Cards resign CB Crezdon Butler

[RugbyMuffin]

We need a RB and we sign a CB. Makes sense. 4-12 here we come. We are going to be the first team in history to win it's first 4 games then lose it's next 12.

Don't worry, maybe Butler can play LT.

 

[DutchmanAZ]

What a lame false equivalence. We don't need a back that would make us "scary", but we could bring in a back who could make us relevant.

Have we been relevant this year? Our ground game sucked with Williams. I don't see it getting much worse with what we have on the bench.

 

[kerouac9]

Have we been relevant this year? Our ground game sucked with Williams. I don't see it getting much worse with what we have on the bench.

We have been relevant and effective in running the ball. It's just that we've abandoned it too often and put the offense in Kevin Kolb's hands, which has been shown over and over to be a terrible idea.

What we've been lacking largely are explosive runs, but we've done a good job in the first three quarters of games of using the run to keep us out of bad down-and-distance situations.

Every time that someone's said, "Well, the guy that just got hurt/was cut/signed with another team as a free agent sucked, how much worse can his backup be?" they've discovered pretty quickly that the answer is "much worse.

Exhibit A: Levi Brown
Exhibit B: Deuce Lutui
Exhibit C: Matt Leinart
Exhibit D: Beanie Wells

 

[Russ Smith]

Fred Jackson would be an intersting move as he works well in the passing game. My concern is what will be the cost for a back like Fred Jackson or Ben Tate. Lets not sell the farm for a bad fit just because we are desperate.

And Tate is hurt now too, toe injury ,wasn't active last night I found out.

They were talking Tate for a 2nd rounder in the preseason but apparently got no takers. he was a 2nd round pick and has a 2nd round contract so that's where the asking price comes from.

No RB is going to come in and look great on this offense, but he'd be much better than what we have.

I like Jackson just no idea about his knee.

I guess one of the beat writers said he hears the Cards haven't ruled out a trade so we'll see.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

What a lame false equivalence. We don't need a back that would make us "scary", but we could bring in a back who could make us relevant.

Define relevant, and put a name to it.

 

[Duckjake]

Have we been relevant this year? Our ground game sucked with Williams. I don't see it getting much worse with what we have on the bench.

That's what we said about Levi Brown.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Hope his hammy is okay:

Wikipedia:

He was waived by the Cardinals on August 31, 2012 for final roster cuts before the start of the 2012 season. On September 1, 2012, the Washington Redskins claimed Butler off waivers. After playing in only two games, he was waived-injured on September 25 after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

 

[A fan who cares]

You guys seem to forget that Beanie Wells is on the TEMPORARY IR. Sure its still a long ways off before he returns, but at least we'll get one of our serviceable RB's back by then. In the mean time, I'm not worried about our running game, it's just going to continue to suck, more or less. If the running game does get better, it will be because of the run blocking.

 

[NJCardFan]

You guys seem to forget that Beanie Wells is on the TEMPORARY IR. Sure its still a long ways off before he returns, but at least we'll get one of our serviceable RB's back by then. In the mean time, I'm not worried about our running game, it's just going to continue to suck, more or less. If the running game does get better, it will be because of the run blocking.

Uh huh. And now we're forced to be the 80's Dolphins throwing 40+ times a game. Wrap that around your skull for a few minutes.

 

[A fan who cares]

Uh huh. And now we're forced to be the 80's Dolphins throwing 40+ times a game. Wrap that around your skull for a few minutes.

As established by our first four games, we don't have to be largely successful (or successful at all) with the running game to win. Your example doesn't apply

 

[DoTheDew]

Well, at least Butler knows the system.

 

[JeffGollin]

A Different Take on Butler

The last 2 games (vs. Miami and StL) left us exposed in the secondary.

Gay and Fleming couldn't keep up with speedy slot-guys on crossing routes. We seemed to have come up with an answer in Toler, but giving up that big play may have shaken the coaches's confidence in him and his injury (whatever the severity or lack thereof) at the very least makes him an iffy proposition.

