Thoughts on The Cardinals' Missing Roster Pieces

[Cbus cardsfan]

I don't think he'll be as bad as Holt either. He better not be. I'm just using Holt as the other extreme because everyone just assumes Rhodes is easily better than Rolle and is a top notch safety. I hope they are all right. But, if I had to choose if Rhodes was more on par with Ed Reed or Holt, I would lean toward Holt. He's really done little for 3 years and was jettisoned by one of the best, if not the best, defensive coach in the game. I've been wrong plenty of times before and hope I am again but i'll have to see it before I just assume he's an upgrade.

 

[Mitch]

What's so frustrating is the Cardinals' GM and FO don't put the necessary finishing touches on the roster in areas that require significant upgrades...that is...if the desire goal is to hoist the Lombardi Trophy back home in Glendale. Is that the goal?

I spent all of the off-season last year bemoaning what very little the Cardinals did to addres the two things that prevented them from winning the Lombardi: the edge pass rush and the team's CB and S coverage.

Joe and others argued the Cardinals did not have any feasible options and thus did all they could.

My rebuttal has been that the Cardinals already knew they could win with the disgruntled WR Anquan Boldin. With him as a major bargaining piece in a trade, could the Cardinals have dealt him for an edge rusher or a cover CB?

The point is...the Cardinals did not actively shop Boldin, they simply "listened" to offers.

Look at what the Vikings did a couple of years ago to make their pass rush one of the best in the NFL. The Vikings knew they had two stud DTs in the Williamses, but they lacked a prolific edge rusher...so they traded for Jared Allen. This is what teams that covet the Lombardi do.

All the Cardinals could muster up...following that Super Bowl defensive meltdown that showcased a totally unthreatened Ben Roethlisberger in the pocket, throwing to wide open WRs...was:

One free agent signing: CB Bryant McFadden, whom not only did they vastly overpay for at $5m guaranteed, they grossly mistook for a good man cover CB. McFadden played well in Pittsburgh because of their pass rush and because he was coached to keep everything in front of him (zone style) and just react.

Four draft picks: OLB Cody Brown (2nd), FS Rashad Johnson (3rd), CB Greg Toler (4th) and OLB Will Davis (6th). This was a good effort, but really could anyone expect these rookies to step in and play at the level it takes to help the team win a Lombardi?

That's all. 1 UFA and 4 rookies...NONE of whom made the team significantly better at their positions last year.

The result?

90 points given up in consecutive playoff games, an NFL record.

This begs the question, why even sign Kurt Warner if you are not going to improve the defense to give the team a legitimate chance at the Lombardi?

And I haven't even mentioned the decision to promote LB coach Bill Davis to defensive coordinator...who for the first time in his NFL career was calling the defensive plays. Mike Nolan called the defensive plays when Davis was the DC in SF.

This year the clear needs (with the exception of QB, thanks to Kurt Warner's retirement) are once again on defense...and having not sufficiently addressed the OLB edge rusher position last year, it remained a priority, as does the CB position and now because of Gerald Hayes' back problems and Karlos Dansby's defection, the ILB positions are glaringly in need of an immediate upgrade.

The good news is the Cardinals finally made a good effort to improve the edge rush by adding Joey Porter, Stevie Baggs and O'Brien Schofield (4th)..with the hope that young'uns Cody Brown, Will Davis and Mark Washington will prove to be legitmate NFL talents and contributors.

The bad news is that the CB position (aside from the rehabbing DRC) is suddenly in the hands of three to four totally unproven players. Sure, it was clear that CB Bryant McFadden wasn't worth a $5M salary as a backup...or even as a starter the way he played last year...but...why haven't the Cardinals made any move to bring in a solid veteran? The Browns acquired CB Sheldon Brown for a third day draft pick...what's up with the Cardinals?

Even worse, when asked about the tenuous situation the Cardinals find themselves in at CB, Whiz stated that he didn't see the situation as imminent. What?

It makes no sense to finally assemble what looks to be a potentially good pass rush, only to have unproven players at CB.

Then at ILB, the answers to having to replace Hayes and Dansby are UFA Paris Lenon, fresh off a 45 tackle year with the Rams (who had no interest in re-sgning him), to re-sign Monty Beisel who has a back problem of his own and has played nowhere near as strong as he did two to three years ago, and draft Daryl Washington (2nd), the only possible pearl in this oyster, but again is a mere rookie stepping into an area of immense need.

