Ok ASFN genius's...how do you fix the Cardinals in the offseason?

[PDXChris]

I don't think so. He's more of my curse. I've been cursed with a poster who is as annoying to me as I was to Skkorp and nidan.

Nope, much more than you were.

 

[Chopper0080]

Dang. That was mean.

If it's for similar money, I bet we keep LSH instead of William Powell. Keeps a draft pick in the system; he's a valuable contributor on special teams when healthy.

I'd be surprised if we bring in 8 "name" free agents. I'd love to get McKelvin, but I'm not sure why he'd come here to be a 3rd or 4th CB, and why we'd pay him for that job.

I'd love to keep Quentin Groves on a two-year, $3 million contract with half guaranteed. He plays special teams, and he'd keep a rookie OLB prospect off the field most of the time.

If we can sign LSH for a vet min contract, I think you are right. But, I have a feeling, he will get more elsewhere.

RE: McKelvin. I don't believe the coaches trust Flemming enough to have him as the #2 in 2014 when Gay's contract is up and Gay is a better slot CB than edge CB. McKelvin disapointed in Buffalo and I think would like a shot with a good defense ala Carlos Rogers and I believe the Cards will spend a bit for a CB like him.

The "name" FAs are all pretty average guys though. Casey & Walker will both probably command around 2 - 3 mil, which comes off the books as Heap leaves. Both also bring versatility to bring depth at FB. Franklin is a vet min guy as probably Moore and Trufant will be.

I think the coaches will want to bring in another OT as competition, and so Beatty could be a guy they take a flier on.

I think Groves will be replaced by Westerman and I believe the Cards are going to add OLB depth through the draft as it is a really good 3-4 OLB class.

 

[Chopper0080]

To take it a bit further on the 8 or 9 FAs brought in, keep in mind normally we would just re-sign our own, but Bridges, Batiste, Ohrnberger, Holliday, Eason, Lenon, and Sanders are older guys who probably aren't in the league much longer. It's the perfect time to add some vets to the offense and then use the mid to back end of the draft to build some young, taletned depth on defense.

 

[kerouac9]

I don't think coaches (or front offices, for that matter) really care whether a rookie right now is going to be a starter two years from now. That's just impossible to ascertain, but they're not going to pay a $4 million per year contract to McKelvin just in case Flemming isn't a Top 50 corner in two years. They'll keep William Gay if that's the case.

They could keep Greg Toler right now for a quarter of the cost.

Also, I'm not allowing you to push my boy Jim Dray off the roster by signing two tight ends. Nuts to that. You can have Walker.

 

[Chopper0080]

I don't think coaches (or front offices, for that matter) really care whether a rookie right now is going to be a starter two years from now. That's just impossible to ascertain, but they're not going to pay a $4 million per year contract to McKelvin just in case Flemming isn't a Top 50 corner in two years. They'll keep William Gay if that's the case.

They could keep Greg Toler right now for a quarter of the cost.

Also, I'm not allowing you to push my boy Jim Dray off the roster by signing two tight ends. Nuts to that. You can have Walker.

HA, Jim Dray. Tell me James Casey isn't a smart buy and a secondary of Peterson, McKelvin, Gay and Flemming isn't 4mil better than Peterson, Gay, Flemming and Toler.

 

[Waysouth]

I would break the bank on Flacco and Jake Long even if I have to release Dockett, Wilson, Kolb and Brown to do it.

 

[kerouac9]

HA, Jim Dray. Tell me James Casey isn't a smart buy and a secondary of Peterson, McKelvin, Gay and Flemming isn't 4mil better than Peterson, Gay, Flemming and Toler.

I just don't think that the marginal improvement between Toler and McKelvin is going to be worth the total annual cost of Daryn Colledge. Under the new CBA, $4 million is a pretty goodly amount of money. But you're making a different argument.

Leave Jim Dray alone. Dray on the last year of his rookie deal will cost 20% of what James Casey would cost, and Dray is a really good special teams player. Leave. Him. Alone.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

You and I disagree on what the term "good" entails.

And you and I agree on what the term "good" entails.

Colledge is horrible. How him and Sendlein are given credit for being NFL caliber is beyond me.

 

[Duckjake]

Prove it or quit saying it. You spout things as fact when you have no idea.

The Cards right now are on pace to give up 78 sacks with a sack % of 11.2 and the team currently ranks dead last in yards per attempt rushing at 3.5. Worst ever? Not in Cardinal land. The stellar 1997 oline gave up 78 sacks with a sack % of 11.5 and the Cards finished 29th in rushing yards per attempt at 3.2.