Opposing OC's watch tape. No doubt they've picked up our weakness and will continue to exploit it until we make them stop.

It all has to do with matchups - Gay and Fleming may be fine going up against big physical (but not quite as fast) wideouts, but different sort of dude may be needed to cope with the quick slant-guys.

I think Cioffi and Horton may feel Butler has enough speed and will break on the ball aggressively enough to be the answer (or at least provide depth behind Toler) dealing with quicker slot receivers.

 

[john h]

Darren Urban ‏@Cardschatter
Cardinals put RB Ryan Williams on IR, officially ending his season, and re-sign CB Crezdon Butler

I also wonder why there first priority should not have been a RB??????

 

[Crazy Canuck]

The last 2 games (vs. Miami and StL) left us exposed in the secondary.

Gay and Fleming couldn't keep up with speedy slot-guys on crossing routes. We seemed to have come up with an answer in Toler, but giving up that big play may have shaken the coaches's confidence in him and his injury (whatever the severity or lack thereof) at the very least makes him an iffy proposition.

Opposing OC's watch tape. No doubt they've picked up our weakness and will continue to exploit it until we make them stop.

It all has to do with matchups - Gay and Fleming may be fine going up against big physical (but not quite as fast) wideouts, but different sort of dude may be needed to cope with the quick slant-guys.

I think Cioffi and Horton may feel Butler has enough speed and will break on the ball aggressively enough to be the answer (or at least provide depth behind Toler) dealing with quicker slot receivers.

Toler didn't get beat on that TD playing the slot.

 

[BigRedRage]

3 pages of backup CB discussions?

 

[Duckjake]

3 pages of backup CB discussions?

3 posts on backup CB discussion. 3 pages of RB discussions. For a team that has lost it's #1 and #2 Running backs that's understandable.

No no offensive line. No running backs. Only for the Cardinals would that have no effect on their offense. All pass All the Time. Sack Kolb 9 times we don't care we're throwing it 50 times and we'll beat you on half the other 41 throws.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Define relevant, and put a name to it.

I'm waiting to hear that as well.

Maybe K9 is hoping Emmitt Smith gets kicked off Dancing with the Stars. If he can still dance he can still run the football.

 

[kerouac9]

I'm waiting to hear that as well.

Maybe K9 is hoping Emmitt Smith gets kicked off Dancing with the Stars. If he can still dance he can still run the football.

"Relevant" to me means having a success rate (defined by Football Outsiders--I've posted it here enough times that if you don't know it, go look it up yourself) around 40%. Someone that is going to be able to pick up what's there. You know me, it isn't just someone who's name I recognize or was a third alternate to the Pro Bowl in 2008.

If we're just looking for someone with some experience and has shown that they belong in the NFL, I wouldn't mind bringing in Joseph Addai (he's familiar to the coaching staff), Maurice Morris (last seen playing for the Detroit Lions), Jerious Norwood (I always thought this guy got a raw deal as an NFL runner--loved him in Atlanta), or Derrick Ward. I think all of these guys would give us a better chance to have some production from the running back position than the guys we're going to run out on Sunday.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

In football related news: Joseph Addai couldn't hack practice in New England, and got cut.

 

[MadCardDisease]

If we're just looking for someone with some experience and has shown that they belong in the NFL, I wouldn't mind bringing in Joseph Addai (he's familiar to the coaching staff), Maurice Morris (last seen playing for the Detroit Lions), Jerious Norwood (I always thought this guy got a raw deal as an NFL runner--loved him in Atlanta), or Derrick Ward. I think all of these guys would give us a better chance to have some production from the running back position than the guys we're going to run out on Sunday.

None of those guys have any tread left on the tire. They would be bodies at best. The fact is that there is no one out there that can help us short term. If one of the three remaining backs go down, we are then forced to bring in someone off the street. Our best hope is that we can survive with what we have till Wells comes back from IR.

