Cardinals.Ken
That's Mr. Riff-Raff to you!
http://www.azcardinals.com/fanzone/columndetails.php?cid=131
For the second year in a row, the Arizona Cardinals might not be able to fill their biggest need, which is finding a player that can put pressure on the quarterback. I understand that the Redbirds can still try to acquire a player of this caliber through the upcoming NFL draft or after June 1st. If Terrell Suggs doesn’t fall to the number six spot, once again the Cardinals will find themselves still looking to fill their biggest hole. We’re talking about this team needing a difference maker.
Right now, it’s slim pickings when you look at the free agent list. After loosing out on left defensive end Vonnie Holliday, who last week agreed to a five-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, reportedly worth 21 million. Arizona was offering just as much money. If you break the deal down, it is in reality a two-year deal worth about 6.3 million. Holliday felt that Kansas City was a lot closer to playing in the postseason. He would have provided a good run stuffer on the left side of the defensive line and could have been used at tackle on nickel situations. The plan was to sign Holliday plus to draft Suggs, which would have improved the line from a year ago, not to mention adding depth to a position in need.
When the off-season began, Vice President of Football Operations Rod Graves discussed the importance of improving the defense and coming up with a legitimate pass rush. Not only did they miss out on Holliday, but also Roosevelt Colvin who would have come here and given an instant pass rush. Of the seven new faces the Cardinals signed up until this point, only two are defensive players including one starter. Last year, the talk going into training camp was that the offense was going to carry the defense, we all know that didn’t happen. Quite frankly, the defense couldn’t make a stop when they needed to. I think it’s going to a challenge finding that crucial player unless this team can get lucky and draft a player that can be a difference maker in the first couple of rounds. Remember, it’s tough for a rookie to be an impact player, although it has happened in the past.
Birdseed
It takes a few years to really gauge the productivity of a draft class because development of a player is a gradual process. After one year in the NFL, a player becomes wiser because they know what’s expected of them and what it’s going to take to be successful. My experience has been that they grow tremendously between year one and two. Year two is when it starts to become apparent what a player is capable of to become a pro. It’s when the necessary steps are made, whether it’s a stronger work ethic, dieting, or most importantly self discipline.
The Cardinals draft history over the last five years has been nothing to write home about. Let’s go to the draft board. Arizona has drafted 47 players during this time span and only 22 players are still on the team. That’s not even 50%. Going a step further, of the 47 players drafted, only ten are current starters. This means only 21% of the draft class over the last five years is starting. Tentatively those players are Wendell Bryant, Jason McAddley, Leonard Davis, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Adrian Wilson, Bill Gramatica, Ray Thompson, David Barrett, L.J. Shelton and Anthony Clement. The bottom line is the Cardinals must do a much better job of drafting.
This team can’t afford to allow former number one draft picks to just walk away like they have in the past. They must put themselves in the position to get something in return for players like David Boston, Simeon Rice, Jamir Miller and Garrison Hearst to name a few. According to my sources, former number one-draft pick Thomas Jones is on the trading block. As funny as this may sound, at the time Jones was the right pick.
If you’ve followed this team for the last two years, it’s obvious the defensive line is in need of help. According to the Cardinal brass, the team still needs help on the defensive line. However, they’ve drafted nine defensive linemen since 2000. What does this say? As it stand right now, the Redbirds have eight overall draft picks in next weeks overall draft. It’s likely they could draft two or three defensive linemen out of this draft class. The problem here is that they need to seek quality not quantity.
It’s time for the voluntary off-season workout program report that I will provide updates on. Over the weekend a Cardinal coach told me that there were just a handful of players that were not participating-- that means the attendance is close to 90%. It’s gradually been an improvement over the last few years but this year has been remarkable with over fifty players working out during the week. It’s impressive if they can keep the attendance up. In the bigger picture, this can help this football team grow.
Stock on the rise… Defensive tackle- Dwayne Robertson- Kentucky
Defensive lineman- Kevin Williams- Oklahoma State
Cornerback- Marcus Trufant- Washington State
To all the draft experts…do the Cardinals draft a wide receiver, quarterback or a defensive lineman with their first round pick? You know how I feel, if Terrell Suggs isn’t there, trade down.
If the Redbirds trade down, the player they should draft is defensive lineman Kevin Williams from Oklahoma State. According to some NFL scouts, the feeling is Williams could play both tackle and end. He has good size at 6'4 305 lbs, with good feet, and fairly long arms. The former Cowboy could have the ability to come in and push the pocket.
