Adrian Wilson and Sean Taylor

[football24/7]

I am not opposed to drafting Taylor. Move Wilson to Cb to team up with Starks. Taylor and Jackson at S. Thompson, MAC or Hayes, and Fischer at LB's, SPEED KILLS. The key to next year is the D-line. Sign Robaire Smith no matter what. He will give us the anchor in the middle we've been missing since Swann left. Smiths precense, Greenes foot up Bryants ass, and no more Joe Greene will improve Wendell dramatically. Other needs thru the draft or FA include Cb, and upgrade the depth at DT. Our DT's are all rotation guys on most other teams. I want 2 guys ala Swann only with better health and attitude. Our defense goes from the bottm to top 15 in one year.

 

[vikesfan]

You cant just move a S to CB that is the problem. It is much smarter to sign a quality FA cb!

And if you draft Taylor what happens to a young player like Wilson? Just cut him? Play nickle and dime with 3 Ss?

You got to think it out carefully!

 

[cardsunsfan]

Swann may have been the best player I've ever seen, you can't just replace him, I wish it were that easy. Might as well as for Joe Montana and Rice clones along with a little LT...

 

[Goldfield]

If we do go Taylor I would be thrilled IF he is as good as people say...

We need Defense more than anything.


No Wilson would not beable to play starting CB the first year he moved to CB from saftey. But he probably could play nickle CB/LB. That would still be an upgrade talentwise from years past.

Taylor & Jackson would be a fast ballhawking due. Our CB's could be Starks, A good FA, and Wilson. We would need to improve the Dline somehow. A top FA DT would help ALOT. Then our defense would be much much improved...


Taylor or Fitz or Big Ben will be a good pick for us. I am get giddy with the idea of Fitz & Boldin together. But Defense is alot more important to win games. So I think the best pick would be Taylor...

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Move Levar Fischer to MLB , Thompson to STrong Side and Wilson to weak.

Put Taylor back with Jackson. Add 2 FA CB and wham

Best pass defense in the country

 

[Goldfield]

Originally posted by RugbyMuffin
Move Levar Fischer to MLB , Thompson to STrong Side and Wilson to weak.

Put Taylor back with Jackson. Add 2 FA CB and wham

Best pass defense in the country

lol, I do like the wilson to MLB idea.

Wilson could be one heck of a 3rd CB. Super athletic and practically a LB vs the run...

 

[vikesfan]

Ss can't be made into LBs any easier then CBs

 

[spanky1]

Originally posted by BEERZ
lol, I do like the wilson to MLB idea.

Wilson could be one heck of a 3rd CB. Super athletic and practically a LB vs the run...

MLB at 215lbs........no thank you.

 

[azdad1978]

Originally posted by spanky1
MLB at 215lbs........no thank you.

Why don't we sign Al Wilson if the donkeys can't afford him? Then Sign DT Smith, CB Winfield or Plummer and then draft Taylor and move A. Wilson to nickel CB.

 

[spanky1]

Originally posted by azdad1978
Why don't we sign Al Wilson if the donkeys can't afford him? Then Sign DT Smith, CB Winfield or Plummer and then draft Taylor and move A. Wilson to nickel CB.

I know that some posters have said that we hae around $30MM in available cap space but this is not accurate.....we have around $17MM. Take out what we need for the draft class and injury reserve and we are left with about $8-9MM.

We could not possibly sign all those FA's you've mentioned. Al Wilson alone would blow the budget.

 

[azdad1978]

Originally posted by spanky1
I know that some posters have said that we hae around $30MM in available cap space but this is not accurate.....we have around $17MM. Take out what we need for the draft class and injury reserve and we are left with about $8-9MM.

We could not possibly sign all those FA's you've mentioned. Al Wilson alone would blow the budget.

Ok sign DT Smith and CB Bryant.

 

[spanky1]

Originally posted by azdad1978
Ok sign DT Smith and CB Bryant.

Now that is reasonable.

 

[Cardiac]

Wilson is to big to play CB, it would make more sense to make Taylor a CB if we drafted him and that won't work either.

Thompson can barely play WLB at his weight so there is now way he can play SLB.

If the Cards draft Taylor then he and Jackson are the starting Safeties.

Wilson becomes a Nickle Back who can either play the LB position or cover the TE or RB. Since he is strong and agile enough to play bump and run with the TE he could shut down the Shockey's of the NFL. He is fast enough to stay with just about any RB in the league. He is also getting better at blitzing and could be used that way on occassion as well.

Think back to some of his big hits and plays this year and they were in coverage near the line of scrimmage. He just struggles to much in deep coverage assignments.

Many teams now run D's that have the FS and SS as pretty much the same position with the same assignments. Jackson may be a little light to play the run but he did a fine job of that in almost every game in 03.

The starting LB's may very well be:

WLB - Thomson
MLB - Hayes
SLB - Fisher

This group with a back 4 or Taylor, Jackson, FA CB, Starks/Rookie would be pretty good. Hill has played well enough to be the Nickle or Dime CB.

