Bulger, La Confora

[Krangodnzr]

Really? His multiple concussions, knee, hand and shoulder injuries show that the guy DOES take a pounding. Warner took a TON of shots behind this line(and you could argue the OL is actually worse now), Bulger has nowhere near Warners release or ability.

I agree with this (even though I think Bulger is a decent option).

Warner was playing as well as any QB ever has considering how often he was getting nailed. For those who argue our line was good during the Super Bowl run, they need to go back and watch how often Warner was getting hit. IMO I've never seen a Super Bowl team with a worse offensive line.

Profootballfocus.com was claiming this back in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, saying that once Warner left this teams offensive line would be a huge problem. And they were 100% correct.

 

[Duckjake]

I think Joe's point covers this; we don't have a ton of options on the roster, so bringing in nearly any of the decent options would be a very good upgrade.

IMO if we have Alex Smith on the roster, we likely win 2 more games last season, if not better.

Unfortunately, I am VERY scared that NONE of these guys will be an option and that we are looking at a QB corps of Skelton, Hall, and Bartel. Harbaugh is working to keep Smith, because he thinks Smith is a decent player that hasn't had the best tutelage over his career. Denver may look at their situation and decide to keep Orton. And the Eagles will likely want too much to break up what they have going on at the QB position.

That means we may be looking at QB options that are significantly worse than Orton and Smith. And none of the QBs in the draft are can't miss prospects...

This franchise is as goofy as one can get. So here is what is going to happen. Richard Bartel is going to turn into one of the top QBs in the NFL and surprise everyone this fall leading the Cards to an 11-5 record and the NFC Championship game where we lose to Tampa. He'll be like Warner or Trent Green. Nothing then great. Graves won't extend him or franchise him because of the cost and he'll go to Tennessee as a FA where he'll win a SB.

 

[Cardiac]

Really? His multiple concussions, knee, hand and shoulder injuries show that the guy DOES take a pounding. Warner took a TON of shots behind this line(and you could argue the OL is actually worse now), Bulger has nowhere near Warners release or ability.

I wouldn't say nowhere near. He has a quick release and has put up some very impressive numbers as a starting QB. I also did not say he wouldn't get hit but that he wouldn't take the pounding that DA and Hall did. Tell me what DC had any concern with blitzing any of our QB's. None of them could make the audible or hot read or hit a WR with any kind of regularity.

I understand your and anyone's concern that Bulger may be washed up or not be able to stay healthy. Since he won't cost us a draft pick I don't see the downside of making him part of the plan to fix the QB situation.

 

[Krangodnzr]

This franchise is as goofy as one can get. So here is what is going to happen. Richard Bartel is going to turn into one of the top QBs in the NFL and surprise everyone this fall leading the Cards to an 11-5 record and the NFC Championship game where we lose to Tampa. He'll be like Warner or Trent Green. Nothing then great. Graves won't extend him or franchise him because of the cost and he'll go to Tennessee as a FA where he'll win a SB.

I liked some of what I saw from Bartel in the season finale. He puts nice touch on his passes and has a pretty quick release. His footwork is atrocious and he made a few bad decisions, but he can fix those deficiencies. IMO he actually looked better than Skelton in that game.

IMO, I'd love to add a veteran starting caliber player, but our backups should probably be Skelton and Bartel. Drafting a QB after the 1st round won't bring in a better prospect than what we have.

 

[Cardiac]

I agree with this (even though I think Bulger is a decent option).

Warner was playing as well as any QB ever has considering how often he was getting nailed. For those who argue our line was good during the Super Bowl run, they need to go back and watch how often Warner was getting hit. IMO I've never seen a Super Bowl team with a worse offensive line.

Profootballfocus.com was claiming this back in 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, saying that once Warner left this teams offensive line would be a huge problem. And they were 100% correct.

Warner has a style and type of offense he likes to use. He was as good as any QB in the league with the pass pass and pass some more scheme he liked to use. If given have a chance Warner would check out of a run call to a pass call. I'm not complaining because the results outstanding.

The point I'm trying to make is that we could have been more balanced and run the ball more which would've slowed down the pass rush and therefore Warner wouldn't have needed to take all the hits that he did.

Kurt hated giving up on any play, how many times did we see him throw the ball away?

I'm not saying our O-line is not in need of improvement. It isn't as bad as many think based on how horrid our QB pay was last year.

 

[desertdawg]

He has a quick release and has put up some very impressive numbers as a starting QB. I also did not say he wouldn't get hit but that he wouldn't take the pounding that DA and Hall did. Tell me what DC had any concern with blitzing any of our QB's. None of them could make the audible or hot read or hit a WR with any kind of regularity.

I understand your and anyone's concern that Bulger may be washed up or not be able to stay healthy. Since he won't cost us a draft pick I don't see the downside of making him part of the plan to fix the QB situation.

