Some Player Notes Going Into Tomorrow Night's Game

[Mitch]

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.

Korrodi threw with some zip, although he needed to throw with a little more touch on some passes...like the deep pass he threw toward the left sideline. But, I thought Korrodi's footwork was good...nice quick, clean setup and good forward motion. Is it possible the Cardinals took a gamble to release Korrodi now, instead of next week, thinking that after throwing that INT he wouldn't be claimed...with the thought of signing Korrodi to the PS when the time comes? The Cardinals have done that in the past with other players.

What's curious too was the timing of Korrodi's release...the report said that Shane Boyd has been nicked up and that the Cards may need to turn more to the #4 iQB n the next two pre-season games...but that only gives Lane Campbell two days to learn the offense for this week's game. Seems odd.

2. I was disappointed that the Cardinals reached an injury settlement with A.J. Schable, rather than keep him on IR this year and retain his rights. When you go back and watch the MNF game versus the Bears, Schable played very well in that game, particularly on special teams. I still think he should be groomed as a LB...he'd have to shed some weight, but this kid's a very good tackler, and he has a nose for the ball.

3. This game could be make or break for TE Troy Bienemann's chances of making the roster. I think it was Bienemann who missed his blocking assignment on the 4th and inches play as he blocked downfield when he should have blocked the most immediate threat, the edge OLB, who wound up eluding Terrelle Smith's block and tackling Edge from behind.

4. Part of the reason why Beinemann is being singled out here is that the Cardinals may not be able to risk waiving TE Ben Patrick now, after that stunning catch he made last game. Patrick looks all of the part, doesn't he? He looks big and athletic. If Patrick was waived it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the Patriots claim him...man, they love TE prospects in New England and Belichick has even kept 4 TEs on the roster before.

5. This could be a big game for T Quasim Mitchell, who will likely play LT in place of the injured T Brandon Gorin. Mitchell played fairly well last game and is a veteran, albeit one who's been out of the game for a year.

6. Calvin Pace is not a LB and never will be. He's an aggressive athlete in a simplified role. At LB he has to think too much which often renders him motionless. He should be used as a rush DE...and specialize in that area, so he can regain his form from a couple of years ago when he was getting to the QB on a more regular basis. The Cards NEED this from Pace...and others, of course.

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.

8. LB Buster Davis will be more visible, passionate and active in this game, both on special teams and on the second and third team defenses.

9. LB Pago Togafau looks like a lock to make this team as a special teamer (he's been good thus far) and backup MLB. I still think Monty Beisel will wind up playing somewhere in the starting defense, especially if a trade for an OLB is not made.

10. It will be very interesting to see how Antrel Rolle plays on the second unit. If he gets further toasted by second teamers, that could really set him back emotionally. I just wish the Cardinals would create a role for him that would cater to his strengths...even if it meant always giving him guaranteed deep double coverage so he can be physical and super aggressive underneath and not worry about getting beat deep...thus, not feeling the need to hold, push, grab, straightarm or fanny-fere!

 

[Arizona's Finest]

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

 

[82CardsGrad]

6. Calvin Pace is not a LB and never will be. He's an aggressive athlete in a simplified role. At LB he has to think too much which often renders him motionless. He should be used as a rush DE...and specialize in that area, so he can regain his form from a couple of years ago when he was getting to the QB on a more regular basis. The Cards NEED this from Pace...and others, of course.

Huh?? "aggressive"?? Mitch, you know I respect your views, but honestly, the only thing the Cards should do with this slug is LET HIM GO...

10. It will be very interesting to see how Antrel Rolle plays on the second unit. If he gets further toasted by second teamers, that could really set him back emotionally. I just wish the Cardinals would create a role for him that would cater to his strengths...even if it meant always giving him guaranteed deep double coverage so he can be physical and super aggressive underneath and not worry about getting beat deep...thus, not feeling the need to hold, push, grab, straightarm or fanny-fere!

I still can't fully grasp what it is you think the Cards should do for Rolle, and how whatever that is would not seriously alter the overall scheme of the defense...

 

[SuperSpck]

Huh?? "aggressive"?? Mitch, you know I respect your views, but honestly, the only thing the Cards should do with this slug is LET HIM GO...




I still can't fully grasp what it is you think the Cards should do for Rolle, and how whatever that is would not seriously alter the overall scheme of the defense...

