Revisiting Coach Mac's horrible 2001 and 2002 drafts.

[Lomax to Green 84]

I admit I was taken in by the awe shucks, good ol boy Coach Mac song and dance for almost the entire 3 years he was head coach. Without a doubt the nicest man I have ever met. No ego. Spent time with the fans. A great human being.

As a head coach he was awful. But as bad as he was as a head coach he was significantly worse at evaluating talent in the draft. In 2001 the guy had the 2nd pick in the first round and top selections in each of the remaining 6 rounds of the draft and the choices were horrible. Lets take a look at the 2001 draft as an example.

2001 Draft

Round #1-Leonard Davis-I have said it as far back as his "great" rookie season. The guy shows flashes of greatness but Steve Hutchinson taken 15 picks later is a better player.

Round #2-KVB-A great motor but even before his injury was not a pass rusher the Cards desperately needed. A bigtime reach that high in the 2nd round.

Round #2-Micheal Stone-The ultimate flop right up there with Johnny Rutledge and Thomas Burke as the worst picks the Cards have made in the last few years.

Round #3-Adrian Wilson. Looks like Tarzan, plays like an undrafted free agent. Another bigtime reach. A guy that the Sporting News had slotted as a 6th round pick.

Round #4-Bill Grammattica-Awful, just plain awful. Right up there with the John Lee pick by the Cards in 1986. How in the world can a kicker who is not special go in the 4th round? This may be the worst pick of all time.

Round #4-Marcus Bell-A serviceable backup. Slow, plugger type who was listed as a non-drafted free agent by the Sporting News prior to the draft, yet McGinnis takes him in the 4th round.

Round #5-Mario Fatefahi-Has done decent at Denver. Another typical head scratcher because in 2001 the Cards played a 2 gap defense and Mac was after his 700 pounds of ass. He takes Fatefahi who is an undersized but quick DT, cuts him after the 2002 season right before the Cards go to a 1 gap system which would have been a great fit for him.

Round #6-Kid from Nebraska. Converted quarterback who was trying to play wide reciever. Cut during his first training camp. Awful pick.

Round #7-Renaldo Hill-The best McGinnis pick by far. Solid, #3 corner. Nice pick.

Round #7-Some tight end from BYU who was 27 years old and had a name about 16 letters in length. Wasted pick. Slow.


Worst draft in history? Probably not, but not far from it.

 

[azdad1978]

The horror!!!

 

[Lomax to Green 84]

2002 Draft

The Cards had the #12 overall selection and similiar picks in the remaining rounds.

Round #1-Wendell Bryant-A tweener who played slower and weaker than his workout numbers suggested. Another example of how Mac never seemed to make up his mind. Instead of going after a guy who was great in one area but who had weaknesses in other he opted for the guy who was solid in all areas but not great an any area. Backfired bigtime.

Round #2-Levar Fisher-Undersized, athletic linebacker who did not fill a need. An injury waiting to happen and had that reputation in college so his injury problem in the pros is not something new.

Round #3-Josh McCown-May be the best gift Mac ever gave the Cardinals. He could develop into a very good quarterback. Good choice.

Round #3-Dennis Johnson-Average at best. Shows some flashes as a pass rusher but isn't a great athlete and the pro game has shown his weaknesses.

Round #4-Can't remember who we picked here.

Round #5-Again can't remember who we picked here.

Round #6-Josh Scobey-Serviceable return man. Decent pick.

Round #7-??????

 

[joeshmo]

Round #4-Can't remember who we picked here.

Round #5-Again can't remember who we picked here.

Round #7-??????

Nate Dwyer, Jason McCaddley, Mike Banks

 

[vikesfan]

This is why the team is in such bad shape. Look at all those higher end picks the team had. They really could have gone to town.

 

[football karma]

You have captured the essence as to why this team hasnt won more--

the drafts have been horrible, and that goes farther back than 2001

 

[azdad1978]

Round #2-KVB-A great motor but even before his injury was not a pass rusher the Cards desperately needed. A bigtime reach that high in the 2nd round.

Round #2-Micheal Stone-The ultimate flop right up there with Johnny Rutledge and Thomas Burke as the worst picks the Cards have made in the last few years.


