Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Such a fine sight to see...an All-Pro rush end, my Lord, zooming like a Thunderbird Ford, spins around and hammers down the QB!
Kudos to Steve Keim who is pulling off the unprecedented in AZ.
What this trade means:
1. The Cardinals finally have a young Pro-Bowl caliber RDE/ROLB who posses the length and athleticism that Keim covets. And now---maybe the Cardinals will have enough talent to get consistent pressure with a 4 man rush. Sure would be nice to sign Dwight Freeney to add to that cause.
2. The Cardinals are getting something of value in return for G Jonathan Cooper, who, for whatever reason, has not inspired the confidence of the coaches---and a change of scenery for Cooper comes at an auspicious time for him---he will be playing for an elite franchise who has just re-hired their long-time outstanding OL coach, Dante Scarnecchia---and Cooper, in his contract year, can re-set his market value with a good, strong season protecting Tom Brady---it should be fascinating to watch for both side.
3. In Chandler Jones they are also getting a high quality person. I drive by his abode in Foxborough on the way to work every morning and I know a couple of people who live near him and know him and they say Jones is a great guy. Yes, the synthetic weed incident was unfortunate---and typically Bill Belichick would immediately bench a player who screwed up during the playoffs or even during the season---but BB opted not to do that in Jones' case because he is well aware of Jones' character. Jones comes from a great family---his brother Arthur plays for the Ravens, and I have seen interviews with Jones' parents before and after Patriot/Ravens games where one of them wears a Pats' jersey and the other wears a Ravens' jersey. They are classy people. Knowing this, i watched the Patriots playoff game against the Chiefs with great interest because I wondered how Chandler Jones would respond to the Pats' faith in him---and he delivered: 4 tackles, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble in a tight 20-18 win. I remember his interview after the game---so modest, thankful and humble.
4. The Cardinals have now freed up the #29 pick---they typically don't stray form their BPA philosophy, but had they not been able to address the edge rush in FA, it would have put all the more pressure on the to do so in Round 1. Keim likes to move down to add picks---so that may well be what he has in mind in order to recover the pick. Or---because the Cardinals are getting so close, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Keim uses the third round pick to trade up higher into the first round for an immediate impact player.
5. Jones is now in his contract year, so he should be highly motivated, and the Cardinals can judge what his market value is and react accordingly by using the franchise tag if necessary or by getting him signed to a multi-year contract.
6. This puts some pressure on Keim to sign Tyrann Mathieu or Jones to a long-term deal, as both would bet set to hit FA next year, and only one can be franchised. It also behooves Keim to work something out with Calais Campbell, who hopefully will sign an extension in the days ahead.
7. This trade just made AZ more attractive to the FA CBs still available. Imagine what added QB pressure could mean to their success.
8. Keim now has to address the interior of the offensive line more aggressively. One can imagine that he already has a plan---now he needs to move on it.
Take it EZ...take it E-E-E-Z...I've got to know that your sweet sacks are gonna save me!
Kudos to Steve Keim who is pulling off the unprecedented in AZ.
What this trade means:
1. The Cardinals finally have a young Pro-Bowl caliber RDE/ROLB who posses the length and athleticism that Keim covets. And now---maybe the Cardinals will have enough talent to get consistent pressure with a 4 man rush. Sure would be nice to sign Dwight Freeney to add to that cause.
2. The Cardinals are getting something of value in return for G Jonathan Cooper, who, for whatever reason, has not inspired the confidence of the coaches---and a change of scenery for Cooper comes at an auspicious time for him---he will be playing for an elite franchise who has just re-hired their long-time outstanding OL coach, Dante Scarnecchia---and Cooper, in his contract year, can re-set his market value with a good, strong season protecting Tom Brady---it should be fascinating to watch for both side.
3. In Chandler Jones they are also getting a high quality person. I drive by his abode in Foxborough on the way to work every morning and I know a couple of people who live near him and know him and they say Jones is a great guy. Yes, the synthetic weed incident was unfortunate---and typically Bill Belichick would immediately bench a player who screwed up during the playoffs or even during the season---but BB opted not to do that in Jones' case because he is well aware of Jones' character. Jones comes from a great family---his brother Arthur plays for the Ravens, and I have seen interviews with Jones' parents before and after Patriot/Ravens games where one of them wears a Pats' jersey and the other wears a Ravens' jersey. They are classy people. Knowing this, i watched the Patriots playoff game against the Chiefs with great interest because I wondered how Chandler Jones would respond to the Pats' faith in him---and he delivered: 4 tackles, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble in a tight 20-18 win. I remember his interview after the game---so modest, thankful and humble.
4. The Cardinals have now freed up the #29 pick---they typically don't stray form their BPA philosophy, but had they not been able to address the edge rush in FA, it would have put all the more pressure on the to do so in Round 1. Keim likes to move down to add picks---so that may well be what he has in mind in order to recover the pick. Or---because the Cardinals are getting so close, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Keim uses the third round pick to trade up higher into the first round for an immediate impact player.
5. Jones is now in his contract year, so he should be highly motivated, and the Cardinals can judge what his market value is and react accordingly by using the franchise tag if necessary or by getting him signed to a multi-year contract.
6. This puts some pressure on Keim to sign Tyrann Mathieu or Jones to a long-term deal, as both would bet set to hit FA next year, and only one can be franchised. It also behooves Keim to work something out with Calais Campbell, who hopefully will sign an extension in the days ahead.
7. This trade just made AZ more attractive to the FA CBs still available. Imagine what added QB pressure could mean to their success.
8. Keim now has to address the interior of the offensive line more aggressively. One can imagine that he already has a plan---now he needs to move on it.
Take it EZ...take it E-E-E-Z...I've got to know that your sweet sacks are gonna save me!
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