Underestimated Talent

[Mitch]

The Cardinals' do not lack talent and the rest of the NFL knows this.

Sometimes, when a team is struggling it's convenient to think that the problems are for lack of talent.

When mediocrity sets in, as it has with the Cardinals' players over the past two seasons, in the minds of the fans, it becomes very tempting to think that the players aren't as good as we thought they are.

Just look at the feeding frenzy the NFL had on the Cardinals' free agents last spring.

The fact is---many of the Cardinals' free agents from last year are flourishing on their new teams. Calais Campbell looks like the prize free agent of the 2017 class. Tony Jefferson and D.J. Swearinger have assumed leadership roles on Ravens and Redskins respectively.

Even TE Darren Fells has scored 3 TDs for the Lions...which is more TDs than any current Cardinals' TEs.

Curiously, this week the Cardinals tried to sign former TE prospect Hakeem Valles off the Lions' practice squad---the Lions countered by offering Valles the same money he would make at the minimum on the Cardinals' roster---and Valles accepted the offer to stay on Detroit's PS instead of being back on the Cardinals' 53 man roster.

Now that the Cardinals are mired in their second straight season of mediocrity, a number of fans have pointed the finger at GM Steve Keim.

The question then becomes---if Keim is such a poor evaluator of talent---then why are the Cardinals' free agents so heavily coveted by other teams?

Anyone watch LG Jonathan Cooper on the Cowboys yesterday? I honed on him and him alone for a quarter and I have to say he dominated the Falcons' good DTs. None of them got an ounce of push on him in the pass rush.

The problem for the Cowboys was LT Chaz Green who was filling in for injured LT Tyron Smith. Green gave up 5 sacks to Adrian Claiborne. I bet the Cowboys would have loved to have John Wetzel.

When I look at the depth that Steve Keim has crated on this current football team, even despite losing 9 players to free agency last spring, he has done a very good job of creating balance...and when he needed to fill in the gaps he signed CB Tramon Williams, P Andy Lee, LG Alex Boone, RG Earl Watford, QB Matt Barkley and he traded for RB Adrian Peterson.

While the Cardinals keep losing players to the IR...Keim's depth is being tested to the max...and look what the options are:

1. Good thing Keim signed QB Blaine Gabbert this spring, now that both Palmer and Stanton are injured.
2. With D.J. Humphries' injury, a rejuvenated Jared Veldheer switches back to LT and solid 6th man, John Wentzel takes over at RT. In the wings, Keim also has 5th round draft pick T Will Holden.
3. With S Tyvon Branch now injured, in comes 2nd round pick Budda Baker, who played well in his first expanded role on the defense versus the Seahawks. In the wings, keim also has 6th round pick Rudy Ford.

This Cardinals' team, even with the injuries, still has a strong core of talent.

The young players of the defensive line, Nkemdiche, Gunter, Pierre and Williams are starting to emerge as legit DTs.

Tramon Williams may have just turned in the best performance from a Cardinals' RCB over the past few years with his stellar play versus the Seahawks.

Haason Reddick garnered his first sack this week and added 3 QB pressures.

DE Chandler Jones is on track to be named to the All-Pro team.

If the defense can get on the same page and cohere---it could get the Cardinals on a roll.

Now it's time to get the WRs and TEs, most under-achieving units on the team to step up. As the Seahawks showed, teams are going to stack the box versus RB Adrian Peterson and dare the Cardinals to beat them in the air.

Larry Fitzgerald is still playing at an All-Pro level, production-wise.

John Brown is a major league WR talent.

J.J. Nelson has all-world speed and has legitimate home run ability.

Jaron Brown is tough as nails over the middle.

Jermaine Gresham and Troy Niklas are getting open and have been all year, if the QB can target them more often and if they can grow more confident.

The talent is there---now it is time to start maximizing it.