At QB, the answer is to put the team's hopes in the hands of two 26 year old QBs who were not #1 starters on their teams the past two years. If they fail at least the Cardinals acquired a 22 year old rookie in John Skelton to possibly provide hope for the future.

All this in a year where clearly the Cardinals could have acquired QB Donovan McNabb (and his 1 Super Bowl, 5 NFC Championship experience), who, for one, WANTED to play in Arizona, and, for two, was traded to an NFC rival (which was certainly not what Philly would have preferred if they had a good offer from the Cardinals), and, for three, would have allowed the Cardinals to remain the prohibitive favorites to win the NFC West.

The Cardinals also could have acquired QB Jason Campbell for a third day pick as it turned out who has started for the last several years and last year, despite playing behing what was possibly the worst o-line in the NFL, and throwing to WRs that are not nearly as talented as the Cardinals', put up the following numbers:

Campbell: 327/505, 64.5%, 3,618 yds., 20 TDs, 15 ints, 86.4. Warner: 339/513, 66.1%, 3,753 yds., 26 TDs, 14 ints, 93.2.

Right now the 49ers are the favorites, and the dark horse is the Seahawks...as most pundits including ESPN NFC West Blogger Mike Sando think that Leinart will struggle and the Cardinals will most likely fall to 7-9.

AND...WORST of ALL...

The Cardinals are sitting on a COOL $27.1M...(below last year's total salaries).

OFF THE BOOKS (rounded):

Warner $11.5M
Dansby 9.7
RolleA 5.8
Gandy 5.8
Okeafor 5.4
McFadden 5.0
Boldin 3.8
Watson* 1.6
Rackers 1.5
Berry 1.3
Robinson* 1.2
Lutui* 1.1
Patrick* 1.0
St. Pierre 1.0
Morey 0.8
BrownR 0.8
Becht* 0.7
Kreider 0.7
Ware* 0.7
Urban 0.7
Breaston* 0.5

TOTAL: $60.7M

ADDED 2010:

Porter 5.8
Rhodes 5.0
Anderson 3.3
Hadnot 3.0
Breaston* 2.9
Faneca 2.5
Watson* 1.8
Lutui* 1.8
Patrick* 1.7
Bridges 1.6
Feely 1.5
Becht* 1.0
Robinson* 1.0
Lenon 0.9
Ware* 0.8

TOTAL: $33.6M

Have a problem with the status quo, based on the continued needs and the $27.1M on hand?

Joe will have tweakings here, and I appreciate that, but, still, we're talking significant money still on hand.

This has turned into an experiment year...and a let's save money year...

This certainly isn't, hey, we kinda liked playing in a Super Bowl, let's get back there team.

It's not even a hey we kinda liked being repeat NFC West Champs, let's remain on top team.

Not with this setup and not with this current roster.

The tantalizing this is...with 4 more key additions...the odds get significantly better...and the perceptions which can give teams confidence...would get far more positive.

How about...just for once...putting the finishing touches on a roster?

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Rhodes is at worst a wash with Rolle, though the two have different pluses...

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Mitch, I think the cardinals are sitting on the $$ so they can get Dockett done and redo FITZ...Plus there may be no football next season so why piss away tons of cash if the Cards feel there arent any options to help the team? Maybe we see the cards Move on Breaston, Dockett, Fitz, and even C. Campbell with the cash?

Also, if Leinart Fails, I believe cards will make push for McNabb next season...

I think the Cards view this as a rebuild season for the team even though the team could still win the division.

Maybe the team does take a two game step back in the standings or worse (similar to what happened with GB the year Rogers took over) but the seasons beyond could mean another 5-7 years of contention IMO...

 

[Duckjake]

OFF THE BOOKS (rounded):

Warner $11.5M
Dansby 9.7
RolleA 5.8
Gandy 5.8
Okeafor 5.4
McFadden 5.0
Boldin 3.8
Berry 1.3

 

[kerouac9]

The Cards were 90 seconds away from a championship. I'm not sure why they thought that what they needed to do was gut their roster or mortgage the future. Swapping out Aaron Francisco for Rashard Johnson and adding some pieces to the pass rush (adding a 2nd round pick is nothing to sneeze at), while allowing yourself to dominate TOP with a stud RB seemed like a good plan--still doesn.

It makes no sense to finally assemble what looks to be a potentially good pass rush, only to have unproven players at CB.

Of course it does. The #1 factor for why 80% of CBs look successful is the pass rush in front of them. Look at the Indianapolis Colts, who rarely have top-shelf talent at corner but always are competitive in pass defense. Or the New Orleans Saints. Tracey Porter and Jabari Greer aren't good--they're average. But with Gregg Williams' pressure packages harassing the QB, they look better than the adequate players that they are.

