The Draft and Offseason

[Cbus cardsfan]

I agree that it's too early to judge the draft. You could judge the way the draft was handled, and whom we could have taken, but it seems--at least to me--that that bridge has passed.

Didn't we get a bunch of starters from Denny's first draft? Dansby, Fitz, Step, Dockett. In Denny's second draft, we got three more starters (Rolle, Arrington, Brown) and a major contributor (Green). Those two teams were a combined 11-21.

In the 2003 draft, we had 6 players make it onto the final roster, and I think all of them had at least 1 start as rookies. I can agree that we may have a good rookie class, but if we do, it'll likely mean that we're going to suck again this season, since those rookies are going to make rookie mistakes.

In last year's Super Bowl, the Bears had 0 rookie starters. The Colts had 1 (I think Joseph Addai started...).

i agree that it's going to be a struggle this year. Alot of people are already counting Levi Brown as a starter and seem to be happy about it.Brown will defnitely struggle as he's also changing positions.Orlando Pace didn't even start from day 1. As for Branch, also being counted as a starter by alot of people, he could just as easily become a Jimmy Kennedy as the Richard Seymour that some are annointing him. I also agree with you earlier post that the Cards are missing a golden oppurtunity these last couple years. THe division is ripe for the taking.But, SF and Stl. will again be forces shortly. With all the cap space the last couple years we could have made the leap into a winning program. Instead the cap has been badly mis-managed and the Cards are again facing a rebuilding year.

 

[Buckybird]

worst offseason ever...don't think so. My major quaestions heading to camp are: 1)Does Pendy have the knowledge of the 3-4 defense to teach it? 2) Do we have the players to make a 3-4 transition? 3) Is our Oline upgraded, the same or worse? Dallas has proved that knowledge of the 3-4 scheme is needed to coach it. Their D-coordinator the last 3 seasons had now experience with it and their defense struggled win Parcells took over. By the way wasn't Pendy the coodinator until Parcells became coach. To me that says it all. I like Clancy as the defensive coach but the 3-4 may not be his cup of tea. Can Bert and Chike play linebacker? Chike had a solid 2nd half of this season playing a standup D-end, so I am less worried about him. Berry can get to the passer, but can he cover Frank Gore or Stephen jackson out of the backfield? In the 3-4, five guys do not rush the passer on every play leaving LB's in coverage. What worries me most about this is that we tried Calvin Pace at LB last season and he really struggled. Berry started his career at LB in Indy if I'm not mistaken before being out of the league and being picked up by the Broncos. I really think our Oline is worse than last season. Gandy was a solid guard in Chicago and Buffalo, but really struggled at tackle when injuries forced him to tackle for the Bills. Reggie Wells played very good at tackle and is now moved back to guard where he was average at best. Al Johnson was the best center coming out of college but has been hurt or demoted in everyone of his NFL seasons. Deuce had a very solid season and is the only lineman that doesn't have question marks. Right tackle may be a revolving door. Oliver Ross has mastered the ole block. Enough said. If he plays please tell me John Lott and Wiz make him lose 30 pounds. Qasim Mitchell!!! Who? Levi Brown may prove to be great, but he still is rooke. We gave up a sixth rounder to sign Brandon Gorin in '06 to be a cheerleader. The guy started for the world champs, so give this guy a shot...please!!! I won't talk about the lineman that are gone, because they are gone. If we run the ball 600 times as Wiz has stated, it may be a blessing. Keep our future healthy, Matt Leinart. Sometimes players who have shoulder problems become a career problem. Hope I am wrong. I also believe Dansy will be playing out of position, limiting his play making ability and Buster Davis' playing time. As Harry Green's article states, we may be putting square pegs into round holes.

GO 's

 

[Sandan]

Didn't we get a bunch of starters from Denny's first draft? Dansby, Fitz, Step, Dockett. In Denny's second draft, we got three more starters (Rolle, Arrington, Brown) and a major contributor (Green). Those two teams were a combined 11-21.