This is where it hurts us the most. 2 reaches in the second round. I looked back at the 2nd round of this draft and look who we could have pick. Crumpler,Jenkis,Jordan,Chambers,Chad Johnson,Kendrell Bell,Smoot,Travis Henry, and Ken Lucas. All the guys I've mentioned could have helped us but instead Mac reached big time. Oh well water under the bridge now anyway. GBR!!!

 

[Phlegyas]

his 700 pounds of ass.

That made me burst out laughing.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Was McGinnis the GM? Was he the owner of the team who is in the war room and is ultimately respnsible for the fianl decision? Was McGinnis in charge of the scouting department who made the observations on these players? The answer to all these questions is no.

While McGinnis certainly does deserve a big part of the blame for the team's struggles, throwing all the blame on him, especially with draft matters, is unwarranted. Rod Graves, the Bidwill family, Ferguson and McGinnis all contributed to this team's dismal play and are all responsible for it, not only our former head coach.

 

[azdad1978]

Was McGinnis the GM? Was he the owner of the team who is in the war room and is ultimately respnsible for the fianl decision? Was McGinnis in charge of the scouting department who made the observations on these players? The answer to all these questions is no.

While McGinnis certainly does deserve a big part of the blame for the team's struggles, throwing all the blame on him, especially with draft matters, is unwarranted. Rod Graves, the Bidwill family, Ferguson and McGinnis all contributed to this team's dismal play and are all responsible for it, not only our former head coach.

True to a point but the 2001 draft was his picks. The next year they demoted Fergy to become a scout and Graves has more input and power in the 2002 and 2003 draft.

 

[CardNots]

Round #2-KVB-A great motor but even before his injury was not a pass rusher the Cards desperately needed. A bigtime reach that high in the 2nd round.

Round #2-Micheal Stone-The ultimate flop right up there with Johnny Rutledge and Thomas Burke as the worst picks the Cards have made in the last few years.


This is where it hurts us the most. 2 reaches in the second round. I looked back at the 2nd round of this draft and look who we could have pick. Crumpler,Jenkis,Jordan,Chambers,Chad Johnson,Kendrell Bell,Smoot,Travis Henry, and Ken Lucas. All the guys I've mentioned could have helped us but instead Mac reached big time. Oh well water under the bridge now anyway. GBR!!!

What about the tackle from Texas? Oftened injured but great potential. Plays for Detroit?

 

[azdad1978]

What about the tackle from Texas? Oftened injured but great potential. Plays for Detroit?

Shaun Rogers?

 

[CardNots]

Shaun Rogers?

Thanks! Shaun is the DT I was thinking about.

 

[nidan]

So let me get this straight ...

You are suggesting that recent drafts including last year were probably authored by Mac.

Now if this is accurate then doesn't that suggest that maybe Rod isn't as clueless as some have suggested.

If your assumption is correct then maybe Rod is on top of things, ie He didn't like Mac's drafts so he brought in a new HC who can draft better than Mac.

Now isn't that and interesting possiblity.

 

[nidan]

Was McGinnis the GM? Was he the owner of the team who is in the war room and is ultimately respnsible for the fianl decision? Was McGinnis in charge of the scouting department who made the observations on these players? The answer to all these questions is no.

While McGinnis certainly does deserve a big part of the blame for the team's struggles, throwing all the blame on him, especially with draft matters, is unwarranted. Rod Graves, the Bidwill family, Ferguson and McGinnis all contributed to this team's dismal play and are all responsible for it, not only our former head coach.

One could argue why are you being such an appologist for Mac, I mean if he was the author of the drafts then he should be held accountable.

As far as the GM, as the "boss" I can delgate authority for anything. The assumption here is that authority has been largely delegated to the HC for some time, who knows if this is accurate but it is at least as likely as the alternatives.

 

[Duckjake]

Come on everybody knows the guy calling the shots is Bill Sr.'s longtime buddy George Boone.

Nobody else could be that bad.

Actually if you look at most of the choices they are "nice" guys who helped the Cardinals finish last. Maybe an overreaction to the David Boston/SiMEon Rice selections? Somebody set the Cards on a course to only take those kinds of players. Who was it? We'll find out in a few years when some reporter gets around to writing about it. I think the NFL has like a 5 year waiting period before the press can print what goes on "behind the scenes".

