Are We One Draft (2014) Away............

[Duckjake]

Bowles D isn't as reliant on DWash creating havoc as Horton's was.

I believe the D will be fine with Minter in there. He's an excellent wrap up tackler. Hopefully Brinkley will be able to keep him somewhat clean to be able to do just that.

Like Washington he has the capability to be a very good down the line ILB.

Well we're still hoping aren't we? The exact same place we were in 2010. Hoping that new guys will be better than the old guys. I'm hoping Palmer is the answer at QB. You're hoping the D will be ok with all these new guys.

I'd be more optimistic if it had actually worked over the last 3 seasons.

 

[kerouac9]

Bowles D isn't as reliant on DWash creating havoc as Horton's was.

I believe the D will be fine with Minter in there. He's an excellent wrap up tackler. Hopefully Brinkley will be able to keep him somewhat clean to be able to do just that.

Like Washington he has the capability to be a very good down the line ILB.

How would you know? have you been watching a lot of Grambling State film from the late 90s? That's the last time Bowles designed and executed his own defense.

 

[Duckjake]

An interesting statistic while we're discussing the pass rush.

Calais Campbell has either been 1st or 2nd for the Cards in sacks the last 4 years.

Doesn't look to me like anyone was having to scheme a pass rush. They just turned loose an incredible talent.

2004 Berry 14.5
2005 Wilson 8
2006 Okeafor 8.5*
2007 Dockett 9*
2008 Berry 5 (and we went to the SB. So much for needing a pass rush )
2009 Dockett & CC with 7
2010 CC 6
2011 CC 8+
2012 DWash with 9+

* Dansby was 2nd with 8 in 2006. #2 and #3 in 2007 were Calvin Pace and Antonio Smith. All guys we let leave in free agency.

+ Players signed to extensions to keep them in town.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

You can predict all you want, but each season comes down to injuries and suspensions. We are already in the red as far as suspensions go, and only time will tell which NFCW team can survive the injury bug. It doesn't take much in those areas to see a team's promise fly south for the winter.

All 4 teams in our division could win it if the chips fell right. It is going to be a dog fight for each team no matter who is in the lead each week. This could be a year where we simply have to enjoy the role of spoiler the last couple games of the season. We have a lot of young players who still need to get their legs under themselves, not to mention a new coaching staff who will be both teaching and learning themselves.

I will be happy if we can show that we can compete each game in our division. If we can beat the Seahawks and Niners each one game, it will show promise and that we are close. I will be glad to be .500 in our division, and pull an upset or two over the other premier teams. That will prime us for the following year and get the excitement back to the valley of the sun.

 

[Duckjake]

You can predict all you want, but each season comes down to injuries and suspensions. We are already in the red as far as suspensions go, and only time will tell which NFCW team can survive the injury bug. It doesn't take much in those areas to see a team's promise fly south for the winter.

All 4 teams in our division could win it if the chips fell right. It is going to be a dog fight for each team no matter who is in the lead each week. This could be a year where we simply have to enjoy the role of spoiler the last couple games of the season. We have a lot of young players who still need to get their legs under themselves, not to mention a new coaching staff who will be both teaching and learning themselves.

I will be happy if we can show that we can compete each game in our division. If we can beat the Seahawks and Niners each one game, it will show promise and that we are close. I will be glad to be .500 in our division, and pull an upset or two over the other premier teams. That will prime us for the following year and get the excitement back to the valley of the sun.

Only on the offensive line. And we have 3 seasoned vets to stabilize Massie and Cooper.

On defense the only young guy starting will probably be Minter and only because DWash, 4th season, is suspended. Otherwise almost every starter will be 3+ years into the NFL. This will be the 6th season for Cason, 3rd for PP21 and Acho, 10th for DD, 6th for CC, Big Dan 4th, Brinkley 4th, Alexander 7th Bell 10th, Johnson 5th, Arenas 4th, Powers 5th.

RBs Mendenhall (6) and Ryan Williams (3)* are veterans and if those guys don't pan out that's one spot you don't worry too much about rookies starting. WRs are seasoned veterans with the exception of Floyd.

TEs are veterans. LT,1G,C are all long time veterans with a combined 19 years in the NFL. QB will be in season 11. The backup in season 7.

Don't be fooled by the talk that the Cards got a lot younger. This is a team loaded with veterans. What they haven't done is play together. That is what might be a problem.

