Can Someone Define the "Situation" that this Organization Found Itself In?

[football karma]

This is what Jurecki said:

The Cards tried to extend him during the season. Kerry passed. They tried to extend him after the season. Kerry passed. That was the "factual" part of the report.

MJ went on to say that he thought Kerry was ready to move on after 2013. That is the speculative part.

Kerry will be 31 this season. A guy who knows he may have 3 or 4 years left max may have decided he didn't want to be part of a 3 or 4 year rebuilding project. It doesn't make him a bad guy.

 

[Chopper0080]

So, apparently we are drafting a S, OLB, OG, RB, QB, and TE in this draft. Looking at these contracts you have to believe that the team will look for an OG and OLB early. Here is how I came to these conculssions.

OLB: You can deduce this because we didn't spend on a long term player outside and Schofield's contract is up in 2014. Pass rushers are expensive in free agency and Keim has admitted he wants to build through the draft. I actually believe they will draft two, one early and one late. The reason I believe we will take one early is the Cards probably are sceptical with Schofield return to health and they will need an immediate sub for the 2013 season.

OG: Once again, this isn't too tough to figure out. The Cards need to improve their offense and the best talent on the line is at the tackle position. IF they want a player to come in and challenge Snyder and Colledge, it will have to be early.

S: Bell is on a 1 year deal and Rashad Johnson is unproven. Unless they have seen more from Bethel than I think they have, we will look to add one, again early as they will need some one to be a principle backup.

QB: This is a wild card. If I had to guess, I see us drafting one 3rd or later. This is because I think the team wants to see what it can get out of Stanton and Hoyer, and because I don't think they have much confidence in this draft class to pass on one of the other needs earlier just to supplant that player with a high 2014 pick.

RB: Another position of need due to contracts and health. Mendenhall is on a one year deal and Williams can't stay healthy. I don't have confidence in either for 2014, but I don't see too many high draftable players that fits Arians preference. 4th or 5th rnd.

TE: This is purely based on the depth of the class. It looks like the Cards will keep King and Housler is still a work in progress despite any "potential." Chalk this up to need and depth of the class. Mid to late pick.

If I had to guess on a potential mock draft, it would be this.

1-Chance Warmack - OG - Alabama
2-Jaime Collins - OLB - Southern Mississippi
3-DJ Swearinger - S - South Carolina
4-Tyler Bray - QB - Tennessee
5-Marcus Lattimore - RB - South Carolina
6a-Michael Williams - TE - Alabama
6b-Walter Stewart - OLB - Cincinnati

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I could really give a rat's behind if we're better than 28th in run defense in 2013. We were a Top 5 defense because this is a passing league and we had an elite pass defense--which we dismantled.

As for your assumptions about improvement in the offense, they're just your dreams, hopes, and wishes. Nothing more.



We wouldn't have needed to sign these 9 free agents if we'd kept Rhodes and Gay. Could we have signed two inside linebackers, a cornerback, a backup level quarterback, and a depth defensive lineman for the $12M or whatever we had after just cutting Kolb and Bradley.

Well in total the Cards were 12th in yards and 17th in point allowed. Obviously some of that was our inability to do anything on offense, but some of that was our inability to stop the run. To be a top 5 defense you have to be stout against both the run and the pass and the Cards last year weren't.

 

[Duckjake]

Well in total the Cards were 12th in yards and 17th in point allowed. Obviously some of that was our inability to do anything on offense, but some of that was our inability to stop the run. To be a top 5 defense you have to be stout against both the run and the pass and the Cards last year weren't.

Nobody said the Cardinals were a top 5 defense. Only a top 5 pass defense. They were also top 5 in Red Zone defense.

I don't see how blowing up the secondary is going to improve the run defense. Especially since both Wilson and Gay were supposedly better against the run than the pass. If the run defense was the problem that needed to be fixed wouldn't they be looking for defensive linemen and linebackers instead of Corners and Safeties?

If there is an argument that the Cardinals needed to improve at Safety it would be the number of big pass plays allowed. Which was a problem last season.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Nobody said the Cardinals were a top 5 defense. Only a top 5 pass defense. They were also top 5 in Red Zone defense.

I don't see how blowing up the secondary is going to improve the run defense. Especially since both Wilson and Gay were supposedly better against the run than the pass. If the run defense was the problem that needed to be fixed wouldn't they be looking for defensive linemen and linebackers instead of Corners and Safeties?

