Warning: Kool Aid drinkers...flip to another thread. Why get flustered?
Once again, the Cardinals' management shows its ineptitude in its feeble attempts to build a winner in Arizona. With ample cap room going into the off-season, oceans of cap room available in 2007 and a brand new state-of-the-art stadium to stir tremendous excitement for the much beleaguered Cardinal fans...team management performs its traditional off-season belly flop.
What's immediately clear is that the people in the front office do not know how to evaluate and address the vulnerabilities of its football team...nor do they have any instincts as to how to learn from the shortcomings of a disappointing 5-11 season.
Yeah, management makes moves...but...and it's a big but....they never ever finish the job. Nor do they make the attempt to prioritize their acquisitions.
Let's analyze the key personnel moves of this off-season. Before we get into the specific signings, let's remind ourselves that the Cardinals' greatest needs going into free agency were at QB, LG, RG, RT, NT, WLB and FS.
1. Signing QB Kurt Warner. The postiives: (a) he brings continuity; (b) he showed last season he can move the ball in the air between the 20s pretty well still; (c) he still has a solid arm, when healthy; (d) he has the potential to be a good, veteran leader.
The negatives: (a) he is injury prone; (b) $5M plus a year at his age and history of injuries is risky; (c) he is not the QBOF; he is a short-term stop-gap; (d) he was ineffective in the red zone....yeah, yeah, blame it on the running game...but look at his decision making in the red zone...; (e) the Cardinals could have been major players in the Daunte Culpepper/Drew Brees sweepstakes...both young QBs coming off injuries, but scheduled to be healthy by September...and both, QBsOF.
This signing behooves the Cardinals to bring in a veteran backup...yet, as Rod Graves avowed today, the team won't consider a veteran backup until after the draft. So, what does that mean? The backup could be a rookie? And yeah...go ahead...let all the viable backups get signed by other teams now.
What about John Navarre and Rohan Davey? Realistic starters when Warner gets hurt?
2. DT Kendrick Clancy. The team needs a run-stuffing NT. Clancy is an undersized, but effectively quick UT, who could form a prolific rotation with Darnell Dockett...but, unless the Cardinals change their d-line scheme/philosophy, what will they do with Clancy? Who will play NT?
Meanwhile, why doesn't team management even entertain the thought of adding a Ted Washington (gone) or Sam Adams (still available) widebody who could fill the NT role...and groom a successor (to be taken in the draft)?
The Cardinals may get lucky with Langston Moore and/or Tim Bulman...both have potential to be adequate in the NT role...but, at this point, it's like hoping that Navarre and/or Davey are legitimate backup QBs.
3. G Milford Brown. He's a run blocking guard...has upside, but is not a proven commodity. However, this is the most reasonable signing the Cardinals have made this off-season...especially seeing as the Cardinals did not have a guard on the roster last year who could get any push as a run blocker.
Yet, to think that Brown is the ONLY outside free agent o-lineman acquired this off-season is about as mind-boggling as punting from the 42 yard line with 5 minutes left down 14 points.
4. RB Edgerrin James. Great player...noone can deny....but, how effective can he be behind the league's worst run blocking offensive line (and no proven free agents added to the mix)? Also, it seems this one signing broke the bank...ever since Edge was signed, the front office went on vacation...which is the WORST thing this front office could do right now.
5. G Reggie Wells. Remember Matt Joyce? The Cardinals loved his versatility and paid him handsomely...and he never settled down at a position, and he never really played all that well. Why? Matt Joyce was a decent pass blocker, but he couldn't get any formidible push in the running game...so he wasn't really a guard, and he was a fill-in tackle. This is Reggie Wells to date. Watch him on tape on running plays. He gets ZERO push...because he does not match up physically against the league's DTs. And the team opts to pay him 5/$18M???
Even worse...far stronger run blockers like Larry Allen and even Stephen Neal are out there, and the Cardinals have NO interest? Larry Allen at 50% is better than any guard on the current roster, including Milford Brown.
If the Cardinals get lucky and G Max Jean-Gilles slips to them at #42...Jean-Gilles and Milford Brown will be the starting guards...which means Wells may not even start...unless he wins the center or tackle jobs, and right now who knows if Wells can be a good starter at center or tackle? His most natural position...IMO...is at RT. Let's hope he gets tried there and he replaces the inept Oliver Ross.
The Seahawks go out and sign T Tom Ashworth...which means, even though their o-line (even without Hutch) is five times as good as the Cardinals'...the Seahawks have done MORE to upgrade their o-line than the Cardinals have. UNTHINKABLE.
The Seahawks have their eyes on the Lombardi Trophy. Obviously, the Cardinals do not.
This is deja-vu all over again. Last year Green signs Ross and announces that the team is set with Wells and Bridges at guard. L.J. Shelton is cut. When asked if he has done enough, he said the team will wait for June 1st cuts. You know the rest. And let's avoid rewinding back another year to you know who.
The fact remains...now that the front office is dormant until the draft....the team still has major needs at QB, LG, RT, NT and FS....not to even mention special teams (horrible last year) and a starting punt returner (equally horrible last year).
Are we really going to watch Robert Griffith get torched at FS another year?
Just as the Cardinals on the field can't finish out games and are poorly managed to do so...the Cardinal front office can't finish out an off-season. This year is the epitome of that notion.
