How do you rate the PA period at this point.

Krangodnzr

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Originally posted by Big Bird
Cardiac,

You are right in saying we might not know the entire story behind the scenes. But in no way should we have let a top 5 WR talent like D-bo got without receiving compensation especially when we are in dire need of talent to begin with. If the Cards had deep talent on offense then maybe a move like that would have been OK. Our team is nowhere close to where Philly stands so for them to make that move w/Douglas it will be OK. It's just like the move they made last year with letting Trotter go. They have the talent depth to make moves like that to ensure they have the cap space to make other moves. But for a team like our Cards we do not in any way have the talent to let a guy that led the league in yards just 2 year ago leave without receiving anything for compensation even if that would have been a 1st - 3rd round compensation. Even if you look at the other side and we got stuck keeping him assuming no teams would trade for him. I believe that he is still worth a top 5 WR salary to keep him on the team. Now we are stuck with our WR and def line needing much help. I still believe there is no way we should not have tagged Boston at all.

I don't know. The Eagles aren't going to be able to replace all they've lost this offseason. I wouldn't be surprised if their defense took a huge step back this year.
 

john h

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the Cards really do not compare favorabley to the Eagles. They are still a contender and a very tough team.
 
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Cardiac

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Originally posted by john h
the Cards really do not compare favorabley to the Eagles. They are still a contender and a very tough team.

I agree with this statement but it really doesn't stay on topic with my point about them losing Douglas.

The Eagles could have tagged Douglas and they didn't. No team in the NFL has sooo much talent that they can just afford to lose big time players, especially at DE. So why, for the 2nd year in a row did the Eagles let a top notch player go without compensation. Well maybe the Eagles tried to learn from their (perceived) mistake when they tagged Trotter. Obviously teams were interested in him but didn't want to lose the draft pick (s). Trotter reacted so poorly to being tagged that he was flat out not going to sign with the Eagles. So now a team that has a fantastic record of keeping their young talent long term lost Trotter with no compensation. The Eagles try a different tact with Douglas and still lose him. You see, sometimes human beings make decisions based on emotion instead of loyalty or what makes sense. In both of these players circumstances money was as big a factor as anything else.

The Eagles tried to keep both players while still maintaining a salary structure that made sense. The Cards did the same thing with DB, his off field issues made this more difficult. So the Cards lose a top talent in DB, this kinda thing happens with teams all the time. Some situations are a no win scenario for a teams front office.
 

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Cardiac,

There is no way you can compare the situation that the Eagles had w/Trotter and Douglas w/the Cards situation w/D-Bo. First of all the Eagles still made the NFC championshp w/o Trotter. They were a good team before and actually were better w/o him. It's not like we would not have been offered anything for D-Bo. Come on he was one of the most saught after WR in free agency. We still have yet to see what the loss of Douglas will do to that team. But I can guarantee you that they will still be contenders since they can replace guys like that w/the signing of Nate Wayne and others. As for the Cards, we can't afford to make mistakes like that because we need the talent. It just makes things tougher on our Cards to not have any compensation for his loss.
 

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I would give them a grade....

of B...simply because they have actually decided to change the way they look at FA. They see what guys will have the most impact in need areas and they have paid to get them. Where they can't further there grade is in what they have lost. YOU do not get better subtracting Homerun hitters. DB was that when healthy. OF course you have to say that we instantly got much better when we subtracted Jake...because he was hitting homeruns for the other team.....so all in all the Cards look to be better. IF they get a top guy for the definsive line and say a Trufant in the 2nd....they would top out at B++ for my grading.:D
 

john h

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Originally posted by Big Bird
Cardiac,

There is no way you can compare the situation that the Eagles had w/Trotter and Douglas w/the Cards situation w/D-Bo. First of all the Eagles still made the NFC championshp w/o Trotter. They were a good team before and actually were better w/o him. It's not like we would not have been offered anything for D-Bo. Come on he was one of the most saught after WR in free agency. We still have yet to see what the loss of Douglas will do to that team. But I can guarantee you that they will still be contenders since they can replace guys like that w/the signing of Nate Wayne and others. As for the Cards, we can't afford to make mistakes like that because we need the talent. It just makes things tougher on our Cards to not have any compensation for his loss.

