Benchings, Challengings for Positions and Roster Moves

[Mitch]

They won't happen...but, IMO, they should:

1. Russ Grimm. This guy is really bugging me. Not only is his o-line crapping the bed, it really irked me to learn and see that during the most important game in Cardinal history he was out watching Bruce Springsteen at halftime while the team was in the locker room. That was disgraceful. The SNF crew tried to make light of it, but that was an embarrassment.

2. FB Dan Kreider. Has done nothing and should be released asap.

3. RB Tim Hightower. Give him a the weekly ball to carry around. That was a totally unacceptable fumble at the worst time.

4. The whole o-line, especially Levi Brown. I'd put every spot up for grabs this week. They weren't given proper help...I'll give them that...but Levi Brown letting the Colts' DE blast by him untouched on that last 28 yard sack was egregious. Have him fight for a job this week. He is perhaps the biggest disappointment on this team. This is in his third year and he's played in a Super Bowl and to be as awful as he's been is outrageous and totally unacceptable.

5. TE Stephen Spach. Like Kreider he's been getting a free pass because the coach likes him or sees himself in him. Well, he's been playing about as well as the coach has been calling plays, which is pretty dang poor. Get his sorry butt out of there and play a guy who can flat-out make a difference in Dominique Byrd.

6. LB Karlos Dansby. He's gone with the wind after this year anyway. Give Highsmith some reps. Please don't anyone ever call him a leader ever again.
He never was and he never will be. Better yet, play him on the edge seeing as no one there is even a small iota of a pass rushing threat.

7. OLB Chike Okeafor. He would be out of the league if it weren't for the Cardinals...and for what he makes, his thievery has to rank up there with the NYSE pirates.

8. DE Bertrand Berry. Not even a shadow of the man that was a leader here once. Has lost his desire and his legs...and his willingness to prepare.

9. CB Bryant McFadden. After that pitiful performance I would start Michael Adams. At least Adams will tackle and battle you to his death. Give Greg Toler some PT at CB too. McFadden is a bust and one of the worst FA signings the Cardinals have made. Rod Hood is an upgrade over him.

10. S Matt Ware. Don't know how he has bribed his way still onto this roster. Lousy ST player and does little to nothing for the defense. Couldn't cover as a CB and he's worse as a Cover 2 FS. At least Aaron Francisco had sack. This guy has little to none.

11. CB Ralph Brown. See McFadden and Ware. There is NO way he would ever make another team's roster this year. He is a total waste of a roster spot.

12. K Neil Rackers. Next time the team has momentum following a score and you squib the kickoff, you can watch Anquan Boldin kick field goals and Ben Graham kickoff. Boom the f'n ball like you are supposed to.

13. DC Bill Davis. Get a clue. Adrian Wilson is THE best pass rusher on your team. RUSH HIM at ALL possible times. If you are playing versus an All-World TE: JAM HIM UNTIL HE IS BLUE IN THE F'N FACE and then JAM HIM AGAIN. Stop this Clancy ball three man rush, pansy soft coverage and come after people, will you please?

Too many guys on free rides being buddied up by Whiz. This, as much as shabby game preparation and play calling, is hurting this team.

 

[Shane]

No drc mitch?

 

[vince56]

5. TE Stephen Spach. Like Kreider he's been getting a free pass because the coach likes him or sees himself in him. Well, he's been playing about as well as the coach has been calling plays, which is pretty dang poor. Get his sorry butt out of there and play a guy who can flat-out make a difference in Dominique Byrd.

Right there is where you lose me Mitch.

 

[Cards_Campos]

Right there is where you lose me Mitch.

I agree with Mitch 100% ...He madea great catch in the Playoffs but his knee is bothering him or something. He has done nothing since.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Dude.... I was thinking the same thing about Grimm at the Super Bowl. I was yelling at the TV. Get the F in the locker room and make a damn difference you douchebag!!!