* yes, i know he hasn't played much.

 

[Garthshort]

We might have questions at safety, but I wouldn't go overboard on last year's tandem, if you mean Rhodes and Wilson. Remember Wilson, I believe, was replaced by Johnson, who is now a starter. Rhodes is a BIG loss, but I don't know if $$$ is the only reason he hasn't been picked up, or is it possible that other teams aren't that high on him? Bell (experience counts at safety) seems to be a serviceable safety and Mathieu is an exciting addition. Nothing is certain, and that is why I started by saying we have questions at safety. And I started the thread by saying that safety is one of the positions that need an upgrade if we are to become an elite team. JMO.

 

[52brandon]

Guys, thanks for your opinions. I guess I'll come away with the thought that the glass is more than half full.

I'm not sure how full the glass is, but I do firmly believe that the new regime is pouring INTO the glass, as opposed to the old regime pouring it out. That alone has me optimistic about the future. How soon will it happen? I'm really not sure, but I do believe that 3 years from now, we will have a consistently respectable team. And not like our SB team, where we had THE elite pass game, but nothing else. I think this new team will be much better balanced. And if Floyd turns out as good as he was supposed to, we may still have an elite passing attack to go with the improvements made to every other area of the game

 

[52brandon]

An interesting statistic while we're discussing the pass rush.

Calais Campbell has either been 1st or 2nd for the Cards in sacks the last 4 years.

Doesn't look to me like anyone was having to scheme a pass rush. They just turned loose an incredible talent.

2004 Berry 14.5
2005 Wilson 8
2006 Okeafor 8.5*
2007 Dockett 9*
2008 Berry 5 (and we went to the SB. So much for needing a pass rush )
2009 Dockett & CC with 7
2010 CC 6
2011 CC 8+
2012 DWash with 9+

* Dansby was 2nd with 8 in 2006. #2 and #3 in 2007 were Calvin Pace and Antonio Smith. All guys we let leave in free agency.

+ Players signed to extensions to keep them in town.

I was fine with that decision when it was made, he got offered way more than I thought he was worth to keep in front of CC. I thought CC showed a bunch of upside when he payed. But I didn't guess he was gonna turn out as good as he has. We got lucky Houston took him, otherwise we may not have gotten to see what we had in CC and let him go/traded him instead

 

[Duckjake]

I was fine with that decision when it was made, he got offered way more than I thought he was worth to keep in front of CC. I thought CC showed a bunch of upside when he payed. But I didn't guess he was gonna turn out as good as he has. We got lucky Houston took him, otherwise we may not have gotten to see what we had in CC and let him go/traded him instead

That wasn't going to happen. Smith was the odd man out of the trio of Dockett, Campbell and Smith. The Cards made the right move letting him go but it doesn't change the fact that he was on our roster and left as a free agent.

I knew Calais was going to be a star the first time I saw him on the field.

 

[Mulli]

That wasn't going to happen. Smith was the odd man out of the trio of Dockett, Campbell and Smith. The Cards made the right move letting him go but it doesn't change the fact that he was on our roster and left as a free agent.

I knew Calais was going to be a star the first time I saw him on the field.

 

[john h]

.............from being an elite team? I'm going on the assumption that three things happen:
1. CP is more KW than KK.
2. DW's problems are fixed.
3. This year's draft class turns out, the way we hope it will.

We would then go into next year's draft with the following needs:
1. LT.
2. Pass rusher.
3. S.
4. TE.
5. DL depth, depending on the play of DD.
6. QB (developmental).

So, imo, we are only a year away from being a very good/elite team.

It all depends on how our current QBs work out. The QB as we all know is the most important player on a team. If we do not have a top one we will always be an "also ran". In our division we have to face two of the best young QBs in the NFL. That is 4 games. We need one who can play as good as they can. I doubt we have him on the team at this tine.

 

[cardpa]

It all depends on how our current QBs work out. The QB as we all know is the most important player on a team. If we do not have a top one we will always be an "also ran". In our division we have to face two of the best young QBs in the NFL. That is 4 games. We need one who can play as good as they can. I doubt we have him on the team at this tine.

I'm not quite ready to name these two "best young QBs in the NFL" yet. Kapernick has only played half a season and we have seen many QBs have a good or great rookie season only to gradually fade into a distant thought. If you had said potentially two of the best I could agree with that statement. For me they have to play another season with at least as much production as their previous season and maybe even better than it.