 

[cardpa]

I also watched Cooper for a while to see how he was playing and he was solid. Mitch, if you are correct and the talent is as good as stated then the only way to move this team forward is to jettison the current coaching staff and place the talent under a new regime. I'm not sold on either Brown or Nelson quite yet. Nelson and Smoke both dropped very catchable balls Thursday. Nkemdiche hasn't shown anything more than pedestrian ability so far. Watford is nothing more than a journeyman and Barkley is a throw away QB. Free agency took a big slice out of the defense. I agree the TEs are not used enough in the offense but that is on Arians. Reddick is somewhere in the middle. Not quite as good as I had expected and not as bad as some others make him out to be. I can say disappointing for a first round choice. He just seems to be another of those tweener players that Keim has selected over the years that have no defined position at the NFL level and doesn't fit into any position well.

 

[oaken1]

I have been preaching it for months. players come here and get worse...go elsewhere and get better. That aint talent problems, that is coaching problems.

many fans hear the coaches blaming players in the press conference and just fall in line. "Players gotta make plays",...while true on the surface... is only harmful to the team when said players are being poorly coached; and it is detrimental to team morale.

we had playoff level talent last season. we have playoff level talent this season...although losing Palmer pretty much ruined that... however it was evident we were only going to sniff the playoffs if 9-7 got us in even with Palmer healthy.

with changes at only o-line coach and special teams coordinator this team is easily 10-6...
defense might need a complete makeover...our guys who use good technique had that skill in college. those guys we brought in who needed to learn?? well,...they still look like nobody told them...position coaches? coordinator?? all of the above?? Hard to tell because the deficiencies are on every level...it aint "just" the line, or "just" backers...

 

[b8rtm8nn]

I see both, players leaving and succeeding ( but they were also successful here ), and players leaving and going nowhere.

I believe our position coaches do a very good job, but I can't say that about our coordinators with putting everything together.

 

[DVontel]

Gunter is starting to emerge as a legit DT? What?

I still don’t think this roster is talented as some people think.

 

[football karma]

I have been preaching it for months. players come here and get worse...go elsewhere and get better. That aint talent problems, that is coaching problems.

CC, Swearinger, and Jefferson were all very good here. Swearinger was pulled off the scrap heap by the Cards.

they werent let go because they werent productive: they were let go due to Cap issues --

 

[oaken1]

CC, Swearinger, and Jefferson were all very good here. Swearinger was pulled off the scrap heap by the Cards.

they werent let go because they werent productive: they were let go due to Cap issues --

swearinger signed for only 4.5m per anum with the skins..... Branch signed with us for $4mil per anum

 

[AsUpRoDiGy]

Cards have the oldest roster in the NFL...that's not a recipe for sustained success.

 

[Cheesebeef]

CC, Swearinger, and Jefferson were all very good here. Swearinger was pulled off the scrap heap by the Cards.

they werent let go because they werent productive: they were let go due to Cap issues --

Cap issues? We're still sitting on 11 million dollars in cap.

 

[CFLredzoned]

Gunter is starting to emerge as a legit DT? What?

I still don’t think this roster is talented as some people think.

I think Gunter has picked up his play lately. It looks like he's finally learning how to use his hands and shed blocks. Nothing to break the bank over - but enough to warrant a low budget second contract IMO.

 

[Mitch]

I also watched Cooper for a while to see how he was playing and he was solid. Mitch, if you are correct and the talent is as good as stated then the only way to move this team forward is to jettison the current coaching staff and place the talent under a new regime. I'm not sold on either Brown or Nelson quite yet. Nelson and Smoke both dropped very catchable balls Thursday. Nkemdiche hasn't shown anything more than pedestrian ability so far. Watford is nothing more than a journeyman and Barkley is a throw away QB. Free agency took a big slice out of the defense. I agree the TEs are not used enough in the offense but that is on Arians. Reddick is somewhere in the middle. Not quite as good as I had expected and not as bad as some others make him out to be. I can say disappointing for a first round choice. He just seems to be another of those tweener players that Keim has selected over the years that have no defined position at the NFL level and doesn't fit into any position well.

