Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
1. Good for Jason Licht. His hiring with apparent control over personnel and the draft is another very strong indication of how highly the Cardinals' personnel people are viewed around the league these days. Man, that happened fast, didn't it? What did it take? One year?
2. Good for the Cardinals and P Dave Zastudil. Not only is an auspicious sign that the Cardinals are already making some progress with their own free agents, the genuine excitement Zastudil expressed about the Cardinals as a team and an organization sets an exemplary tone for what is going to be a fascinating and potentially dynamic off-season.
3. Keim's three year plan. He's been referring to this plan and how it relates to the building of the team and getting the salary cap to work to the Cardinals' advantage---but---one gets the sense that particularly in light of the fact that the Super Bowl next year is in Arizona---that steps will be taken to try to give the Cardinals an optimal chance to compete for the trophy. I think there are going to be two or three very surprising moves made this off-season in an attempt to go all the way this year.
4. Mock draft mockery. Mock drafts this time of year are pretty much a waste of time because of what is going to transpire in free agency. So many of these early mocks have the Cardinals taking an OT at #20...but, if the Cardinals sign a FA LT, as expected, the odds of them drafting a tackle at #20 and slim to none and slim just was seen driving toward the Mexican border with the ghost of Walter White riding shotgun.
5. Not settling for mediocrity. When BA was lamenting after the season about teams in the NFL never being the same from one year to the next, his lament was more from the standpoint of having to let guys he likes as men go. Case in point: K Jay Feely. BA let it be known that "I love Jay to death"...but followed that up with the caveat the he wished Feely would have managed to kick the kickoff down the middle. The surprises I alluded to in point 3 are in reference to addition/subtractions that could well be made at RB, LT, RG, RT, TE, WR, DE/DT, OLB, SS, CB and K where a strong case for upgrades can be made. What BA&SK have going for them in this regard is a growing perception around the league that Arizona is a great place to be and that their cap guru Mike Disner can pull all the necessary strings to accommodate the coaches' wishes.
At RB---there's thought that Rashard Mendenhall will be re-signed. But, as much as BA loves Mendy, the man, it would be surprising if BA loves Mendy over some other intriguing options. Let me give you three RBs to keep an eye on: Maurice Jones-Drew, Ben Tate and Donald Brown. Wild card: LeGarrette Blount.
At LT---the three there are Brandon Albert, Jared Veldheer and Eugene Monroe. Wild card: Anthony Collins.
At RG---Travelle Wharton, Geoff Schwartz, Chad Rhinehart. Wild card: Richie Incognito.
At RT---Michael Oher, Charles Brown, Zach Strief. Wild card: Rodger Saffold.
At. TE---Jermichael Finley, Dennis Pitta, Brandon Myers. Wild card: Dustin Keller.
At WR---Jeremy Maclin, Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders. Wild card: Dexter McCluster.
At DE/DT---Randy Starks, Jason Hatcher, Lamarr Houston. Wild card: Ziggy Hood.
At OLB---Brian Orakpo, Robert Ayers, Anthony Spencer. Wild card: Jason Worilds.
At SS---T.J. Ward, Antoine Bethea, Chris Clemons. Wild card: Stevie Brown.
At CB---Charles Tillman, Vontae Davis, Sam Shields. Wild card: Chris Cook.
At K--- Seven Hauschka, Nick Folk, Graham Gano. Wild card: Adam Vinatieri.
Obviously, many of these UFAs are long shots---but, like I said, there may be a couple of surprises here.
6. Not so fast, MJ. MJ was saying yesterday that he found Richard Sherman's post-game rant very entertaining and could find nothing wrong with it. Part of MJ's argument was that the NFL is for entertainment and no one should hold a moral compass to the NFL. However, the issues that I see, especially as one who works every day with today's youth, are manifold. One, football is a kid's game played by grown men on a national stage---and in today's society it is a terrible message for kids who follow the NFL to see a player have the moment be all about HIM and not his team, and to publicly use that forum to trash another player. These are major steps backward for those who try very diligently with today's kids to steer them away from the prevailing narcissism and classless, malevolent treatment of others. Even Sherman, to his credit, has expressed regret for his self-aggrandizing rant. I hope the notions of sportsmanship and teamwork are not lost on members of the media as they apparently were on MJ. Now I normally value MJ's opinions and I think he can be very insightful (which is why i tune in to his show), but this time I really wonder if he had thought through the major issue before he reacted the way he did. What I would ask him is---would he want his own son to behave like that?
