Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
When I started doing my research on this draft my major concern was in addressing the overall toughness of this football team. What I think this team needs more than anything else are players who are self-starters and who are self-motivated...players who come into the organization sporting 100 watt light bulbs...players who are hungry for production...and, most of all, hungry to win.
As many of you did, I took last season very hard. I was so disgusted at the effort and the coaching that the games were no longer fun to watch. The only reprieve I felt, was watching QB John Skelton play fearlessly and play like he loved every minute of it.
I do not want the Cardinals to draft on potential any more. Like Bill Parcells always said, "potential means you haven't done anything yet."
When you draft for potential---you miss out on drafting for leadership.
To be perfectly honest, I feel the Cardinals need leaders and self-starters more than ever because I have little faith in the motivational skills of the current coaching staff (save Ray Horton---whom I hope is the wind of change we so desperately need---and save Kevin Spencer whom I think is head and shoulders the best coach on the staff).
When I look at organizations like the Pittsburgh Steelers...what I admire so much is that there is an expectation that when you become a Steeler you buckle up that chin strap and you smash someone in the mouth and you do your job to the fullest or you don't play. It's that simple.
I do not see that kind of expectation in Arizona.
When I look at why the Cardinals are now looking up at the once hapless St. Louis Rams, what I see is a team that played hard every game. What I see is a very well prepared defense---coached by an astute defensive preparer in Steve Spagnuolo---and carried through by tough players like DE Chris Long, LB James Laurinaitis, CB Ron Bartell and SS Craig Dahl who play hard every snap---and to me all four of those players aren't anyone's first choice for the Pro Bowl, but they are self-starters who will battle you tooth and nail and who are hungry to win.
In addition---my other criterion for identifying players for the Cardinals is finding the ones who are the right type of fits for the style of offense (dink and dunk) and defense (34) we play.
If you are going to run a steady diet of the dink and dunk, you don't draft run mauler tackles like Levi Brown or RBs like Beanie Wells. You just don't. And anyone who thinks you can be maulers in the running game and masters of the dink and dunk is mistaken. Here is the reason why. What Kurt Warner was able to impress upon Whiz and Todd Haley is that a QB in the dink and dunk needs to get into a rhythm---and the only way to do that is pass first and quite frequently and run when the defense is on its heels and is less apt to expect it.
When you run on first and second downs, the QB has to be sharp enough to convert key thirds and mediums or thirds and shorts, having yet thrown a pass on the series. If the rhythm isn't there yet---the result is often a 3 and out. This puts your defense right back out on the field and gives the other team the chance to jump out early on you.
Therefore...with a focus on toughness, character, leadership and natural fit, these are the players that I have identified as future Cardinals:
Note: In parenthesis I have included Nolan Nawrocki's (Pro Football Weekly's draft guru) draft value---he breaks each round down into three parts: 1A, 1B, and 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, etc.
QB:
Blaine Gabbert, Missouri (1A)
Andy Dalton, TCU (2A)
Christian Ponder, Florida St. (2B)
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada (3A)
Ricky Stanzi, Iowa (3B)
Greg McElroy, Alabama (6B)
RB:
Shane Vereen, California (2C)
Daniel Thomas, Kansas St. (3B)
Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon St. (4A)
Bilal Powell, Lousiville (4C)
DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma (5A)
Jordan Todman, Connecticut (5C)
Derrick Locke, Kentucky (UCFA)
FB/TE/HB:
Virgil Green, Nevada (2C)
Owen Marecic, Stanford (5A)
D.J. Williams, Arkansas (5C)
Shaun Chapas, Georgia (6A)
Charles Clay, Tulsa (6B)
Preston Dial, Alabama (UCFA)
Camerson Graham, Louisville (UCFA)
WR:
A.J. Green, Georgia (1A)
Julio Jones, Alabama (1A)
Randall Cobb, Kentucky (2A)
Gregory Salas, Hawaii (3A)
Dwayne Harris, East Carolina (4A)
Jeremy Kerley, TCU (5B)
Darvin Adams, Auburn (6B)
OL:
Anthony Castonzo, Boston College (1B)
Derek Sherrod, Mississippi St. (1C)
Danny Watkins, Baylor (1C)
James Carpenter, Alabama (2B)
