JIm O. didn't post the whole story about PK being cut

[40yearfan]

The Arizona Cardinals today announced that the team has released veteran offensive linemen PETE KENDALL and KENDRICK ROGERS.

A veteran of eight NFL seasons, Kendall joined the Cardinals as an unrestricted free agent in 2001. He started 23 games at left guard in his first two seasons with Arizona before moving to center last season and started the first 13 games of the year at that position. Kendall originally entered the league when he was selected by Seattle in the first round of the 1996 Draft out of Boston College. He appeared in 76 games (75 starts) with the Seahawks from 1996-2000 before signing with the Cardinals the following March.

An offensive tackle out of Alabama A&M, Rogers spent the 2002 season on the Cardinals practice squad and was on the 53-man roster for eight games in 200 but did not see any action before a wrist injury led to his placement on the Injured Reserve list in November.

“It became clear to me that we had to make some more changes on the line,” said Head Coach Dennis Green. “That chemistry was not very good at all. I would be naïve to think that was going to change just because I was here.”

With the release of Kendall, Green announced that the Cardinals starting center would be rookie Alex Stepanovich.

“He comes from Ohio State, a program where guys are ready to go,” said Green of the rookie center. “As you know I said before the draft we wanted guys who were ready to go, ready to play. Alex fits that.”

"I've done my best to get the offensive line to understand what it is going to take to play as a unit and I don't think that has happened yet," continued Green. "I think by bringing a fresh player out of Ohio State who is used to winning, I know what he wants to do. Now those older guys have to figure out how they want to do."

 

[Jttsaz]

why would you cut an experienced O-Lineman 1 day before camp to replace him with an unproven rookie? This really doesn't make any sense unless it frees up cap space to sign someone else???If chemistry is the problem then bench him but keep him for depth..he can play guard and center at a high level...this just plain sucks at face value...

 

[joeshmo]

Good enough reason for me.

Add that to the fact that our oline is very soft, they have all the skill in the world but none of them are very aggresive. Alex Step is a mean SOB who will bite your ankles if he has to. Much needed IMO.

 

[Renz]

Again, I don't have a problem with it. Best to cut out the dead wood now rather than later. Our O-Line has been the "Big Red Lie" for over two years now. If Green thought Kendall could help us win then he would still be on the team. If Kendall signs with another team the odds are good that he will end up on IR again.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Good enough reason for me.

Add that to the fact that our oline is very soft, they have all the skill in the world but none of them are very aggresive. Alex Step is a mean SOB who will bite your ankles if he has to. Much needed IMO.

Agreed.

You can have a blockbuster team *coughYankeescough*, *coughLakerscough* but a TEAM wins championships.

Our OL has looked like poopoo for 2 seasons, and we did not know why. Well, now we know. Those 5 big babies couldn't get along for the sake of the team.

I say this is a good job by Green, and if more guys need to be shown the door then

 

[NMCard]

"I've done my best to get the offensive line to understand what it is going to take to play as a unit and I don't think that has happened yet," continued Green. "I think by bringing a fresh player out of Ohio State who is used to winning, I know what he wants to do. Now those older guys have to figure out how they want to do."



This quote says it all. Good for Green.

 

[ajcardfan]

Really, no one should be surprised that major changes have been, and will be, made. I promised myself I wouldn't knock the new staff until at least game 8. I think time has made some people forget just what a train wreck this team was last season. I don't care what the draft position was, we were easily the worst team in the league.

If Kendall was being a problem, he HAD to go. Green cannot motivate this team with love, not after Mac. He HAS to use fear. Fear and pride.

 

[Duckjake]

"I've done my best to get the offensive line to understand what it is going to take to play as a unit and I don't think that has happened yet," continued Green. "I think by bringing a fresh player out of Ohio State who is used to winning, I know what he wants to do. Now those older guys have to figure out how they want to do."



This quote says it all. Good for Green.

Could more of the "older guys" be on a short rope????

 

[arthurracoon]

"I've done my best to get the offensive line to understand what it is going to take to play as a unit and I don't think that has happened yet," continued Green. "I think by bringing a fresh player out of Ohio State who is used to winning, I know what he wants to do. Now those older guys have to figure out how they want to do."



This quote says it all. Good for Green.

These quotes make me feel better.

 

[Capital Card]

I'm sorry, I keep looking for a punch line..... We cut Pete Kendall???



(Edit: I just read Jim O's thread on us cutting Pete..... Wow)

 

[AZCB34]

Good enough reason for me.

Add that to the fact that our oline is very soft, they have all the skill in the world but none of them are very aggresive. Alex Step is a mean SOB who will bite your ankles if he has to. Much needed IMO.

