Camp observations

[cardzfan]

I was at camp the past couple of days. One thing that stood out was they were throwing to the running backs alot. They even had James Hodgins going pretty far downfield.

Johnson and Boldin looked good. Johnson seemed to drop punts though. Gilmore made some nice catches.

MCown looked better than he did last year, although he fumbled two snaps in a row. Mac was pi$$ed. Parsons seemed to be hit and miss. Mcown was surprisingly fast in sprints. Blake looked very good. He hit his receivers in stride. They did not have to adjust to the ball much. He did have a couple go a bit high. Alot of people said he has had trouble with short or intermediate routes in the past. I did not see it. Blake threw some REALLY nice passes that were threaded between defenders. He throws deep really well. His wife is REALLY HOT!

James Hodgins is very agile for a big man. I do not remember Joel Makovicka getting so many balls thrown to him. Smith looked smooth. He is much smaller than I thought.

Marcus Bell seemed to do very well. He was dominating. He chased Parsons and Mcown aound. When he got penetration, the big guy just kept pursuing. Could this guy be a starter? Wendell Bryant seems to have a mean streak. He reminds me of Joe Greene. He brings an attitude with him. KVB is non-stop. Pace is very quick. Perhaps it is a new, better scheme, but the linemen seemed very intense, quick and aggressive.

Jackson looked good. Wilson did put on alot of muscle. Starks told me he would practice today. Hill and Rhinehart made some plays. Hill was playing like he wanted the starting position.

In that altitude, Scott payer was booming punts. Gramattica was very consistent on field goals.

Michael Bidwill spent alot of time there. He rode to and from practice with Mac.

Compared to the last two years, camp seemed to have a more intense feel. I think our biggest surprise will be the defensive line. Without being shackled by the read and react system they seemed to be playing with an intensity we have been lacking.

There seemed to by more fans than last year. It was all over too quickly. Let the games begin!

 

[kerouac9]

Thanks for the info. Always good to get a fresh perspective...

 

[Crimson Warrior]

Originally posted by cardzfan
I was at camp the past couple of days. One thing that stood out was they were throwing to the running backs alot. They even had James Hodgins going pretty far downfield.

Johnson and Boldin looked good. Johnson seemed to drop punts though. Gilmore made some nice catches.

MCown looked better than he did last year, although he fumbled two snaps in a row. Mac was pi$$ed. Parsons seemed to be hit and miss. Mcown was surprisingly fast in sprints. Blake looked very good. He hit his receivers in stride. They did not have to adjust to the ball much. He did have a couple go a bit high. Alot of people said he has had trouble with short or intermediate routes in the past. I did not see it. Blake threw some REALLY nice passes that were threaded between defenders. He throws deep really well. His wife is REALLY HOT!

James Hodgins is very agile for a big man. I do not remember Joel Makovicka getting so many balls thrown to him. Smith looked smooth. He is much smaller than I thought.

Marcus Bell seemed to do very well. He was dominating. He chased Parsons and Mcown aound. When he got penetration, the big guy just kept pursuing. Could this guy be a starter? Wendell Bryant seems to have a mean streak. He reminds me of Joe Greene. He brings an attitude with him. KVB is non-stop. Pace is very quick. Perhaps it is a new, better scheme, but the linemen seemed very intense, quick and aggressive.

Jackson looked good. Wilson did put on alot of muscle. Starks told me he would practice today. Hill and Rhinehart made some plays. Hill was playing like he wanted the starting position.

In that altitude, Scott payer was booming punts. Gramattica was very consistent on field goals.

Michael Bidwill spent alot of time there. He rode to and from practice with Mac.

Compared to the last two years, camp seemed to have a more intense feel. I think our biggest surprise will be the defensive line. Without being shackled by the read and react system they seemed to be playing with an intensity we have been lacking.

There seemed to by more fans than last year. It was all over too quickly. Let the games begin!

it really, really, REALLY sounds like we finally have a decent, if not good, defensive line. A good pash rush can make up for a lot of poor plays, and, can provide turnovers, good field position, and can put opposing teams back up qbs in the game.

