The Draft made us better, but did we fall further behind in the NFCW

[52brandon]

How can you say we can't run when our now #1 RB led the league in YPC?

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Well we are the different bird in the division. We are the passers. Yes we have a tough defense and we are going to need it, The Niners, and Rams upgraded their run games and the Seahawks has Lynch. We can't lose a game and expect to go to the playoffs. It took 12 wins for the Niners last year.

We have to outperform teams in the pass game, we are 1 dimensional. Mendenhall had a much bigger effect on our wins than anybody will give him credit for. Mendy's tough yard productin can be replaced, but has he? Cooper, Veldheer and the new TE's should give us a chance to compete, but that is on paper at this point.

I think we have the best QB, and WR's in the division. But not enough rushing to give them the time they need to become consistent, So I see 2 passes to every run, above average turnovers and a wore down defense. But some great stats!

Regardless what the others are doing, I think we had a good free agency and a terrible draft. We just left a lot of talent on the board every pick, and continued kissing frogs to see if they turn into a prince- another freakin fairy tale. they do come true? Look at Kurt Warner and maybe Josh Mccown! But DA, Leinart, Skelton who was that back up from Pittsburg? the little guy that got crunched? Hell I'm getting to old to remember the last 5 years.

Link
http://espn.go.com/blog/arizona-cardinals

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona rookie quarterback Logan Thomas rejects the "project" label and says he's a lot closer to being ready to play in the NFL than people think.

Thomas, the Cardinals' fourth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech, made the comments while meeting with reporters at Cardinals headquarters on Friday.

"I think I'm a lot more ready than people think," he said. "I think people labeled me as a project simply off stats, which I can understand what they see, what they think."

Disagree with the Mendy comments. I mean he had 687 yards on a 3.2 yard average, but Ellington had 652 yards on a 5.5 yard average. Hard for me to imagine that the backs currently on the roster can't at least match what we lost in Mendenhall. On top of that Mendenhall also struggled with ball security quite a bit last year.

As for comparing Thomas to past failure QBs for the Cards I would just say that none of those guys were picked by our current GM or head coach. I also like the rest of the draft for that matter, but obviously you feel that you have a better grasp of which players were the better players on the board than the cue balls. That's fine considering you are welcome to your opinion, but I will chose to trust them until they give me a legitimate reason not to.

 

[GuernseyCard]

Disagree with the Mendy comments. I mean he had 687 yards on a 3.2 yard average, but Ellington had 652 yards on a 5.5 yard average. Hard for me to imagine that the backs currently on the roster can't at least match what we lost in Mendenhall. On top of that Mendenhall also struggled with ball security quite a bit last year.

As for comparing Thomas to past failure QBs for the Cards I would just say that none of those guys were picked by our current GM or head coach. I also like the rest of the draft for that matter, but obviously you feel that you have a better grasp of which players were the better players on the board than the cue balls. That's fine considering you are welcome to your opinion, but I will chose to trust them until they give me a legitimate reason not to.

Let's not divorce Keim completely from previous decisions. The scout who was high on Skelton reported through him, and he was in the room when they hammered out the top 120. He didn't have final word, but was part of the debate.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Let's not divorce Keim completely from previous decisions. The scout who was high on Skelton reported through him, and he was in the room when they hammered out the top 120. He didn't have final word, but was part of the debate.

Personally for me there is far too much speculation involved in determining how much say Keim had in those drafts so I choose to grade him solely on what he does as the GM because that is the only time you can say for sure that he had at least a major say in who is being drafted or picked up in free agency.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

Speaking of Skelton, he is now a proud papa. On February 3, 2014, Skelton's girlfriend gave birth to their first son, Jonah Jay Skelton.

By the way, Johnny is a FA and is ready to start for any NFL team in need of a QB. Are you listening Houston?

 

[GuernseyCard]

Personally for me there is far too much speculation involved in determining how much say Keim had in those drafts so I choose to grade him solely on what he does as the GM because that is the only time you can say for sure that he had at least a major say in who is being drafted or picked up in free agency.