Our entire team was horrible for 3 quarters on national tv.... I will reserve my hatred for the play calling and the preparation. I don't think any high school coach could have done worse.

Our coaching staff needs to be sent back to training camp IMO.

 

[Mitch]

Dude.... I was thinking the same thing about Grimm at the Super Bowl. I was yelling at the TV. Get the F in the locker room and make a damn difference you douchebag!!!

Our entire team was horrible for 3 quarters on national tv.... I will reserve my hatred for the play calling and the preparation. I don't think any high school coach could have done worse.

Our coaching staff needs to be sent back to training camp IMO.

Funny too that the game ended with his line folding in like a house of cards in the wind. Kind of like quitting on half-time. Unreal.

This is where you really have to question Whiz's discipline. If you are HC would you let an assistant HEAD COACH leave the locker room to watch the half-time band?

 

[Cards_Campos]

I agree with almost everything you say. The defense should zone blitz alot more than it does. Doesn't anyone ever watch the NFL on our team? I mean see what works against certain teams and DO IT! I mean the Jets blitz ALOT now and they have rattled Brady and Collins. You need to frustrate good QB's...Gee it sure works against us. Manning getting blitz every down and he will make a mistake. It is just human nature. Know what likes to be hurried. But letting Manning sit back there and drink Coronas and pick which WR is more open is ridiculous.

DRC....You didn't mention him. But how did he lose speed? Garcon who kept pointing to his back.(I would have knocked his block off taken the penalty... to me stuff like that is a slap in the face and sometimes you have to take baseballs frame of mind. Don't let them punk you) But Garcon played at DIVISION III school...Mount Union...and DRC couldn't catch him?

Why for the life of me are we not throwing the ball down the field???? I mean 5 deep balls to Fitz a game should be automatic. I wouldn't care if every 1st play of the game was a deep ball to Fitz. He has proven time and time again he can out jump and out catch any DB in the game. That is the single most troubling observation I have seen. We don't press any defenses with all our WR talent. The other thing is...If we threw deep and Fitz catches it over double coverage...It demoralizes the defense. Notice how we dominated in the playoffs last year against Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Because they were like how CAN we cover HIM????

 

[D-Dogg]

They won't happen...but, IMO, they should:

1. Russ Grimm. This guy is really bugging me. Not only is his o-line crapping the bed, it really irked me to learn and see that during the most important game in Cardinal history he was out watching Bruce Springsteen at halftime while the team was in the locker room. That was disgraceful. The SNF crew tried to make light of it, but that was an embarrassment.

He did WHAT??????????????????????????

I had no clue that happened. OMG, that is ridiculous.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

1- agree, i ranted in another thread about Grimm
2-I don't think it matters who the FB is. They have minimal impact.But at least Terrelle Smith wanted to be here.
3-TH hasn't shown to be a fumbler.BUt if you're going to punish Wells then TH deserves the same.
4-Just not going to happen,although i would like it if it did. The problem i see is that, while Whiz harps that competition makes you better, there is really no backups that are pushing the starters. They have been together for a while now. Some new blood(Levi Jones) could help.
5-I never thought Spach should have made it out of camp. He was bad in pre-season as well with bonehead mistakes. Hopefully Patrick takes his spot.
6-Like it,or not, KD is a defensive leader. I would like to see his pass rush skills used more. Inserting Highsmith would be a huge,huge dropoff.
7 & 8- They are both old and terrible.They were last year as well. I agree they could be easily replaced. Too bad Cody Brown got hurt. I would give Davis, and even Harrington, a look. Haggans could also be put in the same category as Berry and Okeafor.
9-I agree. McFadden hasn't shown me a thing. I guess there's a reason he came relatively cheap and didn't draw a whole lot of interest. Toler probably just isn't ready. I also think Hood would have made the defense better as a nickel back.
10- Ware was inactive.I don't think he,or Francisco has any impact on the Cards record at all. Francisco was pretty bad last year as well.
11-Ralph Brown shouldn't be playing a major role on this team anyway. See Hood above. Brown was good last year as the dime back.
12- I have blasted Racker mercilessly in the past buthe's been pretty good. That KO had very little,if any, impact on the game.
13-It's still too early to judge Davis. It did seem like he went into "scared" mode after the 95 play drive. I'm pretty sure Rex Ryan wouldn't have made a decision like that. If you're going to get beat, at least do it aggressively.