If there is an argument that the Cardinals needed to improve at Safety it would be the number of big pass plays allowed. Which was a problem last season.

You mean like Shuaghnessy, Alexander and Brinkley?

 

[Duckjake]

You mean like Shuaghnessy, Alexander and Brinkley?

Actually I should have left out the reference to LBs and Dlinemen which left a loophole to ignore the incongruity of using poor run defense as a reason for releasing 3 of the 4 starting defensive backs.

However, Shaughnessey and Alexander are backups right now. I see Shaughnessy as the #4 DE behind DD, CC, and Carter. The Cards didn't release Schofield and Acho so Alexander would be #3 OLB, simply a replacement for Groves. If Alexander were a threat as an OLB why didn't he start instead of Rob Jackson when Orakpo went out? Adding depth, not trying to shore up the run D. Lenon is going to be 36 years old in November and was going to have to be replaced anyway.

Funny thing I read today. On Pro Football Talk's Hot 100 free agent list Alan Branch was #34 and Shaughnessey was #90! Alan Branch #34?!?

Alexander and Brinkley didn't make the list.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Actually I should have left out the reference to LBs and Dlinemen which left a loophole to ignore the incongruity of using poor run defense as a reason for releasing 3 of the 4 starting defensive backs.

However, Shaughnessey and Alexander are backups right now. I see Shaughnessy as the #4 DE behind DD, CC, and Carter. The Cards didn't release Schofield and Acho so Alexander would be #3 OLB, simply a replacement for Groves. If Alexander were a threat as an OLB why didn't he start instead of Rob Jackson when Orakpo went out? Adding depth, not trying to shore up the run D. Lenon is going to be 36 years old in November and was going to have to be replaced anyway.

Funny thing I read today. On Pro Football Talk's Hot 100 free agent list Alan Branch was #34 and Shaughnessey was #90! Alan Branch #34?!?

Alexander and Brinkley didn't make the list.

According to Arians Alexander will start at OLB. In the same interview he said that Alexander will be on the field in nickle packages and that they will likely be in a nickle package about 60% of the time. Thus he should be out there for at least 60% of the defensive snaps.

As for Brinkley we will just have to wait and see. He has been playing in a 4-3 defense, but some have said that he should be better suited for a 3-4 because he isn't good when has to cover a lot of space. Which is the case for 4-3 MLBs.

 

[Duckjake]

According to Arians Alexander will start at OLB. In the same interview he said that Alexander will be on the field in nickle packages and that they will likely be in a nickle package about 60% of the time. Thus he should be out there for at least 60% of the defensive snaps.

As for Brinkley we will just have to wait and see. He has been playing in a 4-3 defense, but some have said that he should be better suited for a 3-4 because he isn't good when has to cover a lot of space. Which is the case for 4-3 MLBs.

I hope Brinkley can step up because we had to have someone at SILB. Lenon did better than I expected but again 36 is old for the NFL. Unless of course you are London Fletcher.

As for Alexander, I think you are right. They wouldn't have guaranteed him $3 million just for special teams but who is he going to replace? Most likely Schofield who is a FA after this year. Arians sees Alexander as his James Harrison I guess.

Nickel package 60% of the time? That's why the Cards were so poor at run defense. Teams just ran all over our 2-4-5.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I hope Brinkley can step up because we had to have someone at SILB. Lenon did better than I expected but again 36 is old for the NFL. Unless of course you are London Fletcher.

As for Alexander, I think you are right. They wouldn't have guaranteed him $3 million just for special teams but who is he going to replace? Most likely Schofield who is a FA after this year. Arians sees Alexander as his James Harrison I guess.

Nickel package 60% of the time? That's why the Cards were so poor at run defense. Teams just ran all over our 2-4-5.

Maybe they will employ the 3-3-5 as apposed to the 4-2-5? Not certain if that is more effective against the run or not, but it seems like it would be.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I'm having a hard time lamenting the losses of Willam Gay and Kerry Rhodes. Gay was garbage and Rhodes was solid but let's not get carried away and act like he was Ed Reed we're trying to replace back there.

 

[Duckjake]

I'm having a hard time lamenting the losses of Willam Gay and Kerry Rhodes. Gay was garbage and Rhodes was solid but let's not get carried away and act like he was Ed Reed we're trying to replace back there.

I lament the 11 losses we have to endure every season because the Cards can't keep a team together for more than 3 seasons. The last, and probaby only, time the Cards had a roster full of 4,5, and 6 year players they went to the Super Bowl.