A mean SOB who is walking into a buzz saw of significantly more complex defenses than he ever dreamed of at the college level and HE is the one making the all important line calls to protect our inexperienced QB. Still think it needed? Maybe Davis should have been cut instead because if anyone is soft on that line it is him for all we were sold about his ability.

Sorry cutting Kendall has nothing to do with cohesiveness on the line, it has everything to do with the leadership role he has on the team and the likelihood he may have been one of the complainers.

This is an assinine move but I expect little else from Green.

 

[Renz]

A mean SOB who is walking into a buzz saw of significantly more complex defenses than he ever dreamed of at the college level and HE is the one making the all important line calls to protect our inexperienced QB. Still think it needed? Maybe Davis should have been cut instead because if anyone is soft on that line it is him for all we were sold about his ability.

Sorry cutting Kendall has nothing to do with cohesiveness on the line, it has everything to do with the leadership role he has on the team and the likelihood he may have been one of the complainers.

This is an assinine move but I expect little else from Green.

Considering how crappy our O-Line has been the past few years, I don't see why anyone would consider Pete Kendall a great leader. He obviously wasn't helping them reach their full potential and his injury problems will only continue to get worse.

And why are you jumping to the conclusion that Kendall was cut by Green because he was a "whistleblower". Do you have any evidence that that is the case? Didn't think so.

 

[joeshmo]

A mean SOB who is walking into a buzz saw of significantly more complex defenses than he ever dreamed of at the college level and HE is the one making the all important line calls to protect our inexperienced QB. Still think it needed? Maybe Davis should have been cut instead because if anyone is soft on that line it is him for all we were sold about his ability.

Sorry that just does not make any sense. Why cant a rookie go into that role with success?

If he is coached right and understands the playbook there should be no problem.

As for Davis being soft. When he wants to be he is the meanest guy on the field. With the right motivation he is far more valuable then the aging injury prone C.

Also as for Kendall. I no doubt for one second he was making a fuss about Mac and his staff leaving and making Greens job harder in making a cohesive unit. They guy had it easy here being surrounded by his buddies and coach Mac the softy.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/news/2001/03/15/kendall_cardinals_ap/

"Kendall had other reasons for coming to Arizona. His position coach in college, George Warhop, is the Cardinals' offensive line coach, and the two are good friends. New Arizona offensive coordinator Chris Olson was quarterbacks coach under Dennis Erickson at Seattle."

 

[red desert]

Considering how crappy our O-Line has been the past few years, I don't see why anyone would consider Pete Kendall a great leader.

Hard to argue with that.

 

[seesred]

I'm shocked at the release of Pete. I don't know what the truth is as far as is he one of the complainers or not. Who is goling to know except inside that clubhouse. I don't see how this happened today instead of say last wek. They haven't practiced yet.He would have know this weeks ago. Why now? The saga continues...

GBR
40

Watch out behind you. I'm drawing a line in the sand all that is with me cross over to my side..Hey not you Kendall.

 

[AZCB34]

Considering how crappy our O-Line has been the past few years, I don't see why anyone would consider Pete Kendall a great leader. He obviously wasn't helping them reach their full potential and his injury problems will only continue to get worse.

And why are you jumping to the conclusion that Kendall was cut by Green because he was a "whistleblower". Do you have any evidence that that is the case? Didn't think so.

You are right. Great move by Green.

 

[Red Air Force]

Kendall we definetly one of "Mac's" guys. Maybe he wasn't responding to the new staff.

I have no problem with this other than it would have been nice have the cash earlier to sign another FA.

So now what do we do with the money? Suposedly Quan's raise is alread there, so now what? McKenzie is still holing out in Green Bay.

 

[bratwurst]

I can't figure out if this was a chemistry move, it wouldn't have happened one or two weeks into the actual training camp?

And if our line has sucked so bad for so long, maybe we need to get some guys that can actually throw blocks in there as well as being good teammates (ahem - Clement)....

I didn't like Green to start with and at no point yet has he made me rethink that.

Going to be an interesting season thats for sure.

 

[MadCardDisease]

I believe that DG has been planning this for some time now. Why do you think he drafted 2 Centers this year when we were already "set" at the position. I believe he waited until now for the "Shock" value of the cut.


I must say it worked from the posts I have read.

 

[joeshmo]

I now know the exact reason behind these cuts.

The hispanic dude we got from NFL europe for free and the free roster spot he is taking up.

This guy makes everyone else expendable.

 

[ajcardfan]

You are right. Great move by Green.

Too early to call the move "great". Let's wait and see before shooting our mouths off too much.

 

[azwulf]

I now know the exact reason behind these cuts.

