Who is at fault and how to we rectify the situation(s)?

[sportznutt]

We've got the talent. We were 2:37 away from a Super Bowl win. However, the players and management can't seem to get along. Something is wrong. Who is at fault here?

Karlos Dansby wants more money. We can't seem to afford to give it to him? We keep franchising him because we can't work long term.

Adrian Wilson wants more money. See Dansby, minus the franchise.

Edge doesn't start, and wants out. He's been disrespected. For now, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he thinks he can start for a contender. But if he signs to be a backup, then something else went wrong.

Anquan Boldin wants more money. We can't seem to fit it into our budget for more years at higher money. He's felt disrespected for years, and might not report.

Darnell Dockett wants more money. He feels disrespected and wants out.

We've had Warner and Fitz have to restructure and donate to help keep this team together. Players shouldn't have to do this.

The Steelers, other winning Super Bowl team, just re-signed 2 key players for extended time.

Why can't we do it. Is it the players? Graves? Both?

 

[Mitch]

We've got the talent. We were 2:37 away from a Super Bowl win. However, the players and management can't seem to get along. Something is wrong. Who is at fault here?

Karlos Dansby wants more money. We can't seem to afford to give it to him? We keep franchising him because we can't work long term.

Adrian Wilson wants more money. See Dansby, minus the franchise.

Edge doesn't start, and wants out. He's been disrespected. For now, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he thinks he can start for a contender. But if he signs to be a backup, then something else went wrong.

Anquan Boldin wants more money. We can't seem to fit it into our budget for more years at higher money. He's felt disrespected for years, and might not report.

Darnell Dockett wants more money. He feels disrespected and wants out.

We've had Warner and Fitz have to restructure and donate to help keep this team together. Players shouldn't have to do this.

The Steelers, other winning Super Bowl team, just re-signed 2 key players for extended time.

Why can't we do it. Is it the players? Graves? Both?

Great post, sportznutt! Well put and posed throughout.

Some will say it's the nature of the business.

Here's my 2 cents.

The Cardiinals re-signed ALL of these players (except Dansby, whom they've f-tagged twice) to second contracts...the players feel that they've outperformed the contracts, especially now that the Cardinals have accomplished something.

Players want what they think they deserve. Management believes they did these players right. It's a stalemate. But because these players are signed at least for now, management has the leverege.

 

[azsouthendzone]

Azsouthendzone is threatening to hold out as a fan through the preseason if they don't put port-a-jons spread out throughout Lot E as opposed to only in the premium parking section. That is the biggest travesty and dilemma facing this organization and no one is talking about it. I feel disrespected.

 

[PDXChris]

Karlos Dansby wants more money. We can't seem to afford to give it to him? We keep franchising him because we can't work long term.

Adrian Wilson wants more money. See Dansby, minus the franchise.

I will answer these two.

Dansby does not want a new contract, he wants to be a free agent and cash in with a potential uncapped year.

Wilson is in the final year of his deal. Different story, you extend leaders at the end of contracts and Wilson has been great about it.

 

[PDXChris]

DD and Q are sheep being herded by their agent. Plain and simple.

 

[Carddan]

I don't quite see it your way Sportznut.

Dansby wants more money than he's worth ands wants to make a splash in free agency...this one is on the player.

AW has been quiet and will get his due...hopeful thinking, but the player and team are just fine.

Edge needed a change. Whether he plays at all as a starter or backup is yet to be determined. He was overpriced and what he has been dealing with is more important than football. Again, I have no problem with the player or team.

Dockett re-signed his rookie deal through 2011. If there is a problem here, it is his.

Warner and Fitz did not restructure anything and are both being rewarded as pro-bowl/super bowl players. There is no problem with either of them.

Oh, I left out Boldin...ok, there's a problem on both sides.

 

[splitsecond]

Don't sign a 4-5 year deal if you don't want to outperform your contract. Dockett could have probably had a better deal when he resigned - instead he let his agent guide him into signing. When will players start putting any blame on their agent's negotiating tactics. Sell your client to the team, get a better deal. You don't sell someone a car for a price, and then turn around and demand more money because they liked the car more than they expected to. The whole thing is asinine.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I don't quite see it your way Sportznut.

