From Jurecki - very interesting

[JeffGollin]

We really don't know who's telling the truth here. All I know is - Take anything you hear with a grain of salt. Base everything on how the team is performing week to week. (Note - So far, not so hot).

One thing I do find promising is that Dennis isn't about to ignore problems. The team has performed unsatisfactorily and he's being proactive about it.

This is just a guess, but no doubt, those responsible for drafting or bringing in players - who have not yet proved they're worth the money being paid them - have a vested interest in not giving up on those players because that would be the same as branding those personnel decisions "failures." (Rod and both Bidwills may feel that way - it's human nature).

I hope Dennis walks the straight and narrow between (a) kowtowing to management and (b) stubbornly manning a big broom in order to make his point - and has the necessary mental discipline to ignore the inside and outside pressure and simply make sound football moves based on what will most help this football team.

It's not as easy as it seems, but that's what I'm hoping.

 

[Shane]

Listen everyone......while Bidwill is not considered as a dot.com billionaire, he isn't exactly poor either. If anyone has looked at the Cardinal financials as provided by the NFL, Bidwill owns the team free and clear of debt. When you have an asset like this, with the revenue stream expected to increase within two years, tell me of any banker that wouldn't front you a miiilion or two when needed.

the guy has enouogh loans already. how do you think he is paying for 85 million of the stadium etc..... It isnt liquid cash I can tell you that.

The guy isnt poor by any means but he certainly isnt in the financial position of most other owners. That is a fact. Why get more loans when it isnt necessary?

 

[conraddobler]

Thank You!

If this is true I applaude Mr. Bidwill! Cutting lose your best Ol for nothing would absolutely stupid!

Maybe DG wanted to simply test the waters and he got his answer real quick.

It would be an awesome way to see if the owner meant what he said verbally pick out a guy that would cut a fortune to cut and angle to cut the guy it would save years of slow death like other coaches.

Pretty much gets the cards right out on the table, then if you're DG you just turtle up and play a BR and get fired and collect your check and move on.

I think this issue is bigger than cutting any one player. It goes to how a franchise is run.

I don't personally believe LJ should be cut but no one should be above it and an arguement can be made that it wouldn't be a bad idea but does the team have the resources to pull it off?

Other teams cut players like LJ without a second thought if all they care about is winning they gut the team and start over. Bidwill is basically saying no don't do that and the message that sends over to LJ is I am untouchable Green tried and I'm still here he he he he... na na na na I make to much to cut back to average performance for me nothing you can do ha ha ha.

This all assumes what was said is true it may not be but it's not about it being even the right move it's about it being off limits that is the problem.

The last thing I would point out is that trading LJ comes with a similar cost plus the replacement players cost... I seriously think the lower levels of hades will freeze over before that would happen.

 

[cardsunsfan]

I think one way Jurecki might have gotten the information is because Green may have told Shelton? Something like "If I had my way you'd be off the team"

If this is true though I don't know I like it. If I were Green I might keep Shelton and some of the other guys he wants to cut. But his way has worked in the past, and part of it is a mindset and a eye for great talent. I think it will be hard for Green to set the mood he wants if he isn't calling all the shots. I want to see what Green can do, I've already seen what the Bidwells can do and it aint pretty....

 

[Reddog]

Is MJ still on the Cards web site as the insider? Idf so it has to be just a matter of time before DG gets MJ out of such an official role with the team. He hates the media and it must drive him crazy to have a guy so closely affiliated with the team stirring it up and calling out he and his coaches (i.e. the Kenny King cast issue etc).

 

[MadCardDisease]

Not always. When Shelton finally signed as a rookie it was reported that his signing bonus was to be paid in 60 monthly payments. Then we were told that Jake's bonus was in 2-3 payments, and the Cards commonly break them up. This is because as Conrad says, they don't have the cash to pay it in a lump sum all the time.

Given how many players were extended last year, and with Fitz' bonus coming, I'm betting that SHelton's new deal had something similar.

If we're talking Washington or Dallas, yes the whole thing is paid up front, but Bill Bidwill doesn't have the bank to do that.

I didn't realize that they broke it up that much. Still, Bidwill is going to have to pay it no matter what. I think the whole, you said you could coach these guys up is the better story assuming this whole thing is true.

 

[cardsunsfan]

the guy has enouogh loans already. how do you think he is paying for 85 million of the stadium etc..... It isnt liquid cash I can tell you that.