Both Smoke and Fire have had outstanding games, but, you're right, they are, like the team, inconsistent. The problem with both of them is that they are not thick or durable enough to play in the slot, which relegates them to being mostly deep, post, cross corner or out pass/comeback receivers. But they do put pressure on the back end of the defenses.

Nkemdiche is just now starting to make contributions.

Watford is a stop-gap, but a good signing given the alternatives. He still has value as a Swiss Army knife 6th/7th OL.

Reddick's development was slowed by starting him out at ILB and now he's just starting to get a grasp on the OLB position. I don't think Reddick is a tweener...he's just the kind of athlete we need on the edge when trying to contain and chase the likes of Russell Wilson. This off-season he will add muscle and strength and will look more of the part physically. Plus, he will be a superb cover OLB and a pass rushing dynamo. That combination is rare.

 

[Buckybird]

I've been a big BA supporter but It has to be coaching. Most of this staff is older, this how much work are they really putting in? I've brought this up before, but BA himself in All or Nothing told his coaches "if you miss an event of your kids or grandkids I'll fire your ass". Again is this staff including BA all in?

 

[Harry]

Quoting would be too long, mostly Mitch. Sorry you & I see this differently. In today’s NFL cap management is the whole game. Losing free agents who played good here and went elsewhere is not a mark of success. The Cards elected to put big money in aging linemen, pay an exorbitant price to re-sign a twice seriously injured player (TM), ridicuously overpay a mediocre TE, and spend big money on developmental first round picks. Keim has to be held accountable for losing an outstanding safety tandem and paying almost the same to a mediocre twosome as replacements. The defense never recovered. I don’t think they could have paid CC his price, but tabbing Nkemdiche as a replacement was a bad call. He’s clearly not an impact player in year 2.

I don’t see much in Gunter, but Pierre may be a winner. Cooper started playing better when the free money ran out. They only signed Gabbert because they knew the line was so bad they’d need 3 QBs. Otherwise he’d have played ahead of Stanton. Boone & Watford couldn’t create a hole last week. Peterson was a good get. Williams is a decent vet corner, like the 2 guys Keim didn’t re-sign the last 2 years.

Keim came up with a FA plan that other teams have adopted. That’s impressive, but now he needs a new tactic. He’ll get one more year to figure out one. Another bad off-season and he’s gone. He’s not getting great help from the coaches, but he needs to get his house in order.

 

[cardncubfan]

Cap issues? We're still sitting on 11 million dollars in cap.

Are you sure? I think I read it was around 3.5mil.

Edit: I just looked it up & we have 4.8 mil of space.

 

[Mitch]

Quoting would be too long, mostly Mitch. Sorry you & I see this differently. In today’s NFL cap management is the whole game. Losing free agents who played good here and went elsewhere is not a mark of success. The Cards elected to put big money in aging linemen, pay an exorbitant price to re-sign a twice seriously injured player (TM), ridicuously overpay a mediocre TE, and spend big money on developmental first round picks. Keim has to be held accountable for losing an outstanding safety tandem and paying almost the same to a mediocre twosome as replacements. The defense never recovered. I don’t think they could have paid CC his price, but tabbing Nkemdiche as a replacement was a bad call. He’s clearly not an impact player in year 2.

I don’t see much in Gunter, but Pierre may be a winner. Cooper started playing better when the free money ran out. They only signed Gabbert because they knew the line was so bad they’d need 3 QBs. Otherwise he’d have played ahead of Stanton. Boone & Watford couldn’t create a hole last week. Peterson was a good get. Williams is a decent vet corner, like the 2 guys Keim didn’t re-sign the last 2 years.

Keim came up with a FA plan that other teams have adopted. That’s impressive, but now he needs a new tactic. He’ll get one more year to figure out one. Another bad off-season and he’s gone. He’s not getting great help from the coaches, but he needs to get his house in order.

I think that Steve Keim, to his own detriment, has done everything he can to accommodate BA’s wishes.

Let’s just look at the QB position.

Upon BA’s arrival, Keim landed BA a strong pocket passer in Carson Palmer and did so for a mere pittance. BA fell in love with Palmer so, Keim re-signed Palmer through 2018.

