Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
ESPN's NFL Live crew just interviewed Coach Whiz from Lake Tahoe where he is playing in the charity golf outing, and Whiz, donning his black Cardinals hat and Cardinal red golf shirt said that, despite dealing with Haley's defection and some adversity in the way of contract situations, the best thing the team learned last year was a sense of confidence in their preparation and practice intensity during the playoffs and that he expects this confidence to carry over into the training camp and into the season.
In order to ensure such a spirited and focussed camp, I have a feeling that Whiz is going to take his deepest and most talented Cardinals' roster to date and put basically all the starting jobs up for grabs. This is one of the reasons why Whiz has earned the player's attention and respect: the best players play, period. No excuses for anyone. Players have to earn jobs the old-fashioned way: they have to EARN them.
With this in mind, here are some of the developments at the various positions I think we might see throughout training camp.
Quarterback. Kurt Warner is in complete control of the starting position, and because of how well he knows the offense and how ell he has developed a chemistry with his personnel, and because of his age and the concern to try as best to keep him fresh, Warner probably won't play very much in the pre-season. My guess is that he will play one series of the Pittsburgh game, and then will play a quarter and a half of the 3rd pre-season game at home versus the Packers. That's it.
What this means is we will see quite a bit of both Matt Leinart and Brian St. Pierre. And while the edge goes to Leinart for being the #2, there is no question this will be a competition. While I wouldn't expect Whiz to publicly name a #2 if the competition is close, because I think he will want to protect Leinart from further media scrutiny, I believe that Whiz wants to come out of the pre-season knowing which QB he would turn to if, God forbid, Warner gets hurt. Therefore, we will not know who the real #2 is unless Warner is out for a game or two or more.
Running Back
What we will see for the first three quarters of the pre-season games is a rotation of Tim Hightower, Beanie Wells, Jason Wright and LaRod Stephens-Howling. The Cardinals are going to put a good deal of emphasis on running the ball this pre-season, so each of these players is going to get his fair share of the load. While I fully expect Hightower and Wells to have some big carries in the pre-season, I think we will al be pleasantly surprised with the talent of Wright and Stephens-Howling. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Stephens-Howling becomes somewhat of a darling amongst the fans. We won't soon forget how he cried in his Cardinals' interview after he was drafted, and this kid clearly has a chip on his shoulder and always has. He will lay it all out there. The only question is: will Whiz be able to keep him on the 53 man roster?
At Fullback, we will all be delighted with blocking specialist Dan Kreider, as he is the real deal and the best blocking FB we've had in quite some time. However, I think we will also become intrigued with Justin Green who may challenge Kreider for the roster spot, especially since Green is such a good STer.
Tim Castille is the wild card. There's no question he is a nifty, versatile back to have in the red zone and he is a triple threat there as a blocker, rusher and receiver. The problem for Castille is that this roster is getting so deep and the role players basically HAVE to be good STers. Thus far Castille has only been so-so in that area.
Offensive Line
This is where we will see the most heated of competitions. One might think that Russ grimm will want to keep building on the continuity he's had with the line of Gandy-Wells-Sendlein-Lutui-L.Brown. And that certainly may be the case. But, if any of these starters comes to camp out of shape or starts to falter, say hello to the likes of Brandon Keith, Elliot Vallejo, Elton Brown, Herman Johnson and yes, even Trevor Canfield. Right now, I would venture to say that Brandon Keith has a 50/50 shot of winning the RG job. And while this may seem absurd to some of you, Elliot Vallejo has an outside chance to beat out Mike Gandy at LT. Vallejo is a more agile and talented pass protector than Gandy, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Gandy shidfted inside this year in favor of having Vallejo take on the speed rushers at DE. Elton Brown's versatility will give him a shot at both guard and tackle. I expect Russ Grimm to try to groom Herman Johnson as a RT, but it's going to take some time and patience there. No matter what, the team is not going to put Johnson on waivers, not with his prodiguious size and potential. And unless they try to hide him, Canfield, by virtue of his toughness and motivation will win a roster spot and may even find himself in the lineup by mid-season at center or guard.
While Whiz and Grimm will want to keep 10 offensive linemen on the roster, they may not be able to, which means that a surprise move of sorts may be made...and possibly even a late training-camp trade.
Ben Claxton should be solid at center too, but his odds of sticking would have to depend on injuries, on a suprise release of one of the more touted players, or on beating Sendlein out, which isn't totally out of the realm of possibility, but is highly unlikely.