 

[Mitch]

I agree with almost everything you say. The defense should zone blitz alot more than it does. Doesn't anyone ever watch the NFL on our team? I mean see what works against certain teams and DO IT! I mean the Jets blitz ALOT now and they have rattled Brady and Collins. You need to frustrate good QB's...Gee it sure works against us. Manning getting blitz every down and he will make a mistake. It is just human nature. Know what likes to be hurried. But letting Manning sit back there and drink Coronas and pick which WR is more open is ridiculous.

DRC....You didn't mention him. But how did he lose speed? Garcon who kept pointing to his back.(I would have knocked his block off taken the penalty... to me stuff like that is a slap in the face and sometimes you have to take baseballs frame of mind. Don't let them punk you) But Garcon played at DIVISION III school...Mount Union...and DRC couldn't catch him?

Why for the life of me are we not throwing the ball down the field???? I mean 5 deep balls to Fitz a game should be automatic. I wouldn't care if every 1st play of the game was a deep ball to Fitz. He has proven time and time again he can out jump and out catch any DB in the game. That is the single most troubling observation I have seen. We don't press any defenses with all our WR talent. The other thing is...If we threw deep and Fitz catches it over double coverage...It demoralizes the defense. Notice how we dominated in the playoffs last year against Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Because they were like how CAN we cover HIM????

CC: When you don't chip BLUE CHIP DEs, you don't have time to throw downfield. Warner rushed his one deep pass of the night to Fitz, because he knew he had to get the ball off sooner than desired.

OK--DRC, CC and Shane---I'll go out out a limb here because I work with young people, some very talented...but he strikes me as kid who may have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). He's in his 2nd year and at time he plays like he's bored, or aloof or just plain tuned out. With him it's all mental. He's got more physical gifts than 99% of the players in the NFL. I will also say that it looks to me like when something grabs his attention, he can flat-out play the man and ball perfectly. How about the way he played the endzone post to Garcon that he nearly intercepted. His coverage and his break on the ball were TEXTBOOK on that play...but it took some humble pie to get his head on straight. He's still very young, but the ADD concern might be legit. Many young kids these days have it and it can be treated.

 

[Brewster10]

The lack of a true FS, pass rushers at OLB, and and presence of slow footed OTs are my real concern. Bill Davis and that horrific scheme bothers me as well, but Im not sure the personnel is present to attack and trust this set of DBs.

McFadden looks like a total zone guy. Can't matchup and run with good receivers.

This teams needs to spend the upcoming draft and free agency on pass rushers, a legit LT, and a true FS. Use every pick on these.

 

[Assface]

I think DRC bought in to his own hype too much. There were several articles over the offseason mentioning him along with the leagues rising young stars. With all the talk about his apparent path to stardom it seems like he thought he was already there.

 

[Assface]

The lack of a true FS, pass rushers at OLB, and and presence of slow footed OTs are my real concern. Bill Davis and that horrific scheme bothers me as well, but Im not sure the personnel is present to attack and trust this set of DBs.

McFadden looks like a total zone guy. Can't matchup and run with good receivers.

This teams needs to spend the upcoming draft and free agency on pass rushers, a legit LT, and a true FS. Use every pick on these.

Top notch pass rushers are rarely ever available in free agency. It happens once in a while but not enough to make it a sound strategy. In the next draft we should get a pass rusher in the first round. We can't continue to rely on projects and free agents.

I haven't watched a whole lot of college football this year but one guy I really like so far is Sergio Kindle of Texas.