That suggests DG was decent at drafting but that we had a long way to go. Our previous lack of talent was much lamented by national analysts, for example Dr Z.

That might have something to do with the result, that and DG turned into a bum on gameday.

In last year's Super Bowl, the Bears had 0 rookie starters. The Colts had 1 (I think Joseph Addai started...).

Same comment, we had a long way to go and Wiz needs different types of players than DG also wanted to address percieved areas of weakness.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

20/5

Dude, my ribs hurt from laughing at this post

 

[RugbyMuffin]

As for the thread.

Not having a speed receiver is the dumbest complaint that is issued every single year.

Fitz, and Boldin beat teams deep all the time.

Bryant Johnson beat teams deep but drops the ball.

There is plenty of speed and more importantly production at wide receiver.

The rest of your post I can handle.

And I agree that it is never good to rely on rookies to be starters but in the new NFL at happens every year. Hopefully, it will work out for us since Branch and Brown are a huge key to turning things around in the desert.


Good post though, it definately livened up the place.

 

[Goober Man]

Goober or Crazy win as the most intelligent posts. Great insight and good research. Kerouac 9 good points throughout.

heres some research..first off as for the draft we drafted the 2nd best OL in the 1st round and got the best rated NT in the 2nd round who could of gone in the top 10 and dropped because of shin splints/lazy rumors that weren't even true..and we also got the 3rd best MLB in the 3rd round because of his lack of height and also got one of the better known KR/PR returners in college and also has good speed ran a 4.41 at the combine..and also got the 3rd best TE in the 7th round who could of gone in the 2nd round..all of our picks have a chance to make an impact..no more of the drafts when DG was here and drafted WHO!?! guys on the 2nd day..Todd Watkins and Brandon Johnson...from last years draft for example..were they even active for a game??..we had a good draft..the only way this would be the worst draft ever is if your an OSU fan

as for our offseason signings..we did good..not great but good..we signed a up and coming CB in Hood..signed a above average C in Johnson who has a higher snap than Lecky which means no more dropped snaps..hopefully..and we signed Gandy who can play Tackle or Guard..but he is better at guard..we signed some guys who can make our ST's better with Morey and Merritt..we got a smashmouth FB in Terrelle Smith and we re-signed some of our own..like Shipp and Besiel and more imporantaly we got Russ Grimm who can hopefully make something out of our OL mess that DG left..the only thing we did to help our oline last year was sign a Guard from the worst Olines in football in Milford Brown..and after that DG said our Oline is "set"...i can't remember if DG ever had that many signings in one offseason..sure we didn't sign any superstars like Clement or A.Thomas..but we signed guys for depth and competion which can only make our team better...and even got a better coaching staff..in better words..this is far from the worst offseason ever..and like some others have said i am taking a wait and see approach..but im expecting good things

 

[john h]

Give us, in detail, why this off season and draft were the worse ever....

(Ever, by the way... means in Cards history)

Most of the gurus gave us high marks in the draft and I agree. As to our signings I really have no idea but do trust our staff for the first time in a long time. We will know soon enough.

 

[CardFan67]

I love it when people (especially good Cards Fans) get all negative in the off season much better than when the kool-aid tanks get over filled.

By no stretch of the imagination could this be considered the "worst" off season ever, if even in the worst 10 ever... Any long time fan can attest to that. But, I love the feeling of an off season when we do not know what to expect, for me it makes the start of the season and each and every game there after so much better...

I can't wait!

 

[lobo]

That's why I think you are wrong.

It's lunchtime here and as i munch on my reduced fat peanut butter and honey sandwich with a diet canfields chocolate soda...add some non fat milk and you have a 2 calorie egg cream by the way...i wanted to see if anything worthwhile was posted. Alas a post from Jeff.

Why didn't you give whomever a chance to present his case instead of answering the points for him. I don't care to read sensible anwers at this time of year!!