Josh Freeman completed better than 2/3 of his passes against the Saints in Week 16 last year. For his rookie season he completed 54% of his passes. Is that because the rookie figured out the defense that the rest of the league completed 57% of their passes against, or because Williams put the breaks on his pass rush packages?

 

[Buckybird]

Mitch, I think the cardinals are sitting on the $$ so they can get Dockett done and redo FITZ...Plus there may be no football next season so why piss away tons of cash if the Cards feel there arent any options to help the team? Maybe we see the cards Move on Breaston, Dockett, Fitz, and even C. Campbell with the cash?

Also, if Leinart Fails, I believe cards will make push for McNabb next season...

I think the Cards view this as a rebuild season for the team even though the team could still win the division.

Maybe the team does take a two game step back in the standings or worse (similar to what happened with GB the year Rogers took over) but the seasons beyond could mean another 5-7 years of contention IMO...

While you, me & everyone else on this board likes the idea of extending all the players you listed, I just don't see it happening. They haven't in this past or present, so don't expect more than 1-2 guys being resigned every year to long extensions.

 

[schwalbhimself]

No, i'm talking about the same Kerry Rhodes. I went back and looked at his 2007/2008 years and took a look at the QB's he played aginst those 2 years. I noticed a not too distinguished list he put up those "numbers against. However when they faced a good QB, the Jets defense tended to get lit up.
2007: Brady- 38 points allowed
JP Losman-twice, he stinks
Eli- 35 points
Palmer- 38 points
McNabb-16 points, we all know about McNabb
Campbell
Roethlisberger- Pitt was still a primarily running team
Romo- 34 points
Derek Anderson
John Beck, Trent Green
Brodie Croyle
not exactly a who's who of QB's that they had success against.

2008: Chad "noodle arm" Pennington twice
Matt Cassell-once in his 1st career start
Rivers- 48 points allowed
Warner- 35 points
Fitzpatrick
JaMarcus Russell
Thigpen
Edwards/Losman
Kerry Collins
Bulger
Cutler-34 points
Shaun Hill
Seneca Wallace
I think Terence Holt could put up those type numbers against that sorry group of QB's. So let's just say i'm not sold on Kerry Rhodes.

this is a worthless post.... i forgot when the jets played defense it was 11 on 1, the 1 considering kerry rhodes... i also forgot you blame all the points scored on one player... you wasted your time looking up those "stats"....


PS
Have a nice day

 

[schwalbhimself]

The Cards were 90 seconds away from a championship. I'm not sure why they thought that what they needed to do was gut their roster or mortgage the future. Swapping out Aaron Francisco for Rashard Johnson and adding some pieces to the pass rush (adding a 2nd round pick is nothing to sneeze at), while allowing yourself to dominate TOP with a stud RB seemed like a good plan--still doesn.



Of course it does. The #1 factor for why 80% of CBs look successful is the pass rush in front of them. Look at the Indianapolis Colts, who rarely have top-shelf talent at corner but always are competitive in pass defense. Or the New Orleans Saints. Tracey Porter and Jabari Greer aren't good--they're average. But with Gregg Williams' pressure packages harassing the QB, they look better than the adequate players that they are.

Josh Freeman completed better than 2/3 of his passes against the Saints in Week 16 last year. For his rookie season he completed 54% of his passes. Is that because the rookie figured out the defense that the rest of the league completed 57% of their passes against, or because Williams put the breaks on his pass rush packages?

aaron francisco was BEAST huh??? im sure you would love francisco over rhodes..

francisco sucked, sucks, will suck, will forever suck

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

this is a worthless post.... i forgot when the jets played defense it was 11 on 1, the 1 considering kerry rhodes... i also forgot you blame all the points scored on one player... you wasted your time looking up those "stats"....


PS
Have a nice day

so you're saying the QB playing against you has no bearing on an individuals, along with the teams, stats in the passing game. Alright then.

So i guess it doesn't matter to you whether we have Kurt Warner or John Navarre playing QB, the passing game will be the same .

 

[RugbyMuffin]

so you're saying the QB playing against you has no bearing on an individuals, along with the teams, stats in the passing game. Alright then.

So i guess it doesn't matter to you whether we have Kurt Warner or John Navarre playing QB, the passing game will be the same .

I agree.

Antrel Rolle has played in what the majority thinks is the weakest division in football.