I really think that the game of football is won or lost on the line of scrimmage, and the cards will be much much better there in 2003. No more mcnabbs throwing for 400 yards on a busted ankle.

 

[seesred]

I'm a very positive guy. That being said, I will wait and see how this good looking D-line translates game day. I hope they are half as good as they look because that would be a great improvment.

GBR

 

[JeffGollin]

I watched the first 1½ quarters of the Giant - Patsie game. It's interesting to see what happens when you are not solid in one aspect of the game.

In this case, it was the right side of the Giant O-Line (which got wiped out by free agency).

Kerry Collins was running for his life back there. Kiki and the Giant runners had trouble getting anything going. Yup, it was the O-Line (and the right side's problem "infected" the left side).

Not only do I think the Cardinal starting O-Line far more solid than the Giants', but I think our O-Line manned by one, two or three backups is still more solid than the Giant front-line blockers.

Moral of this story - You build your team from the O and D lines out, and it's important you remain solid and deep there.

And, despite early injury woes, I think we're going to be OK on the O-Line this season. (Next step - get to that point on the "D.")

 

[AndyO]

For all the talk about systems and skill players and all the periphery subjects, football boils down to the basics: blocking and tackling, ie the trenches. Jeff, you nailed it. Build solid O and D lines ,and more than likely you'll be a perennial contender.

 

[EndZone]

Originally posted by cardzfan
His wife is REALLY HOT!

That makes me feel so much better about our season!

 

[Garthshort]

D-Line

Jeff, your analysis is right on. My question is this. IF KVB, Bryant, Bell, and Pace have very good years do we still have to go after FA's and high draft picks for the DL or is what we have good enough? Being so young they should only get better.

 

[spanky]

Next year we will draft a CB with our 1st pick. We will also look at the O-Line with C being a need. Another WR likely as well.

 

[JeffGollin]

IF KVB, Bryant, Bell, and Pace have very good years do we still have to go after FA's and high draft picks for the DL or is what we have good enough? Being so young they should only get better.
First of all, many of you guys don't know that Garth is one of my homeys (from Scarsdale, NY where I spent the first 20 years of my life).

Garth - If all four guys have very good years, you then look at depth. Ideally we should have 3 or 4 backups: another rush DE, another LDE and one or two DT's; all of whom could step in (either in rotation or as a starter) without missing a beat.

Ken King might be one of those backup guys. So too could Dennis Johnson (though reports on him haven't been stellar). Tanner? Davis? Maybe, but odds are against it. Atoe? (At best he'll probably wind up on the practice squad. After that, who knows?)

Whether or not we expend high picks next year to provide quality depth is problematic (depending on what our other priorities are and who's available where we pick). But frankly, if the right DE's and DT's were available right now in free agency, I'd snap them up in a flash.

I'm not sure that you CAN find good DT's in free agency that readily. (Every team seeks to bolster their DT position, and DT's by their very nature tend to have up and down years characterized by excessive flab, knee and back injuries and a gradual wearing down). And for the same reason, you're not likely to find great edge-rushers working in bottling plants during preseason either.

From what I gather, the concensus among Cardinal fans and Cardinal brass is that Wilkinson is not the "right" guy.

I think we'll have to live with what we've got this year and next year be in a better position to adopt a "boom or bust" draft strategy, if necessary, where we can afford to gamble in the mid to late rounds on one or two guys with incredible physical potential, but an injury history or lack of football experience.

Further explanation on this latter point: For the past half-dozen seasons, the Cards haven't had enough talent where we could afford to make mistakes on any draft pick or free agent acquisition. (Of course, we did make mistakes and it cost us; but strategically, we couldn't consciously act that way - we needed every talented body we could get). This current team is almost at a point in its development - with talent up and down the entire roster - where it would still be a good team even if a high pick or FA pickup bombed. (Heck! We're sitting on a $20 million cap surplus, for example). So (for example), just as Dallas could afford to "gamble" on a US Navy dude named Roger Staubach a long time ago, we're getting close to the point where we can take a few chances, too.

Note - This still assumes that KVB, Wendell, Bell and Pace remain healthy and rack up terrific production. Til they actually go out and do it, this is still not a given (though I like their chances).