More wonderful Cardinal trivia. The Cards offense is currently ranked 31st out of 32 teams in ppg. If that held to the end of the season it wouldn't even be as bad as 2003 or 1986 when the finished dead last. You don't want to know how many times the Cards have finished bottom 5 in scoring.

 

[Duckjake]

And you and I agree on what the term "good" entails.

Colledge is horrible. How him and Sendlein are given credit for being NFL caliber is beyond me.

Hey now, both Colledge and Sendlein have NFC Championship caps and Colledge has a Super Bowl Champion Ring.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

1. Do whatever it takes to keep Ray Horton.

2. Keep a close eye on Phillip Rivers. If he can't be successful in "the system" then no one can. I think he is a QB that would work well here. IF it happens tell Kolb to re-stucture. If he doesn't then trade/cut. If he does, then cut Double Deuce. Tony Romo would not survive in AZ, he is not a QB I see working well in this "system" Plus? He is Tony Romo for pete's sake. blech.

3. FA signings:
- Re-sign Kerry Rhodes
- Offer LSH the minimum. If he balks, then say bye, bye
- William Powell will be signed to the basic 2 yr contract.
- Re-sign Quinton Groves to a 3/4 yr deal
- Re-sign Greg Toler for a 1 year deal. If he balks, then say bye, bye.
- Re-sign Rashad Johnson to near min. contract. If he balks, then say bye, bye.

4. Restructure the contracts of:
- Kevin Kolb <-- if he doesn't agree.....well it matters on #2
- Adam Snyder <-- if he doesn't agree, cut him.

5. Sign an OT. IF the opportunity presents itself, go get one of these guys

Jermon Bushrod, Sebastian Vollmer, or King Dunlap. ....even Jeremy Trueblood is an option.

Of course if one of the big three are set loose, then break the bank:
Albert, Long, and Clady

I would love to see this line-up:

Bushrod
Colledge or better
Sendlein or better
Levi Brown or -----
Bobby Massie or Levi Brown

6. Sign based on who stays with the Cardinals.

- TE: Ben Watson, or Dante Rasario, or Visanthe Shiancoe (Walker will be re-signed IMO)
- K: Rob Bironas, or Phil Dawson
- DE: Nate Collins
- DB: Marcus Trufant, or Brice McCain


7. Draft....whoa boy.

1/2 round - QB
3 through 5 rounds - I dunno....some guys that play football.
6/7th round - Kenny Tate: This kid could be the heir to Adrian Wilson. He plays a hybrid/LB/Monster position at Maryland. 6'4" 230 lbs.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

We need to find a legitimate LT somewhere, and then move Brown to RT. Probably also need to replace Synder. I think Collidge and Sendilien are both fine for the moment.

Fixing the OT position is the #1 priority, it's 75% of the problem with this team, and it won't do any good to bring in another QB unless we dramatically upgrade these two spots.

Also, I say go foward with Kolb. If you give him time, he's good enough to get you to the playoffs. I agree, however, that we should lean on him to resturcture his contract.

Additionally, I would try to acquire another RB. Nobody appreciates Wells like I do, but I have zero confidence that he's going to stay healthy.

All the above would still probably allow for one or two more moves in FA to shore up a couple of other spots on the roster. It all doesn't seem too complicated at this point.

 

[john h]

But, we have to assume Wiz & most if not all of his staff are intact for 2013. If we lose 12 straight the whole coaching staff might get the axe, which would please many.

So no Grimm or Miller firings allowed on your list

Here are my moves:

1) try to trade for Romo, giving the Cowpies next years #1 & a 2014 #2, making it a possible #1 if he performs at a certain level. Work out an extension lowering his $16 mil salary & keeping him from being a FA.

2) move Levi Brown to RT & Massie to the bench, cut Batiste. Demote Snyder & ask him for a pay cut or cut him & promote Kelemete to starting RG.

3) add a top LT in the 2013 draft in rd 2, test the FA market for the best LT available, whomever that is, if any.

4) draft a young QB with potential in 2013 & let him learn until Romo is finished. A kid like Mike Glennon in Rd 2 or 3 depending on what we've added at LT

5) play Stew Bradley at ILB alongside DWash

6) make a play for another OLB in FA, who has pass rush skills. Maybe even throw a another draft pick to the Boys for Victor Butler

7) make Steve Kiem the GM & fire Rod Graves to set an example

Fire away guys & gals

We cannot fix this team in one season as there are no more Peyton Manning s available. I think Manning takes the Broncos deep into the playoffs. He is certainly one of the greatest QBs of all time and may be the best. If we had signed Manning I wonder what our record would be? It is very hard to blitz him and get to him no matter the line. He is so good at recognizing the blitz and changing calls and getting the ball off fast. He will likely have totally changed the outcome of the Broncos record this year. My hopes are that we draft a QB early this year and either sign a FA OT or two and or draft a couple. Do what needs to be done now rather than 2 years from now. Get rid of Skelton and put Kolb in a backup slot. Kolb would not be able to last a full season as a starter. I said that at the start of this season and that has been his MO for some years. I would fire the guy who gave Kolb all that money when even us dummies on the board thought that was likely a bad deal. Of course, if it was the owner then that may be even worse as it would show he is heavily involved in player selection. He is not a football expert. Even Jerry Jones who tries to do it all at least was a football player in college. We see what success he is having.