I think (although I hope to not put words into mitch's mouth) is that by adjusting the defensive scheme to cater to Rolle's strengths, like the Cards did with Adrian Wilson, they can maximize the positive and minimize the negative.

 

[JeffGollin]

The two general things to focus on in preseason are (1) how individual players are doing and (2) how the various personnel groupings are meshing together as units.

On offense, the individual players seem to be grading out well. On defense, it's a mixed bag; the one thing you might say is that fewer than expected individual players (among them Cooper, Wilson, Hayes) have made big plays.

Our O-line has looked fairly good in pass pro (though we have to hope last week's performance wasn't a one-time aberration) and seems to be inching better and better in the run game. The TE position remains a concern (but to some degree you can scheme around weakness at that position). It's on defense where none of the units yet look "ready to go." It's unclear if this is due to players not playing well enough together or whether they're simply not used to being confined to vanilla schemes.

Coverage units on special teams have been atrocious.

Game #3 in preseason is when you want to see everything click - crisp execution on offense; no major blown assignments (particularly on right outside contain) on defense.

Are we ready? That's what I'll be focusing on most tomorrow night.

 

[Mitch]

Thanks Arizona's Finest. If I do, you are coming with me in a package deal!

82: Pace did rush the passer well a couple of years ago before the freak bye-week injury. He's still capable of that and the Cards need help in that area, so cutting Pace would be ill-advised at this point, assuming they will ever return him to his natural role.

This is what frustrates me with Pendergast...he's shown he can do wonders to maximize AW's skill set...yet others like Pace and Rolle are given responsibilities that quite frankly they cannot handle...like Robert Griffith trying to play FS, which was partly Graves' and Green's fault for signing him to play that role.

The planning from the front office is mind-boggling at times...kind of like tendering a C (Leckey) to a $1.3M deal and then signing a free agent C and taking a $7M cap hit this year to do it...like signing a FS (Francisco) to a million dollar plus yearly salary and then signing a free agent FS to what $3+ million more a year...kind of like changing over to the 3-4 and drafting the diminutive, albeit feisty ILB Buster Davis, not knowing where he logically fits in the defense...not drafting a 3-4 OLB prospect while planning to switch two veterans (Okeafor and Berry) there and knowing that previous draft picks (Blackstock and Johnson) have done nothing to warrant any semblance of confidence in the organization about their present and future prospects in the organization.

They (CP and staff) should play Rolle up in or near the box...use him in initial (at the l.o.s.) bump coverage with underneath zone responsibilities, so he can do all the three things he does so well: (1) attack the run like a heat seeking missile; (2) spoil the WR's or TE's timing on his release and play the ball on passes thrown into his underneath zone (playing inside receivers, not outside...big difference)...no need to hold because deep help is built in in the zone; (3) blitz (which we haven't seen much of, but I guarantee you he's the best blitzer no one knows about on this roster).

 

[82CardsGrad]

I think (although I hope to not put words into mitch's mouth) is that by adjusting the defensive scheme to cater to Rolle's strengths, like the Cards did with Adrian Wilson, they can maximize the positive and minimize the negative.

I assumed that whatever he thinks the Cards should do for Rolle would be in efforto maximize the positive and limit the negatives...
However, I am not sure how you can do that in the context of the overall unit and it's scheme... In other words, we already have Adrian who we know is best suited to play up at the line. I can't really understand how doing the same for Rolle is best for the team. Sure, it's best for Rolle but I really don't see how that's best for the entirety of our defense...

 

[82CardsGrad]

Thanks Arizona's Finest. If I do, you are coming with me in a package deal!

82: Pace did rush the passer well a couple of years ago before the freak bye-week injury. He's still capable of that and the Cards need help in that area, so cutting Pace would be ill-advised at this point, assuming they will ever return him to his natural role.

This is what frustrates me with Pendergast...he's shown he can do wonders to maximize AW's skill set...yet others like Pace and Rolle are given responsibilities that quite frankly they cannot handle...like Robert Griffith trying to play FS, which was partly Graves' and Green's fault for signing him to play that role.

The planning from the front office is mind-boggling at times...kind of like tendering a C (Leckey) to a $1.3M deal and then signing a free agent C and taking a $7M cap hit this year to do it...like signing a FS (Francisco) to a million dollar plus yearly salary and then signing a free agent FS to what $3+ million more a year...kind of like changing over to the 3-4 and drafting the diminutive, albeit feisty ILB Buster Davis, not knowing where he logically fits in the defense...not drafting a 3-4 OLB prospect while planning to switch two veterans (Okeafor and Berry) there and knowing that previous draft picks (Blackstock and Johnson) have done nothing to warrant any semblance of confidence in the organization about their present and future prospects in the organization.