Something this team desperately needs!
For the second year in a row, the Arizona Cardinals might not be able to fill their biggest need, which is finding a player that can put pressure on the quarterback. I understand that the Redbirds can still try to acquire a player of this caliber through the upcoming NFL draft or after June 1st. If Terrell Suggs doesn’t fall to the number six spot, once again the Cardinals will find themselves still looking to fill their biggest hole. We’re talking about this team needing a difference maker.
Right now, it’s slim pickings when you look at the free agent list. After loosing out on left defensive end Vonnie Holliday, who last week agreed to a five-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, reportedly worth 21 million. Arizona was offering just as much money. If you break the deal down, it is in reality a two-year deal worth about 6.3 million. Holliday felt that Kansas City was a lot closer to playing in the postseason. He would have provided a good run stuffer on the left side of the defensive line and could have been used at tackle on nickel situations. The plan was to sign Holliday plus to draft Suggs, which would have improved the line from a year ago, not to mention adding depth to a position in need.
When the off-season began, Vice President of Football Operations Rod Graves discussed the importance of improving the defense and coming up with a legitimate pass rush. Not only did they miss out on Holliday, but also Roosevelt Colvin who would have come here and given an instant pass rush. Of the seven new faces the Cardinals signed up until this point, only two are defensive players including one starter. Last year, the talk going into training camp was that the offense was going to carry the defense, we all know that didn’t happen. Quite frankly, the defense couldn’t make a stop when they needed to. I think it’s going to a challenge finding that crucial player unless this team can get lucky and draft a player that can be a difference maker in the first couple of rounds. Remember, it’s tough for a rookie to be an impact player, although it has happened in the past.
Birdseed
It takes a few years to really gauge the productivity of a draft class because development of a player is a gradual process. After one year in the NFL, a player becomes wiser because they know what’s expected of them and what it’s going to take to be successful. My experience has been that they grow tremendously between year one and two. Year two is when it starts to become apparent what a player is capable of to become a pro. It’s when the necessary steps are made, whether it’s a stronger work ethic, dieting, or most importantly self discipline.
The Cardinals draft history over the last five years has been nothing to write home about. Let’s go to the draft board. Arizona has drafted 47 players during this time span and only 22 players are still on the team. That’s not even 50%. Going a step further, of the 47 players drafted, only ten are current starters. This means only 21% of the draft class over the last five years is starting. Tentatively those players are Wendell Bryant, Jason McAddley, Leonard Davis, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Adrian Wilson, Bill Gramatica, Ray Thompson, David Barrett, L.J. Shelton and Anthony Clement. The bottom line is the Cardinals must do a much better job of drafting.
This team can’t afford to allow former number one draft picks to just walk away like they have in the past. They must put themselves in the position to get something in return for players like David Boston, Simeon Rice, Jamir Miller and Garrison Hearst to name a few. According to my sources, former number one-draft pick Thomas Jones is on the trading block. As funny as this may sound, at the time Jones was the right pick.
If you’ve followed this team for the last two years, it’s obvious the defensive line is in need of help. According to the Cardinal brass, the team still needs help on the defensive line. However, they’ve drafted nine defensive linemen since 2000. What does this say? As it stand right now, the Redbirds have eight overall draft picks in next weeks overall draft. It’s likely they could draft two or three defensive linemen out of this draft class. The problem here is that they need to seek quality not quantity.
It’s time for the voluntary off-season workout program report that I will provide updates on. Over the weekend a Cardinal coach told me that there were just a handful of players that were not participating-- that means the attendance is close to 90%. It’s gradually been an improvement over the last few years but this year has been remarkable with over fifty players working out during the week. It’s impressive if they can keep the attendance up. In the bigger picture, this can help this football team grow.
Stock on the rise… Defensive tackle- Dwayne Robertson- Kentucky
Defensive lineman- Kevin Williams- Oklahoma State
Cornerback- Marcus Trufant- Washington State
To all the draft experts…do the Cardinals draft a wide receiver, quarterback or a defensive lineman with their first round pick? You know how I feel, if Terrell Suggs isn’t there, trade down.
If the Redbirds trade down, the player they should draft is defensive lineman Kevin Williams from Oklahoma State. According to some NFL scouts, the feeling is Williams could play both tackle and end. He has good size at 6'4 305 lbs, with good feet, and fairly long arms. The former Cowboy could have the ability to come in and push the pocket.
Something this team desperately needs!