Anyone here anything about David Barrett? Hope we are able to keep him.
 
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Cardiac

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Originally posted by Big Bird
Cardiac,

There is no way you can compare the situation that the Eagles had w/Trotter and Douglas w/the Cards situation w/D-Bo. First of all the Eagles still made the NFC championshp w/o Trotter. They were a good team before and actually were better w/o him. It's not like we would not have been offered anything for D-Bo. Come on he was one of the most saught after WR in free agency. We still have yet to see what the loss of Douglas will do to that team. But I can guarantee you that they will still be contenders since they can replace guys like that w/the signing of Nate Wayne and others. As for the Cards, we can't afford to make mistakes like that because we need the talent. It just makes things tougher on our Cards to not have any compensation for his loss.

In today's NFL a team typically as a window of 2 to 3 years to win the SB. The Eagles have managed their cap incredibly well so their window may be 4 to 5 years. They are into year 3 right now and so the question in Philly is why aren't they taking that extra step right now to give themselves the best chance to win it all. The Eagles just can't afford to lose Douglas if they want to win the SB this year. Yet they refused to tie up too much cap space into a player that may create cap problems in the next couple of years.

The Eagles mgmt has argued that most of their corp players are still with the team and they have young talent at CB, WR, and RB to improve the teams overall performance. They will be drafting LB's, DE's, WR's,DT's and probably a TE this year. Their two biggest areas of need are at DE and LB, the same areas they let their last two marquee players leave via FA the last 2 years. They also lost Barber to the Chiefs without compensation and he had a great year in 02 and signed a big contract with the Chiefs.

Your argument is that the Eagles have a ton of talent so they can afford to lose some players. My argument is that the Eagles do have a ton of talent but being a contender is not their goal, it's to win a SB. In the Philly fans eyes they haven't really helped themselves this offseason to reach the teams ultimate goal. Isn't this really every teams goal, to win the SB? So if the Eagles couldn't keep some key players to reach that goal why are the Cards such idiots for losing one player who might have helped do the same. Trotter, Douglas and Barber don't have the off field issues that DB has and yet the Eagles deemed their prices to high to keep them.

The Eagles need a big time WR to help their offense and yet they didn't even consider DB. Coach Reid wants "choir boys" (as some posters refer to players who don't have integrity issues) and so the Eagles simply wouldn't want DB on their team.

Maybe the Eagles front office is making a mistake with these recent losses of talent, but as you pointed out they will still be contenders. So to use your argument maybe the Cards are following this teams blue print (to some extent) and refusing to create cap problems for one player. The argument of why the Cards didn't tag DB could be applied to the Eagles. Why didn't they tag Douglas or Barber?
 

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Cardiac,

A few reasons why they didn't tag either player one because Douglas is aging and wanted more money and a long term contract. Two, because they can find replacements for Barber as now we've seen them get Mark Simoneau and Nate Wayne. I think they believe that those players can be replaced and they want to keep the core of younger guys together. They were one game away from the Super Bowl so expectations are high. So now enough about the Eagles let's talk about our Cards. In no way should we have let Boston go w/o compensation. We're talking about a guy that led the league in Yardage just 2 years ago and young pro bowl breakaway receiver. You can't tell me we wouldn't have been able to get anything for him. The Cards have needs in so many areas that was simply a huge mistake. We could have used an extra #1 pick to at least open up some options for us. So I don't believe they are following any blue prints of any teams because no team in the league except for maybe Cincy or Detroit would make such a mistake.
 