Yamon, Bulger could probably make the reads, and burn those blitzes. I am not dead set against him, but I still want to draft a QB in the first. Bulger will be able to pick and choose where he goes though, I imagine he is looking for a good O-line he can camp out behind.

 

[Duckjake]

I wouldn't say nowhere near. He has a quick release and has put up some very impressive numbers as a starting QB. I also did not say he wouldn't get hit but that he wouldn't take the pounding that DA and Hall did. Tell me what DC had any concern with blitzing any of our QB's. None of them could make the audible or hot read or hit a WR with any kind of regularity.

I understand your and anyone's concern that Bulger may be washed up or not be able to stay healthy. Since he won't cost us a draft pick I don't see the downside of making him part of the plan to fix the QB situation.

How can you be touting Bulger? He was a SIXTH round pick not a FIRST!

 

[Goldfield]

Is Bulger an upgrade? YES,

But he is also just a band-aid. Go get Orton first, Kolb second.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Is Bulger an upgrade? YES,

But he is also just a band-aid. Go get Orton first, Kolb second.

Is Bulger an upgrade? YES,

But he is also just a band-aid. Go get Kolb first, Orton second.

 

[perivolaki]

IMO, this team is closer to winning 6 games than they are to winning 9 right now. That being the case, I don't know if you mortgage the future by trading picks. If it were up to me, the Cards would rank their QB preferences this way:

1) Signing Alex Smith to a contract of no more than 3 years, $21 million, $10 million guaranteed and drafting a quarterback Round 3 or later.

You know the funny thing about this is that I heard in an interview that Harbaugh had looked at film on Smith and likes him and thinks he can be a productive quarterback.

I may have heard it in the La Confora interview or it could have been somewhere else.

The point is that Harbaugh likes him and the possibility exists that Smith may be staying in San Francisco.

 

[WarnerHOF]

Is Bulger an upgrade? YES,

But he is also just a band-aid. Go get Kolb first, Orton second.

Bulger's worst years are on par with Kolb's career.

 

[Mitch]

I just cannot wrap my head around Bulger---not even for a second. I think he's a duck the rush and take a dive QB worse than Anderson.

Plus...he apparently isn't all that keen on coming to the Cardinals...

Which elates me.

 

[Cardiac]

How can you be touting Bulger? He was a SIXTH round pick not a FIRST!

Haha. I want Bulger in addition to Newton or Gabbert. Let the 6th rounder hold down the fort until the 1st rd pick is ready to roll.

 

[lobo]

I am so tired of all this talk of bringing in a guy who hasn't been a good QB in 5 years...

Saved me the time to bloviate....Team should not be looking to catch "some lightning" in a bottle twice. Your quote says it all in the first line. Ya' think there is going to be a reason that every team that needs a qb is going to go after Kolb...or maybe Orton? We'll see who tries to rationalize Bulger as their first choice.

 

[lobo]

I just cannot wrap my head around Bulger---not even for a second. I think he's a duck the rush and take a dive QB worse than Anderson.

Plus...he apparently isn't all that keen on coming to the Cardinals...

Which elates me.

I share your elation....2006 was a long time ago...Bulger is in the same category as DA insofar as someone or group is going to have to rationalize why they think he can come back to that level 5 yrs later....that is going to be a long long long book!! Kolb 1 Orton 2....after that we play the rationalize game and if that happens Mr. W should consider getting on the phone with Mayflower. Sadly for the team there will be about a dozen teams looking for improved qb play and the majority are going after Kolb and Orton.

 

[kerouac9]

Why? I still want to know where all these glaring holes are other than QB and a couple of linebackers which can be added in this draft.

What the Cardinals franchise needs is an attitude adjustment. As soon as a couple of games go awry they go in the tank. They have a troubling tendency to simply not show up for games. Get behind early and go home early.

2006 they lose heart-breakers to the Rams, Chiefs and Bears and promptly fold for the next 3 weeks (horrendous games against the Raiders, Packers and Cowboys) but then rebound to finish 4-3. In 2008 they get a big division lead, lose an emotionally charged game to the Giants and proceed to take 3 of the next 4 games off but rebound all the way to the SB.

2009 they play great, get out to big leads and then proceed to coast the rest of the games blowing or almost blowing those big leads.

Last season they lose two heart-breakers to Tampa and Minny and proceed to play like absolute morons for the next 4 weeks. (DA or no DA how different could the season have been if they had held both those leads? They should have been 5-3!!!) Then after showing some signs of life against Denver decide not to show up to play Carolina and after a nice win over Dallas decide the season is over and get killed by San Francisco.

The Cards are like the Knights from the Natural. They're so dysfunctional it's as if the only way they finally won was the Cards hired that guy who kept saying "losing is a disease" and then had Roy Hobbs (Kurt Warner) come off the bench and lead them to a Championship.

