Where to spend our FA $$$$$$

[spanky1]

Between FA and the draft, we are in a position this year to fix a lot of our key personnel issues and if we do it right, we'll be a serious playoff contender IMHO. Who we sign in FA will influence who we draft. Fortunately, there are "rainmakers" at our need areas available in both FA and the draft.

But before we begin, let's be realistic. We can only sign a maximum of three FA's and if we do, we can not expect them all to be the "elites"......maybe one elite and two "better than we already have" types. In order of priority, consensus thinking seems to be: D-Line, CB and WR.

On the D-Line, we have a need for pass rushing help. There are three players available in FA who could really help us.....Kearse and Wistrom at DE and Robaire Smith at DT. In the draft there will be three players who could help us....Udeze and Smith at DE and Harris at DT. Kearse will be expensive. Some comments I'm hearing is that he's really only had one super year and that he's injury prone. Wistrom will cost us less, but not by much. Some seem to think he's heading to Kansas City irregardless. He also has a question mark MCL situation. Of the draft available players, IMHO both Smith and Harris are undersized. Udeze's stock seems to be rising and by all accounts, he'll be an impact player. He should be available when we pick, even if we trade down a few spots......Ergo: my first FA salvo is for Robaire Smith at DT and Udeze DE at draft time. Smith will cost us and would represent our "rainmaker" FA signing. BTW.....Warren Sapp did not enter into my thinking at all. He's on the downhill curve, will want too much money and is a disruptive personality. D-Line problems solved.

At the CB spot, we have opportunity galore in both FA and through the draft to solve this glaring area of weakness. Talk about the stars aligning for us here. There are two "rainmaker" CB's in Bailey and McAlister....three, if you want to include Woodson. All of these options will break the bank and put us close to "salary cap jail". As it will turn out, Bailey and McAlister will likely resign with their teams and you can have Woodson IMO. There are three -four quality second tier CB's available however and each would be a significant improvement to what we have: Plummer, Bryant, Winfield, Vincent and one or two others. In the draft.....wow, talk about how fortunate we are to have the 1st pick in round two. Whether SF can afford to keep Plummer remains to be seen, but even if they can't, he might be too expensive for us. We should be able to get anyone of the others for a reasonable price. Personally, either Bryant or Winfield fit just fine with me. Add in Duante Robinson or "Batman" Carroll in the draft and problem #2 at CB is now solved.

Our next need is for a WR to spread the field and make room for Boldin and Johnson to do their thing. There are some intriging options available for us to consider in FA that I discussed in an earlier thread. In summary, Dennis Northcutt represents the "line of best fit" for our needs and our pocketbook. You give me Boldin Johnson and Northcutt in a 3 WR set and we don't need to think about drafting a WR this year.........at all.

There we have it......in a perfect world:

Problem #1=D-Line= Udeze (D.Johnson); Bryant (Bell); Robaire Smith (King/Tanner); Pace (KVB)=Problem solved

Problem #2=CB= Winfield (Robinson/Hill); Starks (Barrett)=Problem solved

Problem#3=Vet/WR=Northcutt (also a solid PR saving Boldin from this duty)=Problem solved X's 2

Draft picks used=#1 in Udeze and #2 in Robinson with plenty of ammunition left..........time to pour another glass of kool aid!

 

[Snakester]

I think you are right about where to spend the money, CB, DL and WR.

DL- I Would like to see us get one or more of these guys.
Jevon Kearse,Grant Wistrom,Cornelius Griffin,Robaire Smith or Keith Traylor. I know Traylor is getting up there in years but the man is a stud at DT still.

CB- I agree that I don't think we will land McAlister or Champ Bailey, but a guy like Winfield might just come here as you suggested. I think then we need to go after one of the guys that have been hurt recently that we might be able to get at a discount. Like Charles Woodson or Shawn Springs. Give one of them an incentive laden contract on playing time. If he stays healthy he gets good money. If he is hurt he gets less. That way we cover ourselves.

WR- Although I would love to get Terrell Owens I don't think he will even give the Cardinals a chance.
Darrell Jackson and Kevin Dyson are two that we might be able to get.

OL- I would also like to go after one OL. Chad Clifton is the guy I would like to see us get. He would cost a lot less then Orlando Pace or Walter Jones. John Tait and Adam Timmerman are two others I would consider.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Geez...why is it that I don't see barely anyone mention Darren Howard?

I would take Howard over Wistrom any day, and maybe over Jevon on Sunday.

Darren Howard is a pro bowl-level performer, and has one of the quickest first steps in the game.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Originally posted by Snakester
I think you are right about where to spend the money, CB, DL and WR.

