Week 3 of the preseason is in the books for the Cardinals and now we're only 14 days away from game 1 of the regular season against the Carolina Panthers. Kevin Kolb and a lot of the starters went into the third Quarter last night so we had plenty of chances to see what they're capable of.
Offense
The offense had a decent opening drive that ended up with a field goal. Beanie was consistently getting 3 or 4 yards a carry which is encouraging to see. He even had a run where he should have been tackled for a loss of 2 but was able to turn it into a gain of 3. Those types of runs sometimes go unnoticed when looking at how effective a running back is. While his pass protection is improving, I still don't think it's up to where the coaches need it to be. There were a couple of blocks where he didn't necessarily stop the blitzing attacker, he just kind of got in his way. I would either like to see Beanie cut block the blitzer, or lead him around on the outside of Kolb so he can maintain the pocket. All in all, Beanie had a good night and I am impressed with his improvement.
Kevin Kolb finished the night 11 for 20 with 205 yards and a touchdown which came via an 80 yard catch and run to Larry Fitzgerald. I will tell you one thing going into this year, Larry Fitzgerald is going to get himself some targets. With how this preseason has gone, and how much we have seen Kolb look to him, it wouldn't surprise me to see Larry lead the league in targets. While 11 for 20 is okay, I would like to see maybe one or two more passes completed to bring that average into the 60s but this is still preseason game 3 and he has time to improve. One concerning thing I have seen from Kolb in the preseason is that every once in awhile, he just has one of those throws that comes off his arm ugly. A pass so ugly, you know almost instantly that ball has no chance to make it where it's intended to go. What's interesting, is looking at the intended receivers on those throws, they are usually covered and it's a throw Kolb shouldn't be making. He also took some unnecessary sacks when it wasn't too difficult to get rid of the ball. I liked that he used Heap and Roberts more, I think he will continue to get into a rhythm with them. I was impressed with our offensive line on blocking plays, they got good push and it's evident by the night Beanie had. They still have a little work to do on pass blocking, which also needs to be helped by Beanie not allowing his guy to force Kolb to move horizontally in the pocket into other pass rushers. All in all, I think it was an effective night by our offense and I look forward to seeing what they can do in the regular season for four full quarters.
Defense
This was an up and down night for the defense. While we did get some pressure early, it was not to the level as last week and it quickly flamed out. For the first series or two, we were able to rattle Phillip Rivers a little and force him into some hurried throws. One of those throws turned up into a pick six from Patrick Peterson who looks dynamic when he has the ball. I don't know about anybody else, but when I saw number 21 running the opposite way with the ball, I was reminded of Antrel Rolle's game changing ability with the ball in his hands. While I hope he has Rolle's amazing ability with the ball, I hope he can surpass Rolle's weak coverage and tackling ability. After that play though, Rivers went back to his vintage self, completing impossible throw after impossible throw and moved the ball with ease resulting in a touchdown. I was really disappointed in O'Brien Schofield's night. He had a great play on special teams early on, but then was relatively quiet for the rest of the night. I thought he would have been used more than he was since Porter is a veteran and Schofield is essentially a rookie since in his two years he's had no OTAs. Our 7th round pick David Carter had a really night especially early on. Every time I looked up all I would see is number 79 make a tackle. I almost forgot Dan Williams was on our defensive line, which is not a good thing. Toler has what is suspected to be an ACL sprain. Hopefully it isn't too serious because as much as I'm unsure about Toler's coverage ability, I don't want to go in with our best CBs being Patrick Peterson, AJ Jefferson and Richard Marshall.
Well that's it for this weekend. Preseason game 4 is on Thursday and then ten short days later the regular season will start. I for one am really excited about this season and can't wait to see how we perform.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Beanie Wells : The Workhorse
"This is my third year and three strikes and you're out, and I'm definitely not striking out." Beanie Wells uttered these words in an interview back in June and now he has his opportunity. With Tim Hightower being traded and rookie Ryan Williams out for the year, Beanie is coming up to the plate with the bases loaded, a full count in the bottom of the 9th inning in game 7 of the World Series. A strike out here and it could spell disaster for this up and coming team in the 2011-2012 year.
While the Cardinals are expected to bring in someone to replace Ryan Williams, it is clear that anyone they bring in will not have the same number of opportunities that Williams would have been afforded. Some thought that Williams would push and eventually take the starting job from Beanie Wells. Like it or not, Beanie is the guy for the upcoming year and I for one am excited. People underrate his rookie season in which he carried the ball 176 times for 793 yards and 7 touchdowns. A 4.5 average is pretty good for a rookie, especially when he's sharing the load with Tim Hightower in a pass heavy offense with a hall of fame QB in Kurt Warner. Beanie has always said that he is the type of back that gets better as the game goes along, a scenario which he hasn't been given as of yet. After a solid rookie year, Beanie battled an injury he suffered in the 3rd quarter of the 4th preseason game and was never fully able to take off because of it. Compound that with one of the worst QB rotations in history, and it's obvious to see why Beanie and the entire running game struggled.
Here are some reasons why I think Beanie will excel if he is able to stay healthy.
1. The Quarterback
Yes, I understand Kevin Kolb is relatively unknown but let's face it, he can't be any worse than what we had last year. Derek Anderson couldn't hit an open receiver to save his life, Might Max looked like a boy among men and John Skelton just wasn't ready. Assuming Kolb is at least adequate at QB, teams will have to respect our pass game more. A more efficient pass game will also give us more offensive plays as we will be able to sustain drives longer than 3 plays.
2. The Offensive Line
While it may have not been addressed to the level of my liking, it was addressed as we signed Daryn Colledge and guys like Hadnot look to be stepping up their game to try to get into the starting line-up. Also, people have underrated our offensive line's ability to get a push as Beanie averaged 4.5 his rookie year and Hightower averaged 4.8 last year. We don't give this offensive line much credit when it comes to run blocking.
3. The Tight-Ends
King, Housler and Heap have given us weapons we have never had before. Both Housler and Heap are your pure pass catching tight ends, while King can block pretty well and is a decent pass catcher. The problem with Beanie before was he was so poor at pass protection, and our tight ends could ONLY pass protect, opposing teams could tell with relative ease that we were running the ball. Beanie has improved his pass protection, and if you run him out there with King and either Housler or Heap, it won't be as obvious that we are running the ball.
