What a difference 3 years can make...

[JasonKGME]

Compare the 2003 team vs this years projected starters:

QB
Then - Jeff Blake - Backup QB, started a coupld of years for a couple different teams never had better then an 82.7 QB rating as a starter/Josh McCown - Another backup QB with a best QB rating of 74.9
Now - Kurt Warner - Career QB rating of 95.7, #1 in all QB in completion percentage, 2 time MVP and Superbowl MVP/Matt Leinart - arguebly the best QB in the 2004 & 2005 drafts.
Advantage - Now, by a large margin

RB
Then - Emmitt Smith - On downside of his career, played hurt never the back he once was/Marcel Shipp - lots of heart but is a better backup then starter
Now - Edgerin James - prime of his career, 4 time pro-powler, no doubt top 5 RB in the league/JJ Arrington - rocky start to his career, no better then backup currently.
Advantage - Now, James in his prime is a huge upgrade over an aging Smith, if both were at thier prime it would be a tough call.

WR
Then - Anquan Boldin - Then and now, he's a great WR/Bryant Johnson- Picked too high should have been 1st day but 2nd or 3rd round selection, make or break year this year/Bryan Gilmore - 5th reciever on most teams
Now - Anquan Boldin/Bryant Johnson/Larry Fitzgerald - 1st pro-bowl in only second year, top 10 WR.
Advantage - Now, Huge upgrade of Fitzgerald over BJ as the 2nd starter, and BJ is an improvment over Gilmore.

TE
Then - Freddie Jones - Huge disappointment, never had much heart/Steve Bush - Career 3rd stringer.
Now - Leonard Pope - High hopes but.../Adam Bergen - likely career backup
Advantage - Push currently, Bergen & Edwards are nice guys but not great, Pope has potential but so did Jones, lets hope Pope plays up to his abilities.

OT
Then - LJ Shelton - Very good tackle, miss him alot/Anthony Clement - Career backup Jets are extatic they got Ferguson so Clement didnt have to start
Now - Leonard Davis - Hasn't lived up to full potential needs to take his game to the last level/???
Advantage - Then, Sorry folks, but right now Shelton/Davis are a push, Davis still has more "P" but until he lives up to it thats all it can be, and Clement was actually better then Ross IMO, hopefully Ross can get a fire under his butt or Lutui can move outside and win the job outright.

OG
Then - Leonard Davis - Made a pretty darn good guard, but if lives up to the "P" could be a dominant tackle which is why Denny has him there/Pete Kendall - Solid guard, another guy I was sorry to lose.
Now - Milford Brown/Reggie Wells
Advantage - Then, as of right this second Davis/Kendall are a better package then Brown/Wells, I hope with coaching that will change by the end of this year.

C
Then - Frank Garcia
Now - Nick Leckey
Advantage - Push, neither are the best option.

DE
Then - Kyle Vanden Bosch - Hugh motor, did great last year and I hope continues to do great, but at the time was injured too much/Fred Wakefield - now a backup on the offense, good heart but lacks abilities.
Now - Chike Okeafer - Solid if not spectacular End/Bertrand Berry - Stud DE, led the nfc in sacks in 2004, and made the pro bowl.
Advantage - Now, Berry & Okeafer are a very solid DE tandem.

DT
Then - Russell Davis - Decent DT/Wendall Bryant - 1st round bust
Now - Darnell Dockett - Solid player, if he gets help from the other DT/Kendrick Clancey - up and comer, may be our 2006 Berry.
Advantage - Now, Bryant sucked almost impossible for it not to be better.

LB
Then - Raynoch Thompson - another player with great "P" that never lived up to the hype/Levar Fisher - solid backup but shouldn't have been a starter/Ronald McKinnon - Another high motor guy that I miss, wasn't the best LB but allways played revved up.
Now - Karlos Dansby - Stud in the making, expect pro-bowl type career, James Darling & Orlando Huff - Both good solid backups, would like starters here.
Advantage - Now, Dansby is better then McKinnon, and Darling/Huff while should be backups are better then Fisher/Thompson.

S
Then - Dexter Jackson - OK safety/Adrian Wilson - Stud safety should make some pro-bowls
Now - Robert Griffith - Solid player but long in the tooth, need replacement/Adrian Wilson - see above
Advantage - Push, Wilson is a stud Griffith & Jackson are about equal.