The guy I like for the practice squad is RT Brandon Pierce. He's got good height at 6-6, needs to get a little stronger, but is particularly talented at pass bocking.
Tight End
It will be great to see a legitimate blocking TE in Anthony Becht. If he's in shape and on his game, he is a roster lock. With Ben Patrick facing a 4 game suspension, Leonard Pope, Stephen Spach and Dominique Byrd will be vying for the other two spots. This presents an enormous opportuntiy for Leonard Pope to emerge as the clear starter and performer of this group. The question is: can Pope be the consistent, error-free blocker and receiver he's capable of being? Spach has the work ethic and competitiveness the coaches love. But Byrd is a more gifted pass receiver, and if he establishes a chemistry with his USC buddy Matt Leinart or with Brian St. Pierre, he could win himself a job. Because the Cardinals will be running the ball a lot this pre-season, look for the TE to become more involved in the play-action passing game, which is why Pope, Spach and Byrd will have opportunites to shine.
Wide Receiver
Because of the emerging depth at this position, I would expect Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to play about as much as Kurt Warner in the pre-season, which may amount in total to two and a half quarters in total. There is no reason to play these guys a lot.
What will be fascinating to see is how well Steve Breaston picks up where he left off last year, how improved Early Doucet has become this season, how further improved Jerheme Urban is, and just how dynamic Lance Long can be now that he has had a year in the system. I think each of these WRs will have more than a few big moments this pre-season.
It will also be fascinating to see if Whiz will line up the All-USA sprinter Michael Ray Garvin wide and let him fly up the field on go routes. In addition, Onrea Jones has had some impressive pre-seasons in the past, so he might turn some heads, as might Edward Gant as a pure pass receiver.
Defensive Linemen
Rotations, rotations, rotations all summer long. We will be watching all different three man combos out there, starting with the trio of Dockett, Watson and Campbell. While I don't expect Dockett to play beyond the first quarter of three of the pre-season games, we will be able to get a very look at the likes of Bryan Robinson, Alan Branch, Ken Iwebema, Keilen Dykes, Jason Banks and Rodney Leisle...and this competition will be a dog fight right to the finish. It will be very intersting to see which players emerge from this group. Will Branch's light be on this year? Can Bryan Robinson stave off the youth behind him? Can Kenny Iwebema take off in this rotation now that he's 100% healthy? Is Keilen Dykes the power end we need? Or is Jason Banks? Or Rodney Leisle? Right now one would think they are all neck and neck. No doubt this will be one of the more interesting and heated roster battles this pre-season, at positions where the Cardinals need depth. If a few of these players don't emerge, the Cardinals may have to scour the waiver wires or a make a trade come September.
Linebackers
On ESPN after they were talking about Dansby taking fancy in T-Sizzle's new contract numbers, they made a great point in that Suggs was able to convince the Ravens that he should be paid as a DE, because his job is to rush the edge. Thus, the ESPN boys concluded that Dansby would have to get his sack numbers up to warrant a T-Sizzle type contract. While Bill Davis probably won't give away too much scheme-wise this pre-season one would think and hope that because the Cardinals did not do much personnel-wise to improve their pass rush this off-season that Karlos Dansby and his pal Adrian Wilson will in fact be called on more regularly to rush the passer. This should delight Dansby for the reasons stated above. And, if Dansby can match or better the 8 sacks he made three years ago, the last time he played on the edge, then both he and the Cardinals can profit from this scenario. That said, we probaby, as I indicated, won't see Dansby rushing the passer much in pre-season.
Gerald Hayes and Dansby will man the middle spots and play the first halves. What should be interesting is to see what happens after they hit the sidelines. The depth at ILB is very thin. Right now it looks as if Pago Togafau and Ali Highsmith would be the first two in. Togafau started strong in pre-season as a smallish, but feisty tackler two years ago, but faded toward the last pre-season game. Highsmith is returning from injury, but could be even more of a fan favorite if he starts to shine, especially in light of Dansby's likely departure next season. Highsmith is a very good chaser and has good instincts. If he's done his work well in the TR with John Lott, he could be one of the great surprises in TC. Rookies Reggie Walker and Chase Bullock oth have great opportunities because of the lack of depth, although Walker seems better suited to the outside and Bullock wil need to play faster and with more suddenness than he played at college.