BA loves Drew Stanton as his #2. Stanton was the first UFA SK signed for BA. BA wanted Stanton back, Keim re-signed him through 2017.

What these to moves did–they basically handcuffed Keim from drafting a QBOF.

BA himself said that if you draft a QB in the 1st round—you need to play him asap. He said it makes no sense otherwise.

In 2014, BA personally went and worked out QB Logan Thomas and gave SK the thumb’s up—so SK drafted Thomas in the 4th round of the 2014 draft. The thought was that Thomas could develop into a possible starter when Palmer retires, or, at the very least, take over for Stanton as the #2 in 2016.

BA soured on Thomas almost immediately and SK went ahead and re-signed Stanton in 2016 to a 2 year deal as BA requested.

Some people are now blaming Keim for the lack of a QBOF. Is that genuinely fair?

Moreover, Keim's own HC was and still is planning to play Palmer for years to come. BA said even this year that he thinks Palmer has 3-4 more good years in him.

I would be willing to bet the ranch that neither Drew Stanton nor Logan Thomas would have been QBs whom SK would covet or sign. The vast majority of us on this board wouldn't go after either one of them.

When BA arrived he told SK that he didn’t care whether a RB could catch. Now it's quite different, isn't it? Although, AP fits BA's previous RB mold better.

BA raved about Bethel at the end of the year and said Bethel now was more ready than ever to start and to excel---comparing him athletically to Patrick Peterson. BA also raved about Brandon Williams.

Tramon Williams was signed because early on in camp, SK didn’t like what he was seeing in Bethel or Willliams. Keim said so on Doug and Wolf’s radio show.

Harry---you criticize SK for signing aging vets on the OL, but Iupati and Veldheer were heading into their primes when Keim signed them. I find it odd than anyone would criticize Keim for those signings. Keim has since gone out of his way in the draft to keep adding to the OL. The coaches have had issues with almost all of Keim's picks---Cooper couldn't adjust from game to game, Humphries was "knee deep", Beohm is more suited to play center after committing to him as the starting RG, etc.

Again---A.Q. Shipley probably wouldn't start on any other team in the NFL, but BA and Harold Goodwin swear by the guy and they wanted him re-signed even though Keim had just drafted Boehm to replace him.

Boehm should be the starting center right now, not Shipley.

It goes on and on.

This is BA's team, per his wishes and his staff's preferences. Keim has been trying to give BA what he wants---but, at the same time, i think it's laudable that Keim keeps trying to keep the roster as deep and talented and he possibly can.

 

[oaken1]

I think that Steve Keim, to his own detriment, has done everything he can to accommodate BA’s wishes.

Let’s just look at the QB position.

Upon BA’s arrival, Keim landed BA a strong pocket passer in Carson Palmer and did so for a mere pittance. BA fell in love with Palmer so, Keim re-signed Palmer through 2018.

BA loves Drew Stanton as his #2. Stanton was the first UFA SK signed for BA. BA wanted Stanton back, Keim re-signed him through 2017.

What these to moves did–they basically handcuffed Keim from drafting a QBOF.

BA himself said that if you draft a QB in the 1st round—you need to play him asap. He said it makes no sense otherwise.

In 2014, BA personally went and worked out QB Logan Thomas and gave SK the thumb’s up—so SK drafted Thomas in the 4th round of the 2014 draft. The thought was that Thomas could develop into a possible starter when Palmer retires, or, at the very least, take over for Stanton as the #2 in 2016.

BA soured on Thomas almost immediately and SK went ahead and re-signed Stanton in 2016 to a 2 year deal as BA requested.

Some people are now blaming Keim for the lack of a QBOF. Is that genuinely fair?

Moreover, Keim's own HC was and still is planning to play Palmer for years to come. BA said even this year that he thinks Palmer has 3-4 more good years in him.

I would be willing to bet the ranch that neither Drew Stanton nor Logan Thomas would have been QBs whom SK would covet or sign. The vast majority of us on this board wouldn't go after either one of them.

