Some Player Notes Going Into Tomorrow Night's Game

[Mitch]

As I said, if you're talking about doing so for a few downs per game, sure... Otherwise, we need to pressure the QB and play cover packages that provide the least possibility for our pieces of bread to become burnt toast...
Rolle is a first rounder, struggling to find a way to get on the field... sad...

I just added to my last response...check it out, 82...when one can usually tell a team is going into island coverage on one side.

 

[82CardsGrad]

I just added to my last response...check it out, 82...when one can usually tell a team is going into island coverage on one side.

I see what you're saying Mitch. I still contend that you can not construct your entire defensive scheme around this concept. I don't know of one NFL team that does this. And for good reason. With our lack of skills in the secondary, this issue is further compounded...
Look, I want to see Rolle succeed. I don't like watching first rounders fail... But the truth is often harsh in the NFL... Rolle is not a NFL CB. And we should not be attempting to build some exotic defense that will only further expose one of our biggest weaknesses (lack of cover skills), just to find a way to get a first rounder on the field...

 

[kerouac9]

There are only 8 corners (MAYBE) in the entire NFL who can be left out on an island in the way that Walt describes with any consistency, and all but one (Champ Bailey) has a pretty formidible pass rush in front of them.

What Mr. Mitchell doesn't note is that those Cover-2 corners have safety help over the top of them, as well as a MLB covering the deep seam (which Gerald Hayes is unable to do), and a significant pass rush from only the front four. Pendergast can't run a Tampa 2 because he doesn't have Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Exactly...

Mitch, you can only trick the laws of the game for so long buddy... Eventually, there comes a time when a CB has to be able to cover. Rolle is a CB who can't cover, hence he is toast... Sure, you might be able to run a scheme as you describe for a few plays a game I guess, but there is simply no way you can build your defensive unit around such a concept.

And as for Pace, I agree with you that he should have never been moved to OLB. However, that did just occur this year and even then, his main role is as a pass rusher and NOT a typical OLB role...
Buddy - he sucks... Regardless of where he lines up or how many glass windows he chooses to jump through, he sucks... No heart and No brains do not make a good NFL-caliber player...

Really I think you are flat out wrong on this one. I rememeber Pace having a very prodcutive close to the season after he injured his arm in that insane wrestling incident and thinking "Hey - with some more reps at DE this could be a pass rushing force."

I'm not sure what happened but i think this was right about the time Denny decided the ingenious idea of moving him to LB, taking completly away from his comfort zone of just getting to the passer. The irony of all this is that maybe he could be a force as a strictly pass rushing OLB in a 3 -4 but stupid Denny converted at a time we ran a 4-3 when you HAVE to have all you LB's be able to cover and clog lanes. Completely nonsensical.

I don't know if the damage is irrereprable but I sure hope not.

For what its worth i mentioned it a couple days ago and I will say it again. Rolle should be playing that OLB positon. I think what he lacks in pure size he will make up for in pursuit and tackling ability. Plus I agree he is probably the best blitzer we don't know about on this team. To me the perfect defense for Rolle if you want to keep him at CB is a Cover 2 like Ronde Barber and his defeciencies in coverage could be masked. I could be wrong but its IMHO.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Really I think you are flat out wrong on this one. I rememeber Pace having a very prodcutive close to the season after he injured his arm in that insane wrestling incident and thinking "Hey - with some more reps at DE this could be a pass rushing force."

I'm not sure what happened but i think this was right about the time Denny decided the ingenious idea of moving him to LB, taking completly away from his comfort zone of just getting to the passer. The irony of all this is that maybe he could be a force as a strictly pass rushing OLB in a 3 -4 but stupid Denny converted at a time we ran a 4-3 when you HAVE to have all you LB's be able to cover and clog lanes. Completely nonsensical.

I don't know if the damage is irrereprable but I sure hope not.

For what its worth i mentioned it a couple days ago and I will say it again. Rolle should be playing that OLB positon. I think what he lacks in pure size he will make up for in pursuit and tackling ability. Plus I agree he is probably the best blitzer we don't know about on this team. To me the perfect defense for Rolle if you want to keep him at CB is a Cover 2 like Ronde Barber and his defeciencies in coverage could be masked. I could be wrong but its IMHO.

Uh... Ok... Pace is really a Charles Haley in disguise. And Rolle? Yea - perhaps the next Gregg Lloyd or L.T. even??