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D. no, not a D-, but a solid D. the hodgins move i love, but he's a fullback - limited impact. garcia - good signing, not great. darling, better backup - whoopie. jackson - as far as i'm concerned, the jury's still out - i'm so worried he's larry brown - hopin' he's not, but cards history probably leans the other way. blake is an upgrade over jake, but let's face, he's not a worldbeater or huge difference-maker. altogether some nice, but not exciting additions. by themselves i'd grade that all a C+ (a C is average, they upgraded minimally, so they would get above average). HOWEVER, they lost out on their #1 FA target - Colvin, that docks them down to a C. they even lost out on their #1 coveted FA QB (stewart), that knocks em down to a C-. Losing boston was the dumbest move EVER - D. sheesh, maybe even a D-. if the sign emmitt and waste that cap space, make it an F. they had one major need going into the offseason, DL. they haven't addressed it at all. in fact, instead of addressing their one major need, they created another, WR, which hasn't been addressed since it was created. man, i am definitely talking myself into a D-! y'all should be happy i'm not your kids' teacher, they'd never get into college!

now this grade is as it stands now. i'm not looking ahead and saying "what if" with the hollidays or draft. i am only looking at what has happened since the season ended - resigned some of our filler (tanner, davis, lbs), addes jackson/blake/hodgins/darling and lost boston. D-. sorry for all you deluded ones.
 
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Cardiac

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Originally posted by Big Bird
Cardiac,

A few reasons why they didn't tag either player one because Douglas is aging and wanted more money and a long term contract. Two, because they can find replacements for Barber as now we've seen them get Mark Simoneau and Nate Wayne. I think they believe that those players can be replaced and they want to keep the core of younger guys together. They were one game away from the Super Bowl so expectations are high. So now enough about the Eagles let's talk about our Cards. In no way should we have let Boston go w/o compensation. We're talking about a guy that led the league in Yardage just 2 years ago and young pro bowl breakaway receiver. You can't tell me we wouldn't have been able to get anything for him. The Cards have needs in so many areas that was simply a huge mistake. We could have used an extra #1 pick to at least open up some options for us. So I don't believe they are following any blue prints of any teams because no team in the league except for maybe Cincy or Detroit would make such a mistake.

The bottom line.

The Eagles have lost a premier RDE and stud MLB in the past two years without getting compensation.

The Cards have lost a (potentially) top 5 WR without compensation.

Douglas's only issue was age, but he is still playing at such a high level that he was courted by several teams.

Boston issues were attitude, injuries and off field problems (drugs) and fewer teams were courting him.

No matter what a players talent is he will serve no purpose on a team if he isn't on the field. Douglas is starting to lose playing time because of his age. DB may not be on the field for several reasons. Teams take all of these factors into consideration when they offer a player a contract. The Cards weren't willing to gamble their future (cap space & team morale) with one very troubled young man.

I guess we can just agree to disagree on this issue.
 
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Cardiac

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Originally posted by PHXSPORTS4LIFE
D. no, not a D-, but a solid D. the hodgins move i love, but he's a fullback - limited impact. garcia - good signing, not great. darling, better backup - whoopie. jackson - as far as i'm concerned, the jury's still out - i'm so worried he's larry brown - hopin' he's not, but cards history probably leans the other way. blake is an upgrade over jake, but let's face, he's not a worldbeater or huge difference-maker. altogether some nice, but not exciting additions. by themselves i'd grade that all a C+ (a C is average, they upgraded minimally, so they would get above average). HOWEVER, they lost out on their #1 FA target - Colvin, that docks them down to a C. they even lost out on their #1 coveted FA QB (stewart), that knocks em down to a C-. Losing boston was the dumbest move EVER - D. sheesh, maybe even a D-. if the sign emmitt and waste that cap space, make it an F. they had one major need going into the offseason, DL. they haven't addressed it at all. in fact, instead of addressing their one major need, they created another, WR, which hasn't been addressed since it was created. man, i am definitely talking myself into a D-! y'all should be happy i'm not your kids' teacher, they'd never get into college!

now this grade is as it stands now. i'm not looking ahead and saying "what if" with the hollidays or draft. i am only looking at what has happened since the season ended - resigned some of our filler (tanner, davis, lbs), addes jackson/blake/hodgins/darling and lost boston. D-. sorry for all you deluded ones.

I guess that us delusional fans are focusing on how this offseason is so different in so many ways.