 

[kerouac9]

None of those guys have any tread left on the tire. They would be bodies at best. The fact is that there is no one out there that can help us short term. If one of the three remaining backs go down, we are then forced to bring in someone off the street. Our best hope is that we can survive with what we have till Wells comes back from IR.

Jerious Norwood is 29 years old and has all of 399 CAREER carries.

That's your "fact," not mine. The "fact" is that no one wanted either of these guys, and suddenly we're expecting them to be NFL players even though that Cards have zero history of success at doing so. No, these guys are not starting-caliber NFL backs. And they're not even second-string caliber NFL backs. But they're all better than the garbage that we're going to run out Sunday afternoon after LSH gets another injury after getting 8 touches.

Beggars can't be choosers. No one can define why they expect William Powell to be good. The guys we thought were awesome averaged less than 3 YPC. Maybe it's time to try something different.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Jerious Norwood is 29 years old and has all of 399 CAREER carries.

That's your "fact," not mine. The "fact" is that no one wanted either of these guys, and suddenly we're expecting them to be NFL players even though that Cards have zero history of success at doing so. No, these guys are not starting-caliber NFL backs. And they're not even second-string caliber NFL backs. But they're all better than the garbage that we're going to run out Sunday afternoon after LSH gets another injury after getting 8 touches.

Beggars can't be choosers. No one can define why they expect William Powell to be good. The guys we thought were awesome averaged less than 3 YPC. Maybe it's time to try something different.

Remind me who wanted Norwood this year? Look at his overall stats. See a trend? The average NFL RB loses tread fast and Norwood is running bald.

William Powell made the team. Obviously the coaching staff thinks he is good enough to play in the NFL. If the Cardinals thought Norwood was a viable option why didn't they sign him instead of bringing back camp fodder in Smith?

The fact of the matter is the Cards are screwed at RB with no better options. Plus behind this OL I don't think it matters who we throw back there at this point. Any subpar RB will struggle behind this makeshift line. That is the sad truth. When Levi Brown went down we all knew our running game took a major hit.

 

[Duckjake]

The fact is that there is no one out there that can help us short term.

I still think there are 3-4 young RBs on other teams' practice squads who could help us now. Usually a RB shows right away if he can handle the NFL but not always. How much does it cost to take a young guy off another teams PS?

Of course lately it seems the Cards only bring back players they cut.

 

[kerouac9]

Remind me who wanted Norwood this year? Look at his overall stats. See a trend? The average NFL RB loses tread fast and Norwood is running bald.

William Powell made the team. Obviously the coaching staff thinks he is good enough to play in the NFL. If the Cardinals thought Norwood was a viable option why didn't they sign him instead of bringing back camp fodder in Smith?

The fact of the matter is the Cards are screwed at RB with no better options. Plus behind this OL I don't think it matters who we throw back there at this point. Any subpar RB will struggle behind this makeshift line. That is the sad truth. When Levi Brown went down we all knew our running game took a major hit.

No one right now is on their third-string running back but us. Norwood isn't good enough to be a lot of teams' #2 RB, and it doesn't make sense to have a 29 year old #3. But Norwood can return kicks instead of LSH (he's really good at it) and can probably run the rock as a starter as well.

I'm not sure how you can trust the Cards' brain trust when it comes to evaluating the running back position. These are the guys who wouldn't sit fumble-prone Tim Hightower for a guy they drafted in the first round, and then couldn't wait to bench that first-round pick for a guy who ended up averaging 2.9 YPC in the NFL.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I remember commenting in a thread a few years ago that I wanted the Cards to pick up Norwood as FA. The problem was he wasn't yet elgible for FA .

I always thought he was mega-talented but stuck behind Turner in Atlanta. I thought he'd been perfect for the Cards. It's too bad that injuries have really taken their toll on him.