On the outside, Chike Okeafor returns to the right edge where he was most effective a couple of years ago. Clark haggans is a fiery and smart player who is coming off an injury and didn't look quite as fast or quick as he did previously as a Steeler. This year he needs a Rennaisance...and it would be a real boon for the Cardinals if he steps up. Bertrand Berry should be the situational pass rusher of the group. And it will be great fun to watch the two rookie edge rushers in Cody Brown and Will Davis rush hard to the QB from the edges. Will Davis be able to make the roster? He need a very good pre-season.
The wild card here is Victor Hobson...who is capable of playing at a very high level both as a SOLB and an 34ILB. The Cardinals need him to push haggans hard at LOLB and they need him to fill in at ILB when need be. This is a big camp for him and he can really put his career back on the right track with a big year.
Defensive Backs
I sure hope Bill Davis plays man-to-man as much as he can this pre-season. He's got two very aggressive corners in DRC and BMF...and it will be very interesting to see how well Greg Toler fits in as a cover CB. Ralph Brown and Michael Adams may be fighting for one of the roster spots and if Toler can do what Brown did last year and maybe even better, Adams may wind up with the job seeing as he is one heckuva gunner on STs. Actually, I think the Cardinals may keep 5 CBs anyway, which would make Brown's job safe. But, these roster cuts are going to be very tough to make.
The young CB to keep an eye on is Jameel Dowling, who is a tall cover corner with smooth speed and good reactions. Tony Davis of Penn. St. is solid and a PS candidate...but may turn some heads more than you think.
The starting safeties Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle have been complimented very well with the addition of cover FS Rashad Johnson...who I think is going to be the Cardinals' defensive rookie of the year. Bill Davis will be able to play some three safety sets where he can slide Wilson and Rolle up into the box or the slot. While we may not see as much of this in the pre-season because Davis won't want to give away too much, what little we will see will likely have us feeling pretty confident about the secondary's versatility.
Aaron Francisco, Matt Ware and Keith Lewis are three veterans vying for what may be only one spot. Right now, there's no telling who will emerge. Of the three I think Francisco is the best backup SS, hands down. And his ST ability remains an asset. Lewis is a very ST player too...and to keep him Whiz might have to part ways with Sean Morey, which wouldn't seem likely. But, again, these roster decisions are going to be very difficult.
But there's one safety prospect who might be knocking on the door and that's Dennis Keyes...a big hitter who last year had a pick six in pre-season.
Kicking Game
Rackers returns off a very good year. Graham retruns off a solid post-season, and was maybe the best and most reliable holder Rackers has had! LS Mike Leach is a savvy veteran and one of the better snappers in the NFL.
In order to ensure such a spirited and focussed camp, I have a feeling that Whiz is going to take his deepest and most talented Cardinals' roster to date and put basically all the starting jobs up for grabs. This is one of the reasons why Whiz has earned the player's attention and respect: the best players play, period. No excuses for anyone. Players have to earn jobs the old-fashioned way: they have to EARN them.
With this in mind, here are some of the developments at the various positions I think we might see throughout training camp.
Quarterback. Kurt Warner is in complete control of the starting position, and because of how well he knows the offense and how ell he has developed a chemistry with his personnel, and because of his age and the concern to try as best to keep him fresh, Warner probably won't play very much in the pre-season. My guess is that he will play one series of the Pittsburgh game, and then will play a quarter and a half of the 3rd pre-season game at home versus the Packers. That's it.
What this means is we will see quite a bit of both Matt Leinart and Brian St. Pierre. And while the edge goes to Leinart for being the #2, there is no question this will be a competition. While I wouldn't expect Whiz to publicly name a #2 if the competition is close, because I think he will want to protect Leinart from further media scrutiny, I believe that Whiz wants to come out of the pre-season knowing which QB he would turn to if, God forbid, Warner gets hurt. Therefore, we will not know who the real #2 is unless Warner is out for a game or two or more.
Running Back
What we will see for the first three quarters of the pre-season games is a rotation of Tim Hightower, Beanie Wells, Jason Wright and LaRod Stephens-Howling. The Cardinals are going to put a good deal of emphasis on running the ball this pre-season, so each of these players is going to get his fair share of the load. While I fully expect Hightower and Wells to have some big carries in the pre-season, I think we will al be pleasantly surprised with the talent of Wright and Stephens-Howling. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Stephens-Howling becomes somewhat of a darling amongst the fans. We won't soon forget how he cried in his Cardinals' interview after he was drafted, and this kid clearly has a chip on his shoulder and always has. He will lay it all out there. The only question is: will Whiz be able to keep him on the 53 man roster?
