Snakester
Draft Man
Whiz needs to hire an offensive coordinator for multiple reasons. Even if the guy he hires is no better than him, it will still free up Whiz to think about changes and strategy during the game instead of concentrating on calling the next play. It's fine to go into a game with a game plan, but I have never seen a game yet where you didn't have to make adjustments. This is one of the weaknesses that I see in our games.
If we are going to draft a QB with our first round pick, we need to hire the best QB coach we can find and over pay him to get him here. I would even be happy if we could some how talk Kurt Warner into being that guy. I am hoping we do anything we can to draft Andrew Luck. This team needs a QB of the future and not a stop gap. If we draft Luck we need to start him from day one.
Our QB position right now as we all know is a mess. Derrick Anderson is not the guy we need going forward. That leaves John Skelton and Max Hall as the backups next year. By not playing Skelton or Hall the last five games we have no way of knowing if we can count on them next year. By doing this, Whiz will end up keeping DA for no other reason than he can say he is an experienced backup. John Skelton has by far the most athletic ability of our three quarterbacks with the strongest arm, yet he is not going to play. Not because he can't, but because Whiz refuses to look towards the future. He will stick with DA for the rest of the year unless he gets injured.
We need to commit to the running game more. I don't mean the old Buddy Ryan method of run,run,pass and punt either. Whiz is doing to Beanie Wells what he did to Matt Leinart. He's taking a very talented player and draining all the life and confidence out of him. Wells should be starting period with Tim Hightower coming in to give him a breather. Instead, Whiz is doing nothing but playing headgames.
I would really like to see LSH be more involved in the running game. He is the perfect back to pass to coming out of the backfield. Get him passed the LOS and in the open field and he can make some big plays for us. Look what he does for us on kickoffs. Throw him the ball at least five times a game and I bet he breaks a couple of runs for at least 20 yards.
Fullback Reagan Mauia has the size and fire to be a good fullback, all he needs is more experience. I think if the Cards stick with him we will have a very good fullback in time.
People can say what they want about Anquan Boldin, that he was getting injured, that he wanted too much money, that we have other receivers that can take his place that are just as good. The fact is Anquan was our version of Ray Lewis. He fought hard for every yard, had a great fire to him that made everyone around him play harder. What wide receiver on this team or any other team can block the way he did. Show me one WR on this team that could punish DB's and even linbackers the way Boldin did when they tried to tackle him. He was an inspirational leader and losing him really hurt this team.
Don't get me wrong, we still have a good WR corps. Fitz is still great and Breaston can be a very good WR that stretches the field. What our receivers lack right now is that swagger that they had the last couple of years. The one that said we are the best and nobody can stop us. A good QB will bring alot of that back. Because we have several young guys like Breaston,Roberts, Doucet and Williams, the QB we bring in next year will have a chance to grow with these guys. Even though we have all these guys I think we should target a receiver in the draft that is like Boldin. Someone with size and attitude that can fire up this bunch into playing better.
If there is one area on this team that needs to be addressed other than QB this offseason its the Offensive Line. This is an every year thing just like us needing passrushers. I don't think the front office or coaching staff has a clue about how important an offensive line is. Maybe a miracle will happen and the O-line will be addressed next year.
Levi Brown- Moving him to left tackle has turned out to be a huge mistake. After watching him finally become a good right tackle last year that tried and played with a little fire and confidence, he has become a huge disapointment on the left side. Watching him in the 49er game, I just couldn't believe how big a difference one season and a position change could make. He had no fire, was downright lazy, wouldn't finish his blocks and really played like he could care less. This guy needs to be switched back to the right side and have a blow torch stuck up his rear or just flat out released for the way he is playing. He has way too much talent to play the way he is. Part of the blame for this should be pointed at Russ Grimm. This is his domain and he should be putting his foot up any linemen thats not playing to the best of there ability.
