Let’s build a bad ass defense!

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slanidrac16

slanidrac16

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I think Dupree and Littleton are attainable. Both PIT & LAR have salary cap issues and probably won’t tag either of them. Pass rusher and ILB should be top FA priorities that way offensive needs, OL & WR can be addressed early and remainder of draft can used to add depth at CB, DL & other positions of need.
That would be awesome but I don’t think the Cardinals or any team would want to invest that much $ toward the cap for linebackers. We still need two stud d- linemen to make this defense go.

that’s why drafting Simmons makes more sense to me and have money left to go out and get those two d-linemen.
 

RugbyMuffin

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Economics destroyed it.
Ok. Good to know.

When I do my finances for my household if the electric gets turned off because I didn't plan it out correctly I will just call the company up and say "economics".

And failing in the draft every year, that doesn't have anything to do with it, costs too much to make the right pick......

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JeffGollin

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Still think the draft is dictated by what we bring in free agency. I think FA will be defense heavy and draft will be more balanced.
That plus the composition of our roster.

Seems to me that the past year was devoted to stockpiling most positions with grinders - short on athleticism but long on work-ethic.

What we don't know is how much the coaches and FO expect these guys to improve from last season to next (vs. their just occupying a roster spot). We seem to have a large body of solid but unspectacular backups. Question is: Can any of these guys step up and become genuinely bad-ass? Or will they just plug roster holes competently.

This is especially true at OL, DL, LB and S (& maybe WR).

How the FO views the development of these guys will have a big impact on how, where, why, who and when we draft.
 
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slanidrac16

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That plus the composition of our roster.

Seems to me that the past year was devoted to stockpiling most positions with grinders - short on athleticism but long on work-ethic.

What we don't know is how much the coaches and FO expect these guys to improve from last season to next (vs. their just occupying a roster spot). We seem to have a large body of solid but unspectacular backups. Question is: Can any of these guys step up and become genuinely bad-ass? Or will they just plug roster holes competently.

This is especially true at OL, DL, LB and S (& maybe WR).

How the FO views the development of these guys will have a big impact on how, where, why, who and when we draft.
Very well put. Is Marsh one of those guys or just a plug? OT Murray? Any of our WR’s? Any of our d-lineman? Reddick who might not be the answer but is he a guy we can live with at OLB for a year?

It will be hard to move me off my spot of thinking we need 4 solid upgrades on this defense that being an ILB, a DE, a DT and an OLB. Fill those spots via draft and free agency. There are many combinations of players to do this. If we don’t we will remain less than an adequate defense.
 

TheCardFan

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Very well put. Is Marsh one of those guys or just a plug? OT Murray? Any of our WR’s? Any of our d-lineman? Reddick who might not be the answer but is he a guy we can live with at OLB for a year?

It will be hard to move me off my spot of thinking we need 4 solid upgrades on this defense that being an ILB, a DE, a DT and an OLB. Fill those spots via draft and free agency. There are many combinations of players to do this. If we don’t we will remain less than an adequate defense.

I didn't see anything out of Marsh that says we need to bring him back. Might be a fine back-up if the money is right.

Spend FA money on the defense - ILB, DE, DT, and OLB.

The draft is full of quality OT, WR, and RB.

Take the BPA at #8.
 
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slanidrac16

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I didn't see anything out of Marsh that says we need to bring him back. Might be a fine back-up if the money is right.

Spend FA money on the defense - ILB, DE, DT, and OLB.

The draft is full of quality OT, WR, and RB.

Take the BPA at #8.
I don’t care where we spend the money or who we draft. Get me those 4 pieces for our defense and I think we will see a vastly improved defense.
 

New Mexico

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We can talk about Drake( I want him) and receivers and the o-line all day and rightfully so.

We can help this offense greatly by putting together a nasty defense.
I think we need to add 4 essential cant miss pieces. And there are different roads to chose.
Inside linebacker. I’m on the Littleton train but that would be an awful lot of money to tie up on two inside linebackers. Hopeful solution? Isiah Simmons.

Outside linebacker. We could add one in the draft but do we really want two rookies starting at such a key position of need. I refuse to believe Reddick is the answer. Maybe he is but I’m not rolling the dice on that. Hopeful solution? Vic Beasley. But following my thoughts do any of you have a comparable free agent. Some will say Dupree but I don’t thing he’s leaving Pittsburg and again he would cost a bunch.