Well, it's fair to suggest that had he been in constant disagreement with the GM, he wouldn't have been around to don the mantle.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Well, it's fair to suggest that had he been in constant disagreement with the GM, he wouldn't have been around to don the mantle.

Never suggested he was in constant disagreement, but while we are speculating I could suggest that it's possible that he only agreed on the good pickups and not the bad ones. It could also be possible that even when he didn't really agree that he didn't go out of his way to show just how much he disagreed with a decision. Obviously just way too much speculation to be made about this stuff.

 

[THESMEL]

stats

Hey I give credit to BA being 20th in rush attempts and giving Carson and the oline a chance last year. We were 17th in pass attempts per game. It turned our season around and we had 10 wins! When we reduced our turnovers - We quit shooting our defense in the knee!

I understand the stats but the roles were different. Mendy was 17th in attempts , I appreciate Ellington 42nd in attempts at 118 - but he is not to be pounded up the middle repeatedly. Taylor had a pretty good chance at that role, as did Dwyer in 2012 on that other stinky team. We did not upgrade our RB's in the NFCW(yet) and I think that is a mistake. In fact it is very weak by design.

AJ Mcarron was much more decorated than Logan Thomas, I give credit to what I see, and I didn't see much of Logan Thomas. The link I posted shows me Mr. Thomas is on a different page than the Cardinals. Who think He is a project and far far away from making the team or being the QBOF.

Que balls did the exact opposite of the mainstream draft they executed last year. Their board reached for need and pets rather than BPA- They admit it, defend it - LIKE GOOD Front offices DONT! Comparing me to them is rather silly, how about comparing them to other GM's and coaches? Like stupid Whisenhunt.

Disagree with the Mendy comments. I mean he had 687 yards on a 3.2 yard average, but Ellington had 652 yards on a 5.5 yard average. Hard for me to imagine that the backs currently on the roster can't at least match what we lost in Mendenhall. On top of that Mendenhall also struggled with ball security quite a bit last year.

As for comparing Thomas to past failure QBs for the Cards I would just say that none of those guys were picked by our current GM or head coach. I also like the rest of the draft for that matter, but obviously you feel that you have a better grasp of which players were the better players on the board than the cue balls. That's fine considering you are welcome to your opinion, but I will chose to trust them until they give me a legitimate reason not to.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Hey I give credit to BA being 20th in rush attempts and giving Carson and the oline a chance last year. We were 17th in pass attempts per game. It turned our season around and we had 10 wins! When we reduced our turnovers - We quit shooting our defense in the knee!

I understand the stats but the roles were different. Mendy was 17th in attempts , I appreciate Ellington 42nd in attempts at 118 - but he is not to be pounded up the middle repeatedly. Taylor had a pretty good chance at that role, as did Dwyer in 2012 on that other stinky team. We did not upgrade our RB's in the NFCW(yet) and I think that is a mistake. In fact it is very weak by design.

AJ Mcarron was much more decorated than Logan Thomas, I give credit to what I see, and I didn't see much of Logan Thomas. The link I posted shows me Mr. Thomas is on a different page than the Cardinals. Who think He is a project and far far away from making the team or being the QBOF.

Que balls did the exact opposite of the mainstream draft they executed last year. Their board reached for need and pets rather than BPA- They admit it, defend it - LIKE GOOD Front offices DONT! Comparing me to them is rather silly, how about comparing them to other GM's and coaches? Like stupid Whisenhunt.

And that is based off of your opinion. It is not a fact like you are stating it to be. For all we know all of their picks were either at the top or very close to the top of their board when they made them. The only people who know that are the people that have actually seen their board.

As for running the football I just don't think their was anything even remotely special about what Mendenhall did last year. Also I have a very hard time seeing the pass/run ratio being at 60/40 let alone higher than that. From the 8th game of the season on (once AE started to get a bunch of touches) the pass/run ratio was 55/45. I don't expect it to be quite that balanced this year but I feel very confident that it will be under 60/40.