DL- I Would like to see us get one or more of these guys.
Jevon Kearse,Grant Wistrom,Cornelius Griffin,Robaire Smith or Keith Traylor. I know Traylor is getting up there in years but the man is a stud at DT still.

CB- I agree that I don't think we will land McAlister or Champ Bailey, but a guy like Winfield might just come here as you suggested. I think then we need to go after one of the guys that have been hurt recently that we might be able to get at a discount. Like Charles Woodson or Shawn Springs. Give one of them an incentive laden contract on playing time. If he stays healthy he gets good money. If he is hurt he gets less. That way we cover ourselves.

WR- Although I would love to get Terrell Owens I don't think he will even give the Cardinals a chance.
Darrell Jackson and Kevin Dyson are two that we might be able to get.

OL- I would also like to go after one OL. Chad Clifton is the guy I would like to see us get. He would cost a lot less then Orlando Pace or Walter Jones. John Tait and Adam Timmerman are two others I would consider.

You know that we only have about 8 million in cap room?

 

[Snakester]

Originally posted by Krangthebrain
You know that we only have about 8 million in cap room?

Krang, I was under the impression that we had 17.1 million according to http://www.theredzone.org/caproom.asp.

If we only have 8 million then I agree that my thoughts of going shopping on the FA market will be curtailed for sure. I thought we had more money though.

 

[Snakester]

I just tried the link and it didn't work but this is the info I was going by.

2004 Salary Cap Status For Each NFL Team

Updated 12/31/2003
The 2004 Salary Cap is estimated to be approximately $78.1 Million.

Rank Team Total Cap Room
1 Baltimore Ravens $54,080,000 $24,020,000
2 Philadelphia Eagles $55,300,000 $22,800,000
3 New Orleans Saints $55,500,000 $22,600,000
4 Minnesota Vikings $57,900,000 $20,200,000
5 Dallas Cowboys $59,400,000 $18,700,000
6 St. Louis Rams $60,500,000 $17,600,000
7 Arizona Cardinals $61,000,000 $17,100,000
8 Detroit Lions $63,500,000 $14,600,000
9 Carolina Panthers $65,100,000 $13,000,000
10 Houston Texans $66,000,000 $12,100,000
11 Seattle Seahawks $66,500,000 $11,600,000
12 Jacksonville Jaguars $67,700,000 $10,400,000
13 Chicago Bears $69,100,000 $9,000,000
14 Cincinnati Bengals $69,100,000 $9,000,000
15 Washington Redskins $69,500,000 $8,600,000
16 Kansas City Chiefs $69,800,000 $8,300,000
17 Buffalo Bills $70,600,000 $7,500,000
18 San Diego Chargers $72,000,000 $6,100,000
19 Atlanta Falcons $73,730,000 $4,370,000
20 New York Jets $74,600,000 $3,500,000
21 Green Bay Packers $74,700,000 $3,400,000
22 New York Giants $75,400,000 $2,700,000
23 Indianapolis Colts $76,300,000 $1,800,000
24 Oakland Raiders $76,740,000 $1,360,000
25 Cleveland Browns $76,800,000 $1,300,000
26 San Francisco 49ers $77,307,000 $793,000
27 New England Patriots $78,499,000 $-399,000
28 Tampa Bay Buccaneers $79,500,000 $-1,400,000
29 Denver Broncos $80,400,000 $-2,300,000
30 Pittsburgh Steelers $80,770,000 $-2,670,000
31 Miami Dolphins $87,580,000 $-9,480,000
32 Tennessee Titans $94,500,000 $-16,400,000


Source: ESPN

Providing Great NFL News And Links Since 1998

About The Redzone | Troubleshooting | Privacy Statement | Advertising | Ad Opt-Out
Site Map | Link To Us | Forums

 

[vikesfan]

You can get more then 3 elite FAs much more. You have 17 million in cap.

(1) I think you need another name WR. Draft Fitz problem solved. Or if Fitz is gone then there are some decent FAs out there. What about Poole he looked good in the 1 Cards game I saw. As people here have said B Johnson is developing they have faith in his development. No idea on the other guys you have. This is not the 1 need area. I just think Fitz is too good to pass up.

(2) No legitimate pass rusher. You need one. That can be solved via FA or your #1 draft pick.
(This is Problem #1 imo.)

(3) A big NT do you really have one of those? If not a later round pick is always good for that.

(4) A legit Pro Bowl Type RB. Shipp is serviceable and Smith is coming back so like WR not a desperate need. Maybe wait next year to solve that - who knows Shipp mght explode as some believe and problem solves itself.