Last year during preseason a couple of teams commented on how suprised they were with the LACK of depth on this team.
Most of this issue has been addressed. Sure the team still needs some quality starters but a huge improvement has been made so far. This is very similar to what the Pats did when they went to the SB. I'm not saying to the same level yet but it's far closer than in any other year.

Their is only so much cap space and if a team is going to devote a large % of that cap to one player they had better be issue free, DB is far from that. This is especially true for teams that are still building a competitive team and not for teams that are seemingly a player or two away.

Most fans have been saying for years, and years, and ... that the Cards need a true blocking FB. Hodgins signing should be celebrated a bit more even if he is just a FB.

Maybe Blake was the Cards first choice and they played the market perfectly. Okay I'm really reaching here but it is possible. Blake had just recently become available when the negotiations between he and the Ravens fell through. Call it luck or whatever, the Cards got the FA QB that was the best fit for this team.

Just because you don't get everything you wanted for xmas doesn't mean your holiday was ruined. The Cards placed their order for Colvin and offered to pay top dollar and didn't flinch at shipping costs etc. It just wasn't to be. So open your other presents and appreciate those instead of whining about the pony you didn't get.

The O-Line is set with quality starters and now has more depth than ever. A good thing since this unit was hammered with injuries last year. This unit by itself gets an A.

Boston is the sticking point for most fans and I've said everything that I want to on this issue. Except that, yes I wish the team had received some compensation for him, but I put the blame more on DB then the Cards.
 

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I've got to bring this issue up again you think that less teams wanted D-Bo. There was a minimum of at least 3 teams that had scheduled visits for him (SD, Bal and Atl). And I don't think you can find one person that will tell you that was the single best offensive free agent signing in the league. Yes, I agree D-Bo made mistakes but that does not mean the management of the Cards can make a mistake about improving this team as well. That is what they did by not taggin arguably our best offensive player.
 

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"a very troubled young man" (shaking my head - you know nothing more about boston than the fact that he showboated and was found with some coke and pot in his blood - "a very troubled young man" this does not make, unless you live your life ina plastic bubble).

as for my report card, it was just that. i'm not whining about what we didn't get, i'm grading the cards' actions. if they set out to accomplish goals (get a passrusher) and do not acheive those goals, that is a failing grade that factors into their overall grade. failing to get colvin was like failing a test during the semester. you can put forth all the effort in the world, but if you fail you're still getting a failing grade. and i like the blake signing, but you are (by your own admission - i appreciate your frankness) making a leap when you make the statement that maybe he was the cards' first choice all along. as for the o-line getting an "A" - i'm not grading the team overall, just their offseason FA moves. the sgning of garcia was a minimal move, it gets a C+ (above average) grade. finally, i said i loved the hodgins move. i will be amped to see a fb blow someone outta the hole, but let's face it, he's still a fb, in all likelihood he will not be the crux of games hanging in the balance. i am feeling somewhat better today, so maybe the D- was harsh. i'll bump it back up to the D with potential for a C (the boston fiasco will keep this offseason from every being anything above average AT BEST).
 
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Cardiac

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Originally posted by Big Bird
I've got to bring this issue up again you think that less teams wanted D-Bo. There was a minimum of at least 3 teams that had scheduled visits for him (SD, Bal and Atl). And I don't think you can find one person that will tell you that was the single best offensive free agent signing in the league. Yes, I agree D-Bo made mistakes but that does not mean the management of the Cards can make a mistake about improving this team as well. That is what they did by not taggin arguably our best offensive player.

You list three teams that expressed an interest in and I quote

"And I don't think you can find one person that will tell you that was the single best offensive free agent signing in the league."

With such grandious praise one would think that more than 3 teams would have expressed an interest. Hmmmmmmmmm.
Maybe other teams were a little concerned as well. The Falcons had such a big interest that they decided to give up a 1st rd pick for Price who everyone would agree is a lesser talent than DB.

So the Falcons, Cards and numerous other teams are idiots for not making every effort to sign DB. Well maybe they are but this means the only team to have a clue is the Chargers and possibly the Ravens.
 