Just look how many times skorp says he can only divulge so much of what he's learned about the team.

 

[HookemCards]

Its hard to say how bad the drafts were over that time because of the poor coaching. While alot of those guys appear to be busts, some may eventually pan out.

KVB...has only really played in 3 games his rookie year, then played all the games the following year, but may not have been full strength.

Wilson...he's got all the physical talent he needs, maybe with good coaching he can be alot better.

Bryant...again from what Skkorp said is busting his but to impress the new coaching staff.

Pace....played out of position his rookie year, and wasn't taught any pass rushing moves by the coaching staff.

These guys may not respond to the new coaching staff, but at this point I don't think it would be fair to call them busts, we don't know if they don't have talent or weren't coached properly.

 

[nidan]

Come on everybody knows the guy calling the shots is Bill Sr.'s longtime buddy George Boone.

Sure we do, how could anybody have not realized that, except it seems M Bidwill is effectivly in charge now, which tends to disprove that theory.

 

[Duckjake]

Sure we do, how could anybody have not realized that, except it seems M Bidwill is effectivly in charge now, which tends to disprove that theory.

Michael is an attorney not a football guy why would he try to pick players? Operations, contracts, media relations, new stadium, bumping off Bruno Tattaglia, sure but players???

Boone is Mr. Bidwill's long time pal and head of scouting with 40+ years experience. Who do you think has had the final say in ranking the college players for the Cardinals? An attorney????

Maybe Graves has pushed Boone aside and he and Green will be doing the final evaluations and making the decisions on where guys go on their board. We could get some indication of that on Saturday.

 

[CardShark]

Mac was the consummate yes man for the organization. He was not in charge of the draft. Fergie and Graves were. Mac took alot of heat for things beyond his control. But his staff did fail to coach those picks properly.
As far as the scouting department, I was under the impression that they were already purged by Green.

 

[Lomax to Green 84]

McGinnis did call the shots in 2001 and 2002

When Mac was hired Bill Bidwill Sr. said all football related decisions would go through Coach McGinnis. Bob Fergesun admitted publically that he was nothing more than a glorified scout and had no real power in terms of who the Cards picked up in free agency or in the draft. Sure Fergesun had the GM title but Bidwill made it clear that McGinnis was calling the shots. It wasn't until Fergesun left and Rod Graves was given authority over all football related decisions that Graves took over.

Would Graves have been given authority over draft day decisions in 03 if Mac had done a better job in 01 and 02? Not likely.

 

[maddogkf]

Bidwill

BIDWILL

 

[nidan]

Mac was the consummate yes man for the organization. He was not in charge of the draft. Fergie and Graves were. Mac took alot of heat for things beyond his control.

How do you know that ?

 

[kerouac9]

Mac was the consummate yes man for the organization. He was not in charge of the draft. Fergie and Graves were. Mac took alot of heat for things beyond his control. But his staff did fail to coach those picks properly.
As far as the scouting department, I was under the impression that they were already purged by Green.

Were you aware that Dave McGinnis has worked eighteen years in the league?

 

[WildBB]

YES the Cardinals are guilty of reaching for their picks in the past. It's what happens when you draft for need and not BPA. They always drafted for need. They'll do that somewhat this year as well, but the need will be very close to BPA: (for instance a DT or CB in the 2nd and 3rd rounds). You can probobly bet on that, possibly a LB. Two or three of those positions WILL be addressed early and indeed they could make a case where those particular players slid to them. Anyway everyone drafts SOME on need and contractual considerations, (the business aspect of the game).

The point has also been made that the picks had talent, but were DEVELOPED POORLY. That will be the case with Bryant I believe. Fisher was an injury waiting to happen. KVB, everyone loves the guy, but you couldn't forsee his injury run. Injuries are a big part of the NFL. Swann was a great player until (the Eagles I think) kept Crack-back blocking him at the knees, and the NFL offices never did squat about it!

Everyone has problems drafting, look at the Steelers lately. Giving big signing bonuses for the 1st rounders, who've never played a down in the league is counter productive to these guys' motivation, MANY times. They've already got the dough!