Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Very difficult game to watch---vanilla schemes and lackluster performances abound.
The most disturbing trend that continues to rear its ugly head are the blown pass protection assignments---with the starters in PS Games 2 & 3---and with the second teamers in Games 3 & 4.
Classic case in point last week when Jared Veldheer blocked down and TE Carlson to Veldheer's side released, allowing the Bengals' DE a free shot into backfield. Either Veldheer missed his assignment or Carlson did. And these types of mis-commincations or missed assignments are happening with alarming frequency.
The most encouraging trend on defense is the improvement in pass coverage. The players are picking up their assignments and are playing tighter coverage and are in better positions to make plays.
The players in Game 4 who made the strongest claims for making the roster (in my opinion):
WR Walt Powell. We can see why the Cardiinals drafted him---he has nifty feet and better than average vision/awareness/escapability.
DT/DE Tommie Kelly. Gets good push on his pass rush and looks athletic.
DT/DE Bruce Gaston. This guy was a high-effort physical presence in the game, and has been in practice and throughout the pre-season.
ILB Glenn Carson. Gotta hand it to Rubgy who has been touting Carson's chances because he was defensive MVP last night with 10 tackles and a handful of good plays in pass coverage---plus, he made a couple of nice plays on STs.
S Curtis Taylor. He's had his best pre-season and had another good game last night before breaking his arm. Not sure whether he would have made the roster---but he sure was making a case.
K Chandler Catanzaro. His performance throughout the pre-season has been impressive and he has now eliminated the doubt as to whether the Cardinals would seek a waiver wire addition.
Players whose roster chances are iffy:
RB Stepfan Taylor. Not that he's playing poorly---it's just that the team lacks explosion and quickness behind lead RB Andre Ellington. It seems Robert Hughes has locked up the #3 RB/FB/ST role---the role that Taylor filled fairly well last year.
Ts Nate Potter (injured shoulder) and Bradley Sowell---both were subpar in last night's game, with Sowell looking the poorest in pass protection. Both are eligible for the PS, so if Steve Keim can find a swing tackle off waivers, it would seem to be a no brainer at this point.
WR Brittan Golden---before last night, Golden may have had some slight trade value---but, despite being impressive in previous games, he did very little to separate himself versus the Chargers. His tape in this game is not good.
DT Isaac Sopoaga---as they say you can't make the club from the tub.
DT/NT Christian Tupou---he's played hard and has made some very good plays---but the numbers don't work in his favor.
DE Ed Stinson---his tape last night and throughout the pre-season isn't going to land him a waiver claim if he gets waived. He's a thud defender who does not make plays on the ball or create any disruption or pressure on the QB.
CB Teddy Williams---has done very little this pre-season, even on STs, which is supposed to be his forte. Looks the part---has the speed and size you like---but doesn't play with any real sense of command.
Bubble Players who may or may not make the roster:
G Earl Watford. With Cooper struggling the team may need to pick up a veteran backup G. Watford is making progress---he's still a year or two away from making a legit run for the starting lineup. Chances are good he would pass through waivers and be quickly added to the PS, if need be.
TE Darren Fells. He may still need some more time to develop on the PS---if Steve Keim can add a TE he likes off waivers. Chances are he will stick---and the Cardinals are 20th in the waiver claim pecking order, which means they may not be able to pick up most of the players they put in a claim in for.
ILB Desmond Bishop. He's the speediest of the ILBers, but he has struggled the past two weeks as he tries to work his way back into football shape. He may be worth being patient with---but---the way Carson played last night---Bishop might not have done enough.
OLB Sam Acho. With James Harrison potentially on the verge of signing with the team---because Harrison plays the run well---he could be the base ROLB in the 34, which would allow John Abraham to focus on being the nickel RDE. Which OLB would be the odd man out? It would seem Alex Okafor would get the nod over Sam Acho. Acho hasn't shown up on tape the way Okafor has.
OLB Marcus Benard. He made some big hits on STs last night---and was very active in the game, before and after getting nicked up. But---he hasn't been the pass rushing presence this pre-season that one would have hoped for.