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Cardiac

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Originally posted by PHXSPORTS4LIFE
"a very troubled young man" (shaking my head - you know nothing more about boston than the fact that he showboated and was found with some coke and pot in his blood - "a very troubled young man" this does not make, unless you live your life ina plastic bubble).

as for my report card, it was just that. i'm not whining about what we didn't get, i'm grading the cards' actions. if they set out to accomplish goals (get a passrusher) and do not acheive those goals, that is a failing grade that factors into their overall grade. failing to get colvin was like failing a test during the semester. you can put forth all the effort in the world, but if you fail you're still getting a failing grade. and i like the blake signing, but you are (by your own admission - i appreciate your frankness) making a leap when you make the statement that maybe he was the cards' first choice all along. as for the o-line getting an "A" - i'm not grading the team overall, just their offseason FA moves. the sgning of garcia was a minimal move, it gets a C+ (above average) grade. finally, i said i loved the hodgins move. i will be amped to see a fb blow someone outta the hole, but let's face it, he's still a fb, in all likelihood he will not be the crux of games hanging in the balance. i am feeling somewhat better today, so maybe the D- was harsh. i'll bump it back up to the D with potential for a C (the boston fiasco will keep this offseason from every being anything above average AT BEST).

A plastic bubble habitat could include someone who believes that the entire DB story has been told by a couple of news clips. It's possible the Card are over reacting, it's far more likely in my opinion that there is far more to this story. Minimizing drug use is not such an enlightened view. Refusing to see the injury history and some of the possible reasons behind them is Ostrich like.

This test had more than one question on it. The Cards answered many of the questions correctly so far. At this point we may think they have answered 2 of the questions incorrectly but we also know they have several correct.

While you're grading the O-line don't forget that they have resigned Roundtree as well. If you take points off for not resigning DB you have to give points for the other players they did retain.

I would also think the Cards get extra credit for resigning players before they hit FA. Being proactive saves future cap space and helps stop the continious exodus of talent from this team. Had Graves been allowed to do this in prior years we may not even have had the DB fiasco.

I will agree that the loss of DB without compensation will negate a score of 100 on this test but the chance for a 95 is still possible. Not likely but possible. As you did point out this is a test during the semester and not the final exam. The draft and less important June cuts are still on the horizon.
 

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Cardiac,

You've still got to take away points for not getting Colvin. Plus, they get negative points for not signing or taking an initiative to correct their mistake w/D-Bo by not going after any receivers in the league. Granted, we still need to wait for June 1st cuts but to me I don't really see any game breaker type WR like D-Bo. That is going to be a hard position to fill. I would say a 95 is out of the question maybe an 85 at best and that is if everything works its way out w/the draft and cuts coming up.
 
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Cardiac

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Originally posted by Big Bird
Cardiac,

You've still got to take away points for not getting Colvin. Plus, they get negative points for not signing or taking an initiative to correct their mistake w/D-Bo by not going after any receivers in the league. Granted, we still need to wait for June 1st cuts but to me I don't really see any game breaker type WR like D-Bo. That is going to be a hard position to fill. I would say a 95 is out of the question maybe an 85 at best and that is if everything works its way out w/the draft and cuts coming up.

The Cards had the best offer on the table for Colvin, there isn't really anything else they could have done. Now 2 years from now when the Cards are making a run at the playoffs a player like Colvin may sign with them. Colvin proved he cared more about winning then just money. Plus with Billicheck as his coach can you imagine all of the fun Colvin will have in that defense.


If you take DB out of the equation, if even for just a moment, compare this offseason to last years. The Cards signed Starks and F Jones and we were all psyched. Now look at what the Cards have done this year. It is absolutely amazing how much more has been accomplished this year. I mean it's not even close. So pretend DB never existed, or had a career ending injury, or ended up in jail for a couple of years and maybe you can see just how well the Cards did so far this year.
 