When BA arrived he told SK that he didn’t care whether a RB could catch. Now it's quite different, isn't it? Although, AP fits BA's previous RB mold better.

BA raved about Bethel at the end of the year and said Bethel now was more ready than ever to start and to excel---comparing him athletically to Patrick Peterson. BA also raved about Brandon Williams.

Tramon Williams was signed because early on in camp, SK didn’t like what he was seeing in Bethel or Willliams. Keim said so on Doug and Wolf’s radio show.

Harry---you criticize SK for signing aging vets on the OL, but Iupati and Veldheer were heading into their primes when Keim signed them. I find it odd than anyone would criticize Keim for those signings. Keim has since gone out of his way in the draft to keep adding to the OL. The coaches have had issues with almost all of Keim's picks---Cooper couldn't adjust from game to game, Humphries was "knee deep", Beohm is more suited to play center after committing to him as the starting RG, etc.

Again---A.Q. Shipley probably wouldn't start on any other team in the NFL, but BA and Harold Goodwin swear by the guy and they wanted him re-signed even though Keim had just drafted Boehm to replace him.

Boehm should be the starting center right now, not Shipley.

It goes on and on.

This is BA's team, per his wishes and his staff's preferences. Keim has been trying to give BA what he wants---but, at the same time, i think it's laudable that Keim keeps trying to keep the roster as deep and talented and he possibly can.

I agree. it seems the coaches tell SK what they want and he goes and gets it... then the coaches complain that the players cant do the job.
I get the impression that the redbirds are a boys club... if the staff likes you then they will keep you way past when they should... but if they dont like you any talent you have is never enough,...they will steady complain...publicly..public nagging makes a player not want to be here
you almost think they need to send BA to a couple frat parties with these players before they decide to draft one...because if he cant match BA in the beer bong he probably wont be popular in the clubhouse.

 

[Mitch]

I agree. it seems the coaches tell SK what they want and he goes and gets it... then the coaches complain that the players cant do the job.
I get the impression that the redbirds are a boys club... if the staff likes you then they will keep you way past when they should... but if they dont like you any talent you have is never enough,...they will steady complain...publicly..public nagging makes a player not want to be here
you almost think they need to send BA to a couple frat parties with these players before they decide to draft one...because if he cant match BA in the beer bong he probably wont be popular in the clubhouse.

Excellent post, oaken1.

With quite a few Cardinals' UFAs excited to leave for new teams and some of them bearing grudges...Steve Keim is going to have to rebuild UFA's interest in coming to Arizona. Right now Arizona is not one of the more attractive franchises for free agents, whereas suddenly Los Angeles, San Francisco are gaining momentum and attractability---and Seattle (when they can free up the money) will always be preferred because of their crowd and the allure of Russell Wilson.

BTW--- here's an update on the 2018 Compensatory picks prediction:

Nick Korte‏@nickkorte 5h5 hours ago
Current projected 2018 compensatory picks after Week 10: 3.DEN 3.HOU 3.ARI 3.CIN 3.BAL 3.GB 4.DAL 4.ARI 4.NE 4.NYG 4.DAL 5.CIN 5.GB 5.DAL 5.GB 5.GB 5.DAL 5.ARI 6.HOU 6.KC 6.OAK 6.OAK 6.HOU 6.MIN 6.OAK 6.OAK 6.MIN 6.TB 7.LAC 7.CIN 7.ARI 7.CIN

Arizona Cardinals:

3rd rounder (3rd of 6)
4th rounder (2nd of 5)
5th rounder (7th of 7)
7th rounder (3rd of 4)

Good news this year:

SEA = 0
LAR = 0
SF4 = 0

 

[wit3card]

Excellent post, oaken1.

With quite a few Cardinals' UFAs excited to leave for new teams and some of them bearing grudges...Steve Keim is going to have to rebuild UFA's interest in coming to Arizona. Right now Arizona is not one of the more attractive franchises for free agents, whereas suddenly Los Angeles, San Francisco are gaining momentum and attractability---and Seattle (when they can free up the money) will always be preferred because of their crowd and the allure of Russell Wilson.

