End of Season - Where are you? Darksider or Lightsider?

[Solar7]

Alright, the season's done. Interesting year. Where do you fall going into the offseason? Positive things are trending up as a whole? Didn't see enough to feel optimistic?

 

[slanidrac16]

If you know anything about football you have to see the light side.

Now with that being said there is a menacing dark side that lurks. It’s like the gaurantee disclaimer. “ Results vary and future results are not gauranteed.”

If this organization makes the right moves, stays relatively healthy and with a little luck week 17 in 2020 will be very exciting.

 

[SoonerLou]

Alright, the season's done. Interesting year. Where do you fall going into the offseason? Positive things are trending up as a whole? Didn't see enough to feel optimistic?

Here's the issue.

Winning 5 games...isn't a problem. Its who is on the roster and whats transferable into next year.

QB - Kyler. Typical rookie stuff...mixed bag. However, more positive than negative imo. Fine

RB - DJ...not contributing and what do we do with that contract? Drake is a revelation...what if a team backs the brinks truck up for him, does Keim pay up (Should he?) Chase suddenly lost in the shuffle

TE - Bright spot. Arnold looks like a legit pass catcher. Williams is a very good blocker. Seems the most transferable to next year imo.

WR - We draft 3 guys. They are raw? Fine so we should see them get a lot of experience this year right? Nope. Outside of maybe KJ for stretch none of them gets to develop a rhythm with a QB. Get outpayed by guys like Byrd and Cooper who probably would be 5's and 6's on the Bengals (I do appreciate them though). Now our 3 rookies are caught in the shuffle and couple be drafted over. Fitz will be a year older. Kirk..looks the same.

Oline - DJ was better, but contract year? FLuke year of being healthy? Very risky. I could see Keim rolling Shipley out there to get pushed around again. I still question the fit of Sweezy as he's not nearly athletic enough for this type of offense (Again square peg/round hole Keim special)

Defense...

Don't have the energy to talk about now.


Basically as of now I see a bunch of new pieces and we're hoping Keim gets guy that are good, but fit.

 

[Solar7]

Spot on as always, @SoonerLou.

 

[Buckybird]

Here's the issue.

Winning 5 games...isn't a problem. Its who is on the roster and whats transferable into next year.

QB - Kyler. Typical rookie stuff...mixed bag. However, more positive than negative imo. Fine

RB - DJ...not contributing and what do we do with that contract? Drake is a revelation...what if a team backs the brinks truck up for him, does Keim pay up (Should he?) Chase suddenly lost in the shuffle

TE - Bright spot. Arnold looks like a legit pass catcher. Williams is a very good blocker. Seems the most transferable to next year imo.

WR - We draft 3 guys. They are raw? Fine so we should see them get a lot of experience this year right? Nope. Outside of maybe KJ for stretch none of them gets to develop a rhythm with a QB. Get outpayed by guys like Byrd and Cooper who probably would be 5's and 6's on the Bengals (I do appreciate them though). Now our 3 rookies are caught in the shuffle and couple be drafted over. Fitz will be a year older. Kirk..looks the same.

Oline - DJ was better, but contract year? FLuke year of being healthy? Very risky. I could see Keim rolling Shipley out there to get pushed around again. I still question the fit of Sweezy as he's not nearly athletic enough for this type of offense (Again square peg/round hole Keim special)

Defense...

Don't have the energy to talk about now.


Basically as of now I see a bunch of new pieces and we're hoping Keim gets guy that are good, but fit.

While I agree with 99% of your take, Sweezy was probably this teams best Olineman for 16 games imo.

 

[SoonerLou]

While I agree with 99% of your take, Sweezy was probably this teams best Olineman for 16 games imo.

He's been solid, but I think to run Kliff's offense the way he wants Keim's needs to get him more athletic lineman.

 

[Southpaw]

Dark with Keim on board .... light if Keim is gone.

 

[DVontel]

Lightsider since you made the thread.

 

[Ronin]

somewhere in the middle.

 

[TruColor]

I’m still 100% onboard the KK/K1 train.

 

[devilalum]

Can't be a Cards fan AND a pessimist.

Unless you're a masochist.

 

[PJ1]

Seems that those that really didn't want Murray are still down on the team. I was one of them but came around to being a big supporter of KM.

All that said I am still a long time Cardinal fan so hope is all I have.

 

[BW52]

Darksider.All the flashy stats and style points don`t count for squat.Sure there has been some improvement but still way too many question marks to be fixed in a coupe of drafts /Free agency.RB is in flux depending on Drakes situation.DJ is obviously not what he once was.WRs are still developing .Right Tackle is still up in the air.Murray had a okay rookie year,several good games and several bad games.Will the Soph jinx get him like it did Mayfield?As for the defense.....PP is tempermental ,overpaid,and The other CB is a question mark,Chandler Jones is just damn good but he can`t do it alone putting pressure on the QB,peters is adequate but he is aging and the Cards still can`t stop the run.
Plus I question the ability of the current FO /GM to draft/sign the right players.

 

[Solar7]

Lightsider since you made the thread.

Well, on a positive note, there's not going to be much to talk about for a couple of months so you won't have me to worry about.

 

[Proximo]

Darksider.All the flashy stats and style points don`t count for squat.Sure there has been some improvement but still way too many question marks to be fixed in a coupe of drafts /Free agency.RB is in flux depending on Drakes situation.DJ is obviously not what he once was.WRs are still developing .Right Tackle is still up in the air.Murray had a okay rookie year,several good games and several bad games.Will the Soph jinx get him like it did Mayfield?As for the defense.....PP is tempermental ,overpaid,and The other CB is a question mark,Chandler Jones is just damn good but he can`t do it alone putting pressure on the QB,peters is adequate but he is aging and the Cards still can`t stop the run.
Plus I question the ability of the current FO /GM to draft/sign the right players.