3 "glaring holes" cannot be patched in one offseason. I think that adding a mediocre QB gets us to 8-8. With Kurt Warner we only barely got to 10-6 in a division that was weaker than the one we'll be playing in 2011. I'd even disagree that we're only one position away on offense. We're going to lose Steve Breaston and maybe Deuce Lutui to free agency; with a league-average quaterback we'll still likely need a better offensive line to be competitive with the rest of the NFL.

Horton and two linebackers make our defense maybe average. Marc Bulger doesn't keep our offense that much further out of the NFL's basement, especially with a pass-first gameplan bang. That seems more like 6 wins than 9 to me.

 

[Duckjake]

3 "glaring holes" cannot be patched in one offseason. I think that adding a mediocre QB gets us to 8-8. With Kurt Warner we only barely got to 10-6 in a division that was weaker than the one we'll be playing in 2011. I'd even disagree that we're only one position away on offense. We're going to lose Steve Breaston and maybe Deuce Lutui to free agency; with a league-average quaterback we'll still likely need a better offensive line to be competitive with the rest of the NFL.

Horton and two linebackers make our defense maybe average. Marc Bulger doesn't keep our offense that much further out of the NFL's basement, especially with a pass-first gameplan bang. That seems more like 6 wins than 9 to me.

Well if you start taking guys out via free agency that changes things but I still say that the Cards have the players, other than QB, they just don't have the attitude. They're soft on defense and lack the killer instinct as a team and that is why they were only 9-7 and 10-6 with Warner in a weak division.

The Cards most likely can't fix the QB situation in one offseason but there is no reason they can't learn how to play tougher defense especially since LB is the one position where many rookies have been able to come in and contribute right away.

So I still don't see why they need to be concerned about having plenty of draft picks if they can keep their roster intact through free agency.

 

[kerouac9]

Well if you start taking guys out via free agency that changes things but I still say that the Cards have the players, other than QB, they just don't have the attitude. They're soft on defense and lack the killer instinct as a team and that is why they were only 9-7 and 10-6 with Warner in a weak division.

The Cards most likely can't fix the QB situation in one offseason but there is no reason they can't learn how to play tougher defense especially since LB is the one position where many rookies have been able to come in and contribute right away.

So I still don't see why they need to be concerned about having plenty of draft picks if they can keep their roster intact through free agency.

I think that you need the draft picks because our team is getting old really quickly. You need to replace Joey Porter because he can't play, you need to replace Steve Breaston because he'll likely command more than he's worth (and I agree with this), you need a new SILB and depth at OLB. We desperately need a tight end that wouldn't look like a prank in any of the 31 other NFL training camps. We had the oldest starting offensive line league last season, and we lost our young depth player in Herman Johnson (apparently a team that won 10+ games could find room for him on their active roster, go figure).

Rookies can come in and contribute right away at ILB, but it's much more rare at OLB, especially in the Pittsburgh system.

 

[Duckjake]

I think that you need the draft picks because our team is getting old really quickly. You need to replace Joey Porter because he can't play, you need to replace Steve Breaston because he'll likely command more than he's worth (and I agree with this), you need a new SILB and depth at OLB. We desperately need a tight end that wouldn't look like a prank in any of the 31 other NFL training camps. We had the oldest starting offensive line league last season, and we lost our young depth player in Herman Johnson (apparently a team that won 10+ games could find room for him on their active roster, go figure).

Rookies can come in and contribute right away at ILB, but it's much more rare at OLB, especially in the Pittsburgh system.

I'm looking at Scofield replacing Porter but even though I get a ton of arguments when I say O'Brien may be too small- saying he will bulk up and be fine- nobody seems to back him as the replacement for Porter.

We have Hadnot ,29, to replace Faneca. Brown (4) and Lutui (5) are both 27. Sendlein (4) and Keith (3) 26. Bridges is 30. I don't see that as old for offensive linemen who can play effectively for 10 years or more. Brown,Sendlein and Keith combined have fewer seasons than Willie Roaf played.

TE, who cares, in CKW's system the guy is irrelevant. Might as well play 6 offensive linemen.

So far we have identified zero holes that won't be a result of free agency other than QB unless we think O'Brien won't be any more than a perennial backup and special teams guy. Well and an upgrade at SILB.

But I think what you are doing is saying we need draft picks to address the future and I am talking about not needing draft picks for now just because the Cards have so many holes to fill before September 2011. So we won't really get anywhere with this discussion.

 

[CardsFan88]

If we get Bulger, AND want him to succeed, we need to seriously upgrade our pass blocking. Starting with the tackles.

 

[Chopper0080]

While there are other options that I would prefer, I could handle Bulger. More so if the coaches really believe in Skelton as a long term option. I could handle heading into 2011 with Marc Bulger, John Skelton, and a later round draftee like Geg McElroy.

 

[vinnymac]

He hasn't had a 60% completion since 2006. His last 3 seasons as a starter 56, 57 & 58...thats hardly "incredibly accurate". He's had 2 seasons I'd consider "incredibly accurate" 2004 & 2005 when he completed 66%...his other seasons he has been average for a NFL QB (or worse).

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