Alan Faneca- You know I really want to say that signing this guy was a mistake because not only him being another ex Steeler but because of his age and years in the league. The sad thing is he played better than any one of the other linemen did against the 49ers. He knew what he was doing, played with fire and finished his blocks. He played the way offensive lineman are supposed to play. Yea he doesn't have the ability he once had, but what he has is still better than what the rest of the line showed up with. I would be happy with him playing another year for us. I would be even happier if he were the new offensive line coach next year.
Lyle Sendlein- I would love to have him as our backup. He tries hard, he mostly finishes his blocks. Will try and block a second man and will help out his fellow linemen. The problem is he has C ability in an A league. He positions himself well, but just gets manhandled too much. I watch a DT throw him to the side and make the tackle on our runningbacks too often.
Deuce Lutui- Has the ability and strength to be a very good guard. His problems are he needs to finish his blocks more often, play smarter and be more aggressive. All things that can be taught and should come with more experience. This is another player with the ability that Russ Grimm should be working with. Deuce isn't that far off from being the player that we want him to be. Hopefully the Cards will give him a decent contract and keep him.
Jeremy Bridges- Just like Sendlein, I want him to be the backup. He can play both tackle and guard and do a decent job. He has plenty of experience starting and can come in and do a good job in a pinch. He is better than Brandon Keith easily but will never be a probowler. Great backup and average starter.
Rex Hadnot- Pretty solid vet from what I have seen of him. Most of his experience is at guard but I would like to see him start at Center and see if we have a keeper. If not then we know we need to get another Center.
Herman Johnson- This is the guy I really want to see start at LG for us. I don't think he has the feet to be a tackle. He played left guard in college and can be a monster at that position. Problem is I don't think our coaching staff will ever give him the chance to play left guard and he probably will just be released next year. It's a shame because he could become a dominating player if given the chance.
The position that matters least to this team the way I see it is Tightend. We don't hardly use them in the passing game and our coaching staff released the best blocking TE I can recall seeing in decades in Anthony Becht. I would like to see the Cards go out and get both a passcatching TE and a solid blocking TE next year. So far from what I have seen this year, rookie Jim Dray can be a good backup and might have a future.
If we are going to draft a QB with our first round pick, we need to hire the best QB coach we can find and over pay him to get him here. I would even be happy if we could some how talk Kurt Warner into being that guy. I am hoping we do anything we can to draft Andrew Luck. This team needs a QB of the future and not a stop gap. If we draft Luck we need to start him from day one.
Our QB position right now as we all know is a mess. Derrick Anderson is not the guy we need going forward. That leaves John Skelton and Max Hall as the backups next year. By not playing Skelton or Hall the last five games we have no way of knowing if we can count on them next year. By doing this, Whiz will end up keeping DA for no other reason than he can say he is an experienced backup. John Skelton has by far the most athletic ability of our three quarterbacks with the strongest arm, yet he is not going to play. Not because he can't, but because Whiz refuses to look towards the future. He will stick with DA for the rest of the year unless he gets injured.
We need to commit to the running game more. I don't mean the old Buddy Ryan method of run,run,pass and punt either. Whiz is doing to Beanie Wells what he did to Matt Leinart. He's taking a very talented player and draining all the life and confidence out of him. Wells should be starting period with Tim Hightower coming in to give him a breather. Instead, Whiz is doing nothing but playing headgames.
I would really like to see LSH be more involved in the running game. He is the perfect back to pass to coming out of the backfield. Get him passed the LOS and in the open field and he can make some big plays for us. Look what he does for us on kickoffs. Throw him the ball at least five times a game and I bet he breaks a couple of runs for at least 20 yards.
Fullback Reagan Mauia has the size and fire to be a good fullback, all he needs is more experience. I think if the Cards stick with him we will have a very good fullback in time.