OLB Adrian Tracy. He's the speediest of the OLBers---but lacks strength and the the slipperiness to maneuver around blocks. He is PS eligible---so maybe that's where he winds up for now.
CB Bryan McCann. He's been inconsistent and was again last night. He has ST value and he is playing tough physically---man he punished one WR last night after a catch, but should have been in a better position to make a play on the ball. Chances are he's done enough to make the roster---but, if Keim finds a CB he likes off waivers, then McCann might be the odd man out.
Players who seem like PS givens:
G Philip Blake
TE Andre Hardy
LB Jonathan Brown
CB Eddie Whitley (if arm is broken, he goes to IR---he really had a nice game last night---so did Jimmy Legree who made his case for the PS).
Roster Prediction (players who could be waived for waiver claims or trade additions are in italics):
QB (3): Palmer; Stanton; Thomas
RB (4): Ellington; Dwyer; Hughes; Taylor
TE (4): Carlson; Houlser; Niklas; Fells (Trade chip perhaps, Housler? He's had a very quiet camp---with Carlson it's more by design, but with Housler? He's been quiet for 4 years.)
WR (6): Fitzgerald; Floyd; Jaron Brown; John Brown; Ginn Jr.; Powell
OL (8): Veldheer; Larsen; Sendlein; Fanaika; Massie; Cooper; Watford; Sowell (Potter to IR?)
NT (2) Williams; Ta'amu
DE (5): Campbell; Rucker; Kelly; Martin; Gaston
ILB (4): Minter; Foote; Demens; Bishop/Carson
OLB (5): Shaughnessy; Abraham; Benard; Okafor; Acho/Harrison?
CB (5): Peterson; Cromartie; Powers; Bethel; McCann
S (4): Mathieu; Bucannon; Johnson; Jefferson
ST (3): Catanzaro; Leach; Zastudil
It will be interesting to see if Steve Keim makes a trade or two. Picking #20 in waiver claims is going to make it more difficult than last year to add the players they put in a claim for....which could cause Keim to be more pro-active.
The most disturbing trend that continues to rear its ugly head are the blown pass protection assignments---with the starters in PS Games 2 & 3---and with the second teamers in Games 3 & 4.
Classic case in point last week when Jared Veldheer blocked down and TE Carlson to Veldheer's side released, allowing the Bengals' DE a free shot into backfield. Either Veldheer missed his assignment or Carlson did. And these types of mis-commincations or missed assignments are happening with alarming frequency.
The most encouraging trend on defense is the improvement in pass coverage. The players are picking up their assignments and are playing tighter coverage and are in better positions to make plays.
The players in Game 4 who made the strongest claims for making the roster (in my opinion):
WR Walt Powell. We can see why the Cardiinals drafted him---he has nifty feet and better than average vision/awareness/escapability.
DT/DE Tommie Kelly. Gets good push on his pass rush and looks athletic.
DT/DE Bruce Gaston. This guy was a high-effort physical presence in the game, and has been in practice and throughout the pre-season.
ILB Glenn Carson. Gotta hand it to Rubgy who has been touting Carson's chances because he was defensive MVP last night with 10 tackles and a handful of good plays in pass coverage---plus, he made a couple of nice plays on STs.
S Curtis Taylor. He's had his best pre-season and had another good game last night before breaking his arm. Not sure whether he would have made the roster---but he sure was making a case.
K Chandler Catanzaro. His performance throughout the pre-season has been impressive and he has now eliminated the doubt as to whether the Cardinals would seek a waiver wire addition.
Players whose roster chances are iffy:
RB Stepfan Taylor. Not that he's playing poorly---it's just that the team lacks explosion and quickness behind lead RB Andre Ellington. It seems Robert Hughes has locked up the #3 RB/FB/ST role---the role that Taylor filled fairly well last year.
Ts Nate Potter (injured shoulder) and Bradley Sowell---both were subpar in last night's game, with Sowell looking the poorest in pass protection. Both are eligible for the PS, so if Steve Keim can find a swing tackle off waivers, it would seem to be a no brainer at this point.
