smith]

I mentioned in game threads, I don't see it with Niklas yet. Seems to be very raw for a 2nd rounder, think it's going to take him quite awhile. Has athletic ability but so far displays no feel for the game at all at the TE position. I'll give him a pass this year he's missed time and he's raw.

Stepfan Taylor, at least last night he appears to be 4th on the RB depth chart. I'm not sure I agree with that but I'm not at the practices. He came in and immediately picked up a blitz that would have been a big hit on the QB, ran hard on his I think one carry, but it sure looked like Arians prefers Hughes and Dwyer. If he makes the team he'll play, history says Dwyer gets nicked up often, and I think Hughes looks like a RB but plays like he's in the wrong position. He had several chances last night to throw a big block and either missed it or got ran over, and he got the ball 1 on 1 in the flat and ran right into the one defender there.

Justin Bethel, I love the kid but it sure seemed to me like he was coasting the whole time he was out there last night. We didn't see the hungry to make the roster kid of the first 2 years, even on ST I watched him on a FG take about 2 steps and just stop. I know preseason doesn't want to get hurt but I wonder if his expanded role has gone to his head and he's going to forget what made him special in the first place?

 

[GuernseyCard]

Niklas is a kid who came out early. One more reason to give him time.

Running back by committee essentially means that whomever, other than Juke, is hot in practice will get the number #2 carries on a given Sunday.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Agree on the first two and I think Bethel, along with alot of others, was just going through the motions last night. I can't blame them, they know it's pre-season and the main thing is to not get injured.

I won't harp on it, at least I'll try not to , but I'd have loved to see a backfield combo of Ellington and Carlos Hyde rather than having Niklas on the roster. You'd still be solid(adequate anyway) at TE with Carlson, Fells, and Housler and the backfield would be hugely upgraded. I was never a fan of the Taylor pick and Dwyer is likely a 1 year player for the Cards.

In a year or two, a combo of Ellington and Hyde, could have been as good as any in the league.

 

[Garthshort]

Russ, I must say that I agree with EVERYTHING you said. Don't see Niklas being active (as opposed to being inactive) any time before mid-season, if then. Taylor is a good blocker and ST player, so he'll probably be active every week, and Bethel is still learning the CB job, but seems that he has a ways to go.

 

[Garthshort]

Cbus, I have lots of friends who say, "I won't harp on it, and then harp on it". (Smiley Face)

 

[Chopper0080]

1-Nikklas isn't the starter, and doesn't seem to be counted on by the coaching staff to play right away. Not worried, though seems like a shaky 2nd round guy.

2-The team's backup RB not a big issue. I really liked Taylor out of college, but as people pointed out, and as I have seen, his lack of speed and quickness makes him just a guy. Not worried.

3-Bethel...4th CB, teams contributer. His focus is on developing as a CB which is going to lead to some teams lapses but again, not worried.

What I am worried about...

1-DE. It doesn't look like we have anyone ready to step up at DE for Dockett. Someone might still show out or develop, but right now, it is a hole.

2-ILB. None have any speed, Bishop might be the fastest fo the group. Blitzes are less effective, and our ILB's ability to cover the TE in nill. This will limit our coverage options.

3-OLB. Solid vs the run, worthless rushing the passer. A bunch of guys bear hugging on the outside, and can't get holding calls because they can't seperate. Shuaghnessy, Acho, and Okafor are all the same guy.

 

[Russ Smith]

Agree on the first two and I think Bethel, along with alot of others, was just going through the motions last night. I can't blame them, they know it's pre-season and the main thing is to not get injured.

I won't harp on it, at least I'll try not to , but I'd have loved to see a backfield combo of Ellington and Carlos Hyde rather than having Niklas on the roster. You'd still be solid(adequate anyway) at TE with Carlson, Fells, and Housler and the backfield would be hugely upgraded. I was never a fan of the Taylor pick and Dwyer is likely a 1 year player for the Cards.

In a year or two, a combo of Ellington and Hyde, could have been as good as any in the league.

I mentioned in the game thread any of the LSU RB we faced last night, Hyde, or Sankey would have looked good. Who knows the Cards have never done well with 2nd round RB's but taking a TE who appears to be REALLY raw bothered me at the time and really does now that I've seen him.

To me the reason everyone is saying Carlson was the best pickup of the offseason is they all get Housler is who he is, Fells is raw, and Niklas makes Fells look like a polished veteran. Carlson is huge because we want to play 2 TE's and we don't have anybody who can be the #1 guy if we didn't sign Carlson. It's not that he's great it's that everyone else can't play or can't play yet.