 

[kerouac9]

Really I think you are flat out wrong on this one. I rememeber Pace having a very prodcutive close to the season after he injured his arm in that insane wrestling incident and thinking "Hey - with some more reps at DE this could be a pass rushing force."

Last season was the season after his non-football injury. If you were impressed with his potential then, you were impressed with his potential as a linebacker. Although I'm not sure how that is possible, because he mostly played special teams last season after getting bounced from the lineup when Dansby came back. He had the same amount of sacks as he did in 2005: 1.

Basically, people here are defending Jamal Reynolds. 7.5 sacks in 4 NFL seasons. Good grief. His 4.5 sacks in 2004 were as a part-time player. Totally gutless and undependable. Not even LVCardfreak bothers to defend Calvin Pace anymore.

 

[kerouac9]

If we wanted to bring in a Tampa 2 disciple to be our next DC, we could move Pace to RDE (where his pass-rushing lack would be hidden some on the strong side, and he wouldn't be depended on), Dockett back to UT, keep the rotation of Branch and Watson, and convert Rolle to a weakside OLB like Cato June. The problem would be that we wasted money on Terrance Holt, who probably doesn't have the range to be a Tampa 2 FS--and definitely doesn't have the coverage ability. I also don't know what you would do with Karlos Dansby.

 

[ItsInTheCards]

If we wanted to bring in a Tampa 2 disciple to be our next DC, we could move Pace to RDE (where his pass-rushing lack would be hidden some on the strong side, and he wouldn't be depended on), Dockett back to UT, keep the rotation of Branch and Watson, and convert Rolle to a weakside OLB like Cato June. The problem would be that we wasted money on Terrance Holt, who probably doesn't have the range to be a Tampa 2 FS--and definitely doesn't have the coverage ability. I also don't know what you would do with Karlos Dansby.

WWRD? (what would Rivera do?)

and to think that apparently Graves wanted him really bad, but the boys upstairs wanted an offensive coach

 

[Mitch]

Uh... Ok... Pace is really a Charles Haley in disguise. And Rolle? Yea - perhaps the next Gregg Lloyd or L.T. even??

82...you are way over-reacting here.

If a player has shown at one time he can be decent to good at one thing, there is reason to believe he can be again if put in the position to do so. Pace was making real progress at RDE before he was hurt and then moved to LB.

And, albeit unorthodox, teams have put players in hybrid type positions and gotten great mileage out of them. case in point, when Fritz Schurmer decided to use Pat Tillman as his MLB in his Jumbo defense, which he ran on a steady basis the second half of the year he did it. Pat Tillman was awesome in that role.

Also, getting back to coaching experience, all coaches are faced with the same issues regarding pass coverage. Football is football. The reality is it's very difficult to defend 80 yards of open turf...and the problems one encounters are the same...especially if you are going to try to double team a great WR or TE...

Part of my frustration with CP is that it seems as if no WR is intentionally double teamed in his defenses. The safeties will tilt at times, but they won't commit. Sometimes you HAVE to double team...like the Cards should have against Torry Holt when he was personally destroying them and their chances to win that football game.

What I used to do is double team the best WR with my worst CB under and my second best safety deep...because I wanted my best corner to play the island and my best safety to cover the middle. It's amazing how, when the opponents know their best WR is getting double teamed how they don't even try to throw to him. This is what coaches hope for because they are gambling that the other team won't be able to beat theirs with their other receivers...and because of the physchological advantage created by taking away the #1 option.

The Cards could decide to double team every #1 WR they play against---many snaps a game, and Rolle could be the under CB on every snap that way...and he won't have to hold because he will know he has deep help.

 

[kerouac9]

WWRD? (what would Rivera do?)

and to think that apparently Graves wanted him really bad, but the boys upstairs wanted an offensive coach

I don't think that Rivera was a Tampa-2 coach. Lovie Smith is, but Rivera coached under Jim Johnson in that press/blitzing scheme in Philly before his two-year stint in Chicago.

For what it's worth, I wasn't impressed at all by Rivera. The fact that so many teams backed away from him speaks a lot about his potential. I also think that you can't trust Rod Graves to make good personnel decisions. We'll see if you can trust Michael Bidwill with them.

 

[82CardsGrad]

82...you are way over-reacting here.

If a player has shown at one time he can be decent to good at one thing, there is reason to believe he can be again if put in the position to do so. Pace was making real progress at RDE before he was hurt and then moved to LB.