Dansby wants more money than he's worth ands wants to make a splash in free agency...this one is on the player.

AW has been quiet and will get his due...hopeful thinking, but the player and team are just fine.

Edge needed a change. Whether he plays at all as a starter or backup is yet to be determined. He was overpriced and what he has been dealing with is more important than football. Again, I have no problem with the player or team.

Dockett re-signed his rookie deal through 2011. If there is a problem here, it is his.

Warner and Fitz did not restructure anything and are both being rewarded as pro-bowl/super bowl players. There is no problem with either of them.

Oh, I left out Boldin...ok, there's a problem on both sides.

Exactly how I feel about each individual situation. Excellent take.

 

[Cardsmasochist]

We've got the talent. We were 2:37 away from a Super Bowl win. However, the players and management can't seem to get along. Something is wrong. Who is at fault here?

Karlos Dansby wants more money. We can't seem to afford to give it to him? We keep franchising him because we can't work long term.

Adrian Wilson wants more money. See Dansby, minus the franchise.

Edge doesn't start, and wants out. He's been disrespected. For now, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he thinks he can start for a contender. But if he signs to be a backup, then something else went wrong.

Anquan Boldin wants more money. We can't seem to fit it into our budget for more years at higher money. He's felt disrespected for years, and might not report.

Darnell Dockett wants more money. He feels disrespected and wants out.

We've had Warner and Fitz have to restructure and donate to help keep this team together. Players shouldn't have to do this.

The Steelers, other winning Super Bowl team, just re-signed 2 key players for extended time.

Why can't we do it. Is it the players? Graves? Both?

This reminds me when the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl in '86. They had enough talent to win 2 more but the egos and greed on that team was out of control. And we all know the rest of the story: eliminated in the first round the next year by the Eagles. And they never maximized the talent, some say, one of the best teams defensivley ever, again. But at least they won 1 Super Bowl.

I worry a lot about the Cardinals. Losing both coordinators, Antonio Smith, Edge (who played very well at the end of last season) and having a handful of our best players unhappy about their $ does not bode well. I hope I am wrong.

 

[RonF]

Don't most teams that go to the Super Bowl have similar problems as a result of some players wanting to move on to greener (money) pastures? It's the cost of doing business after the Super Bowl.

 

[NeverSayDieFan]

The saving grace in all this to me....

is that now we're drafting well so we can replace the players that get too big for their britches. Will this breed instability?? I don't think so as long as our "leaders" are still in place. ...And I'm referring to front office leadership rather than player leadership. BUT I do I tip my Cardinal hat to A.W. who's handling his situation with class. We've often heard: SPEED KILLS!! Well, so does GREED! Ask Wallstreet. GO CARDS!

 

[Lloydian]

Azsouthendzone is threatening to hold out as a fan through the preseason if they don't put port-a-jons spread out throughout Lot E as opposed to only in the premium parking section. That is the biggest travesty and dilemma facing this organization and no one is talking about it. I feel disrespected.

I respect the position of my fellow fan, but I know he wants to cheer on the team next season. I'm sure that, in time, he and management will come to terms. It may not be before preseason is over, but when push comes to shove, he'll show his commitment and be there for the regular season opener.

 

[Reddog]

Karlos Dansby wants more money. We can't seem to afford to give it to him? We keep franchising him because we can't work long term.
He is unreasonable & wants more than he deserves. He is looking to hit it big in the uncapped year while other probowl LBs are signing good deals – he wants more. We are paying him $18m over 2 yrs not exactly can’t afford him level dollars. No ones fault. He is leveraging his right as a player w/the FTag and as a business man. He takes the risk.

Adrian Wilson wants more money. And he will get it. He deserves every penny.