The guy isnt poor by any means but he certainly isnt in the financial position of most other owners. That is a fact. Why get more loans when it isnt necessary?

Well it might be necessary if he want to win. Hey how many other businesses can you get most of your infrastructure paid for? He should try to get loans where he has to pay everything. I'm not convinced, Green should be able to cut anybody he wants without worrying about the financial problems if he doesn't think the hit will make it harder to aquire players in the long run because in the long run, with this stadium deal, Bidwill will be a very rich man.

 

[Lex]

Bidwill might be thrifty, but he ain't broke.

The current TV contract ALONE is for 17.6 BILLION. When that contract was signed, the salary cap was around 40 million/team. If you divide 17.6 billion by the 8 year length of the deal, it's a little over TWO THOUSAND MILLION a year. So a team like the Cardinals would pocket around 30 millon a year, after player salaries were paid, and that amount wouldn't even include the lucrative merchandise revenue sharing.

We spent last years money on LJ and Ray, so we didn't have to GIVE IT to the NFLPA.

 

[clif]

He's closer to the organization than you are, or I am, hell, he even does a column for their website. He might not be correct, but you can't write it off just because it's negative.

Lets get something straight I am not blowing this off because it is negative. I believe there is a little truth in all of these speculations. I will say though that the the hate has been spilling out of jureckis mouth since day one. The guy may be close to the team, but that does not make him right.

He ticked me off when all he could say as to why the cards should not hire DG was because something that happened 10 years or so ago in his personal life. If we did that in everyday life most people wouldnt have jobs.

All is all I like jurecki, but he has been throwing some crap around lately and people take it as law because he is the "cardinals insider"... PLEASE!!!!!!!

 

[MadCardDisease]

TWO THOUSAND MILLION

That's funny!

 

[Stout]

IF this is true (big if), then shame on Billy-boy. Need to coach up the big money players? Bull! How about not signing/drafting crappy players, and then we won't have to worry about it. I wasn't too sure about the LJ extension (he's worth having around, but he got waaay too much money), and this exacerbates the situation even more.

The team is being gutted. The roster probably still needs gutted even more. Let the man do his job, damn the cap for this year, and take your lumps...'cause we ain't gonna win this year anyway.

 

[slanidrac16]

If this is true then why didn't Bidwill step in and say no when we cut Kendall?

What might have happened is a discission on cap ramifications and how it might hurt the team that way.
Every team has a few players they are "stuck' with because of the salary cap. Green may very well want to cut or have wanted to cut Shelton. However having Shelton , even if it's on the bench can only be a good thing, IMO.
I still think Shelton will rise to the challange and be a starter before the season starts.

 

[Shane]

IF this is true (big if), then shame on Billy-boy. Need to coach up the big money players? Bull! How about not signing/drafting crappy players, and then we won't have to worry about it. I wasn't too sure about the LJ extension (he's worth having around, but he got waaay too much money), and this exacerbates the situation even more.

The team is being gutted. The roster probably still needs gutted even more. Let the man do his job, damn the cap for this year, and take your lumps...'cause we ain't gonna win this year anyway.

I commend Billy Boy! He has been our best most consistent OL for 4 years. He has been a warrior and deserved every penny of the middle tier LT money he got. I wonder if you have even watched the guy play the last 4 years

You cant give a coach free reign with every aspect IMO.

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

Jerry Jones did the exact same thing when Parcells was hired! This is not limited to the Cardinals and Bidwill. Parcells wanted to bring 'his guys' in and get rid of some of the fodder on the team. JJ said something to the effect that Parcells needs to work with Jerry's choices and coach the best out of them for at least a year before he will allow the team to be gutted.

Turns out JJ was correct. They weren't as talentless as some thought and Parcells righted that ship in 1 year. The initial reaction of anyone coming into a situation like that is to bring in your own guys and gut the team.

This is not just a Cardinals thing!!

 

[conraddobler]

Jerry Jones did the exact same thing when Parcells was hired! This is not limited to the Cardinals and Bidwill. Parcells wanted to bring 'his guys' in and get rid of some of the fodder on the team. JJ said something to the effect that Parcells needs to work with Jerry's choices and coach the best out of them for at least a year before he will allow the team to be gutted.

Turns out JJ was correct. They weren't as talentless as some thought and Parcells righted that ship in 1 year. The initial reaction of anyone coming into a situation like that is to bring in your own guys and gut the team.