Alex Smith, Bulger/Fitzpatrick, Hasselbeck/Wallace, plus went up against heavy wieghts like Delhomme, Garrad, Cutler, etc., etc. last year.

Again, it works both ways.

And to damn a player for having good statistics against poor competition is the dumbest arguement you can make.

The worry is when a player DOESN'T have good statistics against poor competition, not visa versa. Where is the logic behind that kind of thinking ?

 

[kerouac9]

I agree.

Antrel Rolle has played in what the majority thinks is the weakest division in football.

Alex Smith, Bulger/Fitzpatrick, Hasselbeck/Wallace, plus went up against heavy wieghts like Delhomme, Garrad, Cutler, etc., etc. last year.

Again, it works both ways.

And to damn a player for having good statistics against poor competition is the dumbest arguement you can make.

The worry is when a player DOESN'T have good statistics against poor competition, not visa versa. Where is the logic behind that kind of thinking ?

This is hogwash. The Cards played all of the best quarterbacks in the NFL last season except for Roethlisberger and Rivers.

Brees
Favre
Eli Manning
Rodgers
Peyton Manning
V.Young
Matt Schaub
David Garrard (Pro Bowl)

The only top NFC Quarterback the D didn't face was Kurt Warner. That's half the games against marquee QBs.

 

[JeffGollin]

Gotta chime back in -

I agree with K9 that Rhodes for Rolle will generally net out a wash, losing a little bit against the run but gaining a little bit in pass coverage. I do think, however, (& certainly hope) that Rhodes will turn out to be a headier safety who will do a better job of fulfilling the role of "our 3rd line of defense" (i.e. staying between opposing ballcarriers/receivers and the end zone).

Regarding the "90-minutes away from the championship" observation. Am I missing something? Every time I watch that painful replay of the Holmes TD reception, I see Ralph Brown failing to fully extend his arms to deflect the ball. Now I can understand why fans might want to cut Ralph some slack - because he's a good guy, probably feels worse than anyone & "why point fingers?" Also - "It takes 60-minutes to lose a football game", and may I remind us all of Harrison's interception right before halftime and our repeated failure to tackle the dude every single yard of the way down the freakin' field? (Ralph Brown didn't throw the pick and Kurt Warner didn't miss a TD-saving tackle).

Finally, I see some folks are trotting out the stats. One weakness from overreliance on numbers is the lack (or total absence) of context - i.e. surrounding cast? Opposing matchups? Down & distance? Game situation? Offensive and Defensive schemes? One key analytical danger is that a scheme designed to cover up the weakness of another player or a screw-up among the other 10 defenders can unfairly make the 11th guy look really really bad. (Intensive tape study might reveal what really happened, but seldom a bunch of numbers on paper). Bottom line - Stats shouldn't be an end-all unto themselves but should serve as red flags to make us want to look into something further.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Brees - Rolle didn't really face Brees in this game.
Favre - Win
Eli Manning - Win and an INT to seal the game.
Rodgers - Lost (preseason), Lost (regular season), Won (but almost the scapegat)
Peyton Manning - Lost and embarrassed
V.Young - Lost and choked in a winnable game.
Matt Schaub - Threw all over us in a win
David Garrard (Pro Bowl) - Thanks, another reason to support what joke this years pro bowl was. Cause Garrard was horrible last year.

The only top NFC Quarterback the D didn't face was Kurt Warner. That's half the games against marquee QBs.

Agreed, and our secondary didn't fair too well against them.

So, here we are in another endless debate. Rhodes had success against less than average talent, and Rolle didn't have success against above-average talent. (I use average for lack of a better word.)

What does it prove ?

 

[Duckjake]

Agreed, and our secondary didn't fair too well against them.

So, here we are in another endless debate. Rhodes had success against less than average talent, and Rolle didn't have success against above-average talent. (I use average for lack of a better word.)

What does it prove ?

Like Jeff G says though the numbers don't tell the entire story. In many games the Cards jumped out to big leads. I don't have the dvr's to watch but did our defense back off once they got ahead? Did the scheme change?

Did the D really not play that well early and circumstances led to the opponents inability to score, penalties, dropped passes, turnovers?

And my biggest question for the last couple of years is why have so many QBs had success throwing when our D KNOWS they have to throw.

All I've heard my entire life involving defense is that is the exact situation a defense wants. That now they can "pin their ears back" and pressure the QB. That now you have forced the other team to be one dimensional.