CB
Then - David Barrett - Good nickle back, shouldn't have been a starter/Duane Starks - Another injury bugged player, stole money from the cards
Now - Antrel Rolle - If he can get his knee healthy has pro bowl abilities/David Macklin - See Barrett coments (Eric Green could push this year)
Advantage - Now, Rolle is better then Starks, and Macklin/Barrett are a wash

Special Teams
Then - Bill Gramatica & Scott Player
Now - Neil Rackers & Scott Player
Advantage - Now, Kicker is more important that punter, and while Players skills have gone down, Rackers is a huge improvment over Gramatica.



Take into account that alot of the starters on the 2003 team would have been at best backups on most other teams (some of em even 3rd stringers), compare that to now, where we might actually have some backup players that would be concidered starters on other teams and that is also a HUGE advantage for now.

 

[abomb]

Very nice analysis!

A-Bomb

 

[Dback Jon]

Great analysis!!

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

CB
Then - David Barrett - Good nickle back, shouldn't have been a starter/Duane Starks - Another injury bugged player, stole money from the cards
Now - Antrel Rolle - If he can get his knee healthy has pro bowl abilities/David Macklin - See Barrett coments (Eric Green could push this year)
Advantage - Now, Rolle is better then Starks, and Macklin/Barrett are a wash

.

i agree with most of what you say, but this is just wrong. you ding starks for being injured and though you make mention of it, don't ding antrel for the same. in the games they ACTUALLY played starks performed at a higher level than antrel. in fact, right now i'd say this is a push considering that antrel now looks like a bigger version of starks. both from UofMiami, both with a world of potential, both hurt, both stole money from the cards.

 

[Ryanwb]

Ugh! I remember my appearence on the Arizona Sports Report where I said I was happy about the Jeff Blake signing....

:roll:

 

[Assface]

Ugh! I remember my appearence on the Arizona Sports Report where I said I was happy about the Jeff Blake signing....

:roll:

 

[JasonKGME]

i agree with most of what you say, but this is just wrong. you ding starks for being injured and though you make mention of it, don't ding antrel for the same. in the games they ACTUALLY played starks performed at a higher level than antrel. in fact, right now i'd say this is a push considering that antrel now looks like a bigger version of starks. both from UofMiami, both with a world of potential, both hurt, both stole money from the cards.

Actually I did ding Rolle with the comment "if he can get his Knee healthy". And IMO he has more talent and is more physically gifted then Starks is thus the better then Starks, again IMO. Now if he is never healthy being better then Starks physically and talent wise won't amount to a hill of beans of course because he wouldn't be playing. And at this point Antrel only has the potential to steal money from the Cards, he hasn't stolen it yet, if he does get healthy and goes to a pro bowl during his contract then it isn't stolen money, Starks tho allready stole it, spent it and left town.

 

[Cardiac]

Compare the 2003 team vs this years projected starters:




TE
Then - Freddie Jones - Huge disappointment, never had much heart/Steve Bush - Career 3rd stringer.
Now - Leonard Pope - High hopes but.../Adam Bergen - likely career backup
Advantage - Push currently, Bergen & Edwards are nice guys but not great, Pope has potential but so did Jones, lets hope Pope plays up to his abilities.

I would have to give the advantage to now. Freddie Jones was worse the Ross last year with his blocking. Bergen isn't quite at FJ's receiving production but is a far better blocker.


DT
Then - Russell Davis - Decent DT/Wendall Bryant - 1st round bust
Now - Darnell Dockett - Solid player, if he gets help from the other DT/Kendrick Clancey - up and comer, may be our 2006 Berry.
Advantage - Now, Bryant sucked almost impossible for it not to be better.

I give a huge advantage to Now, Bryant couldn't even get on the field and Bell / Tanner / ??? all were horrible. Dockett has proved he can be an impact player and with Clancy and Watson at NT Dockett will have us all singing his praises again.

S
Then - Dexter Jackson - OK safety/Adrian Wilson - Stud safety should make some pro-bowls
Now - Robert Griffith - Solid player but long in the tooth, need replacement/Adrian Wilson - see above
Advantage - Push, Wilson is a stud Griffith & Jackson are about equal.

I have to give a small advantage to Now just because Wilson is far better now then he was then.