 

[Bodha]

Nonsense. Kolb wasn't very good behind a good OL in Philly, with very good weapons on the outside and an excellent weapon in the backfield. Everyone in Philly got better as soon as Kevin Kolb left the football field.

Why are you talking about Philly? Different team, different talents, different system.

Kolb started off the year behind a 'Ok' Oline and went 4-0.

The fact of the matter is that a good OL doesn't make a bad quarterback better. Ask Blaine Gabbert. Actually, a good quarterback transcends an average or even bad offensive line, as we learned from the Kurt Warner era, or as you can see in Washington right now.

I dont think hes a bad quarterback. Its hard to tell because he gets sacked and hit 10x per game. No QB, Hofr or not could look good throughout that.

What a good OL can boost is average running backs. This would matter if I believed that this offensive coaching staff has any commitment to running the football whatsoever.

Good Olines:

Boost RB play
boost QB play
boost play availability
boost completion %
boost 3rd down conversions
boost field position
boost time of possesion
boost red zone effetiveness
boost special teams play

 

[kerouac9]

Bodha, your assertions don't matter if you don't have any evidence to back them up. Read the Football Outsiders Almanac. It'll be the best $12 you spend this year. One of the things they see over and over is that good QBs make bad OL look good and that bad QBs make decent OL look bad.

We saw it with the quick turnover from Kurt Warner to Derek Anderson.

 

[Russ Smith]

The problem with Kolb IMO is that even with a better OL he is still going to get hit, and he'll eventually get hurt again. He holds the ball too long, I like him better than Skelton and I think you can make the playoffs with him, if he plays 16 games, but he might never play 16 games.

He is what he is.

I'm fine with improve the OL, get a young QB and use Kolb as the stopgap. Maybe he'll surprise me, but I don't think you can decide to trust him as the long term answer, he just can't stay healthy.

 

[kerouac9]

The problem with Kolb IMO is that even with a better OL he is still going to get hit, and he'll eventually get hurt again. He holds the ball too long, I like him better than Skelton and I think you can make the playoffs with him, if he plays 16 games, but he might never play 16 games.

He is what he is.

I'm fine with improve the OL, get a young QB and use Kolb as the stopgap. Maybe he'll surprise me, but I don't think you can decide to trust him as the long term answer, he just can't stay healthy.

You can say that about Mark Sanchez, too. Except that teams actually HAVE gone to the playoffs with Mark Sanchez as the quarterback.

I just don't think that you can pay $12 million a season to a guy who is somewhere between Matt Cassel and Mark Sanchez as a quarterback. If you're paying $4 million a year to him and he's 24 years old, you can make that argument. But Kevin Kolb is 28 years old and been in the league for 6 years.

If it was going to happen for him, it would've happened by now.

 

[Bodha]

Bodha, your assertions don't matter if you don't have any evidence to back them up. Read the Football Outsiders Almanac. It'll be the best $12 you spend this year. One of the things they see over and over is that good QBs make bad OL look good and that bad QBs make decent OL look bad.

I dont need to spend $12 to buy common sense.



Boost RB play - Better run blocking
boost QB play - more protection. more time for WRs to get open.
boost play availability - as seen in our 7 rushed, 50 passes.
boost completion % - More time the QB has, the WRs can get open
boost 3rd down conversions - See above
boost field position - Holding penalties, false start, sacks move you backwards.
boost time of possesion - stuff, stuff, stuff, punt.
boost red zone effetiveness - for all the reasons above
boost special teams play - 1 of our losses this year was due to a blocked fg

 

[Duckjake]

I dont need to spend $12 to buy common sense.



Boost RB play - Better run blocking
boost QB play - more protection. more time for WRs to get open.
boost play availability - as seen in our 7 rushed, 50 passes.
boost completion % - More time the QB has, the WRs can get open
boost 3rd down conversions - See above
boost field position - Holding penalties, false start, sacks move you backwards.
boost time of possesion - stuff, stuff, stuff, punt.
boost red zone effetiveness - for all the reasons above
boost special teams play - 1 of our losses this year was due to a blocked fg

Common sense? Talking about the Cardinals?

