My Trade Idea

[KingLouieLouie]

Fitz will still have a role on the team even if the Cardinals offense becomes more rushing oriented. He's still among the best red-zone threats the Cardinals have at this time. They must finally capitalize on his skills by passing more fade passes at the corner of the end zone, which rarely happened over his first 3-seasons. That is something he excelled at while at U of Pitt. Not too many CBs an counter the height advantage he possesses over most of them.

I also hope Pope is used in the slot on red-zone situations and I believe with Whiz and his innovative style, that can possibly happen. It's about time to use all their weapons to its fullest and I am confident that Whiz and his staff finally will.

 

[ajcardfan]

Chainthroer, knowing Kent Somers personally, I've come to understand his understated way of conveying information without saying it outright but sometimes I misread him.

May I suggest you, or someone else, communicate directly with him through his blog or email and ask him directly if Fitz has a problem with the new regime? Then share his answer with us, please?

For my own reasons, I choose not to bother media people I used to know.

He already made his feelings pretty clear. But, then both Whiz and Fitz blasted that report.

 

[BigRedRage]

Are you not talking about getting rid od an ASFN poster? Maybe I'm mistaken, but that seems sorta like exactly what I'm talking about.

I paid no attention to who posted, only that of the context of the post. I was simply saying it was a horrible idea.

Even if fitz were to be traded, which is a bad idea, he would warrant alot more than a #1.

 

[JeffGollin]

My guess is Fitz will play out his contract with us and then leave, unless he forces a trade early. There won't be enough catches for him to be happy in a run heavy offense, especially if we find a competent TE and a legitimate speed WR.

I suspect you are saying this within the context of the team's chronic inability to win.

Winning can change the equation. If Fitz becomes an integral part of a winning organization consistently poised to make a run at the Super Bowl, I believe he'd be inclined to stick around and reap the rewards of effort he invested during the tough years.

(If, of course, the money is right. And if the Cardinals are winning, the seats in the stadium stay filled, and Fitz has a lot to do with it, I'd think management would be willing to ante up).

 

[phillycard]

Trade Fitz, YAY!

 

[RugbyMuffin]

For what Fitz is really worth, and what his market value would be are two different things.....where is K9 when you need him!

To the Cardinals Fitz is invaluable. He is worth 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th in our opinions, and to the Cardinals.

But WR are not exactly "in demand". We would be hard pressed to get just one 1st round pick for him.

Fitzgerald should stay with the Cardinals for as long as possible.

 

[BigRedRage]

I dont think we would have any trouble getting a 1st rounder + for him. He is a top notch pro bowl receiver and like 23-24 years old. A first round pick is a POSSIBLE star with bust capabilities. Fitz will never bust.

 

[artp]

My guess is Fitz will play out his contract with us and then leave, unless he forces a trade early. There won't be enough catches for him to be happy in a run heavy offense, especially if we find a competent TE and a legitimate speed WR.

That was my original thinking. Fitz is a great player, but IMO be stymied in Whiz' run oriented offense. Oakland will probably have another top 5 draft pick in 2008. I would love to have a chance to draft RB D McFadden.

 

[vinnymac]

For what Fitz is really worth, and what his market value would be are two different things.....where is K9 when you need him!

To the Cardinals Fitz is invaluable. He is worth 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th in our opinions, and to the Cardinals.

But WR are not exactly "in demand". We would be hard pressed to get just one 1st round pick for him.

Fitzgerald should stay with the Cardinals for as long as possible.

If the Patriots can get a 1st rounder from Seattle for Dieon Branch, then I know the Cardinals can get at least 2 first rounder and a 2nd and 3rd for Fitzgerald.

Trade talks about Fitzgerald is pointless, because he isn't going anywhere.

 

[crisper57]

Bad idea.

 

[Shogun]

You should be shot.

Fitz is the best receiver on the team and T5 in the league - at 23 years old. No, just...no.

 

[wembley88]

Fitz for the Colloseum maybe

 

[cardsfanmd]

I would trade him for their first and second picks for the next three years, nothing less.

For the record, I would trade any player in the game for that, so I am in no way trying to put down Fitz's value. For those six picks, I would send Peyton packing.

 

[Zeno]

You should be shot.

Fitz is the best receiver on the team and T5 in the league - at 23 years old. No, just...no.

Absolutely 100% agree. While I love Boldin, I think when we go back and look at careers when both he and Fitz are done Fitzgerald will have put up better numbers overall.

 

[nurnay]

Sorry, brain farting here, but how many years does Fitz have left on his contract? Shouldn't we start thinking about extending him ASAP to avoid this situation?

