Surprise player of the season

[Metcalf Rules]

There's a better chance of God lining up at LT than Johnson.

 

[Mitch]

Surprise player of the year: Brandon Keith....he wins the RG spot in camp and having a consistent guard next to Levi turn the right side of the line into a power driving force that open some monster holes for Beanie and Timmy

I concur.

I also think that Trevor Canfield will go right by Elton Brown and all the rest, and may even beat Sendlein out at center.

On defense, I think FS Rashad Johnson will be starting at FS by mid-season.

 

[187]

Rashad Johnson.

I agree. I think we will be moving Rolle to corner in nickel/dime formations and Johnson will be filling in at FS. I'm predicting 3 INT's from him this year, he is a ball hawk.

On offense I KNOW Doucet has the talent, he just needs to get playing time which might not happen again. I'm also expecting a big year from Wells if our run blocking is better, if not you can't expect him to do anything TOO crazy because everything starts in the trenches. You can only break so many tackles that come from missed blocks/assignments..

 

[CtCardinals78]

Ben Patrick. He will stay healthy this year and become a solid starter at TE.

 

[SECTION 11]

I'm down with Ben Patrick, who's going to rule. And Early. Early's going to be solid.

 

[Shane]

Early's going to be solid.

Hes going to be SOOO solid in his 5 plays a game for the 10 games he'll be activated for

 

[lauraw]

Q is primed to have a huge year if he doesn't hold out.. wait, hear me out! He feels he's been disrespected by the Cards Brass, now the NFL brass[other teams that could have traded for him] and the media, all saying he's not "worth it"... He could have a monster year for him playing next to Dynamite[Fitz], like 110+ catches, 12+ td's.. I wouldn't be surprised at all, if he stayed healthy the whole year. I pray that he does as that just makes us a better TEAM. Next Offseason they will address his contract[about the time they wave goodbye to Dansby, I'm afraid].. This year only AW..

 

[john h]

With all the negative threads popping up, I figured I start a friendly conversation about players who could possibly come out of literally no where and have a major impact on this team. I think we can all agree that Steve Breaston and Timmy Hightower were those players.

I think Greg Toler CB is going to be that guy in 2009. This player is the epidemy of "unknown." Not very many offenses are going to have significant tape on him, so he could have a bag of tricks up his sleeves. He has the tangibles to succeed in this league. Furthermore, he has a similar skill sets to DRC. You know he is going to get challenged early and often in nickel packages and if he makes the right reads on the QB, which im confident he can, he is going to wreak havoc and possibly take one to the house.

Go Cards!!

Rogers-Cromartie sure surprised me. We have a long time anchor in our defensive backfield now. I was not that impressed when we drafted him but I now can see what our staff saw.

 

[john h]

Am I really the only guy whose expecting Beanie to be an animal this year? I think we see the highest team rushing total the Cards have had in 15-20 years.

Of guys who aren't rooks, I am expecting to see something special from Watson and hoping/wont be surprised to see Branch finally break out. I read that he was dominating in practice by the end of last year and was kept out of the games almost as punishment for not committing himself properly earlier in the year.

Wells has all the tools and size to be an all pro. Does he have the heart and work ethic to become what he is capable of? He will be as good as he wants to be. My wishful thinking is he will be the starter and rush for over 1000 yds.

 

[joeshmo]

Early Doucet – Not in terms of mind blowing stats like Breaston did last year but in terms of how much he improves his production compared to the year before and compared to the production of the #4 WR from last year. Doucet put up 14 catches last year I think he more then doubles that to over 40 catches which will also be more the are #4 WR from last year Urban who put up 34.