Better run blocking? LSH just ran for over a 100 yards at five per clip two games ago.

Boost completion %? Skelton just had the highest two game stretch of his career.

Boost time of possession? The Cards have had more TOP in three of their losses this season. +10 vs Viks and +9 vs Rams.

boost special teams play? One blocked FG in the last what 40 some games besides do the same guys block for FG attempts? The Cards blocked over 10% of opponents FGs last season.

 

[kerouac9]

I dont need to spend $12 to buy common sense.

Boost RB play - Better run blocking
boost QB play - more protection. more time for WRs to get open.
boost play availability - as seen in our 7 rushed, 50 passes.
boost completion % - More time the QB has, the WRs can get open
boost 3rd down conversions - See above
boost field position - Holding penalties, false start, sacks move you backwards.
boost time of possesion - stuff, stuff, stuff, punt.
boost red zone effetiveness - for all the reasons above
boost special teams play - 1 of our losses this year was due to a blocked fg

God forbid you ever learn something, right? The NFL is all about resource allocation. There's only so much money to go around. Most of what you're writing is "Better OL = Better offense." That's clearly not the case.

Yes, if your offensive line is horrid, you're not going to be a very good offense. But there are plenty of ways and times than an average offensive line--or even a below-average offensive line--can support a pretty good offense.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol2011
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teamoff2011

Buffalo had the #1 ranked pass-blocking OL in the NFL last year. They had the 19th-rated pass offense.
Tennessee had the #2 rated pass-blocking OL in the NFL last year. 12th ranked pass offense.

On the flip side, Green Bay's 23rd ranked pass blocking line didn't prevent them from having the #1 rated pass offense. Why doesn't the disparity matter? Because good quarterbacks make their offensive lines better by delivering the ball quickly and accurately.

When the final numbers are broken down on the year, I bet the Cards end up ranking with the Broncos, Patriots, Saints, and Packers as teams that are blitzes the least frequently. Why? For the Cards, it's because you can pressure the quarterback with only 4 rushers. For those other teams, it's because their elite QBs can pick apart blitzes and deliver the ball before the quarterback can get hit.

Why doesn't it seem to matter who is running the football for the New England Patriots or Houston Texans or the Washington Redskins? Because their offensive lines are good enough to create holes for whomever is running the football. Sometimes you'll get a transcendant player like Clinton Portis, and their running game goes from great to amazing.

 

[Bodha]

Common sense? Talking about the Cardinals?

Better run blocking? LSH just ran for over a 100 yards at five per clip two games ago.

Boost completion %? Skelton just had the highest two game stretch of his career.

Boost time of possession? The Cards have had more TOP in three of their losses this season. +10 vs Viks and +9 vs Rams.

boost special teams play? One blocked FG in the last what 40 some games besides do the same guys block for FG attempts? The Cards blocked over 10% of opponents FGs last season.

What/who are you talking about/to?


Those 'boost' things I listed were things that can come from an upgraded Oline. I have no idea what youre trying to say with LSH, or Skelton or etc.

God forbid you ever learn something, right? The NFL is all about resource allocation. There's only so much money to go around. Most of what you're writing is "Better OL = Better offense." That's clearly not the case.

Yes, if your offensive line is horrid, you're not going to be a very good offense. But there are plenty of ways and times than an average offensive line--or even a below-average offensive line--can support a pretty good offense.

With an upgraded Oline, those things CAN happen. I didnt say they WILL happen.

I should know better with you, but I didnt think I had to spell that out.



So youre saying we should just leave our Oline as is because a change of talent will make no difference.


Ok bucko.

 

[Duckjake]

Those 'boost' things I listed were things that can come from an upgraded Oline. I have no idea what youre trying to say with LSH, or Skelton or etc.

That's because you have no sense of humor.

 

[Bodha]

That's because you have no sense of humor.

I have an awesome sense of humor but I need a nuclear submarines sonar and an army of bloodhounds to find the joke in there.

 

[Duckjake]

I have an awesome sense of humor but I need a nuclear submarines sonar and an army of bloodhounds to find the joke in there.

I'm not surprised. Over your head for sure. Let me see if I can make it plain enough for you. The Cardinals never do anything normal. So you can't use common sense when talking about them. They do it so often its funny. You just got defensive so quick you totally missed that I was making fun of the fact that the Cardinals are the most nonsensical team ever to play in the NFL.

 

[POISON]

I don't want him as a feature back but more of change of pace guy. The Cards could also draft a guy like the kid from Ok St.

That would be Joe Randle, he's a stud who doesn't get much pub..........