Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Arizona Cardinals fans were issued a didactic caveat by sportswriter Dan Bickley this week: as in, don't get your expectations out of whack.
It kind of reminds me of the riveting scene from Shawshank Redemption when Red responds to Andy Dufresne's assertion that "the thing they cannot take from you is hope" by avowing: "Hope is a dangerous thing, my friend. It's the kind of thing that can drive a man insane."
Well, what Red and none of us didn't know at the time is that Dufresne had a specific plan in place---and by the time Red gets Andy's note under the big oak tree by the stone wall---Red was able to see that, as Andy wrote, "Hope is good thing, Red. Maybe the best of things, for no good thing ever dies."
What Bickley appears to be ignoring is Bruce Arians' assertion that he wants to win now---not later---
Arians said that he and first year GM Steve Keim don't accept the word rebuilding---we are reloading, Arians avowed.
Well, look at the reloading the Cardinals have been able to do since BASK took the reins firmly into their own hands:
QB Carson Palmer
QB Drew Stanton
RB Rashard Mendenhall
RB Stepfan Taylor
RB Andre Ellington
TE D.C. Jefferson
RT Eric Winston
LG Jonathan Cooper
RG Earl Watford
DE John Abraham
DE Frostee Rucker
LB Karlos Dansby
LB Jasper Brinkley
LB Kevin Minter
LB Lorenzo Alexander
LB Matt Shaughnessy
LB Alex Okafor
CB Jerraud Powers
CB Antoine Cason
CB Javier Arenas
SS Yeremiah Bell
SS Jonathan Amaya
FS Tyrann Mathieu
In past years---we would have seen the draft picks on this list and 5-7 free agents, most of whom were overpaid---and despite remaining and sometimes glaring needs at certain positions, we the fans and the coaches were told that's all the team can afford. Even in years when it appeared there was a good deal of cap space available.
The above assortment of players is the largest mother lode in Cardinals' history---in a year where cap space at the beginning of free agency seemed tight. However, BASK had a concerted and aggressive strategy in place---they had the charisma and selling power to convince free agents to agree to contracts that were far more team friendly---BUT---
What BASK has given every player on the entire roster is hope.
Take newly acquired RT Eric Winston, for example. This guy is only heading into his 7th season and he's been one of the more solid RTs in the NFL for the past several years. Winston and his agent misread the market and were left having to take a one-year "prove yourself to earn the multi-year deal you want."
In other years, more prominent teams like the Patriots were able to do bargain deals like this with veterans.
The Cardinals---a team that nobody thinks has a chance to win this year---are somehow managing to attract veteran free agents---why?
There is a clear vision and a very convincing and persuasive BA&SK communication of that vision---the kind that players are willing to buy into, even if it means sacrificing in the short term.
Players often praise coaches for putting them in positions where they can succeed. This is what BA&SK are selling---yet without any promises.
The players will be put in those positions, but it's on them to make the most of it.
There also are far clearer coefficients regarding the prototypical players the BA&SK Cardinals acquire and draft.
The following personnel criteria have become clear:
QB: must be able to make all the throws.
RB: must be able to play all three downs.
TE: must be able to block and catch
WR: must be able to play fast, play at every spot and catch the deep ball
OL: must be able to pass protect in a variety of pass pro schemes and must be able to get good push in the running game---guards must have the feet and strength to pull.
NT: needs to be a run stuffer deluxe, but also be athletic enough to push the pocket.
DE: must be able to penetrate and get upfield in a hurry to put constant pressure on the QB and RB.
ILB: must be able to run downhill and finish tackles on the ball---must be able to cover TEs and RBs---must be able to chase with speed and aggression.
OLB: must be physical enough to seal the edge and athletic enough to rush the passer in 5 and 4 man fronts.
CB: must be able to press and play off---and fill a variety of roles.
S: must be able to be an enforcer in the alleys and have the range to make plays over the top.
When one looks at these specific expectations---one can immediately see, for example, why O'Brien Schofield was not a system fit under the new criteria. He's had trouble sealing the edge and cannot slide down to DE in a 4 man rush. Plus, the team, under the astute work of capologist Mike Disner (who has been flying under the radar but deserves significant praise), needed Schofield's $1.3M to accommodate the additions of Winston and Abraham.
I am not one to make predictions with regard to records---but what I think I can reasonably predict is that this Cardinal team will be the most talented team top to bottom that we have ever seen. It will also be the most physical team that we have ever seen. And I believe that plans are in place to make it the fastest Cardinals team ever.
And situations! You hear BA always talking about practicing situations. This team is going to be far more prepared for game situations than we have ever seen. And while it may take a little time to get everyone on board and in sync...especially in adopting BA's "keep the pedal on the metal" philosophy of winning (which often means doing the unexpected)---which, imo, is exactly what can get players like Carson Palmer over the hump---the point is that the plans are specific, and they are extremely well orchestrated, communicated and practiced.
BA and his staff have to mold this team one rep at a time---
Right now the only expectation is that each rep will move the team forward.
And the thought of that---has me jacked out of my mind. Sorry Dan Bickley---your didactic remarks are lost on me and I imagine are lost on most Cardinal fans right now---I mean, how can one not get excited with the array of aggressive, smart moves the BA&SK team has been making and will continue to make?
I mean, man...I feel the exact same excitement and sheer awe I felt when the warden ripped away the Raquel Welch poster to discover Dufresne's giant tunnel.