4. The Full Back
This doesn't have so much to do with Sherman's ability, just the mindset of the team. Granted Sherman has made some nice plays so far but I think it's still a little early to say that he will have a huge impact on this team. It's just not that often you see a team draft a fullback, but Whisenhunt feels like Sherman was the best in the draft. If you're going to commit to the run why not get a bruiser to lead the way?
5. Beanie himself
Beanie has not given me a reason to doubt him yet. Despite what people say I still refuse to believe he is as injury prone as people say and I think he's ready to prove it this year. With a little more work and a slightly better technique, I believe Beanie can be the workhorse that he wants to be and will live up to his first round status.
It all comes down to whether or not Beanie can stay healthy. If he can, he will be given every chance in the world to succeed.
While the Cardinals are expected to bring in someone to replace Ryan Williams, it is clear that anyone they bring in will not have the same number of opportunities that Williams would have been afforded. Some thought that Williams would push and eventually take the starting job from Beanie Wells. Like it or not, Beanie is the guy for the upcoming year and I for one am excited. People underrate his rookie season in which he carried the ball 176 times for 793 yards and 7 touchdowns. A 4.5 average is pretty good for a rookie, especially when he's sharing the load with Tim Hightower in a pass heavy offense with a hall of fame QB in Kurt Warner. Beanie has always said that he is the type of back that gets better as the game goes along, a scenario which he hasn't been given as of yet. After a solid rookie year, Beanie battled an injury he suffered in the 3rd quarter of the 4th preseason game and was never fully able to take off because of it. Compound that with one of the worst QB rotations in history, and it's obvious to see why Beanie and the entire running game struggled.
Here are some reasons why I think Beanie will excel if he is able to stay healthy.
1. The Quarterback
Yes, I understand Kevin Kolb is relatively unknown but let's face it, he can't be any worse than what we had last year. Derek Anderson couldn't hit an open receiver to save his life, Might Max looked like a boy among men and John Skelton just wasn't ready. Assuming Kolb is at least adequate at QB, teams will have to respect our pass game more. A more efficient pass game will also give us more offensive plays as we will be able to sustain drives longer than 3 plays.
2. The Offensive Line
While it may have not been addressed to the level of my liking, it was addressed as we signed Daryn Colledge and guys like Hadnot look to be stepping up their game to try to get into the starting line-up. Also, people have underrated our offensive line's ability to get a push as Beanie averaged 4.5 his rookie year and Hightower averaged 4.8 last year. We don't give this offensive line much credit when it comes to run blocking.
3. The Tight-Ends
King, Housler and Heap have given us weapons we have never had before. Both Housler and Heap are your pure pass catching tight ends, while King can block pretty well and is a decent pass catcher. The problem with Beanie before was he was so poor at pass protection, and our tight ends could ONLY pass protect, opposing teams could tell with relative ease that we were running the ball. Beanie has improved his pass protection, and if you run him out there with King and either Housler or Heap, it won't be as obvious that we are running the ball.
4. The Full Back
This doesn't have so much to do with Sherman's ability, just the mindset of the team. Granted Sherman has made some nice plays so far but I think it's still a little early to say that he will have a huge impact on this team. It's just not that often you see a team draft a fullback, but Whisenhunt feels like Sherman was the best in the draft. If you're going to commit to the run why not get a bruiser to lead the way?
5. Beanie himself
Beanie has not given me a reason to doubt him yet. Despite what people say I still refuse to believe he is as injury prone as people say and I think he's ready to prove it this year. With a little more work and a slightly better technique, I believe Beanie can be the workhorse that he wants to be and will live up to his first round status.
It all comes down to whether or not Beanie can stay healthy. If he can, he will be given every chance in the world to succeed.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Preseason week 2 Review
I can describe how I feel about tonight in two words and those words would be utterly devastated.
Going into this game I wanted to see three things happen. Our offensive line look capable of standing strong against a tough front seven of the Green Bay Packers, our defensive line be able to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers, and lastly for no huge injuries to take place.
Everything was going great at the beginning. Our offensive line looked alright, creating some nice holes for Beanie to run into and giving Kolb ample time to look downfield. The Packers may have been playing vanilla defense tonight, but even their vanilla defense is pretty dang good. The defensive unit started off strong, with Dockett getting a great hit on Aaron Rodgers early, followed by a Campbell sack and Dockett finished off what he started earlier and got a sack on Rodgers. I was really impressed with both of our starting units against the defending Super Bowl champs............and then it happened, on his one and only run of the night Ryan Williams got rolled up on from behind and never got up. You could see him clutching his leg right from the beginning and it was a depressing sight to see. The young talented rookie getting carted off the field while hanging his head down. I can't describe how sad this makes me as Ryan Williams is probably one of the nicest guys out there and I hate to see this kind of thing happen. Reports are he has a ruptured patella tendon and is out for the year. This kid has all the heart, drive and determination in the world, and I hope he has a speedy recovery and expect to see him back here next year.
Despite that bad news, Kolb looked good, Skelton looked shaky and left the game with an ankle injury but I doubt it's serious. Bartel seems to have secured the number 3 spot, as he played a majority of the 3rd and 4th quarter, was pulled for Max Hall who got all of 4 plays before Bartel was put back in. Beanie had some nice runs and Fitzgerald made an amazing catch early on.
A guy I have been hyping up for awhile O'Brien Schofield looked really impressive flying around the field on both special teams and defense. He had a vicious hit on special teams, a solid hit on Matt Flynn and came back shortly after and forced a fumble on a nice rush around the edge. Personally, I think he'll be starting before we know it but it's hard to know if he fully understands all aspects of the game right now.
That's pretty much it for the big stuff that happened, sorry for not writing about Peterson but he didn't really do that much good or bad and I think by far the biggest news of the night is the loss of Ryan Williams.
Going into this game I wanted to see three things happen. Our offensive line look capable of standing strong against a tough front seven of the Green Bay Packers, our defensive line be able to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers, and lastly for no huge injuries to take place.
