Keim: "Ted Larson has been our 5th best OL at camp"

[MadCardDisease]

On Doug and Wolfe this morning Keim had nothing but praise for Ted Larson. Said he has been the 5th best Offensive Lineman at camp this year. Said Larson will get reps at Left Guard this week.

Keim didn't come out and say it but clearly the Cardinals are not happy with the play of Watford so far. He really struggled against the Vikings and was getting pushed around. Keim was also concerned about Cooper's turf toe. Said it was a significant injury and it was really swollen.

So from that I'm guessing out strarting OL will look like

Veldheer, Larson, Sendlein, Fanika, Massie

At least until Cooper heals and shows he deserves to start at LG.

 

[kerouac9]

Watching the tape myself, I thought that Watford looked really good getting to the 2nd level in the run game and setting against the bull rush in pass protection. I'll check it again today or tomorrow and confirm.

NFL.com is screwing subscribers by not offering the All-22 for preseason games. I hate having to diagnose line play from the side, particularly when Cooper and Watford were on the opposite sides of the field from the camera.

 

[iRobot]

Watching the tape myself, I thought that Watford looked really good getting to the 2nd level in the run game and setting against the bull rush in pass protection. I'll check it again today or tomorrow and confirm.

NFL.com is screwing subscribers by not offering the All-22 for preseason games. I hate having to diagnose line play from the side, particularly when Cooper and Watford were on the opposite sides of the field from the camera.

Watford did do well a couple of times that I remember with the 1st unit as you said above. However, the one thing that kept standing out were the times he was getting tossed around in pass pro.

 

[NMCard]

I hope Cooper does not turn into another Ryan Williams.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

So from that I'm guessing out strarting OL will look like

Veldheer, Larson, Sendlein, Fanika, Massie

At least until Cooper heals and shows he deserves to start at LG.

Was not expecting that lineup to start the season.

That Oline will struggle IMO

 

[MadCardDisease]

Watching the tape myself, I thought that Watford looked really good getting to the 2nd level in the run game and setting against the bull rush in pass protection. I'll check it again today or tomorrow and confirm.

NFL.com is screwing subscribers by not offering the All-22 for preseason games. I hate having to diagnose line play from the side, particularly when Cooper and Watford were on the opposite sides of the field from the camera.

Ron Wolfley was saying that Watford was getting pushed around against the Vikings. Said he appeared to really struggle and was the reason that Palmer was pressured those few times in the first quarter.

 

[kerouac9]

Ron Wolfley was saying that Watford was getting pushed around against the Vikings. Said he appeared to really struggle and was the reason that Palmer was pressured those few times in the first quarter.

Again, I'll check back over the tape. I put very little stock into what Wolfley says because he's the voice of the team and doesn't usually come up with original ideas. He certainly didn't have much to say about line play during the game.

I'd also add that he was facing off against Sharrif Floyd, who's really good and would have been a good test for him. The Vikings could be able to get a nice four-man rush if Griffen continues to develop and the secondary can hold together.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Was not expecting that lineup to start the season.

That Oline will struggle IMO

Word out of Cards camp is that next to Jaron Brown, Paul Fanika has been the bigest surprise of the offseason. Both Fanika and Jaron Brown have made major strides since last season. The team was very impressed with how Fanika blocked JJ Watt in the first game.

Ted Larson was a solid veteran who was brought in because he can swing between Center and Guard. The Cardinals are very impressed with his play at center and haven't had as much time to try him out at guard as they wanted due to the injury to Sendlein. If the injury to Cooper continues to linger I wouldn't be surprised if Larson grabs onto the LG position and doesn't let go.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Again, I'll check back over the tape. I put very little stock into what Wolfley says because he's the voice of the team and doesn't usually come up with original ideas. He certainly didn't have much to say about line play during the game.

I agree which is why it shocked me that he was bringing up negatives about Watford's play.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Summary from Urban

http://blog.azcardinals.com/2014/08/18/larsen-a-top-lineman-and-trade-calls/

General Manager Steve Keim said today during his weekly appearance on Arizona Sports 98.7 that Larsen “has been one of our five best offensive linemen” during training camp.

Keim said Cooper’s turf toe was “significant” and he isn’t sure if Cooper will be back this week or next. It would make sense when Sendlein returns from his calf injury — Keim said that could be Wednesday — that Larsen could be in the left guard mix. (That also likely means Earl Watford has not left as good of an impression playing left guard as the Cardinals would have liked.)

 

[b8rtm8nn]

Doesn't mean Watford is bad, either just not good enough or not consistent enough - would be interesting to see which. Also nice that we have a veteran G/C lineman ready if Watford isn't, like night and day from years past.

 

[kerouac9]

Again, I'll check back over the tape. I put very little stock into what Wolfley says because he's the voice of the team and doesn't usually come up with original ideas. He certainly didn't have much to say about line play during the game.

I'd also add that he was facing off against Sharrif Floyd, who's really good and would have been a good test for him. The Vikings could be able to get a nice four-man rush if Griffen continues to develop and the secondary can hold together.

All right, so I watched all of the first-half offensive snaps keying on Watford. The problem with evaluating Watford as a left guard is that he's not a left guard; he's a right guard. I'll explain why in a second.