At Fullback, we will all be delighted with blocking specialist Dan Kreider, as he is the real deal and the best blocking FB we've had in quite some time. However, I think we will also become intrigued with Justin Green who may challenge Kreider for the roster spot, especially since Green is such a good STer.
Tim Castille is the wild card. There's no question he is a nifty, versatile back to have in the red zone and he is a triple threat there as a blocker, rusher and receiver. The problem for Castille is that this roster is getting so deep and the role players basically HAVE to be good STers. Thus far Castille has only been so-so in that area.
Offensive Line
This is where we will see the most heated of competitions. One might think that Russ grimm will want to keep building on the continuity he's had with the line of Gandy-Wells-Sendlein-Lutui-L.Brown. And that certainly may be the case. But, if any of these starters comes to camp out of shape or starts to falter, say hello to the likes of Brandon Keith, Elliot Vallejo, Elton Brown, Herman Johnson and yes, even Trevor Canfield. Right now, I would venture to say that Brandon Keith has a 50/50 shot of winning the RG job. And while this may seem absurd to some of you, Elliot Vallejo has an outside chance to beat out Mike Gandy at LT. Vallejo is a more agile and talented pass protector than Gandy, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Gandy shidfted inside this year in favor of having Vallejo take on the speed rushers at DE. Elton Brown's versatility will give him a shot at both guard and tackle. I expect Russ Grimm to try to groom Herman Johnson as a RT, but it's going to take some time and patience there. No matter what, the team is not going to put Johnson on waivers, not with his prodiguious size and potential. And unless they try to hide him, Canfield, by virtue of his toughness and motivation will win a roster spot and may even find himself in the lineup by mid-season at center or guard.
While Whiz and Grimm will want to keep 10 offensive linemen on the roster, they may not be able to, which means that a surprise move of sorts may be made...and possibly even a late training-camp trade.
Ben Claxton should be solid at center too, but his odds of sticking would have to depend on injuries, on a suprise release of one of the more touted players, or on beating Sendlein out, which isn't totally out of the realm of possibility, but is highly unlikely.
The guy I like for the practice squad is RT Brandon Pierce. He's got good height at 6-6, needs to get a little stronger, but is particularly talented at pass bocking.
Tight End
It will be great to see a legitimate blocking TE in Anthony Becht. If he's in shape and on his game, he is a roster lock. With Ben Patrick facing a 4 game suspension, Leonard Pope, Stephen Spach and Dominique Byrd will be vying for the other two spots. This presents an enormous opportuntiy for Leonard Pope to emerge as the clear starter and performer of this group. The question is: can Pope be the consistent, error-free blocker and receiver he's capable of being? Spach has the work ethic and competitiveness the coaches love. But Byrd is a more gifted pass receiver, and if he establishes a chemistry with his USC buddy Matt Leinart or with Brian St. Pierre, he could win himself a job. Because the Cardinals will be running the ball a lot this pre-season, look for the TE to become more involved in the play-action passing game, which is why Pope, Spach and Byrd will have opportunites to shine.
Wide Receiver
Because of the emerging depth at this position, I would expect Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to play about as much as Kurt Warner in the pre-season, which may amount in total to two and a half quarters in total. There is no reason to play these guys a lot.
What will be fascinating to see is how well Steve Breaston picks up where he left off last year, how improved Early Doucet has become this season, how further improved Jerheme Urban is, and just how dynamic Lance Long can be now that he has had a year in the system. I think each of these WRs will have more than a few big moments this pre-season.
It will also be fascinating to see if Whiz will line up the All-USA sprinter Michael Ray Garvin wide and let him fly up the field on go routes. In addition, Onrea Jones has had some impressive pre-seasons in the past, so he might turn some heads, as might Edward Gant as a pure pass receiver.
Defensive Linemen
Rotations, rotations, rotations all summer long. We will be watching all different three man combos out there, starting with the trio of Dockett, Watson and Campbell. While I don't expect Dockett to play beyond the first quarter of three of the pre-season games, we will be able to get a very look at the likes of Bryan Robinson, Alan Branch, Ken Iwebema, Keilen Dykes, Jason Banks and Rodney Leisle...and this competition will be a dog fight right to the finish. It will be very intersting to see which players emerge from this group. Will Branch's light be on this year? Can Bryan Robinson stave off the youth behind him? Can Kenny Iwebema take off in this rotation now that he's 100% healthy? Is Keilen Dykes the power end we need? Or is Jason Banks? Or Rodney Leisle? Right now one would think they are all neck and neck. No doubt this will be one of the more interesting and heated roster battles this pre-season, at positions where the Cardinals need depth. If a few of these players don't emerge, the Cardinals may have to scour the waiver wires or a make a trade come September.