Edge doesn't start, and wants out. He's been disrespected. For now, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he thinks he can start for a contender. But if he signs to be a backup, then something else went wrong. We don't need to pay a 30 yr old back $5M per year when you throw it 40 times a game. Not showing up for the mandatory practice on the bye week tested the authority and the authority won and he sat most of the season. Now we have TH and Wells to run the ball for a lot less than $5M. Edges fault for bucking authority on a team looking to change the culture. A critical sacrificial lamb to shift the player disrespect of coaches & management. This has to be in the back of Q's mind.

Anquan Boldin wants more money. We can't seem to fit it into our budget for more years at higher money. He's felt disrespected for years, and might not report. He deserves more money but not as much as he wants. He is under contract for two more years so has no leverage unless he gets more realistic with the numbers. Even at that the team may not feel he is worth it given their depth at the position and the fact that his style of play makes it a high risk investment for a team that is planing to be a more balanced offense within a year or two. No ones fault. He has a right to want more money and the team has the right to make him play for the contract and $10M bonus he signed a few months before realizing he wants more. He took a calculated risk by not redoing his deal before Fitz did his and now we are at an impasse.

Darnell Dockett wants more money. He feels disrespected and wants out. He is crazy. Under contract for three more years. He needs to get over it.

We are in the process of changing the culture and there will likely be some casualties - guys that were given the keys to the kingdom and can't adjust to the fact that they are the employees. As long as we can get fair value for these guys they might get traded and if not they will need to play out their contract or wait their turn to be extended. Once these couple holdovers are gone the new blood will surely know the team policy and will know better than to waste a lot of energy having tantrums in the media because the FO will have proven an unyielding position on renegotiating with multiple years on a contract. At that point we will not be viewed as a difficult franchise to work with but one to be respected because they can't be bullied. Look around the league. The winners are viewed in the same light.

 

[lauraw]

AW Is the player who should be up for a contract redo as the time is now for him before Boldin or anyone else! Say 6 years 48 million 18 guaranteed..Or am I way off?

 

[Duckjake]

Don't most teams that go to the Super Bowl have similar problems as a result of some players wanting to move on to greener (money) pastures? It's the cost of doing business after the Super Bowl.

Very true. The key thing is that the best teams keep guys at least somewhat content while they wait their turn at the bank. The Cards seem to have a hard time doing that.

I think some of it is the ability to deal with younger players because it seems none of our 30 and over crowd cause any problems yet our younger guys always seem to be disgruntled unless they just got a $40 million dollar contract. (note: The latter was in jest. Larry Fitzgerald is one of the classiest people I've ever met and doubt he would have raised a ruckus no matter what the outcome of his negotiations. Fitz could make $40 million working for Microsoft or Autozone)

 

[Reddog]

AW Is the player who should be up for a contract redo as the time is now for him before Boldin or anyone else! Say 6 years 48 million 18 guaranteed..Or am I way off?

I don't know what the right number is but I am in favor of paying him what he is worth and then adding on a big chunk to make a counter statement to the guys that can't seem to wait their turn. With all the negative PR they have been stirring up I think it would be worth the statement it would make-"Do your job, wait your turn with class and we will back up the brinks truck". We did this with Fitz, Warner and now we should do it for AW.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Great post, sportznutt! Well put and posed throughout.

Some will say it's the nature of the business.

Here's my 2 cents.

The Cardiinals re-signed ALL of these players (except Dansby, whom they've f-tagged twice) to second contracts...the players feel that they've outperformed the contracts, especially now that the Cardinals have accomplished something.

Players want what they think they deserve. Management believes they did these players right. It's a stalemate. But because these players are signed at least for now, management has the leverege.

There it is in a nut-shell.

Players want there money, and management wants what is best for the team.

What is best for each individual player..... is for them to get paid.

What is best for the team.... is to keep the players together, and money wise the Cardinals can't pay more than they got.

The only way this situation could be "fixed" is if the Cardinals were a big market team, and had a top of the line G.M.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals do not have either. So we get the situation we have right now.

But regardless Boldin, and Dockett are under contract.....so they are in no position to do too much about the situation.

 

[lauraw]

Well-Said RedDog!!!

 

[lauraw]

Good analysis RedDog!!