Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
The Cardinals truly believe they found something with regard to their pass rush when they beat the Seahawks in Seattle.
The strategy was to have the edge rushers bull rush to create the top corners of a QB box---the object is to hem the QB into the box and funnel him into the arms of three inside rushers (typically two DTs and one LB).
Thus, they keys are setting to top edges of the box and having the three inside rushers maintain their lanes, so as to prevent wide gaps for the QB to scramble through.
Let's face it---trying to rush Russell Wilson is like trying to corral a squirrel in the back yard.
But, the Cardinals' best success against Wilson is when they are able to box him in---which not only gets him feeling crowded, it impairs his vision.
What Wilson does on occasion to counter this strategy is he performs his Fran Tarkenton-esque extra deep backward pivot and spins around the back top of the box which puts the edge rusher on that side in the chase mode.
Thus---what the Cardinals ideally want from their edge rushers is the type of athlete who has the strength to bull rush effectively to the top edge of the box and then has the athleticism to disengage from his blocker and be able to chase athletic QBs such as Wilson and Colin Kaepernick down.
The good news for the Cardinals is that they have created an array of good bull rushers:
Matt Shaughnessy
Alex Okafor
Calais Campbell
Cory Redding
LaMarr Woodley
Frostee Rucker
Josh Mauro
Kareem Martin (work in progress)
It would not surprise me, based on this criteria, if BA&SK acquire Dwight Freeney as a situational rusher---and it is still possible that John Abraham, if cleared medically, signs a one year contract. Bettcher and Abraham are pretty tight.
Ideally, in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Cardinals would like to add a little more athleticism on the edge, while not having to sacrifice bull rush strength.
There are a number of edge rushers in the 2015 NFL Draft (several who might be available at pick #24) who would appear to fit the Cardinals' criteria:
In Addition: what the Cardinals want is top end speed at the ILB positions---so strength and athletic ability on the edge and speed in the middle---so let's see which draft prospects fir the bill, as rated by NFL.com:
Fowler, Jr., Dante OLB 6'3" 261 Florida 7.0
Ray, Shane DE 6'3" 245 Missouri 6.8
Beasley, Vic OLB 6'3" 246 Clemson 6.6
Gregory, Randy OLB 6'5" 235 Nebraska 6.6
Dupree, Bud OLB 6'4" 269 Kentucky 6.1
All of these prospects are trade-up candidates from #24, as all of them should be taken in the early to mid portions of the first round.
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Harold, Eli OLB 6'3" 247 Virginia 5.9
Smith, Preston DE 6'5" 271 Mississippi St. 5.8
Dawson, Paul ILB 6'0" 235 TCU 5.8
McKinney, Benardrick ILB 6'4" 246 Mississippi St. 5.8
Kendricks, Eric ILB 6'0" 232 UCLA 5.8
Anthony, Stephone ILB 6'3" 243 Clemson 5.8
Odighizuwa, OwamagbeDE 6'3" 267 UCLA 5.7
Thompson, Shaq OLB 6'0" 228 Washington 5.7
This group here features available players from #24--#50. It would be unlikely for any of these players to be on the board when the Cardinals pick at #55.
The question for the Cardinals becomes---do they take the edge guy here? The two who stand out to me are Eli Harold and Odi Owamagbe. Or do they take the speedy ILB here (Erik Kendricks or Shaq Thompson) and hope that an edge player they like will still be available at #55?
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Perryman, Denzel ILB 5'11" 236 Miami 5.6
Kikaha, Hau'oli OLB 6'2" 253 Washington 5.6
Hunter, Danielle DE 6'5" 252 LSU 5.6
Orchard, Nate DE 6'3" 250 Utah 5.6
Mauldin, Lorenzo OLB 6'4" 259 Louisville 5.6
This group here is intriguing because while Hau'oli Kikaha is a little shorter than what the Cardinals prefer, he is surprisingly strong and is very quick in reacting to the moves of the QB. Danielle Hunter, like Obi Owamagbe, fits the physical profile to a tee---yet both players did not put up the kind of numbers in college that would warrant top 50 selections. But, their freakish physical talents will likely place them in the top 50 and possibly in the Top 25-40.
What we don't see here is a speedy ILB. Perryman is a mauler, but he's not very fast. The player in the next group who has the speed the Cardinals want is LB Kwon Alexander. Would he be a reach at #55. Probably. Could the Cardinals wait and hope that Alexander will be available at #86?
Orchard and Mauldin are both good, productive players, but are not as explosive as Kikaha or Hunter.
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Flowers, Trey DE 6'2" 266 Arkansas 5.5
Smith, Za'Darius DE 6'4" 274 Kentucky 5.4
Alexander, Kwon OLB 6'1" 227 LSU 5.4
Emanuel, Kyle OLB 6'3" 255 North Dakota St. 5.4
Golden, Markus DE 6'2" 260 Missouri 5.3
The niftiest fit here for the Cardinals is Kwon Alexander. Of the edge guys here Emmanuel and Golden intrigue me the most---both of whom I would rate very similarly to Orchard and Mauldin.
Projections (if drafting LBs at these spots):
#24: ILB Kendricks or Thompson/OLB Harold or Owamagbe
#55: OLB Kikaha, Hunter/Orchard or ILB Anthony/Dawson (if they're there)
#86: (if speed ILB not taken at #24) Alexander.