They (CP and staff) should play Rolle up in or near the box...use him in initial (at the l.o.s.) bump coverage with underneath zone responsibilities, so he can do all the three things he does so well: (1) attack the run like a heat seeking missile; (2) spoil the WR's or TE's timing on his release and play the ball on passes thrown into his underneath zone (playing inside receivers, not outside...big difference)...no need to hold because deep help is built in in the zone; (3) blitz (which we haven't seen much of, but I guarantee you he's the best blitzer no one knows about on this roster).

Mitch, don't get me started on the teams' inept player personnel skills... I agree with just about every gripe you listed above...

However, Pace SUCKS... period... You are hanging on to a guy who was drafted in the first round, but more likely should have been a 3rd rounder at best... He never once has demonstrated an ability to play at a consistently solid level... never... He had a solid game or two prior to his injury, but that's it...
As for Rolle, I just don't see how you can play BOTH Adrian and Rolle up at the line, and not compromise the defense as a unit... Doesn't make sense to me...

 

[slanidrac16]

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

It's as clear as day when you listen to Whiz talk. He couldn't care less about a victory in preseason.

If thats the case , this defense is going to be chomping at the bits come come September 10th. As much as we'd like to see the fully equiped 2007 version of these Cardinals, it just ain't going to happen. Not against the Chargers and not against the Broncos.

What I will be watching for is,
1. How we react to any reverse or bootlegs. You've got to know we'll see a few.
2. Our punt and kickoff coverages. Sproles will give us a good test.
3. Our o-line against a very tough San Diego defense. I think we will see a LOT of short, ball control type of passes mixed with a few runs.
4. Our d-line attempt at pressuring the qb.....albeit, still vanilla plan.

 

[Mitch]

Mitch, don't get me started on the teams' inept player personnel skills... I agree with just about every gripe you listed above...

However, Pace SUCKS... period... You are hanging on to a guy who was drafted in the first round, but more likely should have been a 3rd rounder at best... He never once has demonstrated an ability to play at a consistently solid level... never... He had a solid game or two prior to his injury, but that's it...
As for Rolle, I just don't see how you can play BOTH Adrian and Rolle up at the line, and not compromise the defense as a unit... Doesn't make sense to me...

82: Switching Pace's roles has thwarted his progress, IMO. Had they just kept him at rush DE, he would be much more active, potentially productive and confident, IMO.

As for playing Rolle and Wilson at the same time...you easily can if you are playing a 5 under/2 deep zone or a 4 under/3 deep zone rolled to Rolle's side so he bumps the WR and covers the flat in the zone. He'd be great at this.

Also, at times CP could use Rolle as a hybrid SS/LB assigned to the TE (strong side)...why not take a look at it? Again, this puts Rolle's in a position to use his strengths. Rolle is so much stronger than people even realize.

 

[Russ Smith]

Thanks Arizona's Finest. If I do, you are coming with me in a package deal!

82: Pace did rush the passer well a couple of years ago before the freak bye-week injury. He's still capable of that and the Cards need help in that area, so cutting Pace would be ill-advised at this point, assuming they will ever return him to his natural role.

This is what frustrates me with Pendergast...he's shown he can do wonders to maximize AW's skill set...yet others like Pace and Rolle are given responsibilities that quite frankly they cannot handle...like Robert Griffith trying to play FS, which was partly Graves' and Green's fault for signing him to play that role.

The planning from the front office is mind-boggling at times...kind of like tendering a C (Leckey) to a $1.3M deal and then signing a free agent C and taking a $7M cap hit this year to do it...like signing a FS (Francisco) to a million dollar plus yearly salary and then signing a free agent FS to what $3+ million more a year...kind of like changing over to the 3-4 and drafting the diminutive, albeit feisty ILB Buster Davis, not knowing where he logically fits in the defense...not drafting a 3-4 OLB prospect while planning to switch two veterans (Okeafor and Berry) there and knowing that previous draft picks (Blackstock and Johnson) have done nothing to warrant any semblance of confidence in the organization about their present and future prospects in the organization.