 

[THESMEL]

mainstream

actually its according to the rest of the world predicting what BPA's were available compared to the cards draft board. But it is what it is, maybe we can cut the volume of players at S and TE now. I am excited to see what premium positions are cut by other teams through the pre season.

Hey I hope Dwyer holds up, he had 49 carries last year and like 230 in his career with a 4 yard average. started 6 games in 2012 as a 6th round draft pick. Pass protection was emphasized with late Round picks Ellington and Taylor last year. The NFCW has no plans to make a living against or DB's. We have plans to make a living against their DB's.

I hope BA doesn't throw Ellington in there to start- like Whiz did with THT. without a FB he will get creamed in this division. He'll get creamed anyhow in this division, I don't think our run game is going to change any game plans- nor force an extra defender in the box. maybe give teams another pass rusher to kill Carson. And we will blame it on the oline.

And that is based off of your opinion. It is not a fact like you are stating it to be. For all we know all of their picks were either at the top or very close to the top of their board when they made them. The only people who know that are the people that have actually seen their board.

As for running the football I just don't think their was anything even remotely special about what Mendenhall did last year. Also I have a very hard time seeing the pass/run ratio being at 60/40 let alone higher than that. From the 8th game of the season on (once AE started to get a bunch of touches) the pass/run ratio was 55/45. I don't expect it to be quite that balanced this year but I feel very confident that it will be under 60/40.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

actually its according to the rest of the world predicting what BPA's were available compared to the cards draft board. But it is what it is, maybe we can cut the volume of players at S and TE now. I am excited to see what premium positions are cut by other teams through the pre season.

Hey I hope Dwyer holds up, he had 49 carries last year and like 230 in his career with a 4 yard average. started 6 games in 2012 as a 6th round draft pick. Pass protection was emphasized with late Round picks Ellington and Taylor last year. The NFCW has no plans to make a living against or DB's. We have plans to make a living against their DB's.

I hope BA doesn't throw Ellington in there to start- like Whiz did with THT. without a FB he will get creamed in this division. He'll get creamed anyhow in this division, I don't think our run game is going to change any game plans- nor force an extra defender in the box. maybe give teams another pass rusher to kill Carson. And we will blame it on the oline.

I figure AE will see about 200 carries (12.5 per game) and that would leave the other 200+ carries for the other 3 backs.

 

[THESMEL]

carries

Yea that is what I'm afraid of, that's 75 carries against the DL's of the NFCW- I don't want to say he can't hold up- but do not see that as his most effective role- just like THT. He will get even more touches as a receiver.

BA expects a lot from a back under 200lbs. like 480 touches a year after never seeing more than 15 carries in a game last year! I guess I'm so very wrong again.

link
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1630220/andre-ellington

Cards' ideal stat line for Andre Ellington: 10 catches, 20 carries

by Larry Hartstein | CBSSports.com


Cardinals coach Bruce Arians expounded this week on his plan to build the offense around second-year running back Andre Ellington.

"He is still not a guy who you will pound up the middle 30 times a game and survive," Arians said at the NFL owners meetings. "He can run the football 30 times a game if you do it correctly, but you'd rather have him have 10 catches and 20 carries and let Stepfan Taylor or (Jonathan) Dwyer have the rest of the carries."

As excited as he is about Ellington, Arians said the offense must be diverse.

"You've got to watch that you don't create too much stuff and then he sprains an ankle and you don't have any offense because you put too much in one basket," Arians said. "You still have to have your cinch-it-up, grind-it-out football.”

I figure AE will see about 200 carries (12.5 per game) and that would leave the other 200+ carries for the other 3 backs.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Yea that is what I'm afraid of, that's 75 carries against the DL's of the NFCW- I don't want to say he can't hold up- but do not see that as his most effective role- just like THT. He will get even more touches as a receiver.

