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Whisenhunt, Cardinals on playoff path
Schein's Spot
I've been feeling it through free agency.
I really got the vibe during and after the draft.
I think Ken Whisenhunt can truly lead the Cardinals to the playoffs this year.
Obviously it is way too early to get into forecasts. Seattle is a very good team; the Rams had a good draft and good free agency period; and I'm Rollin with Nolan and the Niners.
But I just love the direction Arizona is headed in, with its new impact players in the draft, its solid free agency period, and most especially, the appointment of Whisenhunt and his staff to make it sing and maximize the talented players they already have in the desert.
They had a brilliant draft.
In talking to Whisenhunt on Wednesday, the Cardinals coach gave us great insight into his war room and the selection of a starting offensive tackle on lefty Matt Leinart's blind side.
"When it came our turn to pick, we had Adrian Peterson and Levi Brown rated right there together. In fact, Joe Thomas and Gaines Adams were in that group, too. And they came off the board. Certainly we felt comfortable with either player and I think that both Levi and Adrian are going to be outstanding players in this league. From my philosophy, from having been in Pittsburgh and having seen the importance of the offensive line, I felt very strongly that it was important that we build a core of this team which is the O-Line and D-Line. And that's why we took Levi over Adrian in that position."
There are some who say Brown was a reach. That's nonsense. He did a great job at Penn State and was a consensus top 10 pick. This was a no-brainer selection with Thomas and Adams off the board. Peterson didn't make much sense with Edgerrin James on the roster. James is going to thrive in Whisenhunt's offense with smash-mouth fullback Terrelle Smith leading the way.
Whisenhunt can not wait to get Brown started.
"We're going to start him at right tackle and see how he adapts to the position. He is going to work in the rotation with Mike Gandy and Oliver Ross, who I know very well from Pittsburgh. I have recollections of winning 15 games in a season with Oliver. Levi fits the mold of exactly what we are looking for. I think he can play either one. But when I envision a right tackle I envision a mauler like Levi and I envision teaming him with Deuce Letui. So that's how I envision starting it."
So Brown was the perfect fit. Whisenhunt and Graves then got aggressive to trade up with Oakland for the first pick in round 2.
Could it actually be possible for a team to get two of the top 12 players on its board?
Whisenhunt revealed, "When I first got this job and I knew we had the fifth pick and we were at the Combine doing all the interviews with the players, I took a special note of Alan Branch in my early prep because I thought strongly that this could be a guy that we consider with the fifth pick. He was No. 12 on our entire board. So we got a proposal together with Oakland for pick 33 overall, contingents of course on our player still being there. Certainly we were waiting with bated breath when Indianapolis was on the clock at 32. He was there. We made the trade. And I just think it was an outstanding move."
That might be the understatement of the year.
Nobody would've batted an eye if Branch became a Redskin, Falcon, Dolphin, Texan, or Ram. This was a top flight player. If the draft was held in January, the Michigan defensive tackle doesn't make it past No. 6.
So what happened to Branch?
Whisenhunt said, "I don't know. Maybe there was an undercurrent of questions before the draft. Maybe some of that got out and the teams started talking. And when he slipped past the first 10 to 14 picks, maybe there was this undercurrent of 'What's wrong with Alan Branch?' I can tell you there is nothing wrong and we are thrilled to have him."
Whisenhunt was also rightly thrilled with Steve Breaston out of Michigan ('great hands as a receiver and his return skills will help tremendously') and his heist of Delaware tight end Ben Patrick, a day 1 talent, in round 7.
There's no doubt the club is talented, with the best receiver combination in the NFC, a star back, a star in the making at quarterback, and one of the best safeties in the NFL, just to name a few.
So I was curious what Whisenhunt saw when he looked under the hood at his club.
"I saw very talented skill position players. I saw guys who played hard that thought they were talented enough to win but maybe didn't have enough direction in what they thought they should do. And the area I thought we needed to improve was the offensive line. I thought they played hard at the end of the year, but we did not have great depth there. And I think that was the area we addressed in free agency and certainly the draft."
A first-time head coach with great offensive principles taking over a franchise that has underachieved. The situation sounds a lot like what Sean Payton dealt with in New Orleans.
That resulted in the playoffs for the Saints and we could see the same in Arizona.
Seriously.
Adam Schein hosts the Afternoon Blitz on Sirius NFL Radio with Solomon Wilcots and Jim Miller from 3-7 ET. Schein is the NFL insider for Sports Net New York. His "Scheintology" columns appear daily and his video NFL picks video reports appear every Friday on FOXSports.com. Email him at [email protected]
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Schein's Spot
I've been feeling it through free agency.