D-line. Here is where I would like all of your input. Jason Pierre-Paul comes to mind but I have no idea what he would cost. I want to add another inside presence so keep cost in mind. Michael Pierce? Gerald McCoy( 1 year deal) but neither will come cheap. How about CC?

Keep the budget in mind because we will want to keep some of current players for depth.

Many of you will want to add safety to this list. But again there is only so much money to go around. I just think if we can add an olb, and ilb, a de and dt we could REALLY upgrade this defense and eliminate any excuses ( barring massive injuries) for Vance Joseph.

I would love to see all of your thoughts and solutions to make this defense a top 10 defense next year.

I loved watching this team a few years ago when we had a great defense.
 

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That plus the composition of our roster.

Seems to me that the past year was devoted to stockpiling most positions with grinders - short on athleticism but long on work-ethic.

What we don't know is how much the coaches and FO expect these guys to improve from last season to next (vs. their just occupying a roster spot). We seem to have a large body of solid but unspectacular backups. Question is: Can any of these guys step up and become genuinely bad-ass? Or will they just plug roster holes competently.

This is especially true at OL, DL, LB and S (& maybe WR).

How the FO views the development of these guys will have a big impact on how, where, why, who and when we draft.
I'm not sure where you see "solid but unspectacular backups." This team has 38 players on its roster as today stands, so most of the players you're talking about aren't even on this team.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/arizona-cardinals/cap/2020/

People need to memorize this chart. OLB, LT, RT, C, DE, DE (again), ILB, WR... all places we don't have a starter, and in most of those cases, even a freaking backup. There's almost no one available to "step up."

We'll re-sign some, I'm sure, but as of today, we're SOL and will need to find players for these spots in free agency. At least at safety we have two young guys we can kinda get by with who should improve with playing time.
 
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slanidrac16

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After watching the Texan/Bills game it’s clear how a pressure on the passer can turn a game around.
 

wa52lz

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I'm not sure where you see "solid but unspectacular backups." This team has 38 players on its roster as today stands, so most of the players you're talking about aren't even on this team.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/arizona-cardinals/cap/2020/

People need to memorize this chart. OLB, LT, RT, C, DE, DE (again), ILB, WR... all places we don't have a starter, and in most of those cases, even a freaking backup. There's almost no one available to "step up."

We'll re-sign some, I'm sure, but as of today, we're SOL and will need to find players for these spots in free agency. At least at safety we have two young guys we can kinda get by with who should improve with playing time.
Per your link actually 43, 50 if you count those signed to futures contracts which of course shouldn't be counted as they're most likely camp bodies. You've brought this number up a few times in your posts, but I don't get why?
 

Solar7

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Per your link actually 43, 50 if you count those signed to futures contracts which of course shouldn't be counted as they're most likely camp bodies. You've brought this number up a few times in your posts, but I don't get why?
The futures contracts grew after the season ended, sorry about that.

Regardless, the starter situation doesn't change.
 

wa52lz

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The futures contracts grew after the season ended, sorry about that.

Regardless, the starter situation doesn't change.
I understand the concern with the starters, but I don't why you've brought up the number of players signed for next year a couple times. Are we significantly lower then the rest of the league or something?

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Solar7

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I understand the concern with the starters, but I don't why you've brought up the number of players signed for next year a couple times. Are we significantly lower then the rest of the league or something?

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Just to be clear, I'm trying to see why the Spotrac number jumped so much. I wasn't pulling the 38 out of nowhere... Maybe they were behind on futures or an update?

But, yes, it's a pretty low amount. We're #9 in cap space and have 50 players - the #1 and #2 teams (Colts and Dolphins) have 58 and 63, respectively. The Bucs have the third most space and are at 49 players.

Most of the teams ahead of us, which include the Seahawks, have a good amount of starting players figured out that are young and have some experience. We're not in such a great spot. Hell, the Cowboys have more space than us. Not for long, on account of Dak and Cooper, but that's a big deal.

This is all before we pay Humphries, maybe Fitz, and just get warm bodies at the aforementioned starting spots.
 
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