And, albeit unorthodox, teams have put players in hybrid type positions and gotten great mileage out of them. case in point, when Fritz Schurmer decided to use Pat Tillman as his MLB in his Jumbo defense, which he ran on a steady basis the second half of the year he did it. Pat Tillman was awesome in that role.

Also, getting back to coaching experience, all coaches are faced with the same issues regarding pass coverage. Football is football. The reality is it's very difficult to defend 80 yards of open turf...and the problems one encounters are the same...especially if you are going to try to double team a great WR or TE...

Part of my frustration with CP is that it seems as if no WR is intentionally double teamed in his defenses. The safeties will tilt at times, but they won't commit. Sometimes you HAVE to double team...like the Cards should have against Torry Holt when he was personally destroying them and their chances to win that football game.

What I used to do is double team the best WR with my worst CB under and my second best safety deep...because I wanted my best corner to play the island and my best safety to cover the middle. It's amazing how, when the opponents know their best WR is getting double teamed how they don't even try to throw to him. This is what coaches hope for because they are gambling that the other team won't be able to beat theirs with their other receivers...and because of the physchological advantage created by taking away the #1 option.

The Cards could decide to double team every #1 WR they play against---many snaps a game, and Rolle could be the under CB on every snap that way...and he won't have to hold because he will know he has deep help.

Ok... I agree with you that CP's defense seems to never double-cover. Why is that??

Secondly, your version of Pace's "improvement" in the time just prior to is injury is hugely overrated in my opinion...
IMO, the guy has ZERO heart and less than ZERO for brains... He literally sucks and if he weren't chosen in the first round, he'd be gone by now!

As for Rolle, I just don't know how many other ways to say it other than he is a B.U.S.T.
I am not for creating some sort of scheme that exposes our greatest defensive weakness, just to find a way to play Rolle. Can he tackle? Sure... Just don't get what's so special about that.
He is not an Adrian Wilson. AW is a beast of a person. Rolle is smaller, slower, possesses half the heart of Adrian and 1/4 of the brain cells of AW...

 

[ItsInTheCards]

I don't think that Rivera was a Tampa-2 coach. Lovie Smith is, but Rivera coached under Jim Johnson in that press/blitzing scheme in Philly before his two-year stint in Chicago.

For what it's worth, I wasn't impressed at all by Rivera. The fact that so many teams backed away from him speaks a lot about his potential. I also think that you can't trust Rod Graves to make good personnel decisions. We'll see if you can trust Michael Bidwill with them.

he'll definitely be well schooled in the 3-4 as well being the Chargers LBs coach this year

I didn't want him either, and was hoping they'd hire Chow, but the way Whis runs the O, he mayjust be the best fit

 

[SuperSpck]

Last season was the season after his non-football injury. If you were impressed with his potential then, you were impressed with his potential as a linebacker. Although I'm not sure how that is possible, because he mostly played special teams last season after getting bounced from the lineup when Dansby came back. He had the same amount of sacks as he did in 2005: 1.

Basically, people here are defending Jamal Reynolds. 7.5 sacks in 4 NFL seasons. Good grief. His 4.5 sacks in 2004 were as a part-time player. Totally gutless and undependable. Not even LVCardfreak bothers to defend Calvin Pace anymore.

I think the season I remember him having an acceptable start was the one in which he did injure himself OR the season before...

It's all kinda pointless right now though, he's a 4-3 end and that's where his only half-flash came from.

 

[lobo]

1. Anyone else kind of surprised by the decision to release QB Toby Korrodi? One could make a legitimate argument that the interception he threw on his first pass was the result of the WR (I think it was Spurlock) stopping his route. It looked like he was supposed to run an out, but he took one step toward the sideline and stopped.


Very well done. Thanks. These are compelling points....and make for good reading.

 

[BigRedArk]

7. There should be a trade this week for an OLB to fill Okeafor's spot...that way the Cardinals will have two weeks to assimilate whomever the player is into the defense. The Cards cannot afford to wait any longer and this is a must acquisition. They guy I'd love to see them acquire is the Giants' Justin Tuck (6-5, 275, 3, Notre Dame)...but with Strahan holding out the Giants may be averse to trading Tuck. Too bad the Cards released NT Kendrick Clancy...I still they they could have traded Clancy back to the Giants (who still bemoan losing him to free agency) and Tuck might have been had in such a transaction.