Everything was going great at the beginning. Our offensive line looked alright, creating some nice holes for Beanie to run into and giving Kolb ample time to look downfield. The Packers may have been playing vanilla defense tonight, but even their vanilla defense is pretty dang good. The defensive unit started off strong, with Dockett getting a great hit on Aaron Rodgers early, followed by a Campbell sack and Dockett finished off what he started earlier and got a sack on Rodgers. I was really impressed with both of our starting units against the defending Super Bowl champs............and then it happened, on his one and only run of the night Ryan Williams got rolled up on from behind and never got up. You could see him clutching his leg right from the beginning and it was a depressing sight to see. The young talented rookie getting carted off the field while hanging his head down. I can't describe how sad this makes me as Ryan Williams is probably one of the nicest guys out there and I hate to see this kind of thing happen. Reports are he has a ruptured patella tendon and is out for the year. This kid has all the heart, drive and determination in the world, and I hope he has a speedy recovery and expect to see him back here next year.
Despite that bad news, Kolb looked good, Skelton looked shaky and left the game with an ankle injury but I doubt it's serious. Bartel seems to have secured the number 3 spot, as he played a majority of the 3rd and 4th quarter, was pulled for Max Hall who got all of 4 plays before Bartel was put back in. Beanie had some nice runs and Fitzgerald made an amazing catch early on.
A guy I have been hyping up for awhile O'Brien Schofield looked really impressive flying around the field on both special teams and defense. He had a vicious hit on special teams, a solid hit on Matt Flynn and came back shortly after and forced a fumble on a nice rush around the edge. Personally, I think he'll be starting before we know it but it's hard to know if he fully understands all aspects of the game right now.
That's pretty much it for the big stuff that happened, sorry for not writing about Peterson but he didn't really do that much good or bad and I think by far the biggest news of the night is the loss of Ryan Williams.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Preseason week 2 Preview : A Fair Warning
This Friday, our Arizona Cardinals travel to Green Bay and face the defending Superbowl champions in another preseason match-up. Week 2 of the preseason is usually when teams will play their first stringers for the entire first half. It varies from team to team of course, but I expect we'll see tons of Kolb, Fitz as well as the offensive and defensive starters. This will be a good test for a revamped Cardinals team, with limited practice time and well frankly it could get ugly.
The Packers and Cardinals have given us some wild games over the past few years, ranging from a high scoring meaningless preseason game, all the way to the highest combined score in a playoff match up. One thing you know about the Packers is that wherever they are, they will bring it. Not to mention that this is their first home game after winning the Superbowl, so while this is only a preseason game, it won't be meaningless.
The last time Kevin Kolb played the Packers, it did not end up so well for him, heck he may not even remember playing them because of the concussion he received via a Clay Matthews tackle. The Packers are great at disguising their blitz packages and while it's only a preseason game, I expect them to send pressure and try to confuse Kevin Kolb. Compound that with our offensive line problems and Beanie who while having improved, does still not excel in blitz pickup, we could see quite a few sacks on Friday.
This might also be a wake-up call on the defensive side of the ball for the Cardinals. Not only do we have to deal with both Ryan Grant and James Starks, but their whole complement of receivers and tight ends may be a lot to handle. From guys like Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, to James Jones and Jermichael Finley, we could have a lot of blown assignments with our new defensive system as well as playing rookies and unknown prospects like AJ Jefferson at CB. It will be interesting to see if Horton decides to bring extra pressure to try to force Rodgers into quick throws. Unfortunately, Rodgers has above average speed for a QB and can easily turn what looks like a sack into a 5 or 6 yard gain and that's not including the times he'll thrown a frozen rope completion for a 15 or 20 yard gain. This will surely be a test for all members of our defense.
Even though I think this game has the possibility of turning into an ugly affair for the Cardinals, the plus side is that it's only a preseason game and it will give our entire team a chance to improve against one of the most talented teams out there. Hopefully the organization, players and fans can take this game in stride and use it as a learning tool instead of freaking out and start clamoring for Whisenhunt to be fired and for Max Hall to be our starter. Then again, I could be utterly wrong about how I see this game going.
The Packers and Cardinals have given us some wild games over the past few years, ranging from a high scoring meaningless preseason game, all the way to the highest combined score in a playoff match up. One thing you know about the Packers is that wherever they are, they will bring it. Not to mention that this is their first home game after winning the Superbowl, so while this is only a preseason game, it won't be meaningless.
The last time Kevin Kolb played the Packers, it did not end up so well for him, heck he may not even remember playing them because of the concussion he received via a Clay Matthews tackle. The Packers are great at disguising their blitz packages and while it's only a preseason game, I expect them to send pressure and try to confuse Kevin Kolb. Compound that with our offensive line problems and Beanie who while having improved, does still not excel in blitz pickup, we could see quite a few sacks on Friday.
This might also be a wake-up call on the defensive side of the ball for the Cardinals. Not only do we have to deal with both Ryan Grant and James Starks, but their whole complement of receivers and tight ends may be a lot to handle. From guys like Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, to James Jones and Jermichael Finley, we could have a lot of blown assignments with our new defensive system as well as playing rookies and unknown prospects like AJ Jefferson at CB. It will be interesting to see if Horton decides to bring extra pressure to try to force Rodgers into quick throws. Unfortunately, Rodgers has above average speed for a QB and can easily turn what looks like a sack into a 5 or 6 yard gain and that's not including the times he'll thrown a frozen rope completion for a 15 or 20 yard gain. This will surely be a test for all members of our defense.
Even though I think this game has the possibility of turning into an ugly affair for the Cardinals, the plus side is that it's only a preseason game and it will give our entire team a chance to improve against one of the most talented teams out there. Hopefully the organization, players and fans can take this game in stride and use it as a learning tool instead of freaking out and start clamoring for Whisenhunt to be fired and for Max Hall to be our starter. Then again, I could be utterly wrong about how I see this game going.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Mike and Mike Two a Days - Arizona Cardinals
This morning on Mike and Mike, the guys covered the Arizona Cardinals as part of their Two a day's segment which involves them answering "5 big questions" about each team. Below is my analysis of what they had to say.
Question 1 : Are you confident Kevin Kolb can be successful in Arizona?
Mike Golic's answer will be a common one for the majority of the five questions. He basically said he is confident that he can be more successful then what we had all throughout last year. Golic went onto say that he was not sure about Kolb when he came out of college, but that a lot of people seem to love him and throwing to a receiver like Larry Fitzgerald can only help and that Todd Heap will be a nice addition. Greenberg basically said the same thing as Golic stating that they were so poor last year, the only place they can go is up.