(5) CB doesn't seem like a huge problem area. Hill had decent numbers last year. Did not know he had as many ints and passes deflected as he had. Starks is a good player. This is not a prime need. But there are lots of good CBs in both the draft and FA. Signing one up in FA or drafting one Round Two is smart. You can never have too many good CBs. There is a lot of good CB depth out there get some.

(6) Safety doesn't seem like huge area of need. Jackson is a decent player and Wilson seems decent. Ss don't influence a game like a DE or CB will. Maybe a depth pick later in the draft or if S Taylor is just too good to pass up.

(7) Your LB situation is similar to the S situation. Decent guys and LBs are not as big an influence on the field. Unless an absolute stud comes free like Peterson - maybe a later round depth pick.

(8) TE/FB seems ok. Adding a road plower like Kleinsasser would help your run game immediately. If he can be had for a decent amount. Green and him go way back.

(9) The offenive line is the second biggest problem area imo (after passrusher and in the same need range as dead solid shut down corner.) I think you need a legitimate OT. A big bad motherlover to knock the snot out of passrushers and runstuffers.
There are several excellent ones available in FA. You can get a decent one in Round 2. Maybe get that Center you also need in Round 3. Because you can get one in Round 2 using Round One on Gallery might be a gamble worth taking.


(10) And what about a franchise QB... you seem to have 2 solid gambles in Eli and Ben this year. Do you roll the dice and get the franchise QB. It won't produce immediate results but down the road when the team is built up you won't be able to pick one up as easy as you can this year. In the first year of a new program this could be a smart move.



(a.) Pass rusher. Pick one up in FA (Kearse or Ogunlye or Howard). Or draft one in Round 1 (Smith or Udeze - slight reach).

(b.) OT. Draft a good one in Round 2. Use Round 1 on Gallery. Sign one of the top dudes in FA.

(c.) CB. Draft one in Round 2. Sign a good one in FA.

(d.) WR. Sign a FA. Draft Fitz round 1.

(e.) A G or C to resolve the Kendall situation. Get lucky in round 3? A FA?

Strategy:

-Get your OT in free agency. Sign Waid or Pace or Tait or Jones.

-Get your CB in free agency sign one of the big 7.

-If you do not take Fitz #1 sign a FA WR to go with the Franchise QB you drafted (Ben or Eli).

-The pass rusher ah this is a tough nut to crack... do you reach at #3? Do you sign a FA. Wistrom and Howard aren't superstars and Kearse is kind of fragile. Ogunlye is the choice if you can steal him from MIA... but will you be able to?
Best case scenario: sign Ogunlye. Worst case scenario: sign Kearse Wistrom or Howard. But don't reach at 3.

-You need to pick up a servicable G or C to take care of the Kendall issue. FA or Round 2 or 3 is the best shot.

Final thoughts:

The biggest decision is at the first round #3 in the draft IF both Fitz and Eli/Ben is there. Picking first or second would be much tougher. Who do you take? If Fitz is gone take Eli/Ben. If Eli/Ben are gone take Fitz.

Take a difference maker in Round 1. Take Fitz if he really is as good as he projects or if a QB falls then take your shot at a solid QB for a decade. I can't really decide it is a tough call. It all depends if McCown has shown enough to be developed.

Get a STUD OT in Free Agency. It is worth it. (Tait Wade Jones Pace) one of these 4 need to be target one. Don't draft Gallery. Get the BPA Pass Rusher in FA. Don't draft Udeze/Smith. Sign one of the 7 excellent CBs in FA.

Take BPA in round two. Maybe a C or G to take care of the Kendall problem and in round three pick up a big DT. Live one more year with your LB S and RB situation. Unless you get a shot a superstar like Peterson or Dillon in FA or trade.

And if you didn't take Fitz then sign BPA FA WR.

QB McCown or Ben/Eli

WR Fitz or 1 of the big 4 FA WR

No matter what you do you still get:

DE 1 of the big 4 FA DE

CB 1 of the big 7 FA CB

OT Wade Pace Tait Jones

 

[Loyal Card 17]

i think you need to sign wistrom , plummer, and peterson. why.

1. they are excellent players.
2. they all play in our division. so they know the other teams
3. this will make the defense soild at each position. dl, lb, & db.

those are the main points.

in the draft, i would like the cardinals to find a way to draft phillip rivers. pick up a wr and a de in the second and 3rd. the rest of the draft is best avaiable player.

these are just my opinions. hopfully 2-3 of thoughts will come true.