I'm higher on Taylor than it appears Arians is you just have to get that he's going to get you yards but he's probably never going to bust big plays. If there's 1 yard there he'll get you 2 or 3, but if there's a gaping hole the odds are he'll get caught from behind. Dwyer might not, but just as they said on tv last night he appears to look for someone to run into on every run which is why IMO he seems to be hurt every year. I don't get what we see in Hughes, he's just a big strong kid who isn't a FB, isn't a RB, and I don't think he's as good on ST as Taylor. But my gut feel is the Cards will look for a 4th RB who has some speed and then one of those 3 gets cut and my guess is that's going to be Taylor.

 

[blindseyed]

I'm wondering how much the Sam Bradford injury had to do with players not going out like it was regular season game, just speculating but could be that some starters see that in the 3rd preseason game and say "Nope not me I'm not getting injured" and play 3/4 speed , I don't know just something I thought about

 

[Duckjake]

Chopper, in regards to the teams #2 RB isn't it really an issue because Ellington doesn't seem to be a guy who can pound the ball if the Cards are trying to run the clock to protect a lead in the 4th? Just curious as to what your thoughts are on that.

 

[Duckjake]

I'm wondering how much the Sam Bradford injury had to do with players not going out like it was regular season game, just speculating but could be that some starters see that in the 3rd preseason game and say "Nope not me I'm not getting injured" and play 3/4 speed , I don't know just something I thought about

Interesting point but I've always heard that not going all out increases the chances that you get hurt.

 

[Chopper0080]

Chopper, in regards to the teams #2 RB isn't it really an issue because Ellington doesn't seem to be a guy who can pound the ball if the Cards are trying to run the clock to protect a lead in the 4th? Just curious as to what your thoughts are on that.

I think Dwyer, Taylor, and Hughes are basically the same guy. We don't have a different option on the roster, and there isn't likely to be one available. Also, Arians throws the football so I'm not hung up on some guy who is gonna churn out 2 or 3 yards a pop. IF the team had invested more heavily in our backup RB, I may think they believe it is more important, but they didn't and I don't.

We all know Ellington's size question. After directly acknowledging it, our GM and Coach decided to stick with Dwyer and Taylor to fight for the #2 spot. They chose not to spend more money on the spot nor invest another draft pick nor get add a player with similar skills to Ellington. Seems to me what we have as our #2 is precisely what they want.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Bethel will be just fine in regular games, I have no doubt. He has a guaranteed roster spot, so his primary goal in preseason is to get ready without injury.

 

[Russ Smith]

I think Dwyer, Taylor, and Hughes are basically the same guy. We don't have a different option on the roster, and there isn't likely to be one available. Also, Arians throws the football so I'm not hung up on some guy who is gonna churn out 2 or 3 yards a pop. IF the team had invested more heavily in our backup RB, I may think they believe it is more important, but they didn't and I don't.

We all know Ellington's size question. After directly acknowledging it, our GM and Coach decided to stick with Dwyer and Taylor to fight for the #2 spot. They chose not to spend more money on the spot nor invest another draft pick nor get add a player with similar skills to Ellington. Seems to me what we have as our #2 is precisely what they want.

Which is why I prefer Taylor, so far he's the best blitz pickup guy of the 3. We throw, he picks it up. Hughes missed a couple of them last night and Dwyer missed one too. Admittedly they weren't playing against 3rd stringers but in both cases they just took the wrong guy.

Dwyer is more explosive than Taylor but has a history of getting dinged up.

I think Hughes is what Dick Vitale calls an "all airport" guy, looks great walking through an airport but doesn't actually play all that well. But I suspect we'll pick up a quicker RB and cut Taylor. Taylor's best chance to make the team is special teams and superior blitz pickups.

 

[blindseyed]

Interesting point but I've always heard that not going all out increases the chances that you get hurt.

Yeah they say if you're afraid to get hurt you will. I'm just wondering
If Bradford's injury got into some players mental ideas, like I said I have no idea just makes for an interesting theory......I gotta stop thinking I need the regular season to start already so I don't have to think lol

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Yeah they say if you're afraid to get hurt you will. I'm just wondering
If Bradford's injury got into some players mental ideas, like I said I have no idea just makes for an interesting theory......I gotta stop thinking I need the regular season to start already so I don't have to think lol

Exactly. Way too much is read into pre-season.