7. Throwing to big targets. The more I think about Carson Palmer and the way he throws the ball (high release point), the more I wonder whether the Cardinals should keep looking to add big targets at the WR and TE positions. Rumor has it that the Cardinals are intrigued with TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (6-6, 267, Washington)...and with good reason. ASJ not only has the length but he has the athletic ability to go with it. The question is---would the Cardinals have interest in either or both of the monster WRs in this draft: Mike Evans (6-5, 225, Texas A&M) and Kelvin Benjamin (6-4, 232, Florida St.)? It may be a moot point as both could be taken before #20...but it would be interesting to know. A couple of bigs whom the Cardinals could have interest in outside of the top 100 are TE C.J. Fiedorowicz (6-7, 265, Iowa) and WR Brandon Coleman (6-5, 220, Rutgers). I've seen both of these players and was impressed. CJF had a huge game versus Michigan his junior year and I remember thinking then that he would be a TE to keep an eye on---and Brandon Coleman had a big day versus Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium this past bowl season.
8. A big CB in this upcoming draft that could be just what the Cardinals need is Stanley Jean-Baptiste (6-3, 220, Nebraska)---carries his length well, plays with quick feet, good closing speed and very good ball skills. He looks like he could be a real multi-purpose asset in coverage, particularly in using his size, speed and anticipation to cover TEs. The S I really like is Deone Bucannon (6-1, 192, Washington), who has the similar cover abilities and is a big hitter.
9. The way the draft is already shaping up---it looks like at #20 there will be some fantastic defensive linemen on the board. This may give the Cardinals all the more incentive to get their main needs addressed in FA, because in terms of value there are going to be 3-4 outstanding defensive linemen who go in the 20s. Nix, Truitt, Jernigan, Hageman, Donald, etc.
10. Snow Day Mock:
UFA Signings---Arizona:
LT---Brandon Albert
RT---Eric Winston
TE---Dennis Pitta
WR---Emmanuel Sanders
RB---Donald Brown
DE---Matt Shaughnessy
LB---Karlos Dansby
CB---Chris Cook
PK---Nick Folk
Draft:
1. Ra'Shede Hageman, DE/DT, Minnesota
2. Deone Bucannon, S, Washington St.
3. Zach Mettenberger, QB, LSU
4. C.J. Feidorowicz, TE, Iowa
5. Jalen Saunders, WR, Oklahoma
6. Ross Cockrell, CB, Duke
2. Good for the Cardinals and P Dave Zastudil. Not only is an auspicious sign that the Cardinals are already making some progress with their own free agents, the genuine excitement Zastudil expressed about the Cardinals as a team and an organization sets an exemplary tone for what is going to be a fascinating and potentially dynamic off-season.
3. Keim's three year plan. He's been referring to this plan and how it relates to the building of the team and getting the salary cap to work to the Cardinals' advantage---but---one gets the sense that particularly in light of the fact that the Super Bowl next year is in Arizona---that steps will be taken to try to give the Cardinals an optimal chance to compete for the trophy. I think there are going to be two or three very surprising moves made this off-season in an attempt to go all the way this year.
4. Mock draft mockery. Mock drafts this time of year are pretty much a waste of time because of what is going to transpire in free agency. So many of these early mocks have the Cardinals taking an OT at #20...but, if the Cardinals sign a FA LT, as expected, the odds of them drafting a tackle at #20 and slim to none and slim just was seen driving toward the Mexican border with the ghost of Walter White riding shotgun.
5. Not settling for mediocrity. When BA was lamenting after the season about teams in the NFL never being the same from one year to the next, his lament was more from the standpoint of having to let guys he likes as men go. Case in point: K Jay Feely. BA let it be known that "I love Jay to death"...but followed that up with the caveat the he wished Feely would have managed to kick the kickoff down the middle. The surprises I alluded to in point 3 are in reference to addition/subtractions that could well be made at RB, LT, RG, RT, TE, WR, DE/DT, OLB, SS, CB and K where a strong case for upgrades can be made. What BA&SK have going for them in this regard is a growing perception around the league that Arizona is a great place to be and that their cap guru Mike Disner can pull all the necessary strings to accommodate the coaches' wishes.
At RB---there's thought that Rashard Mendenhall will be re-signed. But, as much as BA loves Mendy, the man, it would be surprising if BA loves Mendy over some other intriguing options. Let me give you three RBs to keep an eye on: Maurice Jones-Drew, Ben Tate and Donald Brown. Wild card: LeGarrette Blount.
At LT---the three there are Brandon Albert, Jared Veldheer and Eugene Monroe. Wild card: Anthony Collins.
