Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
There is bound to be a great deal of excitement surrounding the Arizona Cardinals in 2006. The beautiful brand-spanking new...state-of-the-art...stadium...with rectractable roof and portable grass field will be the talk of the NFL. No longer will the players, coaches and fans have to endure the blistering Arizona heat...and because Arizona is an attractive place to live...free agents will be putting the Cardinals near the top of their lists. In fact, Arizona may become an even more trendy franchise for free agents and draft picks than the Tampa Bay Bucs were in the late 90s. With all the fanfare heading into the season, every Cardinal home game will be sold out...and will likely be sold out for years to come.
As for the players on the current roster and what the Cardinal front office needs to do to put the best product on the field, here are some notes and predictions about the upcoming personnel moves:
QB: Kurt Warner will likely be re-signed. The only possible fly in the ointment here is the contract figure. Because of Warner's age and durability issues, it would make perfect sense for Warner to sign a contract heavily laden with performance and playing-time incentives. If Warner balks at this and wants more guaranteed money, this will put the Cardinals between a rock and a hard place...which means he and the club may start exploring other options.
As for Warner's performance in 2005, he deserves credit for offering stability to the position, that is, when he was able to play. He only started 9 games this season...and in those nine games his passing numbers were good...yet, he was inexplicably tentative in the red zone, and was one of the major reasons why the Cardinals kicked so many field goals: he would consistently drive the team into field goal range, but also consistently pass underneath the endzone on critical third and goals.
Warner has a good, accurate arm still...although his deep passes were not very good this year...and he's as immobile as quarterbacks come...when he holds onto the ball too long, turnovers are bound to happen.
Warner has the veteran presence and charisma the team needs for him to be the leader of the offense. He needs to show his teammates how mentally tough he can be in the red zone before he wins the full confidence of the players and fans. An improved running game should clearly aid Warner's cause.
As for Josh McCown, when he was leading the team to an inspired win over SF in Mexico City...basking in delight, he approached Dennis Green on the sideline and tried to share a celebratory moment with the head coach. Dennis Green turned and walked away...This gesture on Green's part eptomizes how little interest the organization has recently shown in Josh McCown. Funny that McCown went 10-12 as a starter in Arizona...what, an uncanny 11-2 at home...and yet, the former 3rd round draft pick played his last two games as a Cardinal clearly auditioning for other teams.
McCown, IMO, has shown significant progress, as evidenced by how he played the last two weeks. Nearly all of his passes last week versus Philadelphia were perfectly thrown. This week versus Indianapolis, most of his passes were on the money, save his deep passes to Boldin that this time around he put too much air on. McCown's TD toss to Fitz on an audible (two weeks in a row, an audible TD pass from McCown) was picture perfect.
Yet, what we saw less and less of from Josh is the strength of his scrambling ability. This guy can really scoot in the open field and he has a good array of stutter-step moves that can make tacklers miss. Recently, Josh has lost his head while scrambling...passing beyond the line of scrimmage, throwing into tight coverage and holding the football like a loaf of bread...which resulted in two fumbles with the game on the line at Indy. If I were coaching Josh, I would work diligently on this aspect of his game, because this is what can make Josh a special QB in this league...just ask John Fox, the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, who would tell you today that he would rather prepare for Kurt Warner than Josh McCown. In fact, don't be surprised if the Panthers make a serious run at McCown this off-season.
Because of McCown's scrambles the team was able to crack the 100 yard mark in rushing this past week.
Kurt Warner has clearly made a positive impact on McCown...as McCown's head seemed more focused and self-assured these past two games. It's too bad the team couldn't keep Warner and McCown together...but that would seem very unlikely.
In the wings the team has John Navarre and Rohan Davey signed for next year. Navarre looked terribly rusty and out of sync in his cameo appearance this year. He also showed a tendency to throw sidearm, which negates a great deal of his size and arm strength. Navarre clearly needs to work on his feet and needs to sense pressure so that he can sidestep it and set his feet to make strikes down the field. Right now John Navarre needs to discover how badly he wants to be an NFL QB.
As for Rohan Davey, here's a guy with a major league arm, but showed a poor understanding of how to read defenses when he was playing at New England. Davey already starred one season in NFL Europe...but he may need another year overseas to keep working on his reads...which won't happen because he's likely to be the #2 QB next season.
PREDICTION: Warner re-signs. McCown signs with Carolina, Miami or Detroit. Davey wins the backup job. Navarre is replaced by a draft pick.
BEST PLAN? No. If Davey is the #2...he'd better get good in a hurry, because Warner is likely to miss several games once again. The McCown debate is therefore apt to rage on for several years to come.