The hispanic dude we got from NFL europe for free and the free roster spot he is taking up.

This guy makes everyone else expendable.

Best reason for this I heard so far.


I just hope the other rumour is not true that he was cut because of the complaint story. This would be a " pi.. on my leg and I do anything to get back to you, even if it cost the team" story.

The great DG on that level ???

 

[azdad1978]

Cards cut center Kendall

By Darren Urban, Tribune

FLAGSTAFF - Maybe Denny Green just wanted to take some of the attention away from the Arizona Cardinals’ three unsigned draft picks.

But his seemingly sudden and stunning decision to cut starting center Pete Kendall on Sunday — apparently after Kendall took his physical in preparation to begin training camp — made sure the news of the day was about the Cardinals being proactive rather than doing nothing.

“What it comes down to,” Green said, “is that you just have to really believe everything we do, there is one thing in mind: It’s to help us to win.”

How that will work remains to be seen. Alex Stepanovich, the team’s fourth-round pick, was immediately named the starter. He is joined by Leonard Davis, playing left tackle for the first time since college; Reggie Wells, playing left guard after doing little as a rookie last season out of tiny Clarion (Pa.) College; Cameron Spikes at right guard; and Anthony Clement at right tackle, who did not play well most of 2003.

Meanwhile, the team’s two best linemen from last season, Kendall (released) and L.J. Shelton (benched), are out, although the Cards save Kendall’s $2.75 million salary. They will take $1 million cap hits each of the next two years.

Kendall, reached by phone, wanted to say little, although he admitted, “I’m shocked.”

And why not? Green just named Kendall the starter following the last practice of the offseason, and the team hadn’t done anything since then. Kendall, despite missing nine games in three seasons with injuries, was also one of the few players Green named as a starter back in February after watching film from 2003 for the first time.

Green refused to get into specifics about Kendall.

“It just became clear we had to make some more changes on the offensive line, that the chemistry was not very good at all,” Green said. “And it was naive to think it was going to change just because I was here.”

One major incident that happened between the end of offseason practices and camp was the punishment of the Cardinals handed down by the NFL and the players’ association. Following complaints by players, the team was found to have broke collective bargaining rules by hitting too much and was docked a week’s worth of offseason conditioning. Kendall, always outspoken, was thought to be one of the players who complained. But a source close to the situation said Kendall intentionally tried to stay out of the offseason workout fray, specifically because he was afraid it might hurt his reputation with the coaches.

Green deflected a question whether Kendall’s release had to do with that, reiterating his need to make the entire team better.

Kendall’s agent, Neil Schwartz, was looking for answers. Schwartz was recently in Phoenix for other business and said he was able to talk with Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill. Schwartz said he talked with Bidwill about Kendall retiring as a Cardinal and the two even briefly discussed an eventual contract extension.

Now, Schwartz said he is concerned what other teams might think about Kendall because of the way it happened.

“I want to know what the real truth is,” Schwartz said. “Pete Kendall not playing well, I find that hard to believe that’s the reason he was released.” The move, and others like it, has sent a chill through many players when it comes to speaking with the media. Shelton declined to talk, and Spikes chose his words carefully.

“In this sport, you never question when decisions are made,” Spikes said. “You look forward and do your job. That’s the mentality the team should have.”

Green, meanwhile, pointed to five of the worst games the Cards played last season — blowout losses to bad teams in Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Pittsburgh and San Francisco — as all the reason he needs to make changes.

“The team has not been playing the way they should play,” Green said. “Along those lines, no one should be surprised about anything.”

 

[Capital Card]

After thinking about the Kendall cut overnight, I cant help but be reminded of something Dennis Green said when we first announced his hiring. He said, "I've never once fined a guy, but I've cut players who thought they were going to be fined. If a player doesn't want to be here, I'll help him on his way out."

I'm not sure how this exactly relates to Pete Kendall, but Denny has clearly shown that players, no matter their tallent, will all be held on a very short leash.

Despite this ostensibly being the last camp ASFN will be granted media access, I suspect we are going to get very little news from our privelidges.

If we end up winning, I don't think anyone will care. If we lose, it's gonna be ugly around here for a very long time.

Go Cards!!!

Go Cards!!!

 

[Russ Smith]

Good enough reason for me.

Add that to the fact that our oline is very soft, they have all the skill in the world but none of them are very aggresive. Alex Step is a mean SOB who will bite your ankles if he has to. Much needed IMO.

All true but the one guy on our OL who was NOT soft was Kendall, he'd play until his body couldn't handle it anymore. Tough as nails guy who I for one am going to really miss. I am convinced AJ is right, we cut Kendall to free up future capspace for Fitz' deal.