Rodney Hudson, Florida St. (2C)
Clint Boling, Georgia (2C)
Will Rackley, Lehigh (3A)
Steve Wisniewski, Penn. St. (4C)
Jah Reid, Central Florida (4A)
David Arkin, Missouri St. (5B)
Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh (5C)
Keith Williams, Nebraska (7B)
Jake Kirkpatrick, TCU (7B)
Ray Dominguez, Arkansas (7C)
Chase Beeler, Stanford (UCFA)
NT:
Phil Taylor, Baylor (1C)
Steven Paea, Oregon St. (2A)
Jarvis Jenkins, Clemson (2C)
Ian Williams, Notre Dame (5B)
Siona Fua, Stanford (5C)
Jerrell Powe, Mississippi (7A)
Chris Neild, West Virginia (7C)
Kenrick Ellis, Hampton (UCFA)
34DE:
Camerson Jordan, California (1B)
J.J. Watt, Wisconsin (1B)
Muhammed Wilkerson, Temple (1C)
Cameron Heyward, Ohio St. (2A)
Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh (4A)
Karl Klug, Iowa (5C)
Pernell McPhee, Mississippi St. (5B)
Zach Clayton, Auburn (6C)
34OLB:
Von Miller, Texas A&M (1A)
Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue (1B)
Justin Houston, Georgia (2A)
Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh (2B)
Brooks Reed, Arizona (3A)
Sam Acho, Texas (3A)
Chris Carter, Fresno St. (4A)
Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma (4B)
Cliff Matthews, South Carolina (4C)
Mark Herzlich, Boston College (6C)
Ricky Elmore, Arizona (7B)
Bruce Miller, Central Florida (7B)
34ILB:
Bruce Carter, North Carolina (2C)
Kelvin Sheppard, LSU (3C)
Nate Irving, North Carolina St. (4C)
Casey Matthews, Oregon (5A)
Mason Foster, Washington (5A)
Ross Homan, Ohio St. (5B)
Mario Harvey, Marshall (UCFA)
CB:
Patrick Peterson, LSU (1A)
Prince Amakaumara, Nebraska (1A)
Ras-I Dowling, Virginia (2A)
Sharece Wright, USC (3A)
Buster Skrine, Tennessee-Chattanooga (4C)
Kendrick Burney, North Carolina (5B)
SS:
Dontay Moch, Nevada (3B)
Joe Legefed, Rutgers (4C)
Shiloh Keo, Idaho (5B)
Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut (5C)
What I Believe the Cardinals are Aiming To DO:
1. Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
2. Brooks Reed, OLB, Arizona
3. Kenrick Ellis, DT, Hampton
4. Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas St.
5. Mario Harvey, ILB, Marshall
6. Cedric Thornton, 34DE, Southern Arkansas
6. Shaky Smithson, WR/KR, Utah
7. Scott Riddle, QB, Elon
The main question here is whether Brooks Reed will be still on the board at #38. I do not believe he will be. Nor do I think Jabbal Sheard will be there either. I think once again the Cardinals will be shout out of the top OLB/DE talent.
If Reed is gone at #38, the hope becomes T Derek Sherrod, G Danny Watkins or DT Phil Taylor...but they too are unlikely to be there. Several mocks have them going in the late first round now. So here's what I think happens:
1. Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
2. Drake Nevis, DT, LSU
3. Sam Acho, 34OLB, Texas
4. Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas St.
5. Mario Harvey, ILB, Marshall
6. Andre Smith, TE, Virginia Tech
6. Shaky Smithson, WR/KR, Utah
7. Scott Riddle, QB, Elon
This is a very good draft. You have talented, high effort players here.
But...as you know by now...this is not exactly what I am hoping for...or what I would do.
Brand New Cardinals' T-Shirt Cardinal Tough Draft Contest
(of your choice from the Cardinals' team Shop)
To the ASFNer who gets the most choices correct on my final Mitch Mock..v. 11.
Here is the setup: I am trading the #5 pick to the Houston Texans for their #11, #73 and #105 picks. So here are the picks:
11.________________________________
38.________________________________
69.________________________________
73.________________________________
103._______________________________
105._______________________________
136._______________________________
171._______________________________
184._______________________________
249._______________________________
And to make it easier...I will narrow the choices:
11. a) Watt, DE b) Jordan, DE; c) Kerrigan, OLB/DE; d) Castonzo, T
38. a) Paea, DT; b) Heyward, DE; c) Cobb, WR; d) Dowling, CB
69. a) Acho, OLB/DE; b) Salas, WR; c) Moch, SS/OLB; d) Wright, cb
73. a) Vereen, rb; b) Green, TE; c) Boling, G; d) Carpenter, T
103. a) Romeus, DE; b) C. Carter, OLB; c) Fua, NT; d) Legefed, S
105. a) Matthews, OLB; b) Beal, OLB; c) Foster, ILB; d) Wisniewski, C
136. a) Marecic, FB; b) Murray, RB; c) McElroy, QB; d) Matthews, ILB
171. a) Chapas, FB; b) Hurd, G; c) Klug, 34DE; d) Enderle, QB
184. a) Bair, 34DE; b) Devlin, QB; c) Locke, RB; d) Dominguez, T
249. a) Sanzenbacher, WR; b) Whalen, WR; c) Beeler, C; d) Powe, NT
I will post my Mitch Mock V. 11 tomorrow morning...and will announce the winner then.
GO CARDINALS!
As many of you did, I took last season very hard. I was so disgusted at the effort and the coaching that the games were no longer fun to watch. The only reprieve I felt, was watching QB John Skelton play fearlessly and play like he loved every minute of it.
I do not want the Cardinals to draft on potential any more. Like Bill Parcells always said, "potential means you haven't done anything yet."
When you draft for potential---you miss out on drafting for leadership.
To be perfectly honest, I feel the Cardinals need leaders and self-starters more than ever because I have little faith in the motivational skills of the current coaching staff (save Ray Horton---whom I hope is the wind of change we so desperately need---and save Kevin Spencer whom I think is head and shoulders the best coach on the staff).
When I look at organizations like the Pittsburgh Steelers...what I admire so much is that there is an expectation that when you become a Steeler you buckle up that chin strap and you smash someone in the mouth and you do your job to the fullest or you don't play. It's that simple.
I do not see that kind of expectation in Arizona.
When I look at why the Cardinals are now looking up at the once hapless St. Louis Rams, what I see is a team that played hard every game. What I see is a very well prepared defense---coached by an astute defensive preparer in Steve Spagnuolo---and carried through by tough players like DE Chris Long, LB James Laurinaitis, CB Ron Bartell and SS Craig Dahl who play hard every snap---and to me all four of those players aren't anyone's first choice for the Pro Bowl, but they are self-starters who will battle you tooth and nail and who are hungry to win.
In addition---my other criterion for identifying players for the Cardinals is finding the ones who are the right type of fits for the style of offense (dink and dunk) and defense (34) we play.
If you are going to run a steady diet of the dink and dunk, you don't draft run mauler tackles like Levi Brown or RBs like Beanie Wells. You just don't. And anyone who thinks you can be maulers in the running game and masters of the dink and dunk is mistaken. Here is the reason why. What Kurt Warner was able to impress upon Whiz and Todd Haley is that a QB in the dink and dunk needs to get into a rhythm---and the only way to do that is pass first and quite frequently and run when the defense is on its heels and is less apt to expect it.
When you run on first and second downs, the QB has to be sharp enough to convert key thirds and mediums or thirds and shorts, having yet thrown a pass on the series. If the rhythm isn't there yet---the result is often a 3 and out. This puts your defense right back out on the field and gives the other team the chance to jump out early on you.
Therefore...with a focus on toughness, character, leadership and natural fit, these are the players that I have identified as future Cardinals:
Note: In parenthesis I have included Nolan Nawrocki's (Pro Football Weekly's draft guru) draft value---he breaks each round down into three parts: 1A, 1B, and 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3A, etc.
QB:
Blaine Gabbert, Missouri (1A)
Andy Dalton, TCU (2A)
Christian Ponder, Florida St. (2B)
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada (3A)
Ricky Stanzi, Iowa (3B)
Greg McElroy, Alabama (6B)
RB:
Shane Vereen, California (2C)
Daniel Thomas, Kansas St. (3B)
Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon St. (4A)
Bilal Powell, Lousiville (4C)
DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma (5A)
Jordan Todman, Connecticut (5C)
Derrick Locke, Kentucky (UCFA)
FB/TE/HB:
Virgil Green, Nevada (2C)
Owen Marecic, Stanford (5A)
D.J. Williams, Arkansas (5C)
Shaun Chapas, Georgia (6A)
Charles Clay, Tulsa (6B)
Preston Dial, Alabama (UCFA)
Camerson Graham, Louisville (UCFA)
WR:
A.J. Green, Georgia (1A)
Julio Jones, Alabama (1A)
Randall Cobb, Kentucky (2A)
Gregory Salas, Hawaii (3A)
Dwayne Harris, East Carolina (4A)
Jeremy Kerley, TCU (5B)
Darvin Adams, Auburn (6B)
OL:
Anthony Castonzo, Boston College (1B)
Derek Sherrod, Mississippi St. (1C)
Danny Watkins, Baylor (1C)
James Carpenter, Alabama (2B)
Rodney Hudson, Florida St. (2C)
Clint Boling, Georgia (2C)
Will Rackley, Lehigh (3A)
Steve Wisniewski, Penn. St. (4C)
Jah Reid, Central Florida (4A)
David Arkin, Missouri St. (5B)
Jason Pinkston, Pittsburgh (5C)