MY OPINION? Forget about Warner. Too injury prone, and didn't get it done in the red zone. I would make every effort to trade for Donovan McNabb. I believe that at the right price, he could be had. He's an Arizona resident in the off-season and would be delighted to live in Arizona year round. If the price tag for McNabb is too steep, then I would do everything I could to trade up with New Orleans to draft Matt Leinart. This organization absolutlely needs a franchise QB who the team can build around for the next five to six years. I would be prepared to offer two #1 draft picks and Leonard Davis, if need be.
As for the players on the current roster and what the Cardinal front office needs to do to put the best product on the field, here are some notes and predictions about the upcoming personnel moves:
QB: Kurt Warner will likely be re-signed. The only possible fly in the ointment here is the contract figure. Because of Warner's age and durability issues, it would make perfect sense for Warner to sign a contract heavily laden with performance and playing-time incentives. If Warner balks at this and wants more guaranteed money, this will put the Cardinals between a rock and a hard place...which means he and the club may start exploring other options.
As for Warner's performance in 2005, he deserves credit for offering stability to the position, that is, when he was able to play. He only started 9 games this season...and in those nine games his passing numbers were good...yet, he was inexplicably tentative in the red zone, and was one of the major reasons why the Cardinals kicked so many field goals: he would consistently drive the team into field goal range, but also consistently pass underneath the endzone on critical third and goals.
Warner has a good, accurate arm still...although his deep passes were not very good this year...and he's as immobile as quarterbacks come...when he holds onto the ball too long, turnovers are bound to happen.
Warner has the veteran presence and charisma the team needs for him to be the leader of the offense. He needs to show his teammates how mentally tough he can be in the red zone before he wins the full confidence of the players and fans. An improved running game should clearly aid Warner's cause.
As for Josh McCown, when he was leading the team to an inspired win over SF in Mexico City...basking in delight, he approached Dennis Green on the sideline and tried to share a celebratory moment with the head coach. Dennis Green turned and walked away...This gesture on Green's part eptomizes how little interest the organization has recently shown in Josh McCown. Funny that McCown went 10-12 as a starter in Arizona...what, an uncanny 11-2 at home...and yet, the former 3rd round draft pick played his last two games as a Cardinal clearly auditioning for other teams.
McCown, IMO, has shown significant progress, as evidenced by how he played the last two weeks. Nearly all of his passes last week versus Philadelphia were perfectly thrown. This week versus Indianapolis, most of his passes were on the money, save his deep passes to Boldin that this time around he put too much air on. McCown's TD toss to Fitz on an audible (two weeks in a row, an audible TD pass from McCown) was picture perfect.
Yet, what we saw less and less of from Josh is the strength of his scrambling ability. This guy can really scoot in the open field and he has a good array of stutter-step moves that can make tacklers miss. Recently, Josh has lost his head while scrambling...passing beyond the line of scrimmage, throwing into tight coverage and holding the football like a loaf of bread...which resulted in two fumbles with the game on the line at Indy. If I were coaching Josh, I would work diligently on this aspect of his game, because this is what can make Josh a special QB in this league...just ask John Fox, the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, who would tell you today that he would rather prepare for Kurt Warner than Josh McCown. In fact, don't be surprised if the Panthers make a serious run at McCown this off-season.
Because of McCown's scrambles the team was able to crack the 100 yard mark in rushing this past week.
Kurt Warner has clearly made a positive impact on McCown...as McCown's head seemed more focused and self-assured these past two games. It's too bad the team couldn't keep Warner and McCown together...but that would seem very unlikely.
In the wings the team has John Navarre and Rohan Davey signed for next year. Navarre looked terribly rusty and out of sync in his cameo appearance this year. He also showed a tendency to throw sidearm, which negates a great deal of his size and arm strength. Navarre clearly needs to work on his feet and needs to sense pressure so that he can sidestep it and set his feet to make strikes down the field. Right now John Navarre needs to discover how badly he wants to be an NFL QB.
As for Rohan Davey, here's a guy with a major league arm, but showed a poor understanding of how to read defenses when he was playing at New England. Davey already starred one season in NFL Europe...but he may need another year overseas to keep working on his reads...which won't happen because he's likely to be the #2 QB next season.
PREDICTION: Warner re-signs. McCown signs with Carolina, Miami or Detroit. Davey wins the backup job. Navarre is replaced by a draft pick.
BEST PLAN? No. If Davey is the #2...he'd better get good in a hurry, because Warner is likely to miss several games once again. The McCown debate is therefore apt to rage on for several years to come.
MY OPINION? Forget about Warner. Too injury prone, and didn't get it done in the red zone. I would make every effort to trade for Donovan McNabb. I believe that at the right price, he could be had. He's an Arizona resident in the off-season and would be delighted to live in Arizona year round. If the price tag for McNabb is too steep, then I would do everything I could to trade up with New Orleans to draft Matt Leinart. This organization absolutlely needs a franchise QB who the team can build around for the next five to six years. I would be prepared to offer two #1 draft picks and Leonard Davis, if need be.
Last edited:
