So long Leonard

[Cbus cardsfan]

Well at least we're in good cap shape . That seems to be the only criteria that Graves is graded on. I'm not thoroughly disgusted with the move but the Cards were caught in a bind on this one and took the easy way out. He hasn't performed like an 11 million/year player but you can't continually let your best players walk away for nothing. Who is the last top 10 player the Cards have drafted that they have retained after their initial contract? I can't think of any. I think you have to go all the way back to Eric Swann. Davis has been jerked around with position and coaching changes his whole career and is just starting to settle in and they let him go because he wants paid. They can spin it any way they want but they don't want to pay the price to keep him. THAT'S how the Bidwill's get their cheap label. There's no other front office in the league that's sitting 700 million under the cap and would let their best OL leave.

 

[BACH]

You stand corrected. We can always rescind the tag if we get no takers. What an absolutely gutless, stupid move by Graves and co. We could easily have gotten something in trade for him, at the least a 2nd rounder. Teams are going to be willing to pay him the big bucks anyway, and would have been willing to pony up a draft pick or two as well. Ugh.

Actually, that's not true.

It's true as long Big doesn't sign the one year contract that the franchise tag really is.

If we had slapped a $11M yearly salary on Big don't you think he would have taken it? Then we would be stuck with Big and his $11M salary with little or no chance of trading him.

Woodson did it with the Raiders two years ago. They wanted compensation for letting him go, instead they had to pay Woodson $10.5M while rebounding from injury.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

You stand corrected. We can always rescind the tag if we get no takers. What an absolutely gutless, stupid move by Graves and co. We could easily have gotten something in trade for him, at the least a 2nd rounder. Teams are going to be willing to pay him the big bucks anyway, and would have been willing to pony up a draft pick or two as well. Ugh.

I have no problem at all with this move. If the Cards tag him...what happens if LD wants to sign and the Cards are just using the tag as a ploy for a trade, hoping like hell that another team wants him. How would it look in the press, then, if the Cards recind the tag because of no takers and LD comes out and says he was ready to sign the deal from day 1? I think that would be a bigger PR nightmare for the Cards.

 

[Southpaw]

Cardinal's draft Peterson or Quinn for Houston Texans. If Levi Brown is sitting at Houston's spot, they grab Levi for Cardinals. Houston then swaps those picks and Cards get additional pick(s) for making deal. Cards don't have to pay top 5 money for Thomas, and get Brown who is at least equal to Joe. Worst case scenario, Cards keep Peterson or deal Quinn. Somehow I want Cards to get Jon Beason LB at end of 1st or early 2nd out of this deal. LT and OLB/MLB would be a fantasy scenario. So much for Davis's contract. The great Russ Grimm can tutor Brown into having a respectable rookie year.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I have no problem at all with this move. If the Cards tag him...what happens if LD wants to sign and the Cards are just using the tag as a ploy for a trade, hoping like hell that another team wants him. How would it look in the press, then, if the Cards recind the tag because of no takers and LD comes out and says he was ready to sign the deal from day 1? I think that would be a bigger PR nightmare for the Cards.

I don't think that it gets worse from a PR move to let him go for nothing. If the fans wanted him gone, they wouldn't care if he were ready to sign.

With the way that Whiz supposedly likes to stock draft picks, this truly makes no sense.



Not a good start for Whiz and Co.

 

[JD Robertson]

I don't get why everyone is so upset. There was a thread on "the drive killer" during the season. I also remember people saying how he is the one who got Matt killed by missing a block.

If the coaching staff doesn't think he is worth the money then so be it. Everyone thought he was lazy and unmotivated then the season is over and it's we have to tag Big. I don't think so.

This offensive line will be better w/Grimm and I trust his opinion. Tough decisions are hard to make and don't always please the fans. Whis just made a huge call and let it be known that you have to work hard all season every season if you want to be on this team and get paid the big bucks. Kudos to him to set that mind set early.

JD

 

[az jam]

I don't get why everyone is so upset. There was a thread on "the drive killer" during the season. I also remember people saying how he is the one who got Matt killed by missing a block.

If the coaching staff doesn't think he is worth the money then so be it. Everyone thought he was lazy and unmotivated then the season is over and it's we have to tag Big. I don't think so.

This offensive line will be better w/Grimm and I trust his opinion. Tough decisions are hard to make and don't always please the fans. Whis just made a huge call and let it be known that you have to work hard all season every season if you want to be on this team and get paid the big bucks. Kudos to him to set that mind set early.
JD

An excellent post that I totally agree with. Grimm's opinion was a key component of this decision.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

“But when you look at the situation on the whole and take everything into account, we don’t feel that the investment that would be required to keep him is equal to the performance."

"It’s not about cap room or trying to make it fit, but it’s about paying the right value for Leonard Davis.”

That says it all ... if he does come back it will be for less money ..

I don't like the idea of not getting anything for him, but its time to move on and with Davis and his laid back attitude this may be the best for all involved ... now we need to find an LT .. or the coaching staff saw something in Gorin, M. Brown .. ?? or can I really say this ... Ross ... ouch ..

 

[blindseyed]

So was this move done in the hopes we can pick up Starks?

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

http://www.azcardinals.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=1551

Graves said the team has not ruled out the possibility of Davis returning to the Cardinals in 2007. “That would depend on what transpires and how the circumstances play out. It’s not about cap room or trying to make it fit, but it’s about paying the right value for Leonard Davis.”

So, instead of guaranteeing that Big gets seriously overpaid, they're going to let him explore the free agent market and establish whether or not he is an "elite" tackle.

Kudos to Rob Graves and The Whis.

Good riddance to excess baggage.

 

[Pariah]

What a bad, bad decision.

Why is it every single season I have to ask the same question to the fans on this board: Why do you care if Davis is overpaid? It's not your money. To you, it's play-money--money that generally goes unspent before the season begins.

Congratulations, Bidwills. You saved some money and left (another) gaping hole to fill on the offensive line.

God, this is getting old.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

What a bad, bad decision.

Why is it every single season I have to ask the same question to the fans on this board: Why do you care if Davis is overpaid? It's not your money. To you, it's play-money--money that generally goes unspent before the season begins.

Congratulations, Bidwills. You saved some money and left (another) gaping hole to fill on the offensive line.

God, this is getting old.

It's not the money, per se...it's the inappropriate use of it.

Big ain't wort $11 mil/year, no matter how many ways from Tuesday you slice it.

 

[Pariah]

It's not the money, per se...it's the inappropriate use of it.

Big ain't wort $11 mil/year, no matter how many ways from Tuesday you slice it.

Then sign him to a long term deal.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

It's not the money, per se...it's the inappropriate use of it.

Big ain't wort $11 mil/year, no matter how many ways from Tuesday you slice it.

Then sign him to a long term deal.

Or trade him for a pick.

Hell, we don't have a 6th rounder this year. Getting a 6th would have been getting "SOMETHING".

 

[seesred]

Most of us believe in the new head coach. He say's they evaluated the tapes and found that he would not fit in at the money he wants. In other woirds he didn'y play that well. All that size and potential never came to the top consistantly. IMO Davis was to nice a guy. Mild persona. Quite. He just is not mean enough to scare defenses. So it's good by Big Guy and I wish you well except against us.

As far as trading the big fellow I'm not sure how all that works.Do we put the tag on and hope someone will take him off our hands at over 11 million for a season or he gets an extension from the new team? Or could it back fire on us?

In the Wiz I trust.

GBR
40

 

[njlawrence]

Potential don't feed the bull-dog.

Why pay Hummer prices for a Jeep?

With FA and the draft coming up, why on earth would Graves and Whiz share their plan with the world?

Hire good people (Whiz and Tony Soprano) and trust their decisions. You gotta believe they watched a lot of film and saw what they needed to see, or didn't see.

Can't wait to be on the other end of those false start penalties when we play the 49's!!!

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

Then sign him to a long term deal.

And what says the Card wont ultimately do that?

Their just not going to tag him.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

They must have seen what I saw .. a lazy unmotivated player with loads of talent ... a tough decision, but one that had to be made .. now lets get to work on building this Oline correctly once and for all ...

 

[azdad1978]

I'll reserve judgement after the FA and the draft. But IMO this is a stupid move by TPTB, get a draft pick for LD. Heck trade him for a six pack for crying out loud.

 

[Duckjake]

So, instead of guaranteeing that Big gets seriously overpaid, they're going to let him explore the free agent market and establish whether or not he is an "elite" tackle.

Kudos to Rob Graves and The Whis.

Good riddance to excess baggage.

Sounds like what happened with Jamir Miller. I don't trust the Cards to make the right decision because they never have.

As for David Boston, Frank Sanders and Jake Plummer it took the Cards #1 in 2003 their #2 in 2003 their #1 in 2004 and the #1 in 2006 to replace them. No wonder Whiz is lamenting the lack of depth on the team.

Since letting those losers go the Cards have averaged 5-11 and had the distinction of finishing dead last in points scored and points allowed in 2003 and fired two coaches.

Funny how we've gone from chastising Green for getting rid of Kendall and Shelton to praising Graves for getting rid of LDavis.

What difference does paying some player 10% of the salary cap make when you still have over 80 million left and 46 guys make less than 1 million? I sure hope they plan on bringing in some million dollar+ talent with all that extra money to replace those lower paid guys

LDavis was frustratingly inconsistent but he is far better than any other Tackle on the roster and now FA slots and draft picks that could be used to improve the lack of depth will have to be used to replace him instead.


Garrison Hearst - 49ers
Jamir Miller - Browns
Simeon Rice- Tampa
Tom Knight-Pats,Rams
LJ Shelton - Miami
David Boston-San Diego,Miami,Tampa
Thomas Jones-Chicago
LDavis????

What a legacy.

 

[Renz]

As the Bard would say, "What's done is done". If Whis and Grimm didn't think he was worth keeping then I can live with it.

I don't think Whis and Grimm would have let Davis walk if they didn't think he could be replaced. I'll trust their football knowledge until proven otherwise.

 

[Renz]

Garrison Hearst - 49ers
Jamir Miller - Browns
Simeon Rice- Tampa
Tom Knight-Pats,Rams
LJ Shelton - Miami
David Boston-San Diego,Miami,Tampa
Thomas Jones-Chicago
LDavis????

What a legacy.

Tom Knight? Are you kidding me? Getting rid of Boston was also a good move.

 

[nurnay]

I'm firmly in the camp that is OK with letting him go, but not for nothing. They should have at least used the transition tag on him. Horrible move by the Cards just letting him walk. This year sucks for FA OT's, so at least we could have gotten a draft pick or two out of it.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Garrison Hearst - 49ers <--Debateable, but no big deal
Jamir Miller - Browns <--Loved him as a player and this was a mistake
Simeon Rice- Tampa <--We had no choice in this matter
Tom Knight-Pats,Rams <-- Horrible bust
LJ Shelton - Miami <--Not bothered by this move
David Boston-San Diego,Miami,Tampa <--Great move in hindsight
Thomas Jones-Chicago <--Was never used properly and this was a mistake
LDavis???? <--I am very underwhelmed by the need to keep him considering money and productivity

What a legacy.

That's my take....

 

[abomb]

It's not the money, per se...it's the inappropriate use of it.

Big ain't wort $11 mil/year, no matter how many ways from Tuesday you slice it.

Some team will pay him that much. It's what the market is going to bear.