My Take
Can't argue too much here as despite what everyone has said about Kolb, he is relatively unknown. That doesn't mean I think he will fail here, but predicting anything about Kolb is just pure speculation and not based on any concrete evidence. Kevin Kolb is certainly an upgrade over what we had last year and has shown flashes of both excellent and poor play. There are just too many questions to answer about him to be sure of anything.
Question 2 : With Beanie as the expected starter, will the Cardinals improve on a run game that came in last in the NFL in 2010?
Mike Golic was actually pretty honest here when he gave the answer of , "I don't know." He continued on by saying that when Ken Whisenhunt first came to Arizona, everyone thought he would be bringing the smash mouth type of football that they ran in Pittsburgh and that he hasn't done anything close to that so far. Greenberg countered with the argument that if people don''t respect your QB, that it's harder to run but Golic automatically shot that down by saying that our run game was also poor when Kurt Warner was here.
My Take
If you look at position by position, the only way I can describe how I feel about is, "I just don't know." We have so many changes from personnel to coaching that I just can't answer with any certainty at almost every position. I will say that it seems like the Cardinals will attempt to run more with drafting both a running back and a fullback in this years draft but I have felt that way before. I think this is one of those things that just has to wait until the regular season to actually see what happens. I'm one of the people last year that felt Whiz abandoned the run too early in games but as was stated before, it's difficult to run when your QB has around a 50% completion rate.
Question 3 : How will rookie corner back Patrick Peterson impact a pass defense that ranked near the bottom of the league?
As when talking about the QB play, Golic said that Peterson has to help because we were just so poor last year. He said that while being a rookie, he thinks that Peterson's size and athletic ability will help this defense improve despite the loss of DRC.
My Take
Agree here, although maybe they're not as well versed with Whiz as we are and his dislike for starting rookies early on in their career. Now I am all for sitting rookies who aren't ready to play the position, but it is also my belief that there are some guys who are just so supremely gifted and talented that you must throw aside the "mental" aspect of learning the game, and just run them out there and I believe Peterson is one of those guys.
Question 4 : In 2010, Whisenhunt suffered his first losing season with the Cardinals, is it a blip on the radar or the start of a trend?
Mike Golic said that he thinks it's a blip but mainly because the NFC West is so terrible. He also says that he believes we have a way to go defensively and both guys agree that in the end it comes down to what Kevin Kolb can do.
My Take
I too think it's a blip on the radar but not solely because of our division. While it is bad, there is a difference between having a winning record and actually being a competitive football team both inside and outside your division(which is something I crave). I think we are taking the right steps as far as our organization goes. We finally went out and spent a lot this off-season, hopefully that will continue on throughout the years. We seemed to have had a solid strategy going into this draft, which I believe was focused around getting dedicated, high work ethic guys, while maybe losing a little bit of overall talent. Lastly, we got what our team thinks is a franchise QB which is a lot more than a good chunk of teams in the NFL can say.
Question 5 : This year the Arizona Cardinals will finish.......
Mike Golic predicts us going 7-9 while Greenberg gave us a record of 8-8
My Take
It's always tough to not be a homer when doing a prediction for your team and it's even more difficult when your team has so many question marks up and down the roster. Both of the extremes work in that we have no idea how good or bad this team actually is but usually it's safe to err on the side of caution and low ball a team with this many moving parts. This team was just so bad last year, and the majority of their 5 wins came through things that are hard to duplicate such as kick returns, interception returns and missed field goals by the opposing team. I feel safe in saying that this team should have only won 2 or 3 games last year. That being said, I am a homer so I'm going to say 8-8 with a chance to go 10-6 if Kolb is as legitimate as we all hope, Horton can scheme even 10% than Bill Davis did and our ground game is somewhat effective.
You can find the original audio to their segment here
Question 1 : Are you confident Kevin Kolb can be successful in Arizona?
Mike Golic's answer will be a common one for the majority of the five questions. He basically said he is confident that he can be more successful then what we had all throughout last year. Golic went onto say that he was not sure about Kolb when he came out of college, but that a lot of people seem to love him and throwing to a receiver like Larry Fitzgerald can only help and that Todd Heap will be a nice addition. Greenberg basically said the same thing as Golic stating that they were so poor last year, the only place they can go is up.
My Take
Can't argue too much here as despite what everyone has said about Kolb, he is relatively unknown. That doesn't mean I think he will fail here, but predicting anything about Kolb is just pure speculation and not based on any concrete evidence. Kevin Kolb is certainly an upgrade over what we had last year and has shown flashes of both excellent and poor play. There are just too many questions to answer about him to be sure of anything.
Question 2 : With Beanie as the expected starter, will the Cardinals improve on a run game that came in last in the NFL in 2010?
Mike Golic was actually pretty honest here when he gave the answer of , "I don't know." He continued on by saying that when Ken Whisenhunt first came to Arizona, everyone thought he would be bringing the smash mouth type of football that they ran in Pittsburgh and that he hasn't done anything close to that so far. Greenberg countered with the argument that if people don''t respect your QB, that it's harder to run but Golic automatically shot that down by saying that our run game was also poor when Kurt Warner was here.
My Take
If you look at position by position, the only way I can describe how I feel about is, "I just don't know." We have so many changes from personnel to coaching that I just can't answer with any certainty at almost every position. I will say that it seems like the Cardinals will attempt to run more with drafting both a running back and a fullback in this years draft but I have felt that way before. I think this is one of those things that just has to wait until the regular season to actually see what happens. I'm one of the people last year that felt Whiz abandoned the run too early in games but as was stated before, it's difficult to run when your QB has around a 50% completion rate.
Question 3 : How will rookie corner back Patrick Peterson impact a pass defense that ranked near the bottom of the league?
As when talking about the QB play, Golic said that Peterson has to help because we were just so poor last year. He said that while being a rookie, he thinks that Peterson's size and athletic ability will help this defense improve despite the loss of DRC.
My Take
Agree here, although maybe they're not as well versed with Whiz as we are and his dislike for starting rookies early on in their career. Now I am all for sitting rookies who aren't ready to play the position, but it is also my belief that there are some guys who are just so supremely gifted and talented that you must throw aside the "mental" aspect of learning the game, and just run them out there and I believe Peterson is one of those guys.
Question 4 : In 2010, Whisenhunt suffered his first losing season with the Cardinals, is it a blip on the radar or the start of a trend?