In pass pro, Watford seemed to me to hold his own. Often, the Vikings were bringing pressure from the outside, so Ted Larsen would pick up an interior rusher and Watford would be looking to someone to help out, but all the action was to the Center's right.

Watford seemed to have problems with Floyd's spin move on one play.

When Watford was asked to move straight ahead and block somebody, he did a good job. On Dwyer's TD run, he helped seal off the edge of the line by absolutely stoning someone. It was really the TE and Veldheer who seemed to struggle with the Minnesota edge rushers.

The power running game is where you can see why the coaches are looking for other options. Several times in the first half, you could see that the Cards would be running a Power Right play, and Watford would be asked to come down the line and lead for the back. Watford is lacking the mobility that Cooper possesses/d. He's not quick across the line, and once he's at the corner he struggles to identify upon whom he should be putting his hat.

And that's the difference between left and right guard that I mentioned earlier. The Cards very rarely run Power Left, where the RG comes across the line, but we love to run power right. IMO, one of the main reasons we drafted Cooper over Warmack was because we wanted a guard (if we were forced to draft one) who could pull and be effective on the move. Right now, Watford doesn't have the feet or footspeed to get to the end of the line and clear the hole.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

All right, so I watched all of the first-half offensive snaps keying on Watford. The problem with evaluating Watford as a left guard is that he's not a left guard; he's a right guard. I'll explain why in a second.

In pass pro, Watford seemed to me to hold his own. Often, the Vikings were bringing pressure from the outside, so Ted Larsen would pick up an interior rusher and Watford would be looking to someone to help out, but all the action was to the Center's right.

Watford seemed to have problems with Floyd's spin move on one play.

When Watford was asked to move straight ahead and block somebody, he did a good job. On Dwyer's TD run, he helped seal off the edge of the line by absolutely stoning someone. It was really the TE and Veldheer who seemed to struggle with the Minnesota edge rushers.

The power running game is where you can see why the coaches are looking for other options. Several times in the first half, you could see that the Cards would be running a Power Right play, and Watford would be asked to come down the line and lead for the back. Watford is lacking the mobility that Cooper possesses/d. He's not quick across the line, and once he's at the corner he struggles to identify upon whom he should be putting his hat.

And that's the difference between left and right guard that I mentioned earlier. The Cards very rarely run Power Left, where the RG comes across the line, but we love to run power right. IMO, one of the main reasons we drafted Cooper over Warmack was because we wanted a guard (if we were forced to draft one) who could pull and be effective on the move. Right now, Watford doesn't have the feet or footspeed to get to the end of the line and clear the hole.

Thanks for the breakdown. Very cool.

 

[b8rtm8nn]

All right, so I watched all of the first-half offensive snaps keying on Watford. The problem with evaluating Watford as a left guard is that he's not a left guard; he's a right guard. I'll explain why in a second.

In pass pro, Watford seemed to me to hold his own. Often, the Vikings were bringing pressure from the outside, so Ted Larsen would pick up an interior rusher and Watford would be looking to someone to help out, but all the action was to the Center's right.

Watford seemed to have problems with Floyd's spin move on one play.

When Watford was asked to move straight ahead and block somebody, he did a good job. On Dwyer's TD run, he helped seal off the edge of the line by absolutely stoning someone. It was really the TE and Veldheer who seemed to struggle with the Minnesota edge rushers.

The power running game is where you can see why the coaches are looking for other options. Several times in the first half, you could see that the Cards would be running a Power Right play, and Watford would be asked to come down the line and lead for the back. Watford is lacking the mobility that Cooper possesses/d. He's not quick across the line, and once he's at the corner he struggles to identify upon whom he should be putting his hat.

And that's the difference between left and right guard that I mentioned earlier. The Cards very rarely run Power Left, where the RG comes across the line, but we love to run power right. IMO, one of the main reasons we drafted Cooper over Warmack was because we wanted a guard (if we were forced to draft one) who could pull and be effective on the move. Right now, Watford doesn't have the feet or footspeed to get to the end of the line and clear the hole.

Sweet - thanks for the breakdown.

 

[Catfish]

The power running game is where you can see why the coaches are looking for other options. Several times in the first half, you could see that the Cards would be running a Power Right play, and Watford would be asked to come down the line and lead for the back. Watford is lacking the mobility that Cooper possesses/d. He's not quick across the line, and once he's at the corner he struggles to identify upon whom he should be putting his hat.

This is also what I saw of Watford during the game. He lacks the mobility that Cooper has to pull and lead. (Both Watford and Cooper occasionally fail to find the right guy to put a helmet on).

 

[juza76]

the fact that keim said larson is one of the best player in this offensive line this preseason sound like a very pessimistic message

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

That is all spot on, but you guys are forgetting one thing.

 

[kerouac9]

That is all spot on, but you guys are forgetting one thing.

Is it a poll?

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

I hope Cooper does not turn into another Ryan Williams.

Too late...

 

[Matt L]

That is all spot on, but you guys are forgetting one thing.

did you write this for effect?

 

[jf-08]

I hope Cooper does not turn into another Ryan Williams.

Coop will get as many carries as RW did last year.

 

[NMCard]

Coop will get as many carries as RW did last year.

Injury prone bench warmer.