This is not just a Cardinals thing!!

Yeah I hear what you are saying and it does make sense I wouldn't want to cut everyone if I owned the team because of how much it would cost. He is supposedly a great coach then do your job and coach.

Still it undermines Green to some extent in that he cannot cut someone and if they know it that can blunt some of the effect you are trying to achieve.

What is amazing is that this was not talked about and agreed too more in the begining knowing everyones history.

 

[Shane]

Jerry Jones did the exact same thing when Parcells was hired! This is not limited to the Cardinals and Bidwill. Parcells wanted to bring 'his guys' in and get rid of some of the fodder on the team. JJ said something to the effect that Parcells needs to work with Jerry's choices and coach the best out of them for at least a year before he will allow the team to be gutted.

Turns out JJ was correct. They weren't as talentless as some thought and Parcells righted that ship in 1 year. The initial reaction of anyone coming into a situation like that is to bring in your own guys and gut the team.

This is not just a Cardinals thing!!

You da man!

 

[conraddobler]

You da man!

I still think there is more too this than just a territory or team battle I think Mr. Bidwill just heard the sound of money and came out of his cave.

However, this does not mean that in the short term it wasn't for the best. Long term it dosen't make me feel very hopeful that when something like this acutally needs to be done that it will be done. Bryant is still on the team probably for this reason and maybe we should have cut or dumped him but we can't or won't.

This kind of thing isn't just player specific.

 

[DieHardCardFan]

I think some of this is getting a little crazy. First of MJ does have insider info often, but he also reports on info a bit prematurely as well sometimes. If this did in fact happen, there should be no argument that it was a financial decision by Bidwill. Not just about having to pay up, but the cap situation this would put this team in. I dont think Bidwill cares who plays or who doesnt so long as Green is fielding a competitive team this year. If LJ is playing better then the others I have no doubt that come regular season he will be in there. Green has an ego and it is driven by sucess in this profession!

 

[Shane]

I still think there is more too this than just a territory or team battle I think Mr. Bidwill just heard the sound of money and came out of his cave.

However, this does not mean that in the short term it wasn't for the best. Long term it dosen't make me feel very hopeful that when something like this acutally needs to be done that it will be done. Bryant is still on the team probably for this reason and maybe we should have cut or dumped him but we can't or won't.

This kind of thing isn't just player specific.

If something needs to be done I have no doubt that it will be! This is a move that would have made no sense and Bidwill knows it. Not just mentarily either. There is a differance between a purge and senseless cutting!

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

If something needs to be done I have no doubt that it will be! This is a move that would have made no sense and Bidwill knows it. Not just mentarily either. There is a differance between a purge and senseless cutting!

Exactly. It was widely rumoured when Parcells took the job in Dallas that he wanted nothing to do with Quincy Carter and wanted to cut him. Turns out Carter was pretty good for them last year (minus the last 4 games) and led them to the playoffs. Cutting him would have made very little sense then from a talent standpoint (only Hutchinson and Romo behind Carter) and from a Cap standpoint.

This was all done at JJ's encouraging. He told Parcells he believed his team had talent that it was up to Parcell's to make the team believe that.

 

[spanky1]

Jurecki said Mr. Bill Bidwill stepped in and ordered Denny Green not to cut LJ Shelton, otherwise LJ would be gone already. Denny has been told to coach up some of the big salary guys like Pace and Shelton and Denny is not happy.

It just dawned on me...........skkorp, where did Jurecki say this? You have always asked us to identify rumors as just that.........can you pls. say where this came from.

Are you having fun stirring up the hornet's nest?

 

[clif]

but the problem is now that most people are assuming LJ was going to get cut. I seriously doubt he was ever going to get cut. Please! Give the coach a little credit.. I think he realizes that if LJ really wants to be on this team in a prominent role then he would step up and not let that happen. Really what indication did DG ever give that LJ would be cut? He demoted him because he was out of shape and now LJ has to compete to get his job back.. what is wrong with that?

 

[gamebird98]

Any chance that LJ whined to the league about practice being to tough?

 

[Russ Smith]

Any chance that LJ whined to the league about practice being to tough?

Not likely, LJ was injured and not practicing at the time IIRC.

 

[Tangodnzr]

He's closer to the organization than you are, or I am, hell, he even does a column for their website. He might not be correct, but you can't write it off just because it's negative.

Clif can.

He knows everything.....If you don't believe that ...just ask him.