At RG---Travelle Wharton, Geoff Schwartz, Chad Rhinehart. Wild card: Richie Incognito.
At RT---Michael Oher, Charles Brown, Zach Strief. Wild card: Rodger Saffold.
At. TE---Jermichael Finley, Dennis Pitta, Brandon Myers. Wild card: Dustin Keller.
At WR---Jeremy Maclin, Golden Tate, Emmanuel Sanders. Wild card: Dexter McCluster.
At DE/DT---Randy Starks, Jason Hatcher, Lamarr Houston. Wild card: Ziggy Hood.
At OLB---Brian Orakpo, Robert Ayers, Anthony Spencer. Wild card: Jason Worilds.
At SS---T.J. Ward, Antoine Bethea, Chris Clemons. Wild card: Stevie Brown.
At CB---Charles Tillman, Vontae Davis, Sam Shields. Wild card: Chris Cook.
At K--- Seven Hauschka, Nick Folk, Graham Gano. Wild card: Adam Vinatieri.
Obviously, many of these UFAs are long shots---but, like I said, there may be a couple of surprises here.
6. Not so fast, MJ. MJ was saying yesterday that he found Richard Sherman's post-game rant very entertaining and could find nothing wrong with it. Part of MJ's argument was that the NFL is for entertainment and no one should hold a moral compass to the NFL. However, the issues that I see, especially as one who works every day with today's youth, are manifold. One, football is a kid's game played by grown men on a national stage---and in today's society it is a terrible message for kids who follow the NFL to see a player have the moment be all about HIM and not his team, and to publicly use that forum to trash another player. These are major steps backward for those who try very diligently with today's kids to steer them away from the prevailing narcissism and classless, malevolent treatment of others. Even Sherman, to his credit, has expressed regret for his self-aggrandizing rant. I hope the notions of sportsmanship and teamwork are not lost on members of the media as they apparently were on MJ. Now I normally value MJ's opinions and I think he can be very insightful (which is why i tune in to his show), but this time I really wonder if he had thought through the major issue before he reacted the way he did. What I would ask him is---would he want his own son to behave like that?
7. Throwing to big targets. The more I think about Carson Palmer and the way he throws the ball (high release point), the more I wonder whether the Cardinals should keep looking to add big targets at the WR and TE positions. Rumor has it that the Cardinals are intrigued with TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (6-6, 267, Washington)...and with good reason. ASJ not only has the length but he has the athletic ability to go with it. The question is---would the Cardinals have interest in either or both of the monster WRs in this draft: Mike Evans (6-5, 225, Texas A&M) and Kelvin Benjamin (6-4, 232, Florida St.)? It may be a moot point as both could be taken before #20...but it would be interesting to know. A couple of bigs whom the Cardinals could have interest in outside of the top 100 are TE C.J. Fiedorowicz (6-7, 265, Iowa) and WR Brandon Coleman (6-5, 220, Rutgers). I've seen both of these players and was impressed. CJF had a huge game versus Michigan his junior year and I remember thinking then that he would be a TE to keep an eye on---and Brandon Coleman had a big day versus Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium this past bowl season.
8. A big CB in this upcoming draft that could be just what the Cardinals need is Stanley Jean-Baptiste (6-3, 220, Nebraska)---carries his length well, plays with quick feet, good closing speed and very good ball skills. He looks like he could be a real multi-purpose asset in coverage, particularly in using his size, speed and anticipation to cover TEs. The S I really like is Deone Bucannon (6-1, 192, Washington), who has the similar cover abilities and is a big hitter.
9. The way the draft is already shaping up---it looks like at #20 there will be some fantastic defensive linemen on the board. This may give the Cardinals all the more incentive to get their main needs addressed in FA, because in terms of value there are going to be 3-4 outstanding defensive linemen who go in the 20s. Nix, Truitt, Jernigan, Hageman, Donald, etc.
10. Snow Day Mock:
UFA Signings---Arizona:
LT---Brandon Albert
RT---Eric Winston
TE---Dennis Pitta
WR---Emmanuel Sanders
RB---Donald Brown
DE---Matt Shaughnessy
LB---Karlos Dansby
CB---Chris Cook
PK---Nick Folk
Draft:
1. Ra'Shede Hageman, DE/DT, Minnesota
2. Deone Bucannon, S, Washington St.
3. Zach Mettenberger, QB, LSU
4. C.J. Feidorowicz, TE, Iowa
5. Jalen Saunders, WR, Oklahoma
6. Ross Cockrell, CB, Duke
