Why has Leonard Davis not been given a new contract?
- Thread starter Ryanwb
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82CardsGrad
7 x 70
Ryanwb said:
And he deserves one because....??? I would have to think that if BIG can somehow show he is worthy of this bigtime draft position during this season, the Cards will lock him up prior to the end of the season. But at this stage, he has not done a thing to warrant an extension...
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This shapes up as a big year for "Big."
Everything about Leonard Davis has been big -- even his nickname -- EXCEPT for his consistency on the field.
But now, with his career at a crossroad and the Arizona Cardinals with a wad of cash available under the salary cap that they're itching to burn on deserving players, Davis has to come through in 2006.
If he does, he can expect an extension offer before the season is complete, according to Rod Graves, vice president of operations.
Certainly big things were expected after the Cardinals made Davis the second pick overall in the 2001 draft. And he burst onto the NFL scene in memorable fashion, starting at right guard as a rookie and mauling foes. He is most remembered in 2001 for his pancake of Brian Urlacher.
Since then, though, Davis has performed passably at right tackle, filling in because of injuries, and for two years at left tackle, where he was an All-America in college at Texas and where everyone believed he would flourish as a pro.
Unfortunately, since coach Dennis Green moved Davis there in 2004, Davis is most known for his blunders -- the false starts, including one in the closing seconds that caused a game-ending clock run-off when the Cardinals were in the red zone with a chance to score and win a game.
The Cardinals are about $9 million under the $102 million cap before they sign rookies. Their rookie pool could take half of that. They'll still have a cushion for emergency and plenty left to extend the high-performing veterans whose contracts are about to lapse -- those who earn it this season.
"We're going to be focused on where we want to spend that money," Graves said. "We may address a handful of guys over the course of the year." Others on Graves' "watch list" will be starting middle linebacker Gerald Hayes, who missed all of last season to injury, and outside linebacker Orlando Huff, whose debut with the team in 2005 after signing as a free agent was something less than stellar.
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Ryanwb said:
They want to see how he does to start the season before they offer him a monster contract. And, it will take some significant money to tie him up early.
This is what's going to happen. he is going to be mediocre again this season. The Cardinals will not pay what he wants, he'll go to another team, they'll stick him and right tackle and be an all pro for the next 5 years
Duckjake said:
Unlike Leonard, who jumps too quickly at least two times a game, usually at the worst possible moments.
The Shark
RugbyMuffin
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Ryanwb said:This is what's going to happen. he is going to be mediocre again this season. The Cardinals will not pay what he wants, he'll go to another team, they'll stick him and right tackle and be an all pro for the next 5 years
That is fine with me. If Big is not going to play to his potential for this team then screw him. If he has 5 pro bowl seasons some where else then good for him and the team he is on.
Furtermore if it were to happen then I would curse his name for being a leech on this team.
He has to pick up his game. He has no excuse. He can't go with the "Well, the team is very good" excuse anymore. This is same B.S. we went through with Jake Plummer. Plummer was the guy who was supposed to lead our team, and Plummer was supposed to be the star, and the go to guy. Yet, all he did was look for someone else to step up and do it for him. It was always about what the other guys on the team could not do, and not what he was not doing. Big is our big money lineman. He should be the leader. He should be the side we go to when the game is on the line. Instead he is a meager pawn in the game.
I mean look at Bertrand Berry. He LEADS our defense. He knows he was brought in to be the big name on our line and he acts, and plays like it. I would gladly trade Big's potential for another linemen with the heart of someone like Berry.
So in short Big can earn the money that he THINKS he has comming to him.
Peace
daytripper
All Star
Put him at Guard, where he belongs, and then we'll see his worth.
HardBall said:
I agree, I just dont see alot of heart in Leonard, he seems very passive and unconcerned, put Boldins heart in Davis and he would be Pace
Ryanwb said:
No the guy that has the same name as a Florida city
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BACH
Superbowl, Homeboy!
It's going to be interesting how BIG reacts Loney's coaching. It could make or break his career. If he responds, then we're talking Pro Bowl and one of the best paid OTs in the league. If he doesn't the media exposure this team is getting right now garantees that BIG gets exposed as an underachiever.
jefftheshark said:
Touche
Cbus cardsfan
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The Cards aren't letting him go anywhere. They are being smart. Dangle the carrot in front of him and make him earn the big contract. This will be the first time in his career that he will have to "play" for the money. He got the big contract out of college and then a re-structure just because he was one of the better players on a bad team. Now the Cards are a legitimate team and he'll have to show what he's got. That being said, he's not going anywhere unless he totally tanks it. Good LT's are pretty hard to find and he was a pro-bowl alternate last year.
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Ryanwb said:This is what's going to happen. he is going to be mediocre again this season. The Cardinals will not pay what he wants, he'll go to another team, they'll stick him and right tackle and be an all pro for the next 5 years
Another team will pay him like an All-Pro LT then stick him at RT?? Good luck to both then.
Capital Card
The Kobayashi of Kool-Aid
If anyone still has a copy of the Mexico City game, go back an rewatch it. Specifically, the announcers spoke of how the Cards scheme required Big to make specific blocks that he isn't capable of. This was when the score was 14-0 SF and Big just whiffed for the second time in a row.
I seem to recall Loney mentioning that he wouldn't ask players to do things they weren't capable of, and I am left wondering if he was specifically mentioning Davis.
Maybe Loney will change our blocking scheme enough for Big to realize his potential. I hope so, because I want to see Davis do well.
Go Cards!!!
I seem to recall Loney mentioning that he wouldn't ask players to do things they weren't capable of, and I am left wondering if he was specifically mentioning Davis.
Maybe Loney will change our blocking scheme enough for Big to realize his potential. I hope so, because I want to see Davis do well.
Go Cards!!!
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I want to see Big get a new contract, if for nothing else, to relieve the cap hit that he will have this year..... or is it already too late?
Cardsmasochist
Full Throttle!!
Big does not have a nasty side that's required to be an elite offensive lineman. Once in a blue moon I saw him get pissed off and have a great game. But for the most part, Davis is just a big teddy bear that has way too many false starts.
I say the Cards should keep him with an incentive ladden contract. He should only make this kind of money if he makes the Pro Bowl.
I say the Cards should keep him with an incentive ladden contract. He should only make this kind of money if he makes the Pro Bowl.
BigDavis75
Making a Comeback
Capital Card said:
Maybe you need to go back and watch the game, the first TD was Brown's fault. The one that you call Big's fault was an impossible block to make, Travis Hall cutting in could not be blocked by Big from where he was set up.
BigDavis75
Making a Comeback
Cardsmasochist said:
I think Big has a nasty side, but he tends to show it in bad bad spots. Like last year when he punched that Rams safety, earning him a 15 yarder. Or in Preseason when he picked that blocker up (against KC) and threw him on the ground, dissalowing Boldin's TD. He certainly does have a nasty side, which current NFL lineman would you say have great or favorable nasty side(s)?
BigDavis75
Making a Comeback
I think Big deserves a new contract but I am cetainly wary of him being a contract year player; Big suddenly goes to his fittest in his contract year. Last year he had an excellent year and I feel he is our best lineman (one of the best LTs in the NFL) and should be a crucial part of our offense for years to come.