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Cardiac,

How can you say it is amazing how much more has been accomplished? Last year, we had a healthy team on the up and up and we signed 2 players that were the best FA in their positions. This year is no comparison whatsoever. Not only did we lose a pro bowl WR which by the way makes that one of our weakest positions. We have a lot more holes to fill this year than we did last year. Especially on the defensive side of the ball, that is why the loss of Boston hurts that much more. Now do we not only have to worry about our defense. We also have to worry about who Blake is going to throw the ball to. I'm shocked to hear you as a fan say this off season has been amazing. If it is amazing you have to be amazed that we let a pro bowler go and get nothing in return for him. They get a C- or D+ until we address our major needs which are Def Line and WR.
 
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Originally posted by Big Bird
Cardiac,

How can you say it is amazing how much more has been accomplished? Last year, we had a healthy team on the up and up and we signed 2 players that were the best FA in their positions. This year is no comparison whatsoever. Not only did we lose a pro bowl WR which by the way makes that one of our weakest positions. We have a lot more holes to fill this year than we did last year. Especially on the defensive side of the ball, that is why the loss of Boston hurts that much more. Now do we not only have to worry about our defense. We also have to worry about who Blake is going to throw the ball to. I'm shocked to hear you as a fan say this off season has been amazing. If it is amazing you have to be amazed that we let a pro bowler go and get nothing in return for him. They get a C- or D+ until we address our major needs which are Def Line and WR.

Last year we had holes at:

QB - We were still hoping and praying that Plummer was the answer for the 5th straight year. Our only response to this was two rookie QB's.

FB - Once again hoping and praying Makovicka would learn how to throw a block. Position not addressed.

RB - We were giving TJ his 3rd shot as a starter, once again hoping and praying this would pay off and untested Shipp and 6th rd pick and UFA Anderson would be adequate back ups. Here we got some of it right as Shipp did step up huge.

WR - This was to be the year DB cemented his place as a top 3 WR. Drugs, sex and injuries derailed this. McAddely, Gilmore and Jenkins did show a ton of promise, to varying degrees, and Kasper was a great mid season acquisition. Yes we will continue to disagree here.

TE - Upgrade made last year so none needed this year.

O-line - Preseason showed us that we had ZERO depth at most positions on this unit. The Cards waited until after week 1 to address this, but at least they did. This year the depth has been addressed early and often. Far more depth this year. Only possible negative is at C.

DE - no FA's last year either, but this year we have rid ourselves of Burke. This was addressed during the draft.

DT - same as DE.

LB - same as DT and DE. We have also added Darling who will be an upgrade over oft injured Fredrickson and a proven contributor on special teams and solid back up at all LB positions.

S - Jackson for KLass is an upgrade while saving cap space.

CB - Before the season started this looked like a big upgrade, hopefully it pays dividends this year. This position still needs to be addressed.

I will have to say once again that the resigning of alot of our young promising talent now will pay off big time in the next couple of years. This in of its self his such a huge improvement over past practices that it simply can't be ignored.

The good news is that there is still enough money left to add some more starting talent and additional depth. Injuries killed this team last year and now if we are saddled with this again we have players who can step in and contribute more effectively than in the past.

It's been fun discussing this topic with you but I don't think either of us will change our positions. So this is my last post on the topic as I think we have made our positions well known. I do know that both of us hopes my version is closer to be correct since this means the Cards will be a better to good team this year. I also have confidence that the Cards will address more of their needs in FA this year.
 

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I wouldn't necessarily call D. Jackson or Darling upgrades over what we currently had. Klass actually has had better stats than Dexter in their careers even though he is getting older and Dexter should only get better. The only thing you can really say there is that it is a good replacement but not really an upgrade. As for Darling, there is no way you can say a special teams player on the Jets and backup LB is an upgrade there. Yes he adds depth to that position but an upgrade?? Frederickson played 54 out of 64 games as a Cardinal yes he was injured last year and only played 10 games but to say that Darling is an upgrade you've got to be kidding. The guy hasn't started in any game in the past 3 seasons. Here are things that still need to be addressed.

