Thoughts on T Levi Brown and RB Brian Leonard

[40yearfan]

Sheesh guys. Settle down. I thought I was on the P & R Board for a minute.

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

Sheesh guys. Settle down. I thought I was on the P & R Board for a minute.

 

[52brandon]

he really is beyond incredible. just think about how AWFUL those Minny teams would have been with Tavaris Jackson/Ponder at QB and then realize they went to the playoffs with AP...pretty much as the only weapon on those teams.

agreed. And in a league where over the years they made the passing game easier and running game harder, shortening RB careers, but he still came so close to breaking Dickerson's record just last year. After coming off a record recovery from an injury that would end a lesser athlete's career. Just unbelievable. And while I've never actually seen him off the field, he strikes me as a really good dude. Never heard of anybody having a problem. The kind of athlete kids should really look up to

 

[cardpa]

I just wasted 5 minutes of my life reading this thread.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

The best thing I got out of this thread is that my assessment of Brian Leonard on page 2 was dead on .

 

[wembley88]

The best thing I got out of this thread is that my assessment of Brian Leonard on page 2 was dead on .

Can i claim the same on Ray Rice on page 1

 

[THESMEL]

Hmm

Hard to please? Ever heard of a octorecutmy? where a Dr. cuts the nerve between your eyeballs and your Azhole - so you aint got such a crappy outlook on life-

Levi defended well over 3000 pass attempts in 5 years- more than any in history! His Forte is a road grader but we were last in rush attempts over them 5 years. He has more production with less help in a dare you to Blitz Levi repeatedly-kill the oline offense.

AP is great- but Levi helped the Cards to their first SB- and he is the last thing you need to worry about on this team.

I never chimed in on this thread (thank God), but I remember after Thomas was selected at #3, having a sick feeling in my stomach about Levi. Then I remembered an interview with Graves on XTRA 910 the week prior indicating that he felt Brown was just as good as Thomas, which made me even more uneasy.

What's interesting is despite the fact that Levi didn't play at all last season due to injury, it was his most productive season. For the entirety of his career, he has been labeled as one of the worst tackles in the league and expendable, and rightfully so due to his struggles with speed pass rushers. When players like DJ Young and D'Anthony Batiste took over, we were surprised to find that there are worse tackles in the league than Levi.

I still don't think Levi is worth the money he has been paid throughout his career. He is awful in pass pro. But the organization still has faith in him, including the new coaching staff, so I'm curious to see how the new gambit of o-line coaches plan on making this guy productive and worth his #5 draft slot in 2007.

 

[Southpaw]

Why do those two things have to be related? I didn't even think about that. I went looking for a thread on Adam Bergen because I didn't remember that guy even existed.

Yeah, Mitch was wrong on his scout of Levi Brown and Brian Leonard, but Mitch is wrong about all sorts of stuff. Mostly, I thought Southpaw being all in on Levi and Rugby talking about how he's terrified that we'd trade back and get stuck with Joe Staley instead of Brown was hilarious.

If I wanted to humiliate Mitch, I'd go back to those threads where he's sure that D'Anthony Batiste might be the answer at left tackle.

I want to take back whatever I said.

 

[MoeIsBetter]

Great bump lol. I didn't take this as a knock on Mitch. Not Mitch's fault that his posts generate this many responses. K9 is right, lol. This was an awesome thread to go back and read again.

 

[MadCardDisease]

If you have the Senior Bowl on tape...go and watch Levi Brown...I'll tell you this, after his performance there, you may come to the conclusion, as I have, that even at #5, Levi Brown is the best choice for Whiz's system if the team wants to draft its LT there.

As for the third round...keep an eye on LB Buster Davis or CB Josh Wilson if either one of them is available. Davis has a tremendous low center of gravity and he's quick to the ball and delivers textbook tackles.

Wow. Mitch nailed two of the Cardinals first three draft picks a month before the draft. That in itself is pretty impressive.

 

[MoeIsBetter]

Wow. Mitch nailed two of the Cardinals first three draft picks a month before the draft. That in itself is pretty impressive.

+1

 

[RedRob]

On the other hand a lot of people seem to believe the rest of the offensive line's performance is going to improve simply because the Cardinals have a new coaching staff.

Considering how dumb the last two coaching staffs proved to be I'm going to wait at least 3 years before I give the new guys any credit at all.

The most insightful comment in this entire thread...nailed it.

 

[SeattleCard]

I just wasted 5 minutes of my life reading this thread.

this.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

This is a fun thread.

 

[Mitch]

I remain a strong believer in Levi Brown---the way he played his last 8 games at LT is akin to the way he played LT his senior year at Penn St.

Why did it take this long?

1. He was switched to RT the minute he walked into the Cardinals' facility. First of all, my original remarks were based on the premise that Brown would be the LT---if you think switching from playing the left side all your life to the right side is easy, it is not in the least. You have to retrain your muscle memory, which in sports is so key to a player's success in any sport. The next time you are golfing, try to chip and putt left handed---just try it. That's what it would feel like to a rookie making the switch.

Note too that tackles that are drafted in the top 5 or 10---are LTs. Not RTs.