I really got the vibe during and after the draft.
I think Ken Whisenhunt can truly lead the Cardinals to the playoffs this year.
Obviously it is way too early to get into forecasts. Seattle is a very good team; the Rams had a good draft and good free agency period; and I'm Rollin with Nolan and the Niners.
But I just love the direction Arizona is headed in, with its new impact players in the draft, its solid free agency period, and most especially, the appointment of Whisenhunt and his staff to make it sing and maximize the talented players they already have in the desert.
They had a brilliant draft.
In talking to Whisenhunt on Wednesday, the Cardinals coach gave us great insight into his war room and the selection of a starting offensive tackle on lefty Matt Leinart's blind side.
"When it came our turn to pick, we had Adrian Peterson and Levi Brown rated right there together. In fact, Joe Thomas and Gaines Adams were in that group, too. And they came off the board. Certainly we felt comfortable with either player and I think that both Levi and Adrian are going to be outstanding players in this league. From my philosophy, from having been in Pittsburgh and having seen the importance of the offensive line, I felt very strongly that it was important that we build a core of this team which is the O-Line and D-Line. And that's why we took Levi over Adrian in that position."
There are some who say Brown was a reach. That's nonsense. He did a great job at Penn State and was a consensus top 10 pick. This was a no-brainer selection with Thomas and Adams off the board. Peterson didn't make much sense with Edgerrin James on the roster. James is going to thrive in Whisenhunt's offense with smash-mouth fullback Terrelle Smith leading the way.
Whisenhunt can not wait to get Brown started.
"We're going to start him at right tackle and see how he adapts to the position. He is going to work in the rotation with Mike Gandy and Oliver Ross, who I know very well from Pittsburgh. I have recollections of winning 15 games in a season with Oliver. Levi fits the mold of exactly what we are looking for. I think he can play either one. But when I envision a right tackle I envision a mauler like Levi and I envision teaming him with Deuce Letui. So that's how I envision starting it."
So Brown was the perfect fit. Whisenhunt and Graves then got aggressive to trade up with Oakland for the first pick in round 2.
Could it actually be possible for a team to get two of the top 12 players on its board?
Whisenhunt revealed, "When I first got this job and I knew we had the fifth pick and we were at the Combine doing all the interviews with the players, I took a special note of Alan Branch in my early prep because I thought strongly that this could be a guy that we consider with the fifth pick. He was No. 12 on our entire board. So we got a proposal together with Oakland for pick 33 overall, contingents of course on our player still being there. Certainly we were waiting with bated breath when Indianapolis was on the clock at 32. He was there. We made the trade. And I just think it was an outstanding move."
That might be the understatement of the year.
Nobody would've batted an eye if Branch became a Redskin, Falcon, Dolphin, Texan, or Ram. This was a top flight player. If the draft was held in January, the Michigan defensive tackle doesn't make it past No. 6.
So what happened to Branch?
Whisenhunt said, "I don't know. Maybe there was an undercurrent of questions before the draft. Maybe some of that got out and the teams started talking. And when he slipped past the first 10 to 14 picks, maybe there was this undercurrent of 'What's wrong with Alan Branch?' I can tell you there is nothing wrong and we are thrilled to have him."
Whisenhunt was also rightly thrilled with Steve Breaston out of Michigan ('great hands as a receiver and his return skills will help tremendously') and his heist of Delaware tight end Ben Patrick, a day 1 talent, in round 7.
There's no doubt the club is talented, with the best receiver combination in the NFC, a star back, a star in the making at quarterback, and one of the best safeties in the NFL, just to name a few.
So I was curious what Whisenhunt saw when he looked under the hood at his club.
"I saw very talented skill position players. I saw guys who played hard that thought they were talented enough to win but maybe didn't have enough direction in what they thought they should do. And the area I thought we needed to improve was the offensive line. I thought they played hard at the end of the year, but we did not have great depth there. And I think that was the area we addressed in free agency and certainly the draft."
A first-time head coach with great offensive principles taking over a franchise that has underachieved. The situation sounds a lot like what Sean Payton dealt with in New Orleans.
That resulted in the playoffs for the Saints and we could see the same in Arizona.
Seriously.
Adam Schein hosts the Afternoon Blitz on Sirius NFL Radio with Solomon Wilcots and Jim Miller from 3-7 ET. Schein is the NFL insider for Sports Net New York. His "Scheintology" columns appear daily and his video NFL picks video reports appear every Friday on FOXSports.com. Email him at [email protected]
Way to piss on the parade, Redheart!