 

[82CardsGrad]

OK--DRC, CC and Shane---I'll go out out a limb here because I work with young people, some very talented...but he strikes me as kid who may have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). He's in his 2nd year and at time he plays like he's bored, or aloof or just plain tuned out. With him it's all mental. He's got more physical gifts than 99% of the players in the NFL. I will also say that it looks to me like when something grabs his attention, he can flat-out play the man and ball perfectly. How about the way he played the endzone post to Garcon that he nearly intercepted. His coverage and his break on the ball were TEXTBOOK on that play...but it took some humble pie to get his head on straight. He's still very young, but the ADD concern might be legit. Many young kids these days have it and it can be treated.

Who the hell cares if DRC has ADD or not! He's here to play corner in the NFL! Give the kid some Ritalin for gods sake, but do something! He looks LOST! His new name is KofC... 'cuz he's always, always, DEEP FRIED!!

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Thats just crazy about Grimm. That's not anything to laugh about.

Bettis thinks Grimm should be in line for The Skins job once Zorn is let go.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jerome_bettis/09/28/week.3/index.html?eref=sihpT1

At this point I am all for it. And while we are at next offseason lets use the money saved on Grimm and get Norv Turner to call plays and Wade Phillips to call the defense.

 

[Mitch]

Thats just crazy about Grimm. That's not anything to laugh about.

Bettis thinks Grimm should be in line for The Skins job once Zorn is let go.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jerome_bettis/09/28/week.3/index.html?eref=sihpT1

At this point I am all for it. And while we are at next offseason lets use the money saved on Grimm and get Norv Turner to call plays and Wade Phillips to call the defense.

Grimm may not stand a chance getting a HC job this off-season with Cowher, Shannahan and Holmgren available. I heard from a friend of mine who is close to the Redskins' FO that they have been wooing Cowher big-time.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Grimm may not stand a chance getting a HC job this off-season with Cowher, Shannahan and Holmgren available. I heard from a friend of mine who is close to the Redskins' FO that they have been wooing Cowher big-time.

Snyder is definitely going to go with a big name guy that has a proven track record at the NFL level.

 

[Duckjake]

Better yet, play him on the edge seeing as no one there is even a small iota of a pass rushing threat.

Too late now but I think the Cards would have been far better off playing a 4-3 with Dockett and Campbell as the Ends and Watson,Branch,and Robinson rotating in the middle.

That would have put Dansby back outside behind the DE where he belongs. He and Wilson combined for 13 sacks the year before the switch to the 3-4.

Dansby really looked slow last night. In fact most of the team did. The D just doesn't play with the controlled aggression like the other defenses I see watching Sunday Ticket. Could they have tired legs from playing 20 games last season?

 

[Snakester]

Walter you make alot of good points. Russ Grimm should have this line playing better by now. Gandy has had it i'm sorry to say. He looked like Oliver Ross out there. We need to replace him now. Reggie Wells and Lyle Sendlein need to be put as backups as well. It's time for Herman Johnson and Brandon Keith to start. I also agree with you about putting in D. Byrd. I don't know how Spach is starting. I thought he was the worst of all the TE's. I don't see how he beat out Leonard Pope for a roster spot. At least Pope could catch the ball.

This coaching staff doesn't seem to be able to adjust in game. I think they stick to the game plan and that is it. They knew ahead of time that our offensive tackles were going to have problems with the Colt DE's and they did nothing to game plan for it, let alone adjust to it during the game. All this falls back on Rod Graves though. The Cards had two major problems to take care of this off-season. 1. Offensive line- We did nothing other than draft Herman Johnson late in the draft. We are paying for that big time now.
2. Passrush- It was clear last year that we needed to bring in a couple of passrushers. What did we do. Used our second round pick on Cody Brown. He is not going to be a special player from what I can see, and it will take him 3 or 4 years to convert and be productive as an outside linebacker.