Drake is coming back, I am not worried about it. Humphries is coming back.

There is no way this team isn't better.

We are drafting Jeudy or Lamb 1st, getting Defensive players in free agency, and keeping basically every good to decent player together with the coaching staff going into next season. I liked the way the team played in the last 3 games so this is a positive.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Ask me again after we have spent the 37 million in dead cap

 

[TJ]

Darksider, and it was an easy choice. While we seem to have solidified the QB position, there are a number of pressing needs and concerns:

• A GM whose decision-making the past several seasons is questionable and inconsistent at best. For every Kenyan Drake trade, there's a Robert Nkemdiche, Brandon Williams and Hassan Reddick draft pick. Keim's first-round blunders have depreciated the depth on this team and caused him to sustain massive amounts of dead money, which prohibits the team from adding talent
• Depth at D-Line, safety, LB, O-Line and WR are a major concern
• A DC who was the leader of the 32nd ranked defense in the NFL
• We play in the hardest division. Arizona was the only team to not have finished the season with a winning record. Consider as well that the team hasn't been above .500 since 2015

With all of those variables, it's hard to imagine this team contending for the playoffs next season. We may be able to leapfrog the Rams with their own personnel issues and no first-round pick, but nothing I've seen this season suggests that SF or SEA will take a step back, or that AZ will have enough firepower to suppliant them.

 

[JCSunsfan]

We have a QB. Gotta be a light sider.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Dark with Keim on board .... light if Keim is gone.

This is 100% where I fall.

#firebluto

 

[overseascardfan]

I am admittedly a darksider until I see what gets done this offseason. IMO the source of all our personnel issues is still with the team and until he proves he knows how to build a team its my feeling that he cannot and we should be looking for a new GM.

 

[slanidrac16]

Darksider.All the flashy stats and style points don`t count for squat.Sure there has been some improvement but still way too many question marks to be fixed in a coupe of drafts /Free agency.RB is in flux depending on Drakes situation.DJ is obviously not what he once was.WRs are still developing .Right Tackle is still up in the air.Murray had a okay rookie year,several good games and several bad games.Will the Soph jinx get him like it did Mayfield?As for the defense.....PP is tempermental ,overpaid,and The other CB is a question mark,Chandler Jones is just damn good but he can`t do it alone putting pressure on the QB,peters is adequate but he is aging and the Cards still can`t stop the run.
Plus I question the ability of the current FO /GM to draft/sign the right players.

Geez... you must have really felt blue at this time last year...

 

[GatorAZ]

I’m almost positive we’ll have similar problems next year and be complaining about the same crap. Put him in the dark side camp.

 

[Delmar M Lewis]

Seems that those that really didn't want Murray are still down on the team. I was one of them but came around to being a big supporter of KM.

All that said I am still a long time Cardinal fan so hope is all I have.

I was as down on him as I could be But He has changed my Mind He is A DAMN GOOD FOOTBALL PLAYER AND THE FRONT OFFICE ACTUALLY GOT ONE RIGHT NOW TO FIX THE REST OF THE TEAM I am quite a bit more optimistic than I was at the beginning of the year

 

[BW52]

Geez... you must have really felt blue at this time last year...

One season after drafting the "transcendent" top pick KM I see a team that showed a bit of improvement that is still drafting in the top 10 with many issues to be resolved and a FO/GM who have as many misses as hits in FA/draft.A QB who has flashed talent and has also played poorly at times.KM proved to be wildly inconsistent in the red zone. 20 TD passes is good but 12 interceptions and 48 sacks refuted the " escapabity so he won't get sacked or he rarely throws ints".All in all he had a okay rookie season but being the top pick more should have been expected.Some will say I am nitpicking and I don't like KM.I didn't like it but he's the QB until the next shiny new toy comes along.It might be a unpopular opinion and the cheerleaders will be upset but too bad.My opinion and I don't really care who it upsets .Last I heard freedom to post a opinion was still allowed here.

 

[Cardiac]

If I'm Michael Bidwill I give Keim one or two more offseasons to get the job done. It isn't hard for me to realize that hiring BA and now KK shows that he can identify HC talent. Maybe too soon to celebrate KK's hiring but at least he shows promise. Wilks appeared to be a MB decision but even if not then nobody bats 100%.

Keim has won executive of the year and did build a power house roster that was wasted on 2 years of QB injuries.

Keim did make the mistake of refusing to go through a rebuild when Carson Palmer retired and tried to salvage a fairly talented roster that didn't have a QB. Maybe that was the marching order MB gave him or maybe he took a big swing and simply missed. It happens and we all know that HC's and GM's lose their jobs if they can't find a legit QB. Keim has found his franchise QB and now it's time to let him develop the roster around him.

I also believe Keim has learned from his mistakes for the most part and like most/all of us aren't perfect at out our jobs at first and get better with time and experience. Keim's learning curve was funky because he started out hot and then make his mistakes and now should be trending upwards at a high rate.

Oline coach hiring was a home run and the Oline played well above expectations so Keim gets a B grade on his moves on the Oline this past year.

Keim gets an A for the QB position this past year.

Keim gets a D for the WR position.

B- for the DB's, Murphy has shown promise and Budda is solid. Chris Jones gives us solid depth and Alford may be that true #2 we need.

LBers man this is very tough because he did get Chris Jones but over drafted Reddick but he did get Hicks but then he got Suggs but then he did Draft Golden but then let him get away. He did get Los back but did that one to many times. I'm going to give him a D+

Dline is a D because he has found good depth players but needs to add a difference maker or two.