CB
Then - David Barrett - Good nickle back, shouldn't have been a starter/Duane Starks - Another injury bugged player, stole money from the cards
Now - Antrel Rolle - If he can get his knee healthy has pro bowl abilities/David Macklin - See Barrett coments (Eric Green could push this year)
Advantage - Now, Rolle is better then Starks, and Macklin/Barrett are a wash

Rolle has to stay on the field to prove he is better but I do agree with your rating. Macklin is a big upgrade over Barrett and E. Green is an upgrade over the nickle DB back then.

Special Teams
Then - Bill Gramatica & Scott Player
Now - Neil Rackers & Scott Player
Advantage - Now, Kicker is more important that punter, and while Players skills have gone down, Rackers is a huge improvment over Gramatica.

Player may have lost a little distance and hang time but he is top notch placing punts inside the 20. Our ST's sucked last year, KR & PR had to be better back then.

Take into account that alot of the starters on the 2003 team would have been at best backups on most other teams (some of em even 3rd stringers), compare that to now, where we might actually have some backup players that would be concidered starters on other teams and that is also a HUGE advantage for now.

This is a huge point, we finally have quality depth at most positions. Safeties and LB's are still iffy, OT is scary and we may need to upgrade our RB's.

Great Post and thought process.

 

[arthurracoon]

Ugh! I remember my appearence on the Arizona Sports Report where I said I was happy about the Jeff Blake signing....

:roll:

 

[Stronso]

Ugh! I remember my appearence on the Arizona Sports Report where I said I was happy about the Jeff Blake signing....

:roll:

Tell me about it - I even bought a Blake jersey I was so pumped

 

[Duckjake]

Considering that the 2003 team finished dead last in both points scored and points allowed I wouldn't give them an advantage or even a push at any position.

That team was awful. Even the 3-13 2000 team didn't finish dead last in both points catagories.

Who can forget those memorable 2003 games against Cleveland and San Francisco. Only the miracle win over Minnesota kept them from being the worst Cardinal team in almost 50 years.

 

[phillycard]

i agree with most of what you say, but this is just wrong. you ding starks for being injured and though you make mention of it, don't ding antrel for the same. in the games they ACTUALLY played starks performed at a higher level than antrel. in fact, right now i'd say this is a push considering that antrel now looks like a bigger version of starks. both from UofMiami, both with a world of potential, both hurt, both stole money from the cards.

Ouchie, how did Rolle steal money from the Cards? The man deserves a break due to injury. no? Starks never was fully healthy enough to contribute like we needed him to. I expect big things out of A.R. this year

 

[abomb]

Who can forget those memorable 2003 games against Cleveland and San Francisco. Only the miracle win over Minnesota kept them from being the worst Cardinal team in almost 50 years.

Gosh, I will never, ever, ever forget that game @ SF. D-Dogg and I were cleaning his garage and hooked up a 27" TV out there. Garcia and TO tore up our defense so badly that day.

A-Bomb

 

[Duckjake]

Gosh, I will never, ever, ever forget that game @ SF. D-Dogg and I were cleaning his garage and hooked up a 27" TV out there. Garcia and TO tore up our defense so badly that day.

A-Bomb

Hooking up a TV in the garage to watch a Cardinal game is very hazardous for the TV. Too many things handy to throw at it and usually no females nearby to keep you under control.

"What am I doing with the lawnmower?" "Nothing, honey, just holding it up to see if the blade needs sharpening."

 

[Lloydian]

Assuming all in your analysis is correct, the single biggest pain of the recent years, the offensive line, by your analysis, is worse than it was then.

Picture me in a fetal position.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Sorry.

Clement is better than Ross? Once again we need to break out the game films.

Clement is the worse OT of all time. I am a better OT than he was. At least I could trip up a defensive player while he runs over me.

Clement was like a warm fart a on a cold windy winter day. Ineffective, and overwhelmed by the opposition.

 

[Redheart]

Sorry.

Clement is better than Ross? Once again we need to break out the game films.

Clement is the worse OT of all time. I am a better OT than he was. At least I could trip up a defensive player while he runs over me.

Clement was like a warm fart a on a cold windy winter day. Ineffective, and overwhelmed by the opposition.

Don't forget giving LJ the push with BIG.

LJ was a bust compared to BIG; LJ never dominated on any part of the game, BIG does...and NOT just in false starts...BIG was part of the best passing game we have seen in AZ...LJ is playing with a new team again, his third team, this year.

New Line Coach; a real coach with creds.

Depth and competition on the OL.

Running back with creds, dreds, and loves to wear reds.

...Picture me in a fetal position.

Get out of your fetal position and try and find a place on the bandwagon.