Mike Golic said that he thinks it's a blip but mainly because the NFC West is so terrible. He also says that he believes we have a way to go defensively and both guys agree that in the end it comes down to what Kevin Kolb can do.
My Take
I too think it's a blip on the radar but not solely because of our division. While it is bad, there is a difference between having a winning record and actually being a competitive football team both inside and outside your division(which is something I crave). I think we are taking the right steps as far as our organization goes. We finally went out and spent a lot this off-season, hopefully that will continue on throughout the years. We seemed to have had a solid strategy going into this draft, which I believe was focused around getting dedicated, high work ethic guys, while maybe losing a little bit of overall talent. Lastly, we got what our team thinks is a franchise QB which is a lot more than a good chunk of teams in the NFL can say.
Question 5 : This year the Arizona Cardinals will finish.......
Mike Golic predicts us going 7-9 while Greenberg gave us a record of 8-8
My Take
It's always tough to not be a homer when doing a prediction for your team and it's even more difficult when your team has so many question marks up and down the roster. Both of the extremes work in that we have no idea how good or bad this team actually is but usually it's safe to err on the side of caution and low ball a team with this many moving parts. This team was just so bad last year, and the majority of their 5 wins came through things that are hard to duplicate such as kick returns, interception returns and missed field goals by the opposing team. I feel safe in saying that this team should have only won 2 or 3 games last year. That being said, I am a homer so I'm going to say 8-8 with a chance to go 10-6 if Kolb is as legitimate as we all hope, Horton can scheme even 10% than Bill Davis did and our ground game is somewhat effective.
You can find the original audio to their segment here
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Cardinals Preseason week 1
First off, let me start off by saying let's take everything in the first preseason game with a grain of salt. Nothing is more annoying then fans over reacting to something they see in an early preseason game.
That being said, let's see how the offense did early on.
Kolb in two drives went 4-7 with 68 yards. 43 of them came on a nice deep ball to Fitzgerald which he caught by pinning the ball against his helmet with one hand. In a strategy that I loved, they went right back to the same play but ended up with an incomplete pass. Kolb seems to be looking to Fitzgerald early and often and why can you blame him? No other first string WRs really stood out as they had very limited time with Kolb. Roberts fumbled once again on a punt, but I doubt he'll be doing that in the regular season anyways. Doucet was able to make some catches but more importantly stay healthy. Heap made a few nice catches, but left the field with a finger injury but it doesn't seem serious. Beanie had a few nice runs early on but was stuffed numerous times on the goal line resulting in a turnover on downs. The biggest disappointment no surprise was the offensive line. This group will definitely need to improve if the Cardinals are to be successful this year. Kolb was under pressure but was able to make the only play and throw the ball away.
John Skelton went 6/10 and threw a nice 18 yard touchdown pass to Stephen Williams who continues his impressive preseason stats from last year. Skelton like Kolb, was under major pressure early on, but on the touchdown he got good protection and stood in the pocket long enough to allow the route to develop.
Ryan Williams looked very effective in his limited work. Granted it was against 3rd string players, but he seems to have a strong desire to continue moving the pile and carry defenders. He also had a nice catch out of the backfield for 24 yards. DeMarco Sampson continued his strong off-season getting 2 catches for 47 yards including a jump ball. He also had a nice block which allowed Isiah Williams to score on a touchdown late. Bartel had some nice throws early, and some absolute ducks later on that were begging to be picked off. Ironies of irony, Max Hall ended the night with the best passer rating of the bunch, which is hilarious to think about but is meaningless. On a side note, I was really impressed with Lutui's spirit out there. Despite getting stuck on 2nd and 3rd string duties, he was out there giving it his all and cheering and celebrating with the guys who made big plays. I can't explain why, but I was just really impressed by it. Other than that, not much else to report on for the offense.
On the defensive side of the ball the biggest standout had to be AJ Jefferson. He had some really impressive plays early on, but he did get burned on a 3rd down pass across the middle. He was able to rebound the very next play showing impressive closing speed to break up a pass. Richard Marshall also got beat deep, but then came back and made a nice deflection to break up a touchdown. Once again the D showed their "bend not break" mentality in giving up decent chunks of yards but keeping the opposing team to FGs. This team needs to improve on getting off the field early on in drives. Long drives will gas a defense as last season clearly showed. Washington looks faster and stronger, they were even using him as a gunner on punts. Campbell made a very intelligent play, sniffing out a reverse early on and extending the running back out far enough to let Porter finish him off. I liked the fight this defense showed early on, not shying away from getting into a scruff despite it being the preseason. Early on Dan Williams received a late cheap shot getting tossed to the ground after the play, and who was there to back him up? None other than Darnell Dockett rushing to the pile to pick people up and shove them away. I would like to get a chance for O'Brien Schofield to see more playing time then he did, hopefully some with at least the first stringers if not the second. I primarily only saw him on a few plays and on punt returns rushing the kicker. Patrick Peterson had a relatively quiet night but did have a solid 25 yard kickoff return. He got beat on a couple of quick short routes, but that's to be expected from a rookie. I did see him give a nice hard jam to a receiver on a play that was called back due to a false start. Hopefully he is as physical in pass coverage as rumors state.
Other than that, nothing much to report from a week 1 preseason battle. It is usually weeks two and three where the starters see extended playing time so I'll be able to give a more in-depth analysis next week.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Who will be the #2 Receiver?
It seems as if the Cardinals organization thinks they are settled at the wide receiver position though reports say they are still looking throughout free agency.. After news showed they were interested in Braylon Edwards and Malcom Floyd, both players signed with other teams. From what I'm hearing, despite the Cardinals offering a better contract, Bryalon decided to go to the 49ers where he could potentially be a number one receiver in hopes of upping his value for next years free agency period. While it's all speculation, I think this is a bad move by Braylon but only time will tell.
With both Braylon and Floyd off the market, the next tier of receivers that come into play are guys like Steve Smith of the Giants and Jericho Cotchery of the Jets. While a healthy Steve Smith would be a great number 2 for this team, I just don't think we can rely on him being able to stay on the field. After a breakout 2009-2010 campaign where he caught 107 balls for 1200 yards and 7 touchdowns, he was only able to manage to stay on the field for 9 games last year. Not only did he tear his pectoral muscle missing four games, he came back and immediately tore knee cartilage which required microfracture surgery. Granted, the healing time and success rate from injuries like these have drastically increased but I am still not sure if I want to have him as our number 2 going into the season. The major upside is we could get a potential 100 catch season from a guy who won't demand a lot of money due to his injury.