The strategy was to have the edge rushers bull rush to create the top corners of a QB box---the object is to hem the QB into the box and funnel him into the arms of three inside rushers (typically two DTs and one LB).
Thus, they keys are setting to top edges of the box and having the three inside rushers maintain their lanes, so as to prevent wide gaps for the QB to scramble through.
Let's face it---trying to rush Russell Wilson is like trying to corral a squirrel in the back yard.
But, the Cardinals' best success against Wilson is when they are able to box him in---which not only gets him feeling crowded, it impairs his vision.
What Wilson does on occasion to counter this strategy is he performs his Fran Tarkenton-esque extra deep backward pivot and spins around the back top of the box which puts the edge rusher on that side in the chase mode.
Thus---what the Cardinals ideally want from their edge rushers is the type of athlete who has the strength to bull rush effectively to the top edge of the box and then has the athleticism to disengage from his blocker and be able to chase athletic QBs such as Wilson and Colin Kaepernick down.
The good news for the Cardinals is that they have created an array of good bull rushers:
Matt Shaughnessy
Alex Okafor
Calais Campbell
Cory Redding
LaMarr Woodley
Frostee Rucker
Josh Mauro
Kareem Martin (work in progress)
It would not surprise me, based on this criteria, if BA&SK acquire Dwight Freeney as a situational rusher---and it is still possible that John Abraham, if cleared medically, signs a one year contract. Bettcher and Abraham are pretty tight.
Ideally, in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Cardinals would like to add a little more athleticism on the edge, while not having to sacrifice bull rush strength.
There are a number of edge rushers in the 2015 NFL Draft (several who might be available at pick #24) who would appear to fit the Cardinals' criteria:
In Addition: what the Cardinals want is top end speed at the ILB positions---so strength and athletic ability on the edge and speed in the middle---so let's see which draft prospects fir the bill, as rated by NFL.com:
Fowler, Jr., Dante OLB 6'3" 261 Florida 7.0
Ray, Shane DE 6'3" 245 Missouri 6.8
Beasley, Vic OLB 6'3" 246 Clemson 6.6
Gregory, Randy OLB 6'5" 235 Nebraska 6.6
Dupree, Bud OLB 6'4" 269 Kentucky 6.1
All of these prospects are trade-up candidates from #24, as all of them should be taken in the early to mid portions of the first round.
________________________________________________________________
Harold, Eli OLB 6'3" 247 Virginia 5.9
Smith, Preston DE 6'5" 271 Mississippi St. 5.8
Dawson, Paul ILB 6'0" 235 TCU 5.8
McKinney, Benardrick ILB 6'4" 246 Mississippi St. 5.8
Kendricks, Eric ILB 6'0" 232 UCLA 5.8
Anthony, Stephone ILB 6'3" 243 Clemson 5.8
Odighizuwa, OwamagbeDE 6'3" 267 UCLA 5.7
Thompson, Shaq OLB 6'0" 228 Washington 5.7
This group here features available players from #24--#50. It would be unlikely for any of these players to be on the board when the Cardinals pick at #55.
The question for the Cardinals becomes---do they take the edge guy here? The two who stand out to me are Eli Harold and Odi Owamagbe. Or do they take the speedy ILB here (Erik Kendricks or Shaq Thompson) and hope that an edge player they like will still be available at #55?
________________________________________________________________
Perryman, Denzel ILB 5'11" 236 Miami 5.6
Kikaha, Hau'oli OLB 6'2" 253 Washington 5.6
Hunter, Danielle DE 6'5" 252 LSU 5.6
Orchard, Nate DE 6'3" 250 Utah 5.6
Mauldin, Lorenzo OLB 6'4" 259 Louisville 5.6
This group here is intriguing because while Hau'oli Kikaha is a little shorter than what the Cardinals prefer, he is surprisingly strong and is very quick in reacting to the moves of the QB. Danielle Hunter, like Obi Owamagbe, fits the physical profile to a tee---yet both players did not put up the kind of numbers in college that would warrant top 50 selections. But, their freakish physical talents will likely place them in the top 50 and possibly in the Top 25-40.
What we don't see here is a speedy ILB. Perryman is a mauler, but he's not very fast. The player in the next group who has the speed the Cardinals want is LB Kwon Alexander. Would he be a reach at #55. Probably. Could the Cardinals wait and hope that Alexander will be available at #86?
Orchard and Mauldin are both good, productive players, but are not as explosive as Kikaha or Hunter.
_______________________________________________________________
Flowers, Trey DE 6'2" 266 Arkansas 5.5
Smith, Za'Darius DE 6'4" 274 Kentucky 5.4
Alexander, Kwon OLB 6'1" 227 LSU 5.4
Emanuel, Kyle OLB 6'3" 255 North Dakota St. 5.4
Golden, Markus DE 6'2" 260 Missouri 5.3
The niftiest fit here for the Cardinals is Kwon Alexander. Of the edge guys here Emmanuel and Golden intrigue me the most---both of whom I would rate very similarly to Orchard and Mauldin.
Projections (if drafting LBs at these spots):
#24: ILB Kendricks or Thompson/OLB Harold or Owamagbe
#55: OLB Kikaha, Hunter/Orchard or ILB Anthony/Dawson (if they're there)
#86: (if speed ILB not taken at #24) Alexander.