 

[schel]

I think Krang is right. It's only about $8-10 million. I remember hearing that's what the Cards estimate after all the resignings and rookie deals.

 

[red desert]

Originally posted by Krangthebrain
Geez...why is it that I don't see barely anyone mention Darren Howard?

Darren Howard. He would be a big pick-up, huge even. And I wouldn't mind lining up Darrell Jackson next to Boldin.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Originally posted by Snakester
Krang, I was under the impression that we had 17.1 million according to http://www.theredzone.org/caproom.asp.

If we only have 8 million then I agree that my thoughts of going shopping on the FA market will be curtailed for sure. I thought we had more money though.

Naw, we only have around 8 million.

That's enough to throw at about 2 free agents.

I want Darren Howard and Antoine Winfield. Keep Starks until at least June 1st. Keep Clement, just like Starks, his cap hit would be big enough that he's worth keeping right now.

If we don't get a good edge rusher in free agency, we HAVE TO draft one high. Draft Kenechi Udeze.

 

[Crimson Warrior]

Originally posted by Krangthebrain
Naw, we only have around 8 million.

That's enough to throw at about 2 free agents.

I want Darren Howard and Antoine Winfield. Keep Starks until at least June 1st. Keep Clement, just like Starks, his cap hit would be big enough that he's worth keeping right now.

If we don't get a good edge rusher in free agency, we HAVE TO draft one high. Draft Kenechi Udeze.

DT is the main area of need. Signing Robaire Smith or Keith Traylor has to be the top priority. We've spent high draft choices on the D line for the last two years and thats enough. We've got to develop Pace at DE and Wendell Bryant at DT

that would give us: Pace, Smith/Traylor, Bryant, and Johnson starting, with KVB or Wakefield, Davis, Bell and King backing up.

If we can get Howard( 5 sacks 29 tackles, not earth shattering but he probably won't break the bank either) that would be cool too. Then Johnson (or Pace) go to back up spots, and either Bell, KVB or Wakefield can just be extra depth guys.

This scenario would be a dream come true. This draft is weak as far as D line help anyway, so we have to use FA to fix our number one problem.

The draft is deep in CBs so this is how we solve that problem. We can get two quality guys, and we'll be set, especially if Starks can come back healthy. Barrett can go get his "number one" money somewhere else. I'm tired of him.

So, I'm thinking we draft Shuan Taylor, and then next best two CBs (Strait and Gamble/Vasher?). Then RB, and then whoever the best player available is.

My main point is that we need to get strong in the middle of our defense and get more pass rushing from our DE position. Wilson is never going to get it done in my opinion (sorry Adrian!). 0 Ints for AW this year, unacceptable.

 

[artp]

Udeze would be a good pick for the Cardinals, but not with the third overall. He's not a top 5 guy. I would love to see the Cardinals trade down and get him.

 

[Loyal Card 17]

can anybody on this board tell me what a top 5 guy is. why isn't undeze a top 5 guy. for that matter why isn't phillip rivers a top 5 guy. what makes a person a top 5 guy. maybe thier a player or coach that can fill me in what makes a top 5 guy in the draft.

 

[AzCards21]

Originally posted by Loyal Card 17
can anybody on this board tell me what a top 5 guy is. why isn't undeze a top 5 guy. for that matter why isn't phillip rivers a top 5 guy. what makes a person a top 5 guy. maybe thier a player or coach that can fill me in what makes a top 5 guy in the draft.

A whole dang butt load of publicity. That's what makes a top 5 guy. And in two years you are being made fun of for a wasted pick. A top fiver who totally failed. I think the bust quotiant goes through the roof in the top ten picks. I said this last year and will say it again.

I hope this our last top 20 pick!

Being #1 just means you suck. And your pick has that much more room for failure.

 

[Cards Czar]

Here is the list of our UFA,RFA and EFA. Take a look give your comments .

C Jason Starkey(UFA) -Bye. Got hurt last year and there are 2 ahead of him on the chart.
C Chris Dishman(UFA) -Bye. Had gotten slower as the year progressed, not worth his price.
DT Derrick Ransom(UFA) – Bye. What did he do to improve the team? Nothing he was just a body.
CB David Barrett(UFA) - ??? Don’t know if he will be back ( his asking price) We should propose to him 2 yr at 3 mil if he doesn’t like it See YA.
CB Emmanuel McDaniel(UFA)- Bye. Didn’t like his play in any game with the cards BYE BYE.
S Justin Lucas(UFA) ???? Justin did a good job as a back Safety. Give him 1.6 mil for 2 yrs.