WR Brittan Golden---before last night, Golden may have had some slight trade value---but, despite being impressive in previous games, he did very little to separate himself versus the Chargers. His tape in this game is not good.
DT Isaac Sopoaga---as they say you can't make the club from the tub.
DT/NT Christian Tupou---he's played hard and has made some very good plays---but the numbers don't work in his favor.
DE Ed Stinson---his tape last night and throughout the pre-season isn't going to land him a waiver claim if he gets waived. He's a thud defender who does not make plays on the ball or create any disruption or pressure on the QB.
CB Teddy Williams---has done very little this pre-season, even on STs, which is supposed to be his forte. Looks the part---has the speed and size you like---but doesn't play with any real sense of command.
Bubble Players who may or may not make the roster:
G Earl Watford. With Cooper struggling the team may need to pick up a veteran backup G. Watford is making progress---he's still a year or two away from making a legit run for the starting lineup. Chances are good he would pass through waivers and be quickly added to the PS, if need be.
TE Darren Fells. He may still need some more time to develop on the PS---if Steve Keim can add a TE he likes off waivers. Chances are he will stick---and the Cardinals are 20th in the waiver claim pecking order, which means they may not be able to pick up most of the players they put in a claim in for.
ILB Desmond Bishop. He's the speediest of the ILBers, but he has struggled the past two weeks as he tries to work his way back into football shape. He may be worth being patient with---but---the way Carson played last night---Bishop might not have done enough.
OLB Sam Acho. With James Harrison potentially on the verge of signing with the team---because Harrison plays the run well---he could be the base ROLB in the 34, which would allow John Abraham to focus on being the nickel RDE. Which OLB would be the odd man out? It would seem Alex Okafor would get the nod over Sam Acho. Acho hasn't shown up on tape the way Okafor has.
OLB Marcus Benard. He made some big hits on STs last night---and was very active in the game, before and after getting nicked up. But---he hasn't been the pass rushing presence this pre-season that one would have hoped for.
OLB Adrian Tracy. He's the speediest of the OLBers---but lacks strength and the the slipperiness to maneuver around blocks. He is PS eligible---so maybe that's where he winds up for now.
CB Bryan McCann. He's been inconsistent and was again last night. He has ST value and he is playing tough physically---man he punished one WR last night after a catch, but should have been in a better position to make a play on the ball. Chances are he's done enough to make the roster---but, if Keim finds a CB he likes off waivers, then McCann might be the odd man out.
Players who seem like PS givens:
G Philip Blake
TE Andre Hardy
LB Jonathan Brown
CB Eddie Whitley (if arm is broken, he goes to IR---he really had a nice game last night---so did Jimmy Legree who made his case for the PS).
Roster Prediction (players who could be waived for waiver claims or trade additions are in italics):
QB (3): Palmer; Stanton; Thomas
RB (4): Ellington; Dwyer; Hughes; Taylor
TE (4): Carlson; Houlser; Niklas; Fells (Trade chip perhaps, Housler? He's had a very quiet camp---with Carlson it's more by design, but with Housler? He's been quiet for 4 years.)
WR (6): Fitzgerald; Floyd; Jaron Brown; John Brown; Ginn Jr.; Powell
OL (8): Veldheer; Larsen; Sendlein; Fanaika; Massie; Cooper; Watford; Sowell (Potter to IR?)
NT (2) Williams; Ta'amu
DE (5): Campbell; Rucker; Kelly; Martin; Gaston
ILB (4): Minter; Foote; Demens; Bishop/Carson
OLB (5): Shaughnessy; Abraham; Benard; Okafor; Acho/Harrison?
CB (5): Peterson; Cromartie; Powers; Bethel; McCann
S (4): Mathieu; Bucannon; Johnson; Jefferson
ST (3): Catanzaro; Leach; Zastudil
It will be interesting to see if Steve Keim makes a trade or two. Picking #20 in waiver claims is going to make it more difficult than last year to add the players they put in a claim for....which could cause Keim to be more pro-active.
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