I guess that it just shows how much not having guys who can come off the edge and pressure the QB like the Colts, Carolina, and Pitt have for example, and that our blitzes haven't really been effective has been the main culprit. That is why I said earlier that Porter, if he plays like Berry did in 2004, could make a huge difference and that guys like Hood, McFadden and Rolle are getting too much of the blame.

On the other hand it could just show that with the new rules enforcement nobody can stop the pass consistently.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

I guess that it just shows how much not having guys who can come off the edge and pressure the QB like the Colts, Carolina, and Pitt have for example, and that our blitzes haven't really been effective has been the main culprit. That is why I said earlier that Porter, if he plays like Berry did in 2004, could make a huge difference and that guys like Hood, McFadden and Rolle are getting too much of the blame.

Agreed.

I cannot think of any reason why someone would not agree that our secondary is effected by our lack of pass rush.

I think the current plan and personal has promise to finally get a good pass rush in AZ. Campbell and Dockett are already in place, and have better than normal pass rushing ability (via what I see on tap and not stats).

You put two OLB'ers that can really take advantage of 1 on 1 blocking and we got something going in the desert in regards to a pass rush.

 

[vinnymac]

This is hogwash. The Cards played all of the best quarterbacks in the NFL last season except for Roethlisberger and Rivers.

Brees
Favre
Eli Manning
Rodgers
Peyton Manning
V.Young
Matt Schaub
David Garrard (Pro Bowl)

The only top NFC Quarterback the D didn't face was Kurt Warner. That's half the games against marquee QBs.

Don't forget

Shaun Hill
Matt Hasselback
Marc Bulger

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

So, here we are in another endless debate. Rhodes had success against less than average talent, and Rolle didn't have success against above-average talent. (I use average for lack of a better word.)

How is being in the pro-bowl, alternate or otherwise, deemed not having success? Whether you like him or not, think he deserved it or not, he WAS in the pro bowl. Do you think everyone just voted for Rolle because he's a really nice guy and they like him? Where he finished in the voting was merited and it was the players vote that got him there. The Giants didn't just offer to make him the highest paid safety, with the Cards trying to match, for the hell of it.

For the sake of argument, let's say the Jets had released Rhodes. You can't honestly think he would have attracted anywhere near the interest/ contract that Rolle did.

 

[Duckjake]

How is being in the pro-bowl, alternate or otherwise, deemed not having success? Whether you like him or not, think he deserved it or not, he WAS in the pro bowl. Do you think everyone just voted for Rolle because he's a really nice guy and they like him? Where he finished in the voting was merited and it was the players vote that got him there. The Giants didn't just offer to make him the highest paid safety, with the Cards trying to match, for the hell of it.

For the sake of argument, let's say the Jets had released Rhodes. You can't honestly think he would have attracted anywhere near the interest/ contract that Rolle did.

I agree with the first paragraph. Not the second. Too many players have received interest and contracts over what was expected for me to think otherwise.

Of course a lot of that comes from some of the posts on this board over the years where every Cardinal player testing free agency is said to not be worth what he wants and will never get it. Then the guy gets what he wants and more within hours of the start of FA.

 

[Duckjake]

How is being in the pro-bowl, alternate or otherwise, deemed not having success? Whether you like him or not, think he deserved it or not, he WAS in the pro bowl. Do you think everyone just voted for Rolle because he's a really nice guy and they like him? Where he finished in the voting was merited and it was the players vote that got him there. The Giants didn't just offer to make him the highest paid safety, with the Cards trying to match, for the hell of it.

For the sake of argument, let's say the Jets had released Rhodes. You can't honestly think he would have attracted anywhere near the interest/ contract that Rolle did.

I agree with the first paragraph. Not the second. Too many players have received interest and contracts over what was expected for me to think otherwise.

Of course a lot of that comes from some of the posts on this board over the years where every Cardinal player testing free agency is said to not be worth what he wants and will never get it. Then the guy gets what he wants and more within hours of the start of FA.

 

[Doug]

Rolle had one of his best games of the season in the Giant win in primetime In N.Y. He sealed the win with his interception.Plus no team in the NFL had a worse Saftey condition than the Giants found themselves in with not only injuries but the play of other players in that position took a major backwards slide in my personal opinion due to the lack of a pass rush and the defensive coordinator that made that defense tick became the rams coach.

The injuries to a few DE's & the money demands and a few problems with players like Osi Umenyoura(sp?) who they ended up keeping but tried to dump.The defensive line FA's the giants paid for before last season started blew up in their face with camp injuries and no depth behind them.