 

[Duckjake]

In last year's Super Bowl, the Bears had 0 rookie starters. The Colts had 1 (I think Joseph Addai started...).

The Cards didn't have a single rookie in the starting lineup against the 49ers on opening day last year. I wonder how long its been since that happened?

 

[kerouac9]

The Cards didn't have a single rookie in the starting lineup against the 49ers on opening day last year. I wonder how long its been since that happened?

Hmm... that is surprising. It's more interesting, though, that the Bears and Colts didn't have any rookie starters at the end of the season. That speaks to the depth they've built and that they don't have to rush players into the starting lineup, which means they're more effective when they are ready (CF Chad Pennington).

 

[joeshmo]

heres some research..first off as for the draft we drafted the 2nd best OL in the 1st round and got the best rated NT in the 2nd round who could of gone in the top 10 and dropped because of shin splints/lazy rumors that weren't even true..and we also got the 3rd best MLB in the 3rd round because of his lack of height and also got one of the better known KR/PR returners in college and also has good speed ran a 4.41 at the combine..and also got the 3rd best TE in the 7th round who could of gone in the 2nd round..all of our picks have a chance to make an impact..no more of the drafts when DG was here and drafted WHO!?! guys on the 2nd day..Todd Watkins and Brandon Johnson...from last years draft for example..were they even active for a game??..we had a good draft..the only way this would be the worst draft ever is if your an OSU fan

I dont think this was even in the top 10 of worst season. But I had to make a few comments on this.

If Branch was the #1 Rated NT then he wouldnt have lasted until the 2nd round. And if he was and still did last until the 2nd round that is a huge bad sign for the quaility of DL in this past draft if it took until the 2nd round to pick up the best NT in the draft. Warts and all 1st ranked NT's go in the 1st round. I still like the pick even with the trade up but lets not go over board here.

Sort of on the same token, 3rd ranked TE's dont last until the 7th round and 8 TE's dont go before him.

Also lets not start comparing Todd Watkins and Brandon Johnson 2 guys who havent played a down in the league to 2 other guys who havent played a down in the league in Breaston and Patrick, Patrick of whom hasnt even practiced a single day yet because of a hammy.

 

[Goober Man]

I dont think this was even in the top 10 of worst season. But I had to make a few comments on this.

If Branch was the #1 Rated NT then he wouldnt have lasted until the 2nd round. And if he was and still did last until the 2nd round that is a huge bad sign for the quaility of DL in this past draft if it took until the 2nd round to pick up the best NT in the draft. Warts and all 1st ranked NT's go in the 1st round. I still like the pick even with the trade up but lets not go over board here.

Sort of on the same token, 3rd ranked TE's dont last until the 7th round and 8 TE's dont go before him.

Also lets not start comparing Todd Watkins and Brandon Johnson 2 guys who havent played a down in the league to 2 other guys who havent played a down in the league in Breaston and Patrick, Patrick of whom hasnt even practiced a single day yet because of a hammy.

im just going by the player rankings from scouting websites and personal experince..since i watched Branch and Okoye and Harrell..of all of them Branch was the only DT that stood out to me and seemed more consistant even though his stats don't show for it..and as for Patrick i too am dissapointed that he hasen't practiced yet because of a hammy...i know TE's went ahead of him and maybe the reason why he fell that far because the other teams knew about the injury..but i for one am hoping that he's a steal..i still think this is one of the better drafts on paper..hopefully all of our picks turn out and worth their praise

 

[Doc Cardinal]

Lindey's gave us a grade of B which seems to be a fair assessment. For example they gave the Browns an A and the Seahakws a C. The 49ers and Rams both received A's as they both drafted eight or nine players compared to our five.

The move that surprised them was the Breaston pick...they liked Patrick and Levi and Buster.....wondered a tad about Branch as they felt he had little discipline on and off the field....whatever that means.