Now they have the opportunity to have that again in 2015. But that's a long time to wait for us old guys. Meanwhile we'll just have to hang our Cardinal caps on having a potentially top drawer coaching staff and some exciting young players.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

I lament the 11 losses we have to endure every season because the Cards can't keep a team together for more than 3 seasons. The last, and probaby only, time the Cards had a roster full of 4,5, and 6 year players they went to the Super Bowl.

Now they have the opportunity to have that again in 2015. But that's a long time to wait for us old guys. Meanwhile we'll just have to hang our Cardinal caps on having a potentially top drawer coaching staff and some exciting young players.

Good post.

It is a long time to wait for us old guys.

I'm hoping that we field a team that puts in a full effort for 60 minutes and doesn't make a lot of mistakes. That right there will be something to build on and make the season tolerable.

 

[Catfish]

I believe that ultimately, the Management Team finally discovered that only Shane, K-9, and Loyalty is a Curse, remained of the posters who displayed extraordinary man-love for Whiz and Company on ASFN, and they decided to purge the entire coaching staff in order to bring in a new staff who was more amenable to Mitch, Catfish, and Desert Dog and their miriad of followers on the board. Seems like a good fix to me. After all, how else could Management solve the lack of affection for Whiz, AND get back under the CAP at the same time.

 

[kerouac9]

I believe that ultimately, the Management Team finally discovered that only Shane, K-9, and Loyalty is a Curse, remained of the posters who displayed extraordinary man-love for Whiz and Company on ASFN, and they decided to purge the entire coaching staff in order to bring in a new staff who was more amenable to Mitch, Catfish, and Desert Dog and their miriad of followers on the board. Seems like a good fix to me. After all, how else could Management solve the lack of affection for Whiz, AND get back under the CAP at the same time.

Completely ridiculous.

 

[Catfish]

Yes it is------much like the original question asked in this thread.

 

[kerouac9]

Yes it is------much like the original question asked in this thread.

Okay... So please define what the "situation" was. If it was a preposterous question, than it should be an easy answer.

The only answers that I've heard are (essentially) "shut up."

Even if I assume that Whis and Graves needed to go, what was the talent issue in the secondary that needed to be addressed? Why is the personnel on the offense ready to compete?

 

[john h]

A lot of the apologeas for the good players that we've released (suddenly redefined from "core player" to "dead weight") has been that this organization found itself in an impossible situation with talent and salaries that couldn't be borne without taking away from the defense that had been the only successful part of the team the previous year.

I don't get it. Yes, the team had to shed some $5M to get under the league salary cap, but they could have done that by releasing one player: Stewart Bradley.

Okay, well, they wouldn't have had any money to sign any free agents or re-sign current free agents.

Well, they're going to save some $6M by releasing Kevin Kolb. Done.

So... what's the dire situation that the Cards found themselves in that required dismantling the defense? Yes, the Cards had a 5-10 record last year, but that was because of an offense that hasn't been meaningfully improved in free agency so far, and would have been able to be augmented through the draft, anyway.

If you believe that Keim has the legitimate right to destroy the roster to shape the team in his image, then say that. But don't pretend like this team was in a dire cap or talent situation that had to be dismantled. That flies in the face of all available evidence.

50% of this teams success or failure will revolve around the QB. We unfortunately are in a Division that is the toughest in the NFL. How we will ever defeat SF or Seattle I do not know. Right behind them St Louis is moving up. It is going to be difficult for the next few years for our team unless we somehow find a QB like Wilson, Keppernick, RGIII. These guys are all young and there teams are young and dynamic. Running QBs tend to get injured. I wish none of them an injury but it is just a fact that this happens. At the moment running QBs are in vogue so we may see some unusual QB selections over the next couple of years. Fran Tarkenton where are you?

 

[Catfish]

OK, I'll pretend you are serious----

It was not a talent issue in the secondary. It was an age/compensation issue. The cost of maintaining Wilson and Rhodes, coupled with Wilson's age, simply was prohibitive for the new FO and Coaching staff to continue with. They elected to jettison both safeties and start over. Yes, we are weaker there now, but we are stronger at CB than last year, and we have more upside than last year there. We are not yet finished at Safety as they have already said they are targeting the strong safety class of rookies in the draft, AND we are still active in free agency.

