Whiz to cut vets like M. Brown, Ross or Clancy .. ??

[BullheadCardFan]

Cardinals Team Report

Posted: May 20, 2007

Kent Somers
For Sporting News

The starting offensive tackles won't be set until sometime in training camp, and they could change even after that. In minicamps and voluntary practices, Mike Gandy and Oliver Ross have worked on both sides, with rookie Levi Brown playing exclusively the right side but as a backup. Gandy has played left tackle throughout his career, so he's expected to wind up there, with Brown starting at right tackle. Ross must have a great camp to earn a starting spot. He has struggled in his two years in Arizona, but his most productive years in the NFL came while with the Steelers, where he played for Cardinals offensive line coach Russ Grimm and coach Ken Whisenhunt. . . .

Whisenhunt likes this team's depth, but the club is only $2 million under the cap. Some veterans likely will be purged as the team begins to sign its draft picks. Backups such as G Milford Brown, NT Kendrick Clancy and Ross could be in danger.

SCOUTING REPORT: Most coaches like to put their most athletic offensive linemen at tackle, where they face elite pass rushers. But Whisenhunt and Grimm like athletic guys at guard, too. That's why they moved Reggie Wells from right tackle to left guard. Wells runs well and has dropped some weight, down to 315 pounds. By putting Wells at guard, Grimm figures he can get him on either side of the ball by pulling him. And it appears the Cardinals will do plenty of that with him.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: LB Darryl Blackstock, a former third-round pick, hasn't done much in his two NFL seasons. That could be because he hasn't done anything to earn more playing time or, as Blackstock believes, he just hasn't gotten the chance. He's getting that shot now. Blackstock remains a backup on the outside, but he's going to get a look as a rush end in nickel situations. Blackstock thinks that fits his skills and will give him an opportunity to make an impact. He's gained weight, up to about 255 pounds, and has the quickness to be an effective situational rusher.

LINEBACKERS ANALYSIS: C The talent is there for this grade to be higher, but Chike Okeafor and Bertrand Berry are moving over from defensive end and there will be some struggles associated with the transition. Inside, Gerald Hayes is a stout run defender, and Karlos Dansby is a playmaker. He is fast, big and has long arms. He gives the team a versatile player who can roam the field. If Berry can bounce back from injuries and makes the move without pause, this could be a solid group.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn...c.php?t=210666

 

[Dr. Jones]

Hopefully Oliver is the first to go.... BUT.....I will trust Russ Grimm until I have reason not to.

 

[Pariah]

.....I will trust Russ Grimm until I have reason not to.

He stole my mail once.

 

[Goldfield]

I dont understand how one of our best linemen(M.Brown) is now on the bubble.

 

[Shogun]

Not Clancy....

 

[Zeno]

I dont understand how one of our best linemen(M.Brown) is now on the bubble.

Me either...but if it works, great. If not, they(coaches) deserve every bit of scorn that comes their way this season. If this OLine struggles or even looks worse than what we saw the last month of last season they will have a lot to answer to and a lot of their decisions will have to be questioned.

I'm hoping it works, they need to play our best players, I'm hoping they recognize who those players are sooner rather than later.

I feel the same way about the DLine, but we didn't see the significant improvement there as the season progressed like we did on the OLine.

 

[kerouac9]

Nothing to see here. Everything is fine. It seems nearly set in stone that our left tackle is going to be Mike Gandy. And we'll have to get rid of our depth to sign our rookies.

Everything is well.

 

[kerouac9]

I feel the same way about the DLine, but we didn't see the significant improvement there as the season progressed like we did on the OLine.

They started out a lot further ahead than our O-line did, and they played pretty well throughout the season.

4/5 of the offensive line got moved or replaced outright this season. Forget about last season's O-line. That line doesn't exist anymore.

Though it could have.

 

[ajcardfan]

I dont understand how one of our best linemen(M.Brown) is now on the bubble.

Every new coach is going to run off some key players of the old staff to bring his guys on. I am disappointed that M. Brown could be one of those though. He played pretty damn good after he came back from that injury. At the very least, he'd be an excellent top backup for the 2 G spots.

Of course, it's the curious handling of the bonuses early in free agency that has brought up these scenarios at all. The roster could've been worked out in training camp without cap issues being a primary concern.

 

[Scot1]

If they cut Clancy, I hope they shop him around first--there was a story about the Giants wanting him back, and plenty of teams want depth at DT. Surely they could get a 4th rounder for him--though I think he's worth more, and I have trouble with keeping Watson or Lewis over him.

 

[Redsz]

I think it's more likely that we see some conversion of salaries and bonuses rather than out right cuts.

I can't see a situation where they cut Clancy. We have no proven depth behind him.

 

[Garthshort]

Puzzling

On the one hand, coaches say that we need "depth" in order to be successful. On the other hand, coaches say that we have to cut players (see depth), in order to sign our draftees. Do we have a third hand? "It is puzzling".

 

[BACH]

This is Somers speculating, not a quote from Graves or Whisenhunt.

A lot things can happen. The cap problem can be solved very easily by re-constructing Warner. There are no openings for a starting job anywhere in the NFL and with his cap number he must know that this likely will be his last season with the team and possible in the league unless he re-constructs.

Joe has explained numerous times that cutting guys like Ross, Clancy or Milford won't create a lot of space. Why cut valuable depth if it doesn't help your cap situation?

Milford is the only guy in trouble IMO. Grimm's new scheme is a terrible fit for him, and no matter how well I think this guy played this season, I just don't see any use for him with the Gs asked to pull this season.

 

[Twist18]

BB and Okie as well as Warner could reconstruct their contracts to save quite a bit of money.

 

[BACH]

BB and Okie as well as Warner could reconstruct their contracts to save quite a bit of money.