The next wide receiver on the list would be Jericho Cotchery who is also coming off surgery(herniated disc). While I like Cotchery, my main concern is that he is just a more proven version of what we already have in Andre Roberts. I would prefer a bigger target opposite of Fitz than six foot tall Cotchery so Roberts/Doucet can be in the slot which I think they'll be more effective from. One of the upsides from Cotchery is he is really tough, as you can see here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzr1bTPxDzk where he tears his groin mid route, yet still finds a way to make a diving catch on a crucial third down in overtime. While he would be nice to have here, I don't think he's a game changer, and rumors are that he failed his physical in New York which would not be a good sign.
Let's take a look at the guys who are currently on our roster starting with Early Doucet. Early has been here for three years and has made relatively zero noise in the regular season. Granted he looked beastly in the playoff game versus the Packers, but besides that he has been a relative no show(literally, he can't stay on the field long enough for me to find him). All joking aside, you can never plan for injuries and sometimes it can be a fluke, but this team can't wait around forever to see if this guy can stay healthy. I think it is evident that the organization feels this way as well due to all of the undrafted rookies we have signed(and kept) as well as late round pick DeMarco Sampson. This is a make or break year for Doucet, but unfortunately I don't want my #2 receiver to be in a make or break year, I want someone more solid.
Andre Roberts is the next choice. A surprise 3rd round pick out of the Citadel last year, Andre Roberts struggled in his first camp and didn't have a very impressive rookie campaign(which isn't saying much due to our horribly inept Quarter back play). I'm really torn on how to feel about this guy, his numbers weren't impressive but all I hear people say is how he really started to come on in the last half of the season but I think they just look at the numbers and don't really take into account the situations. In the last 6 games of the season Roberts caught 13 passes for 150 yards and 1 touchdown. Now I know what you're saying, "what do you expect from a number 3 receiver with a horrible QB throwing to him?" which is partially true but let's look at where the majority of those stats came from. Out of those 13 catches, 9 of them came in the last two games. Out of those 150 yards 133 of them came in the last two games as well as the touchdown coming in the second to last game against Dallas. Let's not forget that the touchdown came off of a 70 yard touchdown from Skelton, in which his defender fell down leaving Roberts free and clear to make the catch and run for the touchdown. So far in training camp, reports are Roberts has been impressive and we shouldn't be surprised if he actually earns the number 2 spot. I hope that's true and we desperately need him to become a legitimate threat, I'm just concerned going into the season with a second year player as our number 2 receiver. He will not demand any significant threat opposite of Fitzgerald at the start of the season until he proves otherwise.
Lastly, I don't think Chansi Stuckey has a shot to win the number 2 role. He's been relatively unimpressive in his career thus far and he doesn't have the size or speed to demand coverage. Unless Stephen Williams can duplicate his performance in last years pre-season, and carry it over into the regular season, it's hard to be confident in him. DeMarco Sampson has been impressive in camp with nice hands and great route running but again he's a rookie(albeit a 25 year old rookie) and it's the same issue with a lot of the other guys we have now. It's hard to go into the season with an unknown, unproven player as your second receiver.
Finally, I will just say this about the media/fan rumors about the possibility of Randy Moss coming here. I don't think it's likely as we're a rebuilding/up and coming team. We won't want to give him a long term contract and we are an organization who will not put up with a lot of the baggage Moss has. While we have no idea how effective he would be, I don't think it's likely that he would choose to come here.
With both Braylon and Floyd off the market, the next tier of receivers that come into play are guys like Steve Smith of the Giants and Jericho Cotchery of the Jets. While a healthy Steve Smith would be a great number 2 for this team, I just don't think we can rely on him being able to stay on the field. After a breakout 2009-2010 campaign where he caught 107 balls for 1200 yards and 7 touchdowns, he was only able to manage to stay on the field for 9 games last year. Not only did he tear his pectoral muscle missing four games, he came back and immediately tore knee cartilage which required microfracture surgery. Granted, the healing time and success rate from injuries like these have drastically increased but I am still not sure if I want to have him as our number 2 going into the season. The major upside is we could get a potential 100 catch season from a guy who won't demand a lot of money due to his injury.
The next wide receiver on the list would be Jericho Cotchery who is also coming off surgery(herniated disc). While I like Cotchery, my main concern is that he is just a more proven version of what we already have in Andre Roberts. I would prefer a bigger target opposite of Fitz than six foot tall Cotchery so Roberts/Doucet can be in the slot which I think they'll be more effective from. One of the upsides from Cotchery is he is really tough, as you can see here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzr1bTPxDzk where he tears his groin mid route, yet still finds a way to make a diving catch on a crucial third down in overtime. While he would be nice to have here, I don't think he's a game changer, and rumors are that he failed his physical in New York which would not be a good sign.
Let's take a look at the guys who are currently on our roster starting with Early Doucet. Early has been here for three years and has made relatively zero noise in the regular season. Granted he looked beastly in the playoff game versus the Packers, but besides that he has been a relative no show(literally, he can't stay on the field long enough for me to find him). All joking aside, you can never plan for injuries and sometimes it can be a fluke, but this team can't wait around forever to see if this guy can stay healthy. I think it is evident that the organization feels this way as well due to all of the undrafted rookies we have signed(and kept) as well as late round pick DeMarco Sampson. This is a make or break year for Doucet, but unfortunately I don't want my #2 receiver to be in a make or break year, I want someone more solid.
Andre Roberts is the next choice. A surprise 3rd round pick out of the Citadel last year, Andre Roberts struggled in his first camp and didn't have a very impressive rookie campaign(which isn't saying much due to our horribly inept Quarter back play). I'm really torn on how to feel about this guy, his numbers weren't impressive but all I hear people say is how he really started to come on in the last half of the season but I think they just look at the numbers and don't really take into account the situations. In the last 6 games of the season Roberts caught 13 passes for 150 yards and 1 touchdown. Now I know what you're saying, "what do you expect from a number 3 receiver with a horrible QB throwing to him?" which is partially true but let's look at where the majority of those stats came from. Out of those 13 catches, 9 of them came in the last two games. Out of those 150 yards 133 of them came in the last two games as well as the touchdown coming in the second to last game against Dallas. Let's not forget that the touchdown came off of a 70 yard touchdown from Skelton, in which his defender fell down leaving Roberts free and clear to make the catch and run for the touchdown. So far in training camp, reports are Roberts has been impressive and we shouldn't be surprised if he actually earns the number 2 spot. I hope that's true and we desperately need him to become a legitimate threat, I'm just concerned going into the season with a second year player as our number 2 receiver. He will not demand any significant threat opposite of Fitzgerald at the start of the season until he proves otherwise.