So far as the offense is concerned, it is not ready to compete, but it is more ready than last year mainly because the new coach believes that our talent level on the O-line is much better that people here believed, and he believes that his staff can get them to be respectable by coaching them to become fundamentally sound in their technique, and help them with tight end assistance, (neither of which was ever a priority for Whiz and company). In addition he intends to use the draft to strengthen our depth on the O-line. By the time the season comes around, he believes that improving our RB's, and getting a more durable QB will make our offense better.

All this has been explained in great detail by Coach Arians, and you can either believe him or not believe him. Just don't pretend that there is some mysterious reason for dumping Whiz and company that no one knows about.

Its pretty simple. Whiz rode Warner to a SB, then began to lose those players who made the difference in our offense, (Q, Breaston, even Warner), without adequate replacements. When he could no longer score after Warner suddenly retired, he brought in Horton to improve the defense, but he let the offense become impotent at the same time, making it irrelevant. When the defense couldn't score enough to win the majority of our games, the Ownership decided to dump Whiz and Graves. End of story.

 

[kerouac9]

OK, I'll pretend you are serious----

It was not a talent issue in the secondary. It was an age/compensation issue. The cost of maintaining Wilson and Rhodes, coupled with Wilson's age, simply was prohibitive for the new FO and Coaching staff to continue with. They elected to jettison both safeties and start over. Yes, we are weaker there now, but we are stronger at CB than last year, and we have more upside than last year there. We are not yet finished at Safety as they have already said they are targeting the strong safety class of rookies in the draft, AND we are still active in free agency.

So far as the offense is concerned, it is not ready to compete, but it is more ready than last year mainly because the new coach believes that our talent level on the O-line is much better that people here believed, and he believes that his staff can get them to be respectable by coaching them to become fundamentally sound in their technique, and help them with tight end assistance, (neither of which was ever a priority for Whiz and company). In addition he intends to use the draft to strengthen our depth on the O-line. By the time the season comes around, he believes that improving our RB's, and getting a more durable QB will make our offense better.

All this has been explained in great detail by Coach Arians, and you can either believe him or not believe him. Just don't pretend that there is some mysterious reason for dumping Whiz and company that no one knows about.

Its pretty simple. Whiz rode Warner to a SB, then began to lose those players who made the difference in our offense, (Q, Breaston, even Warner), without adequate replacements. When he could no longer score after Warner suddenly retired, he brought in Horton to improve the defense, but he let the offense become impotent at the same time, making it irrelevant. When the defense couldn't score enough to win the majority of our games, the Ownership decided to dump Whiz and Graves. End of story.

So to get younger and less expensive at safety, we signed a 35-year old safety and cut a playmaker who's salary comes completely off the books in 2014? For magic beans (the draft)? Okay, then.

I disagree with you on whatever analysis or faith the staff has. Coaching and scouting staffs choose to believe what they want. That will be proven correct or misplaced soon enough.

I have no idea why you think that I am damaged by your wielding the names of Rod Graves and Ken Whisenhut as a cudgel. I disagreed with them being fired, but I understand why it was done. I accept the alternative view as having merit. We'll see whether what replaces them is better than what they brought to the table.

I've more or less moved on from the Whis/Graves machine. I'm evaluating the current moves with little regard for what Whis or Graves would have done, but instead managing these moves on their own merit. On the merit, it seems to me like the Cards are financing the red ink of the previous coaching staff with the salaries of their veteran players. You can agree or disagree with that; I don't really care.

But let's not pretend like the free agency frenzy has made the Cards better than they were in December anywhere else except maybe runningback.

 

[Catfish]

So to get younger and less expensive at safety, we signed a 35-year old safety and cut a playmaker who's salary comes completely off the books in 2014? For magic beans (the draft)? Okay, then.

I disagree with you on whatever analysis or faith the staff has. Coaching and scouting staffs choose to believe what they want. That will be proven correct or misplaced soon enough.

I have no idea why you think that I am damaged by your wielding the names of Rod Graves and Ken Whisenhut as a cudgel. I disagreed with them being fired, but I understand why it was done. I accept the alternative view as having merit. We'll see whether what replaces them is better than what they brought to the table.

I've more or less moved on from the Whis/Graves machine. I'm evaluating the current moves with little regard for what Whis or Graves would have done, but instead managing these moves on their own merit. On the merit, it seems to me like the Cards are financing the red ink of the previous coaching staff with the salaries of their veteran players. You can agree or disagree with that; I don't really care.