They (CP and staff) should play Rolle up in or near the box...use him in initial (at the l.o.s.) bump coverage with underneath zone responsibilities, so he can do all the three things he does so well: (1) attack the run like a heat seeking missile; (2) spoil the WR's or TE's timing on his release and play the ball on passes thrown into his underneath zone (playing inside receivers, not outside...big difference)...no need to hold because deep help is built in in the zone; (3) blitz (which we haven't seen much of, but I guarantee you he's the best blitzer no one knows about on this roster).

While I get your point we can only have 11 guys on defense and if 2 of our DB's are both going to have basically the same "rules" don't make me cover use me as an aggressive run stopper and blitzer, we're going to find it's awfully tough to cover? To guarantee rolle help over the top all the time is to abandon the basic philosophy Clancy plays, be aggressive and play off to avoid big plays. The problem is that Rolle has taken that above and beyond to where he's giving twice the cushion the other CB's are.

It's pitch and catch against him, has been since his rookie year.

 

[BigRedRage]

rolle for OLB

 

[DKCards]

rolle for OLB

That is what it sounds like to me.

Do we have Chike's replacement already on the team??????

 

[82CardsGrad]

While I get your point we can only have 11 guys on defense and if 2 of our DB's are both going to have basically the same "rules" don't make me cover use me as an aggressive run stopper and blitzer, we're going to find it's awfully tough to cover? To guarantee rolle help over the top all the time is to abandon the basic philosophy Clancy plays, be aggressive and play off to avoid big plays. The problem is that Rolle has taken that above and beyond to where he's giving twice the cushion the other CB's are.

It's pitch and catch against him, has been since his rookie year.

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...

 

[Mitch]

More like Rolle as a second SS...in lieu of playing Blackstock or Pace at OLB...the hunch being that he would make more of an impact because of his aggressive style of play and his tackling ability...his biggest and best hits always seemed to be closer to the box anyway...and it would be awesome to line Rolle, Blackstock and Pace up on the outside eye of the TE (in a drill in practice...taking turns) and see which one would wreak the greatest havoc on the blitz...betchya it would be Rolle, just as it would be AW if he was competing with Blackstock and Pace.

Of the three Blackstock and Pace cannot some close to Rolle as a tackler...not even close.

 

[82CardsGrad]

More like Rolle as a second SS...in lieu of playing Blackstock or Pace at OLB...the hunch being that he would make more of an impact because of his aggressive style of play and his tackling ability...his biggest and best hits always seemed to be closer to the box anyway...and it would be awesome to line Rolle, Blackstock and Pace up on the outside eye of the TE (in a drill in practice...taking turns) and see which one would wreak the greatest havoc on the blitz...betchya it would be Rolle, just as it would be AW if he was competing with Blackstock and Pace.

Of the three Blackstock and Pace cannot some close to Rolle as a tackler...not even close.

I guess there's no need to beat this to death Mitch... But I have to say, the thought of Rolle, Blackstock and Pace fighting it out for a position anywhere on the field, let alone outside the TE depresses me more than it excites me...

 

[Mitch]

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...

Sorry 82, but you can play a steady diet of cover 2 with the front side corner (Rolle in this case) bumping at the l.o.s., with deep help from one safety shaded to the front side third, while the other safety patrols the middle...IF...you have a backside corner you can put on an island...I've done it more often than not as a coach...but you do have to have that backside corner and I beleive the Cards do in Eric Green and Rod Hood.

As for Pace, I still think you are under-valuing the one thing he can do reasonably well...and actually I would add that when used as a RDE, he did string out running plays pretty well there too. We can simply agree to disagree.

 

[Mitch]

I guess there's no need to beat this to death Mitch... But I have to say, the thought of Rolle, Blackstock and Pace fighting it out for a position anywhere on the field, let alone outside the TE depresses me more than it excites me...

That's what Okeafor's injury (with no acqusisitions to compensate for) has created right now for the Cards. I vote for Rolle in this scenario (of the three). If other scenarios are being considerd, the best scenario I can think of is to move Dansby to Okeafor's spot and start Beisel beside Hayes.

 

[Skkorpion]

Of the three Blackstock and Pace cannot some close to Rolle as a tackler...not even close.

Of the three, not one has NFL talent, in my opinion, and may only be kept this year out of depth necessity, except for Rolle, who, as joeschmo has pointed out, is CAP protected.

Agree with you on many others.