People can say what they want about Anquan Boldin, that he was getting injured, that he wanted too much money, that we have other receivers that can take his place that are just as good. The fact is Anquan was our version of Ray Lewis. He fought hard for every yard, had a great fire to him that made everyone around him play harder. What wide receiver on this team or any other team can block the way he did. Show me one WR on this team that could punish DB's and even linbackers the way Boldin did when they tried to tackle him. He was an inspirational leader and losing him really hurt this team.
Don't get me wrong, we still have a good WR corps. Fitz is still great and Breaston can be a very good WR that stretches the field. What our receivers lack right now is that swagger that they had the last couple of years. The one that said we are the best and nobody can stop us. A good QB will bring alot of that back. Because we have several young guys like Breaston,Roberts, Doucet and Williams, the QB we bring in next year will have a chance to grow with these guys. Even though we have all these guys I think we should target a receiver in the draft that is like Boldin. Someone with size and attitude that can fire up this bunch into playing better.
If there is one area on this team that needs to be addressed other than QB this offseason its the Offensive Line. This is an every year thing just like us needing passrushers. I don't think the front office or coaching staff has a clue about how important an offensive line is. Maybe a miracle will happen and the O-line will be addressed next year.
Levi Brown- Moving him to left tackle has turned out to be a huge mistake. After watching him finally become a good right tackle last year that tried and played with a little fire and confidence, he has become a huge disapointment on the left side. Watching him in the 49er game, I just couldn't believe how big a difference one season and a position change could make. He had no fire, was downright lazy, wouldn't finish his blocks and really played like he could care less. This guy needs to be switched back to the right side and have a blow torch stuck up his rear or just flat out released for the way he is playing. He has way too much talent to play the way he is. Part of the blame for this should be pointed at Russ Grimm. This is his domain and he should be putting his foot up any linemen thats not playing to the best of there ability.
Alan Faneca- You know I really want to say that signing this guy was a mistake because not only him being another ex Steeler but because of his age and years in the league. The sad thing is he played better than any one of the other linemen did against the 49ers. He knew what he was doing, played with fire and finished his blocks. He played the way offensive lineman are supposed to play. Yea he doesn't have the ability he once had, but what he has is still better than what the rest of the line showed up with. I would be happy with him playing another year for us. I would be even happier if he were the new offensive line coach next year.
Lyle Sendlein- I would love to have him as our backup. He tries hard, he mostly finishes his blocks. Will try and block a second man and will help out his fellow linemen. The problem is he has C ability in an A league. He positions himself well, but just gets manhandled too much. I watch a DT throw him to the side and make the tackle on our runningbacks too often.
Deuce Lutui- Has the ability and strength to be a very good guard. His problems are he needs to finish his blocks more often, play smarter and be more aggressive. All things that can be taught and should come with more experience. This is another player with the ability that Russ Grimm should be working with. Deuce isn't that far off from being the player that we want him to be. Hopefully the Cards will give him a decent contract and keep him.
Jeremy Bridges- Just like Sendlein, I want him to be the backup. He can play both tackle and guard and do a decent job. He has plenty of experience starting and can come in and do a good job in a pinch. He is better than Brandon Keith easily but will never be a probowler. Great backup and average starter.
Rex Hadnot- Pretty solid vet from what I have seen of him. Most of his experience is at guard but I would like to see him start at Center and see if we have a keeper. If not then we know we need to get another Center.
Herman Johnson- This is the guy I really want to see start at LG for us. I don't think he has the feet to be a tackle. He played left guard in college and can be a monster at that position. Problem is I don't think our coaching staff will ever give him the chance to play left guard and he probably will just be released next year. It's a shame because he could become a dominating player if given the chance.
The position that matters least to this team the way I see it is Tightend. We don't hardly use them in the passing game and our coaching staff released the best blocking TE I can recall seeing in decades in Anthony Becht. I would like to see the Cards go out and get both a passcatching TE and a solid blocking TE next year. So far from what I have seen this year, rookie Jim Dray can be a good backup and might have a future.