But let's not pretend like the free agency frenzy has made the Cards better than they were in December anywhere else except maybe runningback.

Just because you refuse to disagree with the new FO and STAFF, doesn't mean that there is some kind of unknown conspiracy to get rid of Whiz. He simply let a very good roster go away without adequate replacement.

You can rant all you want about the new staff, and pretend that you know more than they do. What you are overlooking is that the defensive players they have brought in are all WRAP-UP form tacklers, who use good technique. That already makes this poor tackling Defense better than before, (including Rhodes and Wilson). Dockett, Campbell, and Washington will all benefit from the new staff's teaching of basic fundamentals.

The other thing that makes us better, is that these new guys are self starting gym rats who thrive on learning from others. They all have a lot of upside with the exception of Bell, (who is about as good as he will get). But Bell will be given help by way of the draft, and maybe even from yet another free agent signing.

In case you haven't read it, the free agent rankings all have Mendenhall ranked ahead of Beanie. As for QB, Stanton is bigger, stronger, more mobile, and FAR more durable than Kolb, so most people consider that a big improvement. (In case you haven't looked, he is also cheaper).

Best of all, these new contracts are roster friendly, and mostly short termed, which can be renewed reasonably when they pan out, and which can be jettisoned, (easily) if they don't. We will continue to improve under this administration, (unlike what occurred under Whiz and company).

Just as an aside,-----I wonder how much you would be squealing like a stuck pig, if people DEMANDED that you explain your position each time you take a stand, just like you seem to demand that everyone else explain theirs? In my opinion, this question of yours demanding an explanation for the SITUATION that we find ourselves in has been answered nearly to adnauseum, from numerous reliable sources should you care to consider any of them. GET A LIFE !!!!

 

[kerouac9]

Just because you refuse to disagree with the new FO and STAFF, doesn't mean that there is some kind of unknown conspiracy to get rid of Whiz. He simply let a very good roster go away without adequate replacement.

...

Just as an aside,-----I wonder how much you would be squealing like a stuck pig, if people DEMANDED that you explain your position each time you take a stand, just like you seem to demand that everyone else explain theirs? In my opinion, this question of yours demanding an explanation for the SITUATION that we find ourselves in has been answered nearly to adnauseum, from numerous reliable sources should you care to consider any of them. GET A LIFE !!!!

I'd be just as curious and critical if Graves and Whisenhunt had made these roster changes. Look back a year ago, two years ago, three years ago, and you'll see that I didn't hold back on any criticisms or questions on the prior organization.

As for the explanations, I go to great lengths to explain my thought process before anyone ever has to ask, just like I explain my criticisms when I make them. I request clarification on the board's groupthink when it doesn't make sense. To me, your explanation seems to be that "everything this staff does is good until I decide that it's not. These moves were good because they were good."

That doesn't add up to me. Toler and Gay were widely praised for being strong tacklers. Wilson was historically better in run support than he was in coverage. The run defense problem seemed to me to be about being structurally undersized in the front seven when we went to that 2-4-5 alignment with Campbell and Dockett as the only down linemen.

Changing out the entire secondary save Peterson isn't going to change that.

 

[Chopper0080]

So to get younger and less expensive at safety, we signed a 35-year old safety and cut a playmaker who's salary comes completely off the books in 2014? For magic beans (the draft)? Okay, then.

I disagree with you on whatever analysis or faith the staff has. Coaching and scouting staffs choose to believe what they want. That will be proven correct or misplaced soon enough.

I have no idea why you think that I am damaged by your wielding the names of Rod Graves and Ken Whisenhut as a cudgel. I disagreed with them being fired, but I understand why it was done. I accept the alternative view as having merit. We'll see whether what replaces them is better than what they brought to the table.

I've more or less moved on from the Whis/Graves machine. I'm evaluating the current moves with little regard for what Whis or Graves would have done, but instead managing these moves on their own merit. On the merit, it seems to me like the Cards are financing the red ink of the previous coaching staff with the salaries of their veteran players. You can agree or disagree with that; I don't really care.

But let's not pretend like the free agency frenzy has made the Cards better than they were in December anywhere else except maybe runningback.

I think you could argue that we are better at CB than we were in 2012.

As far as the original discussion, I haven't heard anyone state that we are better now in terms of talent than we were at the end of last season. I hear a ton about money and age, but not a single arguement that states we are better overall in terms of talent. So, until someone can provide proof that we added better players this offseason than we had in 2012, I think we can all agree that we are worse off overall.