WR Kevin Kasper(RFA, 6th) Yes, give him the low tender for RFA and have him fight it out for the 5 WR position.
WR Bryan Gilmore(RFA)- Already resigned
DT Marcus Bell(RFA, 4th) Yes give him the low tender and if any body takes him we get a 4th rounder.
CB Renaldo Hill(RFA, 7th) yes he played his heart out under the circumstances. Mid tier offer. (1.1 mil)
K Bill Gramatica(RFA, 4th)- Has never really excited me in any aspect of his kicking at all.

K Tim Duncan(EFA) - Bye
WR Nate Poole(EFA)- Resign him to the tender and let him fight it out for the 4th WR spot.
S Quentin Harris(EFA) Bye- Look for an upgrade in either the FA or the Draft.
T Kendrick Rogers(EFA) was on IR and was not effective when he was not. Look for an upgrade.

So be looking at the above it should come to the ballpark figure around 4.2 million.

At this time we have about 17.6 million for the FA market and you take out the 4 mil for the Draft and the 4.2 million our own FA and that leaves us with 9.4 million. Now the interesting question is who is going to be let go and what amount will be available to us?

Now guys and gals who do you think will be let go or traded ????

 

[JeffGollin]

On the D-Line, we have a need for pass rushing help
Beg to disagree. We also badly need someone stout in the middle that can't be blown out by opposing run blockers. (True, we've been improving in this area but we're still just barely getting it done with liberal use of duct tape).

Regarding the Salary Cap ($17 mil or $8 mil) - I hope it will be more than $8 mil, but if you look back over the years, those numbers are always published and typically show us with huge cap balances. But by roughly Draft Day, they tend to shrink considerably.

Gollin's 2 Predraft Rules for Today

1. We'll get screwed in the Supplemental Draft Pick allocations.

2. Our cap balance will be far less than what USA Today and other sources initially publish.

Things to be on the lookout for leading up to and during the Combine -

- Big physical "possession" receivers who run faster than 4.5.

- "Elite" receivers who time out 4.6 or slower (one of the few things likely to hurt someone's draft rating).

- "Steady Eddie" cornerbacks who run 4.55 or better.

- OLB's who run faster than 4.65.

- MLB's known for great size and physical play but thought to be "too slow" who break 4.75.

- QB's who score below 15 in the Wunderlic.

- Anyone else (besides DE's and DT's) who scores in single digits in the Wunderlic.

 

[spanky1]

Originally posted by Krangthebrain
Geez...why is it that I don't see barely anyone mention Darren Howard?

I would take Howard over Wistrom any day, and maybe over Jevon on Sunday.

Darren Howard is a pro bowl-level performer, and has one of the quickest first steps in the game.

Krang,

I don't see Darren Howard listed as either an RFA or a UFA DE on any 2004 FA list that I've seen.........are you sure about his availability?

 

[Cards Czar]

Originally posted by spanky1
Krang,

I don't see Darren Howard listed as either an RFA or a UFA DE on any 2004 FA list that I've seen.........are you sure about his availability?

Here is the link:

http://home.att.net/~ninerfanatic/

Go the the FA by positions. Updated today.

 

[BACH]

Originally posted by vikesfan
You can get more then 3 elite FAs much more. You have 17 million in cap.

Three is the realistic number, vikesfan. Remember that the rookie pool takes up about $5M and the tenders for the RFAs about $2-3M. The Cards do not have any significant players becoming free agents (barrett willnot return with his demands), so they don't have to spend money signing the own players. Of the $17M only $9 - 10M is available for free agents, but that should be the highest amount in the league, though.

 

[vikesfan]

If you have a good capoligist...
you can work in a couple extra guys there are always ways to massage numbers. Some teams are really good at this. Then there are those 1 year FA deals that can help you out. But that is dependent on the player believing in your program. The Cards history hurts that angle but DG's history helps, but he is just starting so it won't be as big as positive factor. In Minnesota he used to sign guys to less money and had them renogatite deals sort of like winning teams like NE do now.

The Wunderlic Test is complete BS. Phil Simms had the lowest Wunderlic score ever I think he had a 9 or 11 - he also has 2 SB rings and is a TV commentator. Culpepper went to 2 pro-bowls in his first 4 years and scored low.

The Wunderlic is not only culturally biased but it means nothing in terms of being a football player. Bradshaw and Montana these guys were not geniuses they knew how to play ball. The Wunderlic test's only useful if you run out of toilet paper.

 

[red desert]

Originally posted by Loyal Card 17
can anybody on this board tell me what a top 5 guy is.

Anquan Boldin.