 

[Totally_Red]

Dumb idea, no offense intended. We need to make the Cardinals better, not decimate the receiving corps, let alone make the hated Rayduhs betta.

Let's see a pro-bowl receiver in the prime of his career for a single first-round choice, very possibly a choice in the middle of the round. Just two years ago, Oakland coughed up a #7 overall pick, PLUS a player drafted in the first round, AND a 7th round pick for a tempermental irratic, but talented, wide receiver. What's wrong with this picture? That trade was made because Randy Moss was a disruptive and divisive presence on the Vikings. Fitz is a solid citizen with outstanding character and work ethic.

 

[Denny Green Fan]

Fitz doesnt have the speed Al Davis craves

 

[kerouac9]

My guess is Fitz will play out his contract with us and then leave, unless he forces a trade early. There won't be enough catches for him to be happy in a run heavy offense, especially if we find a competent TE and a legitimate speed WR.

Boy are you going to hate to hear this, but I agree with this assessment. It's funny that when the Cards were interviewing coaches and "invited" players to come in and talk to the candidates, they basically only invited Boldin and Adrian Wilson. It's extremely odd that they didn't encourage Matt Leinart to meet the candidates.

The Steelers had a version of Larry Fitzgerald in Plaxico Burress. Burress set a career high in average yardage under Whis his one year under his system, but a career low in yardage and an average TD number. When Burress bolted for the Big Apple, he started to become a Pro Bowl-caliber player.

There's not enough balls to go around to two high-dollar WRs in Whis's ball-control offense. The Cards have a lot invested in Boldin by every measure, but the silence around Fitz as a marquee player on this team is deafening. Notice how rare his appearances are on Jim O's videos. Matt and Q have regular gigs for the Cards, but the former #3 overall pick doesn't have anything.

One thing that can not have failed to garner the attention of ownership when Whis promised to bring Pitt's personnel philosophies to the desert is that the Steelers are notoriously frugal and never in salary cap trouble.

I'm going to guess that Fitz gets somewhere between 60-80 catches and averages around 20 YPC this season. 10 TDs. Will that be enough for him, especially if the Cards end up 3-13 or 4-12?

The trade market for a Super Bowl MVP WR is a low first-round pick. I'm guessing that's about what you'd get for Larry Fitzgerald. Right now, for the three(?) remaining seasons on his contract, he's worth far more than that.

I'm guessing, though, that when the time comes, he'll be treated by Rod Graves and Co. the same way that Leonard Davis was, and Karlos Dansby is about to be. That would be a mistake, because he remains the Cards' most consistent offensive weapon, and the player that offensive coordinators prepare for.

 

[cardsfanmd]

Boy are you going to hate to hear this, but I agree with this assessment. It's funny that when the Cards were interviewing coaches and "invited" players to come in and talk to the candidates, they basically only invited Boldin and Adrian Wilson. It's extremely odd that they didn't encourage Matt Leinart to meet the candidates.

The Steelers had a version of Larry Fitzgerald in Plaxico Burress. Burress set a career high in average yardage under Whis his one year under his system, but a career low in yardage and an average TD number. When Burress bolted for the Big Apple, he started to become a Pro Bowl-caliber player.

There's not enough balls to go around to two high-dollar WRs in Whis's ball-control offense. The Cards have a lot invested in Boldin by every measure, but the silence around Fitz as a marquee player on this team is deafening. Notice how rare his appearances are on Jim O's videos. Matt and Q have regular gigs for the Cards, but the former #3 overall pick doesn't have anything.

One thing that can not have failed to garner the attention of ownership when Whis promised to bring Pitt's personnel philosophies to the desert is that the Steelers are notoriously frugal and never in salary cap trouble.

I'm going to guess that Fitz gets somewhere between 60-80 catches and averages around 20 YPC this season. 10 TDs. Will that be enough for him, especially if the Cards end up 3-13 or 4-12?

The trade market for a Super Bowl MVP WR is a low first-round pick. I'm guessing that's about what you'd get for Larry Fitzgerald. Right now, for the three(?) remaining seasons on his contract, he's worth far more than that.

I'm guessing, though, that when the time comes, he'll be treated by Rod Graves and Co. the same way that Leonard Davis was, and Karlos Dansby is about to be. That would be a mistake, because he remains the Cards' most consistent offensive weapon, and the player that offensive coordinators prepare for.

Wow, I am in complete agreement with you K9. I dont even know what to say, I am awestruck. I dont even think I have anything to add. You have hit every point. Great post.

I especially agree with what you said about he and Leinart's absence from the interviews. I brought that up at the time, but everyone said I was an idiot.