BTW--- here's an update on the 2018 Compensatory picks prediction:

Nick Korte‏@nickkorte 5h5 hours ago
Current projected 2018 compensatory picks after Week 10: 3.DEN 3.HOU 3.ARI 3.CIN 3.BAL 3.GB 4.DAL 4.ARI 4.NE 4.NYG 4.DAL 5.CIN 5.GB 5.DAL 5.GB 5.GB 5.DAL 5.ARI 6.HOU 6.KC 6.OAK 6.OAK 6.HOU 6.MIN 6.OAK 6.OAK 6.MIN 6.TB 7.LAC 7.CIN 7.ARI 7.CIN

Arizona Cardinals:

3rd rounder (3rd of 6)
4th rounder (2nd of 5)
5th rounder (7th of 7)
7th rounder (3rd of 4)

Good news this year:

SEA = 0
LAR = 0
SF4 = 0

If I'm right and calculating this right, the compensatory picks that are tradable now, amount to a pick around 15-24 #1 round pick, that is huge. Only GB has an amount of picks that equals that. Hopefully we surpass them.

Else I have to say that Mitch is more right than Harry wants to aknowledge. We have 4.5 millions, from what we read, some FA that we lost, never wanted to come back. If I'm right, Swearinger, T. Jefferson, Johnson, CC didn't want to play for the Cardinals anymore, CC was evident that he wanted out, he didn't even negotiate with Keim. That tells me something on the D side is fishy (as hell) when Players want out of your ball club and sign with other ball clubs.

So what I see on D is, players that try hard, but most of the time are out of position from the get go to make a play.
We see many Zone calls, when man-to-man should be called. We see blitzes, when you should play prevent and so on.

If we see the right signs, this is BA's last run, at least it should be, he doesn't have it anymore, we see it on the field, there was no passion all season. He doesn't keep accountable his coaches. He has some players that don't like him, and don't play hard for him. He makes some really strange decisions on play calling and time management.

Oh and his constant fights with refs costs us every game and still does, even he now doesn't do it as often as previous years.

And, Cooper played like a really good Guard, if he continues his play he is one of the better Guards of his draft year.

 

[NJCardFan]

Curiously, this week the Cardinals tried to sign former TE prospect Hakeem Valles off the Lions' practice squad---the Lions countered by offering Valles the same money he would make at the minimum on the Cardinals' roster---and Valles accepted the offer to stay on Detroit's PS instead of being back on the Cardinals' 53 man roster.

Glad they didn't sign him then because I'd rather have a guy who wants to actually play then sit at home doing nothing.

J.J. Nelson has all-world speed and has legitimate home run ability.

But hands made of granite.

 

[pmacLean]

Glad they didn't sign him then because I'd rather have a guy who wants to actually play then sit at home doing nothing.
But hands made of granite.

Not the point. The point is, what does it say about your organisation if someone is willing to sit on another teams Practice Squad than be signed to your active roster ? You can almost smell the stench.

 

[Chopper0080]

I don't think the answer to this is the chicken OR the egg. Like most things, it is a combination of both.

Keim's plan looking back was to turn the roster over with veterans, and build long term through the draft. He acquired a short term answer at QB and LT. Both good signings. He added depth on defense with short term deals for vets. However, Keim failed to draft the young core of players to help prevent this year to year turnover. He bombed on Cooper which led to the Iupati signing. Yes, he hit on mid round picks, but the cap was still hurt by first round money being used on unproductive players. Troy Niklas leads to Jermaine Gresham. Kevin Minter to constant turnover at ILB. All of these misses led to more and more dollars being spent in spots that it shouldn't have. The other consequence of this failed strategy is that there has been very little continuity anywhere on the roster. I don't believe we have ever started the same offensive line two years in a row. The same goes for S, and I believe ILB and CB. I get that some of this is natural, but teams need some sort of consistency on the roster, especially with less practice time. DJ might be our only RB to start two years in a row since Keim got here.