Rod Graves and company had all off-season to address the teams two weak spots and didn't do anything. It showed big time against the Colts. I really don't see us doing any better than 500 this year. I think it's time to start Beanie Wells and revamp the O-line now. Let Herman Johnson get his licks in and be ready for next year. I don't think we could do any worse by these moves. Actually I think we would do better.

On defense I would make Adrian Wilson a roaming linebacker and let him do what he does best and that is rush the passer and play near the line to stop the run. We really don't have the personel to do mush else. We have no bigtime pass rushing linebackers or DE's. Your absolutely right about Berry and Okeafor. Both should not be on the roster next year for sure.

Graves should use the 9 million he will be saving on not signing Dansby next year and sign a real left tackle. Our entire draft next year should be nothing but Offensive linemen and pass-rushers.

 

[Buckybird]

Walter you make alot of good points. Russ Grimm should have this line playing better by now. Gandy has had it i'm sorry to say. He looked like Oliver Ross out there. We need to replace him now. Reggie Wells and Lyle Sendlein need to be put as backups as well. It's time for Herman Johnson and Brandon Keith to start. I also agree with you about putting in D. Byrd. I don't know how Spach is starting. I thought he was the worst of all the TE's. I don't see how he beat out Leonard Pope for a roster spot. At least Pope could catch the ball.

This coaching staff doesn't seem to be able to adjust in game. I think they stick to the game plan and that is it. They knew ahead of time that our offensive tackles were going to have problems with the Colt DE's and they did nothing to game plan for it, let alone adjust to it during the game. All this falls back on Rod Graves though. The Cards had two major problems to take care of this off-season. 1. Offensive line- We did nothing other than draft Herman Johnson late in the draft. We are paying for that big time now.
2. Passrush- It was clear last year that we needed to bring in a couple of passrushers. What did we do. Used our second round pick on Cody Brown. He is not going to be a special player from what I can see, and it will take him 3 or 4 years to convert and be productive as an outside linebacker.

Rod Graves and company had all off-season to address the teams two weak spots and didn't do anything. It showed big time against the Colts. I really don't see us doing any better than 500 this year. I think it's time to start Beanie Wells and revamp the O-line now. Let Herman Johnson get his licks in and be ready for next year. I don't think we could do any worse by these moves. Actually I think we would do better.

On defense I would make Adrian Wilson a roaming linebacker and let him do what he does best and that is rush the passer and play near the line to stop the run. We really don't have the personel to do mush else. We have no bigtime pass rushing linebackers or DE's. Your absolutely right about Berry and Okeafor. Both should not be on the roster next year for sure.

Graves should use the 9 million he will be saving on not signing Dansby next year and sign a real left tackle. Our entire draft next year should be nothing but Offensive linemen and pass-rushers.

Good thoughts. How about this team not adding a legit FS last offseason? Should have signed Darren Sharper, 1 of the best ever!!! Rolle absoultely blows when playing centerfield and Johnson is a rookie. When is the last time the Cards had a solid FS? Probably, Lonnie Young 20 years ago.

 

[lauraw]

Mitch I agree about DRC or it may just be he's not the thickest book in the library...

 

[lauraw]

I can't stand Wade Phillips..who else is out there.. Doesnt Norvo coach the Chargers?

 

[lauraw]

The more I look at this year and reading all these negative posts[sorry], the more I think this may be a 9-7 rebuilding year for us...

 

[Duckjake]

On defense I would make Adrian Wilson a roaming linebacker and let him do what he does best and that is rush the passer and play near the line to stop the run.

Isn't that what Wilson does now? Though I haven't seen him rush the passer much.

 

[PACardsFan]

The more I look at this year and reading all these negative posts[sorry], the more I think this may be a 9-7 rebuilding year for us...

Unless things improve dramatically, we won't even sniff 9-7. Right now, we look like a legit 6-10 team. Horrible OL & no pass rush = double digit losses.