Linebackers
On ESPN after they were talking about Dansby taking fancy in T-Sizzle's new contract numbers, they made a great point in that Suggs was able to convince the Ravens that he should be paid as a DE, because his job is to rush the edge. Thus, the ESPN boys concluded that Dansby would have to get his sack numbers up to warrant a T-Sizzle type contract. While Bill Davis probably won't give away too much scheme-wise this pre-season one would think and hope that because the Cardinals did not do much personnel-wise to improve their pass rush this off-season that Karlos Dansby and his pal Adrian Wilson will in fact be called on more regularly to rush the passer. This should delight Dansby for the reasons stated above. And, if Dansby can match or better the 8 sacks he made three years ago, the last time he played on the edge, then both he and the Cardinals can profit from this scenario. That said, we probaby, as I indicated, won't see Dansby rushing the passer much in pre-season.
Gerald Hayes and Dansby will man the middle spots and play the first halves. What should be interesting is to see what happens after they hit the sidelines. The depth at ILB is very thin. Right now it looks as if Pago Togafau and Ali Highsmith would be the first two in. Togafau started strong in pre-season as a smallish, but feisty tackler two years ago, but faded toward the last pre-season game. Highsmith is returning from injury, but could be even more of a fan favorite if he starts to shine, especially in light of Dansby's likely departure next season. Highsmith is a very good chaser and has good instincts. If he's done his work well in the TR with John Lott, he could be one of the great surprises in TC. Rookies Reggie Walker and Chase Bullock oth have great opportunities because of the lack of depth, although Walker seems better suited to the outside and Bullock wil need to play faster and with more suddenness than he played at college.
On the outside, Chike Okeafor returns to the right edge where he was most effective a couple of years ago. Clark haggans is a fiery and smart player who is coming off an injury and didn't look quite as fast or quick as he did previously as a Steeler. This year he needs a Rennaisance...and it would be a real boon for the Cardinals if he steps up. Bertrand Berry should be the situational pass rusher of the group. And it will be great fun to watch the two rookie edge rushers in Cody Brown and Will Davis rush hard to the QB from the edges. Will Davis be able to make the roster? He need a very good pre-season.
The wild card here is Victor Hobson...who is capable of playing at a very high level both as a SOLB and an 34ILB. The Cardinals need him to push haggans hard at LOLB and they need him to fill in at ILB when need be. This is a big camp for him and he can really put his career back on the right track with a big year.
Defensive Backs
I sure hope Bill Davis plays man-to-man as much as he can this pre-season. He's got two very aggressive corners in DRC and BMF...and it will be very interesting to see how well Greg Toler fits in as a cover CB. Ralph Brown and Michael Adams may be fighting for one of the roster spots and if Toler can do what Brown did last year and maybe even better, Adams may wind up with the job seeing as he is one heckuva gunner on STs. Actually, I think the Cardinals may keep 5 CBs anyway, which would make Brown's job safe. But, these roster cuts are going to be very tough to make.
The young CB to keep an eye on is Jameel Dowling, who is a tall cover corner with smooth speed and good reactions. Tony Davis of Penn. St. is solid and a PS candidate...but may turn some heads more than you think.
The starting safeties Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle have been complimented very well with the addition of cover FS Rashad Johnson...who I think is going to be the Cardinals' defensive rookie of the year. Bill Davis will be able to play some three safety sets where he can slide Wilson and Rolle up into the box or the slot. While we may not see as much of this in the pre-season because Davis won't want to give away too much, what little we will see will likely have us feeling pretty confident about the secondary's versatility.
Aaron Francisco, Matt Ware and Keith Lewis are three veterans vying for what may be only one spot. Right now, there's no telling who will emerge. Of the three I think Francisco is the best backup SS, hands down. And his ST ability remains an asset. Lewis is a very ST player too...and to keep him Whiz might have to part ways with Sean Morey, which wouldn't seem likely. But, again, these roster decisions are going to be very difficult.
But there's one safety prospect who might be knocking on the door and that's Dennis Keyes...a big hitter who last year had a pick six in pre-season.
Kicking Game
Rackers returns off a very good year. Graham retruns off a solid post-season, and was maybe the best and most reliable holder Rackers has had! LS Mike Leach is a savvy veteran and one of the better snappers in the NFL.