 

[Tangodnzr]

Everyone seems to be overlooking James Darling at MLB.

He is actually, from a physical standpoint, the best suited for that position.

He's got the size, AND decent speed. He seemed to do a decent job most of the time he played last year.

Neither is Ronnie Mac in his grave quite yet. I would think his playing time might start tailing off now, but so far he's still playing at a decent level. Although, personally, like the Cards did last year, pull hiim in a lot of obvious passing situations.

It's going to be interesting, to me, to see what Green/Clancy Pendergrast does with the mix of linebackers we have.
But I also would think this is the type of problem most coaches would like to have.

I get nervous enough with both Thompson and Fisher playing at the same time.
They have great speed, but are a little bit the short end of the stick size-wise. Whomever the middle linebacker is needs to have some decent size and run stopping ability to compensate.
Otherwise we could very well see some teams really try to pound the ball "up the middle' on us.

My prediction would be, as with the DL....a lot of rotation of players in and out depending on the game situation and who the opponent is.

 

[football24/7]

Wilson has the speed to play CB. He is alot more athletic than Hill. I think he could play at a decent level. He is big and physical. Only question is his ability to change direction quickly. He was burned to many times for being out of position. Lets take the mental part of the game down a notch, and ask him to shut down one guy, instead of asking him to make mulitple decisions. Plus talk about a killer corner blitz option, and a strong run defender.

 

[Tangodnzr]

I also forgot to mention Lavar Woods. I was impressed with his play too, last year, most of the time. And he is bigger than Thompson or Fisher.

Some possible examples of "situational lineups" might be:

Short yardage:

WLB = Lavar Woods
MLB = Ron McKinnon
SLB = Gerald Hayes


RCB = Adrian Wilson
FS = Dexter Jackson
SS = Sean Taylor
LCB = Duane Starks

"middle yardage" (could either run or pass, like 2nd/5 or 3rd/5, etc)
More of a 3-4 type alignment with:

LOLB = Ray Thompson'
LILB = Gerald Hayes
RILB = James Darling
ROLB = Lavar Fisher

LCB = ? (free agent or maybe Michael Stone )
S = Sean Taylor
RCB = Duane Starks

Nickel for obvious passing down:

WLB = Thompson
MLB = Darling or Hayes
RLB = Fisher

Secondary:

Renaldo Hill
Free agent
Jackson
Taylor
Starks

There are a lot of mix and match combos that could be played with this group. Especially if Taylor is taken in the draft.

The main missing ingredient would still be a good cover corner.

But that's something I would target as one of the primary focuses in free agency. It wouldn't have to be a bank busting marqee name, just a decent/solid cover man.

 

[Cardiac]

Originally posted by Tangodnzr
Everyone seems to be overlooking James Darling at MLB.

He is actually, from a physical standpoint, the best suited for that position.

He's got the size, AND decent speed. He seemed to do a decent job most of the time he played last year.

Neither is Ronnie Mac in his grave quite yet. I would think his playing time might start tailing off now, but so far he's still playing at a decent level. Although, personally, like the Cards did last year, pull hiim in a lot of obvious passing situations.

It's going to be interesting, to me, to see what Green/Clancy Pendergrast does with the mix of linebackers we have.
But I also would think this is the type of problem most coaches would like to have.

I get nervous enough with both Thompson and Fisher playing at the same time.
They have great speed, but are a little bit the short end of the stick size-wise. Whomever the middle linebacker is needs to have some decent size and run stopping ability to compensate.
Otherwise we could very well see some teams really try to pound the ball "up the middle' on us.

My prediction would be, as with the DL....a lot of rotation of players in and out depending on the game situation and who the opponent is.

I'm not as hopefull about Darling as you but he might be the answer. I thought he was signed for just one year though.

It will be very interesting to see how much playing time Ronnie Mac gets this season. He was a stud during some games but has a tendancy to get caught up in trash and makes a lot of tackles after the RB has picked up 6 to 10 yards. If Mac is still the starter then it would prove to me at least that the old regime didn't show too much loyalty to Mac but was in fact worthy of his playing time.

I also expect Fisher to add a couple of pounds this year and finally prove worthy of his draft position. He could also replace Thompson at WLB which should help the run D some.

It will be fun to see how this unit shapes up this year.

 

[HoodieBets]

Isnt Wilson a RFA? Who knows we might just let him leave for a 4th rounder and draft taylor.

 

[Cardiac]

Originally posted by azcardsfan1616
Isnt Wilson a RFA? Who knows we might just let him leave for a 4th rounder and draft taylor.

I think Wilson has more value to the Cards then a 4th rd pick. Who do we have for depth at safety. Lucas really faded this year and Harris doesn't look like the answer.

Even if we do draft Taylor, Wilson will get plenty of playing time and be a very solid back up.

In your scenario we have to let Wilson go and then hope we get Taylor in the draft. What this does his show our Cards or force our hand when we are on the clock. Not the best way to run a draft.