Okeafor's deal is fair IMO. He's been solid and is experienced in the 3-4.

 

[kerouac9]

Okeafor's deal is fair IMO. He's been solid and is experienced in the 3-4.

BIM: "restructure"

When did Okeafor play in a 3-4? He didn't play in one in San Francsico or Seattle.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

BIM: "restructure"

When did Okeafor play in a 3-4? He didn't play in one in San Francsico or Seattle.

I thought that they played some 3-4 in Seattle?

 

[JeffGollin]

This is Somers speculating, not a quote from Graves or Whisenhunt.

Precisely.

I can buy into the dynamics of what Kent is saying, but not necessarily the specifics.

We've got something like 88 players on our off-season roster and will have to pare it down by 30+ players. Those 30+ guys aren't all just "camp fodder." Some of those guys will lose competitive battles to better guys. The are overloads at a few positions & something will have to give.

But I'm not ready to single out specific players as "bubble guys"or "survivors." That's for OTA's and Training Camp to determine.

And there will be surprises. Some guys will get hurt and be placed immediately on IR. Others will suffer nagging injuries and remain "questionable" until they either recover or wind up on IR. There will be pheeenoms who struggle with the playbook or can't or won't pay the price. At least a few overachieving UDFA's will work their way onto the final roster. The team will use up its patience on a few underachieving veterans and decide they're not worth the money. Some position-experiments will succeed and some will fail (as a result, some players will find themselves "men without countries" and others will be given "second leases on life.). But fortunately, a sizable core of players will live up to the high expectations of the coaches.

It happens every year. The trick is knowing which players fall into which category, and this will be difficult if not impossible to scope out in advance; especially considering our new coaching staff and new system.

That's why I say that K Somers may be onto something when he says that "cuts are coming" but he may be off-base when he speculates about specific players (i.e. If I were Kendrick Clancy or Milford Brown, I'd be p*ssed - and rightfully so).

 

[Redheart]

Precisely.

I can buy into the dynamics of what Kent is saying, but not necessarily the specifics.

We've got something like 88 players on our off-season roster and will have to pare it down by 30+ players. Those 30+ guys aren't all just "camp fodder." Some of those guys will lose competitive battles to better guys. The are overloads at a few positions & something will have to give.

But I'm not ready to single out specific players as "bubble guys"or "survivors." That's for OTA's and Training Camp to determine.

And there will be surprises. Some guys will get hurt and be placed immediately on IR. Others will suffer nagging injuries and remain "questionable" until they either recover or wind up on IR. There will be pheeenoms who struggle with the playbook or can't or won't pay the price. At least a few overachieving UDFA's will work their way onto the final roster. The team will use up its patience on a few underachieving veterans and decide they're not worth the money. Some position-experiments will succeed and some will fail (as a result, some players will find themselves "men without countries" and others will be given "second leases on life.). But fortunately, a sizable core of players will live up to the high expectations of the coaches.

It happens every year. The trick is knowing which players fall into which category, and this will be difficult if not impossible to scope out in advance; especially considering our new coaching staff and new system.

That's why I say that K Somers may be onto something when he says that "cuts are coming" but he may be off-base when he speculates about specific players (i.e. If I were Kendrick Clancy or Milford Brown, I'd be p*ssed - and rightfully so).

Another nice post.

There is a lot of information to gather and work to do before the final "Cap" is established. I hope the front office (as a team) is working on plans and back-up plans for hitting the mark.

I do like that the Cardinals have most of their money in play.

I do like that we are not talking about the June-cuts as being important for us to find players to start! Anybody else remember that crap?

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Backups such as G Milford Brown, NT Kendrick Clancy and Ross could be in danger.

What part of "could be" do some people not understand?

 

[Russ Smith]

BIM: "restructure"

When did Okeafor play in a 3-4? He didn't play in one in San Francsico or Seattle.

He played in one in SF early in his career. Not fulltime, but they were playing around with the 3-4 when he was there.

SF thought he was a tweener, he was too small for fulltime DE and not fast enough for OLB.

 

[kerouac9]

He played in one in SF early in his career. Not fulltime, but they were playing around with the 3-4 when he was there.

SF thought he was a tweener, he was too small for fulltime DE and not fast enough for OLB.

That's how I remember it, but wasn't it Nolan who brought the 3-4 to San Fran? Were Okeafor and Nolan there at the same time?

I know that Okeafor played in some blended packages in the Bay Area as an "elephant" linebacker. But that's quite a distance from actually playing in a 3-4 defense.

 

[cardsfanmd]

That's how I remember it, but wasn't it Nolan who brought the 3-4 to San Fran? Were Okeafor and Nolan there at the same time?

I know that Okeafor played in some blended packages in the Bay Area as an "elephant" linebacker. But that's quite a distance from actually playing in a 3-4 defense.

I agree with that post, and I do think that it was Nolan who brought the 3-4 to the Bay.

 

[Russ Smith]

That's how I remember it, but wasn't it Nolan who brought the 3-4 to San Fran? Were Okeafor and Nolan there at the same time?

I know that Okeafor played in some blended packages in the Bay Area as an "elephant" linebacker. But that's quite a distance from actually playing in a 3-4 defense.

Yeah it's wasn't a true 3-4 it was just a package where he moved to OLB in what was essentially a 3-4.

It was a way to get him on the field and somewhat hide his weaknesses.

 

[ajcardfan]

Backups such as G Milford Brown, NT Kendrick Clancy and Ross could be in danger.

What part of "could be" do some people not understand?

Somers and Urban don't write such things unless they've heard talk around the complex. Yes, the article only discusses possibilities. But, it's interesting that cuts are being discussed at ALL. Three months ago, anyone floating the idea of cutting any of those guys due to cap space would've been laughed out of town.