Now, the issue with coaching. First, Bettcher and Amos are not good. That is a fact. Secondly, our team has no identity on any side of the ball. There is not one thing that we can say that we do regardless of the circumstances. Lastly, our young players are killed by a lack of commitment to a plan. Deone Bucannon was drafted to play S. I don't know if he was going to be good at it, but that is what we was drafted to play. But then, in a reactive pattern which we still see, injuries occur, and they just move young players around, which hinders growth. Bucannon was drafted to be a Kam Channcelor type SS, and now he is considered a finesse LB who we may not re-sign. The same is happening with Hasson Reddick. He was drafted to play ILB which was a position change to begin with. Golden gets injured, and we stunt that growth, and move him to OLB which he was deemed too small to play at the draft. I don't know if Reddick was going to be good, but his chances of being successful has dropped significantly.

In short, Keim has to draft better, and develop some consistency in the roster year to year. The next coaching staff has to create a stable environment conducive to developing young talent. If we can't do these things, I think 8-8 might be our best hope for the next 5 years.

 

[cardpa]

I don't think the answer to this is the chicken OR the egg. Like most things, it is a combination of both.

Keim's plan looking back was to turn the roster over with veterans, and build long term through the draft. He acquired a short term answer at QB and LT. Both good signings. He added depth on defense with short term deals for vets. However, Keim failed to draft the young core of players to help prevent this year to year turnover. He bombed on Cooper which led to the Iupati signing. Yes, he hit on mid round picks, but the cap was still hurt by first round money being used on unproductive players. Troy Niklas leads to Jermaine Gresham. Kevin Minter to constant turnover at ILB. All of these misses led to more and more dollars being spent in spots that it shouldn't have. The other consequence of this failed strategy is that there has been very little continuity anywhere on the roster. I don't believe we have ever started the same offensive line two years in a row. The same goes for S, and I believe ILB and CB. I get that some of this is natural, but teams need some sort of consistency on the roster, especially with less practice time. DJ might be our only RB to start two years in a row since Keim got here.

Now, the issue with coaching. First, Bettcher and Amos are not good. That is a fact. Secondly, our team has no identity on any side of the ball. There is not one thing that we can say that we do regardless of the circumstances. Lastly, our young players are killed by a lack of commitment to a plan. Deone Bucannon was drafted to play S. I don't know if he was going to be good at it, but that is what we was drafted to play. But then, in a reactive pattern which we still see, injuries occur, and they just move young players around, which hinders growth. Bucannon was drafted to be a Kam Channcelor type SS, and now he is considered a finesse LB who we may not re-sign. The same is happening with Hasson Reddick. He was drafted to play ILB which was a position change to begin with. Golden gets injured, and we stunt that growth, and move him to OLB which he was deemed too small to play at the draft. I don't know if Reddick was going to be good, but his chances of being successful has dropped significantly.

In short, Keim has to draft better, and develop some consistency in the roster year to year. The next coaching staff has to create a stable environment conducive to developing young talent. If we can't do these things, I think 8-8 might be our best hope for the next 5 years.

Excellent analysis Chopper. It's really where this team is at. Humphries injuries are starting to become a concern and Niche hasn't impressed so far. The Iupati signing was seen as a good signing at the time but hasn't worked out. The Veldheer move to RT was slowed by a lack of playing time in the pre season so he could adjust to it under actual playing conditions and now he's back at LT. They further hindered themselves cap wise by giving Mathieu a monster contract after two ACL tears which still boggles my mind. If they drop their next couple of games which I believe chances are pretty good they will, I hope they have enough sense to activate Chad Williams and play him to see first how he plays and second to see if he has made any progress. If they activate anyone from IR I hope it's Logan again to see where his abilities are. Give Boehm a couple of starts at center. This team needs to look toward the future and I see no reason once they are out of the playoff picture not to play some of these younger guys and see where they are at. If Arians and his crew are part of a Spring cleaning then give the next coach some tape to look at on these younger guys.