2. He spent 3 years at RT---so transitioning over to the left side again after 3 years wasn't easy, especially in taking on the elite speed rushers---made even more difficult by the fact that the Cardinals had no top threat speed rushers in practice to allow for Brown to improve---it's kind of like a hitter in baseball trying to adjust and hit 90 mph fastballs when all you get in practice every day are 75 mph fastballs.

This is one of the reasons why Brown and the Cardinal tackles typically would struggle at the beginning of games. Practice hadn't prepared them for what they were going to face.

3. Brown has not been well coached---tackle play is not one of the previous coaches best strengths. In fact, it was a glaring weakness.

4. Brown played in a system where he received little to no help against the best edge rushers---edge rushers that virtually every LT could use some help with.

Provided that Brown stays healthy---he will now have the coaching and help that he will need in order to thrive.

People keep harping on Adrian Peterson, and by now we all know that virtually every team that passed on him made an egregious mistake---but, none of us as I recall ever questioned AP's talent, nor his desire to be great---his injuries at Oklahoma made him a risky pick, especially the shoulder injury and the worry that he would have issues with that shoulder for the duration of his career. The injury factor is what caused teams to think twice about taking him at the top of the draft.

As for Brian Leonard, he struck me as the kind of all-purpose RB the team would be interested in. Personally, he reminded me of one of my favorite RBs growing up: Tucker Fredrickson of the NY Giants. Man, was he good.

 

[WildBB]

As for Brian Leonard, he struck me as the kind of all-purpose RB the team would be interested in. Personally, he reminded me of one of my favorite RBs growing up: Tucker Fredrickson of the NY Giants. Man, was he good.

Here's another one that no one knows: First Giant (not Frank Gifford) to run for 1,000yds / season. (When there was still a 14 game season).


#5 RB Ron Johnson 1970-75
Ron Johnson
Ron Johnson

Ron Johnson came to the Giants in a trade with the Browns for popular WR Homer Jones, and the impact was iminent as he became the first Giant to ever have over 1,000 yards rushing in a season in 1970. He repeated that feat in 1972. It is no coinsidence that the only 2 winning seasons from 1964-1980 were the years that Ron Johnson was at his best. Chronic knee problems, and a hand injury in 1974 hampered his career, but he still remains one of the fans' favorite Giants.

Lead Giants In rushing 3 times in 6 years.

First Giant with 1,000 yards rushing in a season 1,027 in 1970, & 1,182 in 1972.

2 Time Pro Bowler 1970, & 1972

1 Time First-Team All-Pro (1970)

 

[GatorAZ]

Palmer will help Levi more than Cooper and the new coaches will. Walter Jones said OL are only as confident as their QB. I think he could still drop 10 lbs to counter speed-rushers but we should be okay with him at LT... Tbh I'm more worried about Colledge/Potter's side.

 

[52brandon]

Palmer will help Levi more than Cooper and the new coaches will. Walter Jones said OL are only as confident as their QB. I think he could still drop 10 lbs to counter speed-rushers but we should be okay with him at LT... Tbh I'm more worried about Colledge/Potter's side.

que? You mean Massie, no? Levi is taking Potter's spot. Though I hope Potter beats himout for it over the season. Would be a beautiful stroke of luck if we can have our young, cheap '12 7th rounder prove he is our best choice for that position

 

[GatorAZ]

que? You mean Massie, no? Levi is taking Potter's spot. Though I hope Potter beats himout for it over the season. Would be a beautiful stroke of luck if we can have our young, cheap '12 7th rounder prove he is our best choice for that position

Yeah Massie. However I think Potter might compete with Colledge for RG.

 

[52brandon]

Yeah Massie. However I think Potter might compete with Colledge for RG.

I wouldn't mind that at all. I think Colledge is our most expensive Olineman, I'd really like to see Kelemete take that job and Potter compete with Levi. We could save a ton if those 2 ended up being our guys instead

 

[GatorAZ]

I wouldn't mind that at all. I think Colledge is our most expensive Olineman, I'd really like to see Kelemete take that job and Potter compete with Levi. We could save a ton if those 2 ended up being our guys instead

Agree but I think we have to keep Colledge thru next season. Imagine we release Colledge then Cooper gets hurt..........

 

[52brandon]

Agree but I think we have to keep Colledge thru next season. Imagine we release Colledge then Cooper gets hurt..........

if Potter ends up being able to play G and Kelemete turns out to be as good as he hinted at last year, we'd be fine. Especially if Arians' 4th rd pet project (can't think of his name for the life of me) develops quickly this year, we'll be pretty deep at G. I never thought I would get to say that as a Cards fan

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Can i claim the same on Ray Rice on page 1

No. For it to count, the player's name has to appear in the thread title.

 

[cardncubfan]

Catfish, does Mitch really need your constant defense? Let it go, dude. Go save the whales or something.

This made me Lol.

 

[cardncubfan]

if Potter ends up being able to play G and Kelemete turns out to be as good as he hinted at last year, we'd be fine. Especially if Arians' 4th rd pet project (can't think of his name for the life of me) develops quickly this year, we'll be pretty deep at G. I never thought I would get to say that as a Cards fan

Watford?