"I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement that only a free man can feel...a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope to make it across the boarder. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand...I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams...I hope...I hope..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRBl0GPBm4o
It kind of reminds me of the riveting scene from Shawshank Redemption when Red responds to Andy Dufresne's assertion that "the thing they cannot take from you is hope" by avowing: "Hope is a dangerous thing, my friend. It's the kind of thing that can drive a man insane."
Well, what Red and none of us didn't know at the time is that Dufresne had a specific plan in place---and by the time Red gets Andy's note under the big oak tree by the stone wall---Red was able to see that, as Andy wrote, "Hope is good thing, Red. Maybe the best of things, for no good thing ever dies."
What Bickley appears to be ignoring is Bruce Arians' assertion that he wants to win now---not later---
Arians said that he and first year GM Steve Keim don't accept the word rebuilding---we are reloading, Arians avowed.
Well, look at the reloading the Cardinals have been able to do since BASK took the reins firmly into their own hands:
QB Carson Palmer
QB Drew Stanton
RB Rashard Mendenhall
RB Stepfan Taylor
RB Andre Ellington
TE D.C. Jefferson
RT Eric Winston
LG Jonathan Cooper
RG Earl Watford
DE John Abraham
DE Frostee Rucker
LB Karlos Dansby
LB Jasper Brinkley
LB Kevin Minter
LB Lorenzo Alexander
LB Matt Shaughnessy
LB Alex Okafor
CB Jerraud Powers
CB Antoine Cason
CB Javier Arenas
SS Yeremiah Bell
SS Jonathan Amaya
FS Tyrann Mathieu
In past years---we would have seen the draft picks on this list and 5-7 free agents, most of whom were overpaid---and despite remaining and sometimes glaring needs at certain positions, we the fans and the coaches were told that's all the team can afford. Even in years when it appeared there was a good deal of cap space available.
The above assortment of players is the largest mother lode in Cardinals' history---in a year where cap space at the beginning of free agency seemed tight. However, BASK had a concerted and aggressive strategy in place---they had the charisma and selling power to convince free agents to agree to contracts that were far more team friendly---BUT---
What BASK has given every player on the entire roster is hope.
Take newly acquired RT Eric Winston, for example. This guy is only heading into his 7th season and he's been one of the more solid RTs in the NFL for the past several years. Winston and his agent misread the market and were left having to take a one-year "prove yourself to earn the multi-year deal you want."
In other years, more prominent teams like the Patriots were able to do bargain deals like this with veterans.
The Cardinals---a team that nobody thinks has a chance to win this year---are somehow managing to attract veteran free agents---why?
There is a clear vision and a very convincing and persuasive BA&SK communication of that vision---the kind that players are willing to buy into, even if it means sacrificing in the short term.
Players often praise coaches for putting them in positions where they can succeed. This is what BA&SK are selling---yet without any promises.
The players will be put in those positions, but it's on them to make the most of it.
There also are far clearer coefficients regarding the prototypical players the BA&SK Cardinals acquire and draft.
The following personnel criteria have become clear:
QB: must be able to make all the throws.
RB: must be able to play all three downs.
TE: must be able to block and catch
WR: must be able to play fast, play at every spot and catch the deep ball
OL: must be able to pass protect in a variety of pass pro schemes and must be able to get good push in the running game---guards must have the feet and strength to pull.
NT: needs to be a run stuffer deluxe, but also be athletic enough to push the pocket.
DE: must be able to penetrate and get upfield in a hurry to put constant pressure on the QB and RB.
ILB: must be able to run downhill and finish tackles on the ball---must be able to cover TEs and RBs---must be able to chase with speed and aggression.
OLB: must be physical enough to seal the edge and athletic enough to rush the passer in 5 and 4 man fronts.
CB: must be able to press and play off---and fill a variety of roles.
S: must be able to be an enforcer in the alleys and have the range to make plays over the top.
When one looks at these specific expectations---one can immediately see, for example, why O'Brien Schofield was not a system fit under the new criteria. He's had trouble sealing the edge and cannot slide down to DE in a 4 man rush. Plus, the team, under the astute work of capologist Mike Disner (who has been flying under the radar but deserves significant praise), needed Schofield's $1.3M to accommodate the additions of Winston and Abraham.
I am not one to make predictions with regard to records---but what I think I can reasonably predict is that this Cardinal team will be the most talented team top to bottom that we have ever seen. It will also be the most physical team that we have ever seen. And I believe that plans are in place to make it the fastest Cardinals team ever.
And situations! You hear BA always talking about practicing situations. This team is going to be far more prepared for game situations than we have ever seen. And while it may take a little time to get everyone on board and in sync...especially in adopting BA's "keep the pedal on the metal" philosophy of winning (which often means doing the unexpected)---which, imo, is exactly what can get players like Carson Palmer over the hump---the point is that the plans are specific, and they are extremely well orchestrated, communicated and practiced.
BA and his staff have to mold this team one rep at a time---
Right now the only expectation is that each rep will move the team forward.
And the thought of that---has me jacked out of my mind. Sorry Dan Bickley---your didactic remarks are lost on me and I imagine are lost on most Cardinal fans right now---I mean, how can one not get excited with the array of aggressive, smart moves the BA&SK team has been making and will continue to make?
I mean, man...I feel the exact same excitement and sheer awe I felt when the warden ripped away the Raquel Welch poster to discover Dufresne's giant tunnel.
"I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement that only a free man can feel...a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope to make it across the boarder. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand...I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams...I hope...I hope..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRBl0GPBm4o
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