Calais Campbell – Playing in a more traditional 3-4 and gaining 10 pounds to be over 290 I don’t think he is going to be given the opportunity to put up 8 or more sacks. But I do think he will play up to the level of a taller version of another 3-4 DE Aaron Smith who put up 5 sacks. Not exactly a mind blowing stat, but here is where he will make his mark, just like Aaron Smith. I think he gets over 8 tackles for loss and holds up better then good against the run. But here is one aspect I think he can outplay an Aaron Smith type game and its because of his height, I think he will do wonders for the pass D in terms of knocking balls down and just plain old blocking the QB’s view to his side of the field. Just think of trying to throw a screen pass, bubble screen or pass to the flat over or around a 6-8 DE with the wing span of a pterodactyl. Another guy you wont see improvement in terms of mind blowing stats but in terms of all the little things that don’t get put on the stat sheet but makes the life of an offense that much harder and helps makes those around him better.

Michael Ray Garvin – I think people are going to be so surprised at what a real kickoff return man actually looks like. Something we haven’t seen in years. It’s hard to keep a one dimensional player on the team who only does one thing but I think the coaches make an exception.

Okeafer – Hard to put an older veteran on the list but I have to. Okeafer is going to finally be playing on the side he has had his most production. Every time Berry got injured Okeafer would switch sides and dominate as a pass rusher. He got 8 sacks two years in a row and the bulk of them came after Berry got injured and Okeafer switched sides. Just think what he can do on that side if he started there for the whole season, those two years he took Berrys spot. If Okeafer started on Berrys side those two years he got 8 sacks each year he would without a doubt IMO reached the double digit sack mark in each season. I think he finally does it this year, he just seems 100% more natural rushing the passer on the right side against the left tackles of the league then he does on the left side against the stronger right tackles.

 

[PoolBoy]

I concur.

I also think that Trevor Canfield will go right by Elton Brown and all the rest, and may even beat Sendlein out at center.

On defense, I think FS Rashad Johnson will be starting at FS by mid-season.

has canfield ever played center?

 

[Zeno]

has canfield ever played center?

From what our Bearcat poster said only in practice never in a game. I'd say he has a long way to go before beating out Sendlein.

 

[187]

Early Doucet – Not in terms of mind blowing stats like Breaston did last year but in terms of how much he improves his production compared to the year before and compared to the production of the #4 WR from last year. Doucet put up 14 catches last year I think he more then doubles that to over 40 catches which will also be more the are #4 WR from last year Urban who put up 34.

Calais Campbell – Playing in a more traditional 3-4 and gaining 10 pounds to be over 290 I don’t think he is going to be given the opportunity to put up 8 or more sacks. But I do think he will play up to the level of a taller version of another 3-4 DE Aaron Smith who put up 5 sacks. Not exactly a mind blowing stat, but here is where he will make his mark, just like Aaron Smith. I think he gets over 8 tackles for loss and holds up better then good against the run. But here is one aspect I think he can outplay an Aaron Smith type game and its because of his height, I think he will do wonders for the pass D in terms of knocking balls down and just plain old blocking the QB’s view to his side of the field. Just think of trying to throw a screen pass, bubble screen or pass to the flat over or around a 6-8 DE with the wing span of a pterodactyl. Another guy you wont see improvement in terms of mind blowing stats but in terms of all the little things that don’t get put on the stat sheet but makes the life of an offense that much harder and helps makes those around him better.

I agree with you on Doucet, barring injury I don't think there's any chance that Urban beats him out for the #4 spot. I also agree with you on CC, because as yo know if you're playing DE in a 3-4 set you aren't going to rack up an "impressive looking" number of sacks. They just eat up lineman (all the dirty work) only to let the linebackers come in for all of the glory. I agree that he could turn out to be similar to Aaron Smith, 5 sacks is very impressive for a 3-4 DE and I think he will be very good against the run and pass with his size and nose for the ball. A lot of people probably don't realize how different being a 4-3 LDE and a 3-4 DE really is when it comes to numbers, they just hear "great defensive end" and think "lots of sacks!" but if you look at the numbers the top 3-4 DE's put up they won't be overly impressed. Stats definitely do not tell the whole story for that position. People are going to have to realize the role Campbell is going to play and not expect 4-3 DE numbers from him.

 

[Skkorpion]

Hadn't thought much about Okeafer. Yes, he very well might have his best year in a long time.

 

[lauraw]

Go getcha some, Chike!!