I'm psyched. Wish the local broadcast was in high-def, but I'll TIVO it anyway since I'll be at the game.

 

[Russ Smith]

More like Rolle as a second SS...in lieu of playing Blackstock or Pace at OLB...the hunch being that he would make more of an impact because of his aggressive style of play and his tackling ability...his biggest and best hits always seemed to be closer to the box anyway...and it would be awesome to line Rolle, Blackstock and Pace up on the outside eye of the TE (in a drill in practice...taking turns) and see which one would wreak the greatest havoc on the blitz...betchya it would be Rolle, just as it would be AW if he was competing with Blackstock and Pace.

Of the three Blackstock and Pace cannot some close to Rolle as a tackler...not even close.

My favorite analogy to explain my take is this. In junior high we were doing relays in PE. I had 2 fast guys and 2 slow guys on my team. I quickly learned that it didn't matter what order I put the 4 of us in, with 2 slow guys we simply couldn't win.

If you have 2 DB's on the field who can't adequately cover teams are going to exploit it. Wilson has gotten better but he's still much more effective attacking than in coverage.

I used to think Rolle could play FS but the more I see him play the more I agree with others that's not suited to him either. I think he's a SS on a team that already has the best SS in the NFC.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Of the three, not one has NFL talent, in my opinion, and may only be kept this year out of depth necessity, except for Rolle, who, as joeschmo has pointed out, is CAP protected.

Agree with you on many others.

I'm psyched. Wish the local broadcast was in high-def, but I'll TIVO it anyway since I'll be at the game.

Yup...

 

[82CardsGrad]

That's what Okeafor's injury (with no acqusisitions to compensate for) has created right now for the Cards. I vote for Rolle in this scenario (of the three). If other scenarios are being considerd, the best scenario I can think of is to move Dansby to Okeafor's spot and start Beisel beside Hayes.

Honestly, I thought this was going to be the plan heading into this season. Dansby is a natural OLB. Just another example of a player forced out of his natural position...

 

[82CardsGrad]

Sorry 82, but you can play a steady diet of cover 2 with the front side corner (Rolle in this case) bumping at the l.o.s., with deep help from one safety shaded to the front side third, while the other safety patrols the middle...IF...you have a backside corner you can put on an island...I've done it more often than not as a coach...but you do have to have that backside corner and I beleive the Cards do in Eric Green and Rod Hood.

As for Pace, I still think you are under-valuing the one thing he can do reasonably well...and actually I would add that when used as a RDE, he did string out running plays pretty well there too. We can simply agree to disagree.

Mitch, with all due respect... have you ever coached at a collegiate, dare I say NFL level??
There is simply no sound basis for exposing our secondary in the manner you describe. I don't care if we have a secondary filled with Deion Sanders', it still wouldn't make sense...
Our secondary is very, very medicore when it comes to cover skills. I don't care how great of a tackler you think Rolle is (I really think you are playing it up way past what it's worth), any NFL QB - including the likes of Brodie Croyle and Josh McCown, will feast on us...

 

[Mitch]

Mitch, with all due respect... have you ever coached at a collegiate, dare I say NFL level??
There is simply no sound basis for exposing our secondary in the manner you describe. I don't care if we have a secondary filled with Deion Sanders', it still wouldn't make sense...
Our secondary is very, very medicore when it comes to cover skills. I don't care how great of a tackler you think Rolle is (I really think you are playing it up way past what it's worth), any NFL QB - including the likes of Brodie Croyle and Josh McCown, will feast on us...

No, I haven't...but, 82, NFL teams often put one of their two corners on an island in their coverage packages, often in order to load a zone and double team the other team's best WR or TE. This happens all the time. Is it ideal? Of course not. But, when you have a CB you can put on an island, it makes all the rest possible.

One of the tipoffs is when teams do this...they will line up with both CBs at the l.o.s. in press coverage to disguise the coverage...then one of the two CBs right before the snap will backpedal into a normal cushion...that's your island corner, and it's usually the RCB because most teams believe that it's harder to compete deep passes up the left sideline for a right handed QB.

 

[82CardsGrad]

No, I haven't...but, 82, NFL teams often put one of their two corners on an island in their coverage packages, often in order to load a zone and double team the other team's best WR or TE. This happens all the time. Is it ideal? Of course not. But, when you have a CB you can put on an isalnd, it makes all the rest possible.

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...