 

[BigRedRage]

Boy are you going to hate to hear this, but I agree with this assessment. It's funny that when the Cards were interviewing coaches and "invited" players to come in and talk to the candidates, they basically only invited Boldin and Adrian Wilson. It's extremely odd that they didn't encourage Matt Leinart to meet the candidates.

The Steelers had a version of Larry Fitzgerald in Plaxico Burress. Burress set a career high in average yardage under Whis his one year under his system, but a career low in yardage and an average TD number. When Burress bolted for the Big Apple, he started to become a Pro Bowl-caliber player.

There's not enough balls to go around to two high-dollar WRs in Whis's ball-control offense. The Cards have a lot invested in Boldin by every measure, but the silence around Fitz as a marquee player on this team is deafening. Notice how rare his appearances are on Jim O's videos. Matt and Q have regular gigs for the Cards, but the former #3 overall pick doesn't have anything.

One thing that can not have failed to garner the attention of ownership when Whis promised to bring Pitt's personnel philosophies to the desert is that the Steelers are notoriously frugal and never in salary cap trouble.

I'm going to guess that Fitz gets somewhere between 60-80 catches and averages around 20 YPC this season. 10 TDs. Will that be enough for him, especially if the Cards end up 3-13 or 4-12?

The trade market for a Super Bowl MVP WR is a low first-round pick. I'm guessing that's about what you'd get for Larry Fitzgerald. Right now, for the three(?) remaining seasons on his contract, he's worth far more than that.

I'm guessing, though, that when the time comes, he'll be treated by Rod Graves and Co. the same way that Leonard Davis was, and Karlos Dansby is about to be. That would be a mistake, because he remains the Cards' most consistent offensive weapon, and the player that offensive coordinators prepare for.

Fitz is leaps and bounds better than Deion Branch.

 

[kerouac9]

Fitz is leaps and bounds better than Deion Branch.

Fitz is far more talented than Branch, but Fitz has injury problems. He's completed a 16 game season once in his three years in the league. That sounds ticky-tack, but it's a big deal.

The other thing is that speed is coming back as an important issue for WRs, and Fitz hasn't yet shown the ability to get behind above-average corners. Right now, he can be a really, really good version of Isaac Bruce if he continues to improve in his route-running, but he's not Torry Holt or Andre Johnson or Roy Williams.

Those are hair-splitting issues, but GMs split a lot of hairs when they're negotiating a trade at a position where supply consistently outpaces demand.

 

[joeshmo]

Boy are you going to hate to hear this, but I agree with this assessment. It's funny that when the Cards were interviewing coaches and "invited" players to come in and talk to the candidates, they basically only invited Boldin and Adrian Wilson. It's extremely odd that they didn't encourage Matt Leinart to meet the candidates.

They invited a lot of players, Dockett, Berry, and some others. Not all of them could make it to every interview. Wilson was the only one to go to every interview and the only player to show up to the new hire intro presser. Wiz took special care to mention Wilsons name during that presser.

Also Matt was invited but was on a prior engagement doing promotional stuff for the Vegas electronics show. Fitz was on vacation with his family.

I dont find who was there or wasnt there funny or odd at all.

 

[football karma]

Fitz is a very low key guy -- not a camera guy -- an introvert. i dont read too much into the fact that you dont see him too much.

I think Fitz is exactly the kind of guy you would want in a ball control offense -- a guy who catches everything thrown his way (btw- a seemingly very undervalued commodity when it comes to talking about NFL receivers)

I think if the Cards truly get a running game, suddenly Fitz and Boldin will be getting behind defenses far more often than has been in the past.

IIRC, Fitz has three more years on his contract.

 

[BigRedRage]

Fitz is far more talented than Branch, but Fitz has injury problems. He's completed a 16 game season once in his three years in the league. That sounds ticky-tack, but it's a big deal.

The other thing is that speed is coming back as an important issue for WRs, and Fitz hasn't yet shown the ability to get behind above-average corners. Right now, he can be a really, really good version of Isaac Bruce if he continues to improve in his route-running, but he's not Torry Holt or Andre Johnson or Roy Williams.

Those are hair-splitting issues, but GMs split a lot of hairs when they're negotiating a trade at a position where supply consistently outpaces demand.

Injury prone? Are you kidding? What did he miss, 2 games each year? I highly doubt his minor minor injuries would even be looked at by a GM if they had a chance to pick him up. he is hands down far better than deion branch and would get a TON more in trade value guarunteed. Fitz is probly the best hands man in the league, coup him with ANY fast guy in the league and you have an amazing WR combo. I think you discount fitz a little too much.

Your a guy who thinks boldin is just another WR too so I guess im talking to the wrong guy.