I wish the Cards hadn't of let Clancy go also Walter. To put that move in Southern terms....that wasn't just stupid...that was plum stupid!!! C'mon Graves!!!

He has a long history of letting players go that he could've maybe got something for....Boston, Shelton, Leonard Davis...the list goes on. How long before somebody wakes up and realizes he is giving the store away? Grrrrrrrrrr.

 

[Codeofhammurabi]

Mitch - sometimes i wish you were a paid consultant for this team.....

I am very glad he is not.

 

[az1965]

Pace is completely useless... to say he was "aggressive" is really laughable.

 

[jefftheshark]

Mitch - sometimes i wish you were a paid consultant for this team.....

If Walter was the head of player personnel, we would have the best third-string in the league, hands down.

Unfortunately, however, he would have them playing as our starters.

JTS

 

[JeffGollin]

1. Anyone else kind of surprised by the decision to release QB Toby Korrodi?
Not that cutting him was particularly earth-shattering, but he played OK for a #4 so I was kind of surprised.

To me he seemed to have a decent somewhat side-arm release and fair accuracy, but (like most newbies) his thought-processes tended to fragment when he had to make quick decisions under pressure. Boyd (though I suspect not quite so much) has those same issues, but also brings excellent mobility to the table.

My guess is that, in Campbell the coaches saw something more to work with than they did with Korrodi and made a move they felt would result in a positive net trade-off.

 

[ItsInTheCards]

1. Anyone else kind of surprised by the decision to release QB Toby Korrodi?
Not that cutting him was particularly earth-shattering, but he played OK for a #4 so I was kind of surprised.

To me he seemed to have a decent somewhat side-arm release and fair accuracy, but (like most newbies) his thought-processes tended to fragment when he had to make quick decisions under pressure. Boyd (though I suspect not quite so much) has those same issues, but also brings excellent mobility to the table.

My guess is that, in Campbell the coaches saw something more to work with than they did with Korrodi and made a move they felt would result in a positive net trade-off.

Lang also has some "pro" experience as well

he's actually been successful pretty much everywhere he's played....based on his experience, he may very well be a pretty good option to put on the practice squad

and they picked him up off the street, so they may not have probs getting him through waivers

 

[CaptTurbo]

I think Whiz and the staff are REALLY preparing for the 49ers. Every precaution is being taken to not show them a thing..

We use this every year as the reason why we look piss poor.

I watched NE, Tennessee and other preseason games and these teams look very good. Why cant we look good?

 

[perivolaki]

I watched NE, Tennessee and other preseason games and these teams look very good. Why cant we look good?

I don't think preseason is about looking good. None of the division winners had a winning record in preseason last year. Think about that. Putting a lot of emphasis on preseason doesn't seem to be the road to success in the regular season.

Bears 2-2
Saints 1-3
Eagles 2-3
Seahawks 2-2

Chargers 2-2
Ravens 2-2
Colts 1-3
Patriots 2-2

 

[joko4]

Mitch,
I contend that CP is a extremely good mastermind of defense. In the past he was ALWAYS hindered by Green and that SOB DB coach. I think when WIZ first came in, his thought was to can CP. But, after further talking to CP, I think Wiz
realized they think a lot a like.
One thing we have to remember is CP has been here for awhile, he knows his players and his players know him. Without Green, he gets to re tweak the D, and that's good. Our problem is, where not going to see it until the SF game. You just might see tonight, but look very quick, cause it will last only three to five plays and that's it.

Tonight, it's still vanilla, with a very little new. If you want to pound SF into the ground on MNF this is how it will be.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

If Walter was the head of player personnel, we would have the best third-string in the league, hands down.

Unfortunately, however, he would have them playing as our starters.

JTS

That's pretty funny. I wasn't meaning player personnel evaluation though. I just think his ideas for our current personnel is very logical.


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[Arizona's Finest]

I don't think preseason is about looking good. None of the division winners had a winning record in preseason last year. Think about that. Putting a lot of emphasis on preseason doesn't seem to be the road to success in the regular season.

Bears 2-2
Saints 1-3
Eagles 2-3
Seahawks 2-2

Chargers 2-2
Ravens 2-2
Colts 1-3
Patriots 2-2

That bolded one is the one that intrigues me. The parallels between wisenhunt as a coach and Payton are very real. I'm excited to see if we can have similar success with a strong smart offensive game plan.

Of course we don't have Reggie Bush on the roster either.

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