In terms of saving money, what bad contracts have we gotten rid of with these cuts? You can easily say we are better off in 2014 financially by cutting Kevin Kolb and Stewart Bradley. They were stupid contracts from day one and then production reflected their actual talent levels. As for William Gay, Kerry Rhodes, Chris Wells and Early Doucet, there is no 2014 monetary benefit. Expecially when you consider that the players we signed to replace them (Antoine Cason, Yeremiah Bell, Rashard Mendenhall, no one yet for Doucet) are all on one year deals. We will be in the same situation financially in 2014 than we would have been if we kept Gay, Rhodes, Wells, and Doucet. In relation to Adrian Wilson, he would have been an easier cut in 2014 because he would have had less guaranteed money to eat. So, even if Rashad Johnson is the starter in 2014, we would only be slightly better off by cutting Wilson this year rather than next year financially.

The final point in in regards to age. We cut Kevin Kolb(28), Chris Wells(25), Early Doucet(27), Stewart Bradley(30), William Gay(28), Kerry Rhodes(31) and Adrian Wilson(33). We signed Drew Stanton(29), Rashard Mendenhall(25), ???, Jasper Brinkley(27), Antoine Cason(27), Yeremiah Bell(35), and Rashad Johnson(27) to replace those players. Breaking this down we can see we got 1 year older at QB, same age at RB, 3 years younger at ILB, 1 year younger at CB, 4 years older (or 4 years younger if you think Rashad Johnson moves to FS) at FS, and 6 years younger at SS (or 2 years older if you think Yeremiah Bell is signed to play SS). Looking at this, I can't say that we are significantly younger after these cuts.

So, lets look at this as a whole. We are significantly better off financially in 2014 by cutting Kevin Kolb and Stewart Bradley, and marginally better off by cutting Adrian Wilson. However, cutting Chris Wells, Early Doucet, William Gay and Kerry Rhodes does nothing to improve 2014 financially. We aren't significantly younger by these cuts as a whole, though we get younger at SILB and at one of the S spots. In terms of talent, we are at best a wash compared to 2012 though I believe the drop in talent at the S position makes it a drop off IMO.

After reading this, how anyone can view the Cardinals offseason moves, so far, as anything other than 2013 financial cuts is beyond my understanding.

 

[kerouac9]

I think you could argue that we are better at CB than we were in 2012.

I think that argument can be made, and it's one that reasonable people can disagree with. I loved Cason when he came out of college, but I haven't followed his career with the Chargers at all. Don't know anything about Jerroud Powers, but people should realize also that until last year he was playing in a Tampa-2 defense that allows corners to get a lot of PDs and tackles, but it's unclear how that will translate to the NFL level.

He never really had enough competition in front of him.

I think that Toler is underrated now that he's gone (and I don't really fault the Cards for not paying him $15M), and Gay was a solid player. For me, there's no question that we're AS GOOD at corner as we were, and we may be better.

But if FA is about staunching needs and allowing you to draft the PBA in April, I'm not sure that case can be made. We clearly are going to have to draft for need at at least safety, which we didn't have to do two weeks ago--or even if we'd just released Adrian Wilson.

 

[Catfish]

I think that argument can be made, and it's one that reasonable people can disagree with. I loved Cason when he came out of college, but I haven't followed his career with the Chargers at all. Don't know anything about Jerroud Powers, but people should realize also that until last year he was playing in a Tampa-2 defense that allows corners to get a lot of PDs and tackles, but it's unclear how that will translate to the NFL level.

He never really had enough competition in front of him.

I think that Toler is underrated now that he's gone (and I don't really fault the Cards for not paying him $15M), and Gay was a solid player. For me, there's no question that we're AS GOOD at corner as we were, and we may be better.

But if FA is about staunching needs and allowing you to draft the PBA in April, I'm not sure that case can be made. We clearly are going to have to draft for need at at least safety, which we didn't have to do two weeks ago--or even if we'd just released Adrian Wilson.

You're right, we wouldn't have had to draft for need at safety. We only would have had to draft for need at QB, RB, TE, OL, ILB, OLB, CB, and DL.

 

[Goldfield]

You can point at a number of things to blame the "situation" the team is in on.

But the biggest part IMO is we had a great QB retire before we expected, AND the QBOF Matt Leinart was a huge bust. Then we went all in on another failed attempt in Kolb. That will set back any franchise.