Keith Williams, Nebraska (7B)
Jake Kirkpatrick, TCU (7B)
Ray Dominguez, Arkansas (7C)
Chase Beeler, Stanford (UCFA)
NT:
Phil Taylor, Baylor (1C)
Steven Paea, Oregon St. (2A)
Jarvis Jenkins, Clemson (2C)
Ian Williams, Notre Dame (5B)
Siona Fua, Stanford (5C)
Jerrell Powe, Mississippi (7A)
Chris Neild, West Virginia (7C)
Kenrick Ellis, Hampton (UCFA)
34DE:
Camerson Jordan, California (1B)
J.J. Watt, Wisconsin (1B)
Muhammed Wilkerson, Temple (1C)
Cameron Heyward, Ohio St. (2A)
Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh (4A)
Karl Klug, Iowa (5C)
Pernell McPhee, Mississippi St. (5B)
Zach Clayton, Auburn (6C)
34OLB:
Von Miller, Texas A&M (1A)
Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue (1B)
Justin Houston, Georgia (2A)
Jabaal Sheard, Pittsburgh (2B)
Brooks Reed, Arizona (3A)
Sam Acho, Texas (3A)
Chris Carter, Fresno St. (4A)
Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma (4B)
Cliff Matthews, South Carolina (4C)
Mark Herzlich, Boston College (6C)
Ricky Elmore, Arizona (7B)
Bruce Miller, Central Florida (7B)
34ILB:
Bruce Carter, North Carolina (2C)
Kelvin Sheppard, LSU (3C)
Nate Irving, North Carolina St. (4C)
Casey Matthews, Oregon (5A)
Mason Foster, Washington (5A)
Ross Homan, Ohio St. (5B)
Mario Harvey, Marshall (UCFA)
CB:
Patrick Peterson, LSU (1A)
Prince Amakaumara, Nebraska (1A)
Ras-I Dowling, Virginia (2A)
Sharece Wright, USC (3A)
Buster Skrine, Tennessee-Chattanooga (4C)
Kendrick Burney, North Carolina (5B)
SS:
Dontay Moch, Nevada (3B)
Joe Legefed, Rutgers (4C)
Shiloh Keo, Idaho (5B)
Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut (5C)
What I Believe the Cardinals are Aiming To DO:
1. Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
2. Brooks Reed, OLB, Arizona
3. Kenrick Ellis, DT, Hampton
4. Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas St.
5. Mario Harvey, ILB, Marshall
6. Cedric Thornton, 34DE, Southern Arkansas
6. Shaky Smithson, WR/KR, Utah
7. Scott Riddle, QB, Elon
The main question here is whether Brooks Reed will be still on the board at #38. I do not believe he will be. Nor do I think Jabbal Sheard will be there either. I think once again the Cardinals will be shout out of the top OLB/DE talent.
If Reed is gone at #38, the hope becomes T Derek Sherrod, G Danny Watkins or DT Phil Taylor...but they too are unlikely to be there. Several mocks have them going in the late first round now. So here's what I think happens:
1. Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
2. Drake Nevis, DT, LSU
3. Sam Acho, 34OLB, Texas
4. Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas St.
5. Mario Harvey, ILB, Marshall
6. Andre Smith, TE, Virginia Tech
6. Shaky Smithson, WR/KR, Utah
7. Scott Riddle, QB, Elon
This is a very good draft. You have talented, high effort players here.
But...as you know by now...this is not exactly what I am hoping for...or what I would do.
Brand New Cardinals' T-Shirt Cardinal Tough Draft Contest
(of your choice from the Cardinals' team Shop)To the ASFNer who gets the most choices correct on my final Mitch Mock..v. 11.
Here is the setup: I am trading the #5 pick to the Houston Texans for their #11, #73 and #105 picks. So here are the picks:
11.________________________________
38.________________________________
69.________________________________
73.________________________________
103._______________________________
105._______________________________
136._______________________________
171._______________________________
184._______________________________
249._______________________________
And to make it easier...I will narrow the choices:
11. a) Watt, DE b) Jordan, DE; c) Kerrigan, OLB/DE; d) Castonzo, T
38. a) Paea, DT; b) Heyward, DE; c) Cobb, WR; d) Dowling, CB
69. a) Acho, OLB/DE; b) Salas, WR; c) Moch, SS/OLB; d) Wright, cb
73. a) Vereen, rb; b) Green, TE; c) Boling, G; d) Carpenter, T
103. a) Romeus, DE; b) C. Carter, OLB; c) Fua, NT; d) Legefed, S
105. a) Matthews, OLB; b) Beal, OLB; c) Foster, ILB; d) Wisniewski, C
136. a) Marecic, FB; b) Murray, RB; c) McElroy, QB; d) Matthews, ILB
171. a) Chapas, FB; b) Hurd, G; c) Klug, 34DE; d) Enderle, QB
184. a) Bair, 34DE; b) Devlin, QB; c) Locke, RB; d) Dominguez, T
249. a) Sanzenbacher, WR; b) Whalen, WR; c) Beeler, C; d) Powe, NT
I will post my Mitch Mock V. 11 tomorrow morning...and will announce the winner then.
GO CARDINALS
!
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