Budda Baker getting paid

[Stout]

I disagree 100% with those that think this team’s fortunes can’t be turned around quickly. That’s what the NFL is all about. We’re moving away from INDIVIDUAL talent, zero accountability, zero football IQ, penalties galore, and selfishness under Keim/KK to a TEAM oriented approach that emphasizes winning behavior over losing behavior, building from the draft, and a coaching staff that will be able to make adjustments that the previous regime had no clue on how to do. We had 9 draft picks this year & will have 12-13 next year. It’s stupid to think that won’t make a huge difference.

Except your first two sentences present a problem. Teams' fortunes can be turned around quickly, which is what the NFL is all about. Monti has pointedly decided to not turn the team's fortunes around quickly. Which is partly smart. Keim was so godawful that this was never going to be a quick turnaround in one season. We were that bad going into the offseason. My opinion is that Monti's remit is to take his time and do a longer rebuild, however, which is the only possible good explanation, in my mind, for him quite simply punting on free agency this year. IMO, that set us back another year. One good draft isn't even in the same stratosphere as getting us a one-year turnaround. To do it in two years while going belly-up in FA this year and allowing young talent to walk, we would need two historic drafts. I doubt we'll get two HoF level drafts. Plus, as we know, going on a giant spending spree in FA rarely ends well, so two drafts and one FA period won't be enough.

We're not going to be in the playoffs next year, either, at minimum. I think that's the plan, and I think it's a bad plan, given that the NFL is made for quick turnarounds. We could have easily shortened that span by simply trying in FA this year, but we didn't. Whether it was a longer-term rebuild by design or a lack of trust in the scouting department, as some here have opined, the end result is the same: No quick turnaround.

 

[PACardsFan]

Except your first two sentences present a problem. Teams' fortunes can be turned around quickly, which is what the NFL is all about. Monti has pointedly decided to not turn the team's fortunes around quickly. Which is partly smart. Keim was so godawful that this was never going to be a quick turnaround in one season. We were that bad going into the offseason. My opinion is that Monti's remit is to take his time and do a longer rebuild, however, which is the only possible good explanation, in my mind, for him quite simply punting on free agency this year. IMO, that set us back another year. One good draft isn't even in the same stratosphere as getting us a one-year turnaround. To do it in two years while going belly-up in FA this year and allowing young talent to walk, we would need two historic drafts. I doubt we'll get two HoF level drafts. Plus, as we know, going on a giant spending spree in FA rarely ends well, so two drafts and one FA period won't be enough.

We're not going to be in the playoffs next year, either, at minimum. I think that's the plan, and I think it's a bad plan, given that the NFL is made for quick turnarounds. We could have easily shortened that span by simply trying in FA this year, but we didn't. Whether it was a longer-term rebuild by design or a lack of trust in the scouting department, as some here have opined, the end result is the same: No quick turnaround.

Stout, you’re entitled to your opinion, and you may end up being correct. As excited as I am for the 2023 season to begin, it would be foolish on my part to say that my expectations are high from a win/loss standpoint. I think it’s also foolish on your part to think this team will have to wait until 2025 to see success. Monti was brought in to completely change the culture of this football team. And with that, the ultimate goal is to remake this team into one that can create sustainable success. In my 60 years of being a fan, I don’t believe that has ever been part of the equation or thought process. They have been a bandaid franchise all the way back to the 60’s. Coryell attempted to build this team for sustainable success, but Bill Bidwill booted him out the door when he asked for a larger investment on the defensive side of the ball. Kurt Warner was a bandaid, as was Carson Palmer. You cannot build sustainability with quarterbacks going on 40.

Your point is that the Cardinals punted on FA. I’m not saying they did or didn’t. I’m saying is that they put a much higher emphasis on upcoming drafts than to spend money on players that almost always end up injured & we end up suffering from a lack of depth. You mentioned letting young talent walk. Allen was always going to be tough to sign as he had his tongue so far up VJ’s butt that it we would have had to over pay to keep him. And he couldn’t stay healthy either. And why would we re-sign Murphy with a possible chronic back issue when even his performances were largely average at best?

As I see it, the 2023 season will be one where Monti & JG will be evaluating the players from the previous regime very closely. Do they fit their schemes, are they the type of players both on and off the field that they want, are they the violent on field players that they want to build around? I know you’re a LONG time fan that has endured much. But, aren’t you tired of the same old bandaid process we have always been?

 

[Stout]

Stout, you’re entitled to your opinion, and you may end up being correct. As excited as I am for the 2023 season to begin, it would be foolish on my part to say that my expectations are high from a win/loss standpoint. I think it’s also foolish on your part to think this team will have to wait until 2025 to see success. Monti was brought in to completely change the culture of this football team. And with that, the ultimate goal is to remake this team into one that can create sustainable success. In my 60 years of being a fan, I don’t believe that has ever been part of the equation or thought process. They have been a bandaid franchise all the way back to the 60’s. Coryell attempted to build this team for sustainable success, but Bill Bidwill booted him out the door when he asked for a larger investment on the defensive side of the ball. Kurt Warner was a bandaid, as was Carson Palmer. You cannot build sustainability with quarterbacks going on 40.

Your point is that the Cardinals punted on FA. I’m not saying they did or didn’t. I’m saying is that they put a much higher emphasis on upcoming drafts than to spend money on players that almost always end up injured & we end up suffering from a lack of depth. You mentioned letting young talent walk. Allen was always going to be tough to sign as he had his tongue so far up VJ’s butt that it we would have had to over pay to keep him. And he couldn’t stay healthy either. And why would we re-sign Murphy with a possible chronic back issue when even his performances were largely average at best?

As I see it, the 2023 season will be one where Monti & JG will be evaluating the players from the previous regime very closely. Do they fit their schemes, are they the type of players both on and off the field that they want, are they the violent on field players that they want to build around? I know you’re a LONG time fan that has endured much. But, aren’t you tired of the same old bandaid process we have always been?

Fair enough. We certainly disagree, but that's okay