Lastly, I don't think Chansi Stuckey has a shot to win the number 2 role. He's been relatively unimpressive in his career thus far and he doesn't have the size or speed to demand coverage. Unless Stephen Williams can duplicate his performance in last years pre-season, and carry it over into the regular season, it's hard to be confident in him. DeMarco Sampson has been impressive in camp with nice hands and great route running but again he's a rookie(albeit a 25 year old rookie) and it's the same issue with a lot of the other guys we have now. It's hard to go into the season with an unknown, unproven player as your second receiver.
Finally, I will just say this about the media/fan rumors about the possibility of Randy Moss coming here. I don't think it's likely as we're a rebuilding/up and coming team. We won't want to give him a long term contract and we are an organization who will not put up with a lot of the baggage Moss has. While we have no idea how effective he would be, I don't think it's likely that he would choose to come here.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
ESPN's post lockout grades
Matt Williamson of ESPN.com went through each team in the NFL and gave them his very own post-lockout grade. It is a very interesting read which can be found here http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6832645/nfl-post-lockout-grades-every-nfc-team but unfortunately in order to get the full analysis you have to be an insider. For all of you who aren't insiders, I will quickly recap what he said about the Cardinals and why I agree or disagree with what he has to say.
Williamson's take
The very first thing he mentions is not surprising and that is the Cardinals acquiring QB Kevin Kolb. He says that the Cardinals may have overpaid for him, and that he is far from a sure thing but that Kolb does have a ton of upside if the team continues to surround him with weapons.
My Take
Not much to disagree with here. While I do think we overpaid for Kolb, I think we all came to the conclusion that it was the only way to acquire the young QB. With the addition of a more physical corner-back in Richard Marshall, the sting of losing DRC will linger until we can see if Marshall can hold his own(as well as including 1st round pick Patrick Peterson). While I like Kolb a lot, I was one of the people saying I would have rather traded for Kyle Orton. Not because I don't believe in Kolb, but for me it came down to pure value.
I believed in Orton we were getting a more proven product, for less expense(which in any other industry is the more logical choice). I have heard all of the downside of Orton from he's not a leader, to he's not a winner but let's take a quick look at what Orton did in Denver. In 13 games last year, he passed for 3600 yards, with 20 Touchdowns and 9 interceptions with a 58.8 completion percentage and actually made Brandon Lloyd look halfway decent. Not to mention that a majority of the losses for his career, came last season where he was 3-10 in those starts. I also never really enjoy singling out a game for why a player is good or bad, but I think this time it is relevant. In his final start, against our very own Cardinals, Kyle Orton was absolutely dreadful where he was 19/41 for 166 yards no touchdowns and three interceptions. Let's not forget though that Josh McDaniels had just been fired who was both the Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator. So, let's for my arguments sake take those numbers out of his total for the season. If we do that, Kyle Orton finishes with 3,487 yards, 20 touchdown to 6 interceptions and his completion percentage jumps to 59.5%. Lastly, looking back at their most recent draft, you can tell that it was not the offenses fault that they were losing games. Four out of their first five picks were used on defense, and the other pick was used on the offensive line. Again, all of this is pointless because we traded for Kolb and I am excited he is here and to see what he can do, it just all came down to value.
Williamson's Take
The next thing he goes onto discuss is that the while the Cardinals did address their Offensive line problems in free agency, he does not believe it was enough. He says that both Daryn Colledge and Lyle Sendlein are athletic and undersized which isn't a great fit for Grimm's style of teaching. He also says that Lutui returning may not be a good thing.
My Take
Again, not much to disagree with here. I was one of the people pleading for the front office to take some kind of offensive linemen in the draft. Whether it be with the second or third round pick, I just wanted to have some kind of fresh young body to learn and grow on this offensive line. Alas, I will have to trust in Whiz, Graves and Russ Grimm that they are satisfied with the moves we have made and will still possibly make later on, but the Offensive line is definitely a concern of mine.
Williamson's Take
When talking about Richard Marshall, he goes onto say that he did not have a good season in 2010. He liked the move of signing Stewart Bradley and says if he can stay healthy he can be a productive player alongside Daryl Washington.
My Take
I would have liked him to have gone into a little more detail on Richard Marshall. Granted he is doing a quick review of the big moves of all 32 teams so it's hard for him to have all of the information. While Richard Marshall might have had a down year, I think it's pre-mature to judge that season as an indicator of this one. First off, Marshall fits Ray Horton's defensive scheme more than he might have in Carolina(which was an awful team let's not forget). Marshall's toughness and tackling ability are exactly what Horton looks for in a corner back. Also Marshall may end up being the nickelback if Peterson starts and Toler retains his number 2 job. I agree with him on Bradley, it really all comes down to if he can stay healthy. When discussing Bradley with a huge Eagles fan, I was told that Bradley is a downhill player with lots of toughness, which again feeds into Horton's aggressive style of defense.
Williamson's Take
Lastly he talked about the Cardinals becoming more dedicated to involve the Tight end position, especially with the loss of Steve Breaston and also said the lack of an edge pass rusher is a glaring hole.
My Take
Have to agree here, although we will see what the offense ends up doing especially if we are able to get a more reliable well known number 2 receiver like Braylon Edwards or Malcom Floyd(which he did not take into account). While I have to agree with him about the edge pass rusher, I'm not sure if it will be as bad as he thinks. It really all comes down to what we can get out of O'Brien Schofield. He is a Cardinal favorite to break out and will be a major key as to whether or not this team can generate an effective pass rush. Then again, I don't blame Williamson for not getting excited about a 4th round pick(despite all of the experts saying he had late first round talent before his injury).
Final Notes
In the end Williamson ended up giving us a post lockout grade of C+ and while I think that may be a little low I don't think it's too far off. This might be the homer in me, but I would say we're at around a B- with the possibility of B if we sign a more legitimate receiver opposite of Fitzgerald and an extra offensive linemen.