1. We still need Def line help it was obvious last year that we couldn't get any pressure on the QB. Someon needs to step up here or we really need to draft help in this area. Hopefully Suggs will be here if not we should just trade down to get more help. The problem is that we always have issues signing our first round picks. If we have 2 first rounders to sign that may be a problem.
2. Cornerback help. Since Aenes left, we've lacked a shutdown corner so we def need help here Starks did not pan out last year so we have to see what he can do. I know we can draft Newman or Trufant but I'm not sure that I would rather do that or trade down to get more help.
3. Wide Receiver - We clearly have no #1 or #2 WR right now. We have some young guys that can step in but none of them is a #1 WR just yet they still need time so we definitely need help here.
4. Linebacker our linebacking corp is a bit on the small side so we need a guy that can rush the qb and plug up holes.
5. QB I think we still need to take a QB in this years draft if we can get a guy that is a franchise QB. I'm not sold on McCown yes we have Blake but that is to have veteran on the roster to help out.
Anytime you wanna to chat about this just put up another posts. I'm just shocked you think that this year's off season has been good. If anything we had to make these acquisitions or we wouldn't even have a team. I still give my d+ or c- rating until we address the areas I mentioned. Yes, this can still happen through the draft and after June 1st but I want to see it first. I've been let down too many times by this team for me to give them credit too quickly.
 

Cbus cardsfan

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i give them a D--.The only thing keping it from an F is the Hodgkins signing.You don't let your best player,DB,walk away for nothing.Graves said he didn't want to use the cap space but still supposdly offered 7 million a year???????????????.That's higher than than a tag cap hit,which can be rescinded at any time.They lost out on their number 1 FA target in Colvin.Holliday,their #2 target and 1st player contacted,will most likely sign another place.John Thornton wanted to sign with Arizona but Graves drug his feet on that and cost us a young DT.For some reason there is no longer any interst in Okeafor even though nothing has been done to upgrade the DL.Blake vs. Plummer is a wash at best.If you'd ask most NFL people they would rather have Jake.But,i agree that it was time for him to go.Stewart was their #1 choice to replace him and the Cards instead settled for Blake.Now for the positives.All of them come with question marks.Garcia for Grutt is basicaly an even trade.Hodgkins is an upgrade over Mak,but who wouldn't be and you have to question why the best offense in the league let him walk.Jackson can be an upgrade but everybody has questions as to whether he's another Larry Brown.I don't think he is.Darling is really a non-factor until we see him play.I'm sure nobody was clamoring for a James Darling signing at the beginning of free agency.So far, the negatives far outweigh the positives.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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also, comparing this offseason to last offseason (or any cardinals' offseason) as a way of proving this offseason is "amazing" is just about the most ludicrous argument ever (sorry, i'm prone to exaggerate). i mean, comparing a D- with an F doesn't make the D- a "95" or even an "85" (both numbers made me laugh out loud - Ha, HAHAHAHAHAAAAAHAA - HOOOO- WHEEEEE!).

and you can't take db out of the equation, even "for the moment" when grading the offseason. as far as i'm concerned, this offseason's grade starts and ends with losing him for nada, zip, zilch, zero.
 
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Cardiac

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Originally posted by PHXSPORTS4LIFE
Ha, HAHAHAHAHAAAAAHAA - HOOOO- WHEEEEE!).

and you can't take db out of the equation, even "for the moment" when grading the offseason. as far as i'm concerned, this offseason's grade starts and ends with losing him for nada, zip, zilch, zero.

I guess this is why I disagree with many of you on the grade so far this year. Many believe that no matter what the Cards do at this point that the loss of DB will negate all of this. So I ask you again to forget about DB for a second, then how do you like the offseason. Now put DB back into the equation and see how much one player impacts that grade. If you do this honestly then you might appreciate the other moves this team has made. You may actually realize that one player does not make or break the entire body of work done this offseason. If you can't get past the DB situation at least to some point then your tunnel vision makes your opinion incredibly skewed. JMHO.

My bold and unpopular prediction is that in no way will DB have the same impact as a Reggie White did in FA. Actually I see him blowing up in the Chargers face, if not this season then next. He will do for the Chargers what Deon Sanders did for the Redskins.
 
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