BA expects a lot from a back under 200lbs. like 480 touches a year after never seeing more than 15 carries in a game last year! I guess I'm so very wrong again.

link
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/1630220/andre-ellington

Cards' ideal stat line for Andre Ellington: 10 catches, 20 carries

by Larry Hartstein | CBSSports.com


Cardinals coach Bruce Arians expounded this week on his plan to build the offense around second-year running back Andre Ellington.

"He is still not a guy who you will pound up the middle 30 times a game and survive," Arians said at the NFL owners meetings. "He can run the football 30 times a game if you do it correctly, but you'd rather have him have 10 catches and 20 carries and let Stepfan Taylor or (Jonathan) Dwyer have the rest of the carries."

As excited as he is about Ellington, Arians said the offense must be diverse.

"You've got to watch that you don't create too much stuff and then he sprains an ankle and you don't have any offense because you put too much in one basket," Arians said. "You still have to have your cinch-it-up, grind-it-out football.”

I certainly don't expect nearly that much from him, but who knows maybe he happens to be one of those rare guys that holds up through a lot of touches. The odds are against him with that many touches for sure. I would assume he would want him to be running most of his carries to the outside of the line, but that still seems like at least a little too much to me.

 

[Jim Otis]

Joe Washington ----- Greg Pruitt ------ James Brooks .

 

[HotSauce]

2013 Draft Additions for 2014 Season

Cardinals - North Carolina G Jonathan Cooper and Texas LB Alex Okafor.
49ers - FSU DE Tank Carradine and South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore.
Seahawks - Alabama NT Jesse Williams and LSU CB Tharold Simon
Rams - Alabama OL Barrett Jones

 

[THESMEL]

run game

When we started running Mendy more, the pass game got better, why it is an afterthought is all our shiny objects at WR. But a run game is still the engine on offense- It makes play action and everything else purrrrr!
Our season rest upon Dwyers unproven shoulders.

As defenses get smaller and faster to protect the pas- the run game and RB will come back- without it teams are feast or famine like the Broncos in the SB.

Continuity and consistence in all phases of football starts with the run game. If Dwyer goes down Taylor and Ellington can't carry the load in my opinion.

I certainly don't expect nearly that much from him, but who knows maybe he happens to be one of those rare guys that holds up through a lot of touches. The odds are against him with that many touches for sure. I would assume he would want him to be running most of his carries to the outside of the line, but that still seems like at least a little too much to me.

 

[Southpaw]

Is it possible that the Seahawks are coming back to the pack by attrition,defection, success and bloated salary structure? They could be a one and done SB winner.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Is it possible that the Seahawks are coming back to the pack by attrition,deflection, success and bloated salary structure? They could be a one and done SB winner.

I think this is pretty much a given for almost all SB winners. In part because winning it all involves a lot of luck but also because the NFL wants its parity.

Steve

 

[THESMEL]

carrol

Carrol earned it, I mean they did it through the draft and are in better shape than any SB winner I remember, young, happy and set for a long run. I respect the hell out of em, but that don't mean I have to like em.

As Lynch goes the Seahawks go just like Gore and the Niners. We pretty much stopped them - and that wasn't enough. WE need 12 wins and at least 3 have to be in our division to win the west.

WE plan to pass them to death- should prove exciting.

Is it possible that the Seahawks are coming back to the pack by attrition,deflection, success and bloated salary structure? They could be a one and done SB winner.

 

[GuernseyCard]

I think this is pretty much a given for almost all SB winners. In part because winning it all involves a lot of luck but also because the NFL wants its parity.

Steve

Don't see how what 'the NFl wants' has a bearing on how Seahags play this season. I can imagine a hangover in 2014 and a return with a vengeance in 2015.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Don't see how what 'the NFl wants' has a bearing on how Seahags play this season. I can imagine a hangover in 2014 and a return with a vengeance in 2015.

I was talking about all the things the league has done to promote parity such as salary cap and shared revenues. Seattle will still be good this season but each year they succeed makes the next one a little harder. How many more of their stars can they keep home?

Steve

 

[Darkside]

The schedule-makers have a much broader impact on standings and success than all that stuff if you ask me.