There is one minor detail to note though. In his section of key losses, he included Derek Anderson which seems to be a disingenuous argument as to why we will be worse because of his release. I guess Anderson throwing 3 yard rockets or flinging the ball 6 feet over our receivers heads will be a bad thing?
Williamson's take
The very first thing he mentions is not surprising and that is the Cardinals acquiring QB Kevin Kolb. He says that the Cardinals may have overpaid for him, and that he is far from a sure thing but that Kolb does have a ton of upside if the team continues to surround him with weapons.
My Take
Not much to disagree with here. While I do think we overpaid for Kolb, I think we all came to the conclusion that it was the only way to acquire the young QB. With the addition of a more physical corner-back in Richard Marshall, the sting of losing DRC will linger until we can see if Marshall can hold his own(as well as including 1st round pick Patrick Peterson). While I like Kolb a lot, I was one of the people saying I would have rather traded for Kyle Orton. Not because I don't believe in Kolb, but for me it came down to pure value.
I believed in Orton we were getting a more proven product, for less expense(which in any other industry is the more logical choice). I have heard all of the downside of Orton from he's not a leader, to he's not a winner but let's take a quick look at what Orton did in Denver. In 13 games last year, he passed for 3600 yards, with 20 Touchdowns and 9 interceptions with a 58.8 completion percentage and actually made Brandon Lloyd look halfway decent. Not to mention that a majority of the losses for his career, came last season where he was 3-10 in those starts. I also never really enjoy singling out a game for why a player is good or bad, but I think this time it is relevant. In his final start, against our very own Cardinals, Kyle Orton was absolutely dreadful where he was 19/41 for 166 yards no touchdowns and three interceptions. Let's not forget though that Josh McDaniels had just been fired who was both the Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator. So, let's for my arguments sake take those numbers out of his total for the season. If we do that, Kyle Orton finishes with 3,487 yards, 20 touchdown to 6 interceptions and his completion percentage jumps to 59.5%. Lastly, looking back at their most recent draft, you can tell that it was not the offenses fault that they were losing games. Four out of their first five picks were used on defense, and the other pick was used on the offensive line. Again, all of this is pointless because we traded for Kolb and I am excited he is here and to see what he can do, it just all came down to value.
Williamson's Take
The next thing he goes onto discuss is that the while the Cardinals did address their Offensive line problems in free agency, he does not believe it was enough. He says that both Daryn Colledge and Lyle Sendlein are athletic and undersized which isn't a great fit for Grimm's style of teaching. He also says that Lutui returning may not be a good thing.
My Take
Again, not much to disagree with here. I was one of the people pleading for the front office to take some kind of offensive linemen in the draft. Whether it be with the second or third round pick, I just wanted to have some kind of fresh young body to learn and grow on this offensive line. Alas, I will have to trust in Whiz, Graves and Russ Grimm that they are satisfied with the moves we have made and will still possibly make later on, but the Offensive line is definitely a concern of mine.
Williamson's Take
When talking about Richard Marshall, he goes onto say that he did not have a good season in 2010. He liked the move of signing Stewart Bradley and says if he can stay healthy he can be a productive player alongside Daryl Washington.
My Take
I would have liked him to have gone into a little more detail on Richard Marshall. Granted he is doing a quick review of the big moves of all 32 teams so it's hard for him to have all of the information. While Richard Marshall might have had a down year, I think it's pre-mature to judge that season as an indicator of this one. First off, Marshall fits Ray Horton's defensive scheme more than he might have in Carolina(which was an awful team let's not forget). Marshall's toughness and tackling ability are exactly what Horton looks for in a corner back. Also Marshall may end up being the nickelback if Peterson starts and Toler retains his number 2 job. I agree with him on Bradley, it really all comes down to if he can stay healthy. When discussing Bradley with a huge Eagles fan, I was told that Bradley is a downhill player with lots of toughness, which again feeds into Horton's aggressive style of defense.
Williamson's Take
Lastly he talked about the Cardinals becoming more dedicated to involve the Tight end position, especially with the loss of Steve Breaston and also said the lack of an edge pass rusher is a glaring hole.
My Take
Have to agree here, although we will see what the offense ends up doing especially if we are able to get a more reliable well known number 2 receiver like Braylon Edwards or Malcom Floyd(which he did not take into account). While I have to agree with him about the edge pass rusher, I'm not sure if it will be as bad as he thinks. It really all comes down to what we can get out of O'Brien Schofield. He is a Cardinal favorite to break out and will be a major key as to whether or not this team can generate an effective pass rush. Then again, I don't blame Williamson for not getting excited about a 4th round pick(despite all of the experts saying he had late first round talent before his injury).
Final Notes
In the end Williamson ended up giving us a post lockout grade of C+ and while I think that may be a little low I don't think it's too far off. This might be the homer in me, but I would say we're at around a B- with the possibility of B if we sign a more legitimate receiver opposite of Fitzgerald and an extra offensive linemen.
There is one minor detail to note though. In his section of key losses, he included Derek Anderson which seems to be a disingenuous argument as to why we will be worse because of his release. I guess Anderson throwing 3 yard rockets or flinging the ball 6 feet over our receivers heads will be a bad thing?
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Braylon Edwards conundrum
It has been reported that Braylon Edwards will be visiting the 49ers later tonight. I for one think this is just a ploy by Edwards and his agent to stir up interest in the former Jets wide-out and here are my reasons why.
1. Braylon Edwards doesn't strike me as the type of guy who will voluntarily go to a losing team with no upside. Despite getting Jim Harbaugh and having weapons like Frank Gore and Vernon Davis, let's not kid ourselves here and think the 49ers have any true desire to try to win this year. They are bringing back Alex Smith who while showing flashes here and there, hasn't done anything to prove his critics wrong who claimed he was not worthy of the overall number 1 pick in 2005.
2. Unless he is able to sucker the 49ers into a 3-4 year deal, Edwards will be signing a one year deal in order to prove he is worthy of the type of money he is reportedly trying to receive this year. The best way for him to up his stock for next years free agency is by going to a team with an elite WR, catch some balls, and score some touchdowns and most importantly, stay out of trouble. Granted, we have no idea what Kevin Kolb is capable of here in Arizona, but we know what Alex Smith is capable of and it's not much. The pressure that Fitzgerald will demand will be enough to