Without Spags preferred 3 DE pass rush and the loss of Strahan to retirement the giants
have'nt been the same.Yet they were a preseason favorite before last season started due to the defensive line FA upgrades that did'nt pan out.

All of that put more pressure on the defensive backs along with the loss of the Giants MLB as they too were in the early running for Karlos Dansby but changed to just focusing on our DB and overpaid for him.They still hope Jennings can come back and play the way they wanted him to once more.

Yes we almost tried to match the contract the giants offered but his mind was already in N.Y. and out of the dessert.Plus it was an overpayment and we did very well in finding a DB who can cover better than Antron could,but can't tackle as well or have the run support we may miss along with what Antron can do once he gets his hands on the ball.I'll call it a wash in money saved and coverage we have been really short in,Especially with A-Dub as our other covering safety.Just hope Ware can stay healthy.

 

[WarnerHOF]

so you're saying the QB playing against you has no bearing on an individuals, along with the teams, stats in the passing game. Alright then.

So i guess it doesn't matter to you whether we have Kurt Warner or John Navarre playing QB, the passing game will be the same .

No, he's saying that you are using TEAM statistics to judge one player which is completely illogical. I remember us getting burnt by pretty every elite passing team aside from the Vikings last year too so why can't we use the same logic for Rolle?

I don't even think Rolle was that good against the run either. Remind me again but didn't he lead the team with 14 missed tackles last year? Rhodes had 5 missed tackles last year in comparison.

I like my free safeties to be better in coverage than against the run anyway especially when our strong safety is the best box safety in the NFL but struggles in deep coverage. Rhodes is everything that Rolle was aside from the flash but is significantly better in coverage and provides a perfect compliment to Wilson's dominance in the box.

Please who ever brought up Darren Sharper just hasn't been paying attention to how the guy plays. Bringing up Sharper is a clear cut case of just naming guys with names to see who sticks. For all the INT's he gets he gives up way more TD's and long balls. Giving up a career yards per reception average of over 18 yards a catch. The guy is one of the most overrated D players to ever be in the league, but since people only focus on the sexy stats like sacks and INT's they usually cant see the forest through the tree's on the player if they have those sexy stats. He has so many INT's because teams throw at him at will because they know they will get huge gains on him more times then not.

This man is right on. Sharper is a pure hallhawk who will look good with a great passrush but terrible without. His interceptions are simply a product of the amount of chances he takes in coverage and a lot of them are for worst. Remember 4th and 26 anyone? The guy also got juked by Tim Hightower for a 80 yard gain for crying loud!

I'd say the guy's play his entire career has been on par with with Rolle last season. I would never call him "elite".

 

[Duckjake]

No, he's saying that you are using TEAM statistics to judge one player which is completely illogical. I remember us getting burnt by pretty every elite passing team aside from the Vikings last year too so why can't we use the same logic for Rolle?

Other than the Colts the Cards got burned by the elite passing teams only after getting big leads. So the defense obviously played well enough early. Schaub threw for 371 but the Cards led that game 21-0 at the half. Cutler threw for 369 yards but the Cards led that game 31-7 at the half. Rodgers threw for a jillion yards but the Cards led 31-10 at the half.

I also remember in 2008 Warner throwing for 472 yards and 2 TDs and the Cards scoring 35 points against the Jets. But the Jets led 34-0 at the half.

Strange stats.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I don't even think Rolle was that good against the run either. Remind me again but didn't he lead the team with 14 missed tackles last year? Rhodes had 5 missed tackles last year in comparison.

It's hard to miss tackles from the bench and limited playing time.


I like my free safeties to be better in coverage than against the run anyway especially when our strong safety is the best box safety in the NFL but struggles in deep coverage. Rhodes is everything that Rolle was aside from the flash but is significantly better in coverage and provides a perfect compliment to Wilson's dominance in the box.

Other than people just saying it on this board, I don't know where anyone gets that Rhodes is significantly better in coverage. Everything I read after the two transactions was that Rhodes lacked the range of Rolle and that's the main attribute a FS needs,along with playmaking ability.

Besides, for the most part, a FS isn't assigned to cover a particluar player and is more of a CF. So, it would be pretty tough to tell who had better coverage skills.

I do think,value-wise, the Cards came out ahead in the deal as Rolle isn't going to give the Cards 10 million dollars worth, or whatever it is, more production than Rhodes. But to think the Cards aren't worse off at the position is drinking the kool-aid, imo.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Other than the Colts the Cards got burned by the elite passing teams only after getting big leads

AND ?

What does that prove ? That when the other team was forced to pass they could do so at will ?