 

[HoodieBets]

Originally posted by Cardiac
I think Wilson has more value to the Cards then a 4th rd pick. Who do we have for depth at safety. Lucas really faded this year and Harris doesn't look like the answer.

Even if we do draft Taylor, Wilson will get plenty of playing time and be a very solid back up.

In your scenario we have to let Wilson go and then hope we get Taylor in the draft. What this does his show our Cards or force our hand when we are on the clock. Not the best way to run a draft.

There is no way SD or Oakland picks Taylor so whats the difference. Plus we could get darius in FA if all else fails. BTW Wilson is worth a 4th thats all. He has potential but thats about all. He was confused so many times last year he looked like a rookie. He blew coverage and didnt know who to cover. Hes not as great of a player as some people make him out to be. If he gets his head out of his anus he could be a great player.

 

[Stout]

Originally posted by azcardsfan1616
There is no way SD or Oakland picks Taylor so whats the difference. Plus we could get darius in FA if all else fails. BTW Wilson is worth a 4th thats all. He has potential but thats about all. He was confused so many times last year he looked like a rookie. He blew coverage and didnt know who to cover. Hes not as great of a player as some people make him out to be. If he gets his head out of his anus he could be a great player.

3rd rounder. That's where he was taken.

 

[Cardiac]

Originally posted by azcardsfan1616
There is no way SD or Oakland picks Taylor so whats the difference.

I was going to explain my position on this in detail but I was hoping I wouldn't have to. So here we go.

Taylor won't be drafted by the Chargers or Raiders, this is fairly obvious. The point is that the draft my fall in a way that a player we want more than Taylor is now available at the 3 spot. Another possibility is a team wants to trade up to the #3 slot and the offer is so good we move down in the draft and Taylor is gone when we pick again. That's what force our hand and show our Cards all meant.

I guess the other point I need to clarify is that Wilson is worth more that a 4th rd pick to THE CARDS. I'm not saying other teams would give us more than that, I pretty sure they wouldn't. The fact is that we have time and money invested in a player that is one of the most physically talented players on the team. Given the right coaching and put into the right schemes he could become an impact player on the D.

Think back to some of the plays he made near the line of scrimmage last year, especially in coverage. He layed the lumber on a couple of occasions and made good breaks on the ball. He also has shown some ability to blitz. Think of Archuleta (sp) of the Rams and how they use him.

It's too early to give up on Wilson for a 4th rd draft pick.

Stout is correct, Wilson was a 3rd round pick.

 

[vikesfan]

One thing about Free Agency. You can sign many quality FAs. Every year teams with less cap money then you sign many quality FAs. I am familiar with this arguement from the Vikes. We had the second most cap money in the NFL the last 2 years and we don't sign quality FAs they cost too much and we have only so much actual cap etc. Meanwhile teams with much less cap sign quality FA after quality FA. TB and OAK did it, and NE does it and STL does it and NO does it. Year after year teams in supposed cap hell keep signing many good FAs. It all has to do with how you stucture deals. If cap strapped teams can sign many quality FAs a team with your cap space can too.

 

[spanky1]

Originally posted by azcardsfan1616
There is no way SD or Oakland picks Taylor so whats the difference. Plus we could get darius in FA if all else fails. BTW Wilson is worth a 4th thats all. He has potential but thats about all. He was confused so many times last year he looked like a rookie. He blew coverage and didnt know who to cover. Hes not as great of a player as some people make him out to be. If he gets his head out of his anus he could be a great player.

I think it is very unreasonable for people to expect "greatness" out of players like Dennis Johnson and Adrian Wilson as immediately as NOW! Both players came out one year early as juniors in 2002. 2004 will be their THIRD year as a pro, but in that they came out early, a case could be made that last year was in fact, really their first year. The QUANTUM leaps that they both made from 2002 to 2003 indicates to me that they are starting to get close to the potential that we hoped when we drafted them. It takes time to learn the DE and S positions at this level and to expect them to be fully up to speed is being unfair. Now if they don't show any further improvement from 2003 to 2004 what with better coaching, then I'll start to get on their asses......but it is far to early to be climbing all over them at this point.

We gave up on Darwin Walker early.....and he's a solid starter in Philadelphia. If we hadn't diven up on him as early as we did, we would not be in the market for a DT as a position of need now.

 

[Cardiac]

Originally posted by vikesfan
One thing about Free Agency. You can sign many quality FAs. Every year teams with less cap money then you sign many quality FAs. I am familiar with this arguement from the Vikes. We had the second most cap money in the NFL the last 2 years and we don't sign quality FAs they cost too much and we have only so much actual cap etc. Meanwhile teams with much less cap sign quality FA after quality FA. TB and OAK did it, and NE does it and STL does it and NO does it. Year after year teams in supposed cap hell keep signing many good FAs. It all has to do with how you stucture deals. If cap strapped teams can sign many quality FAs a team with your cap space can too.

Those days are ending though. Look at how many cap strapped teams are out there and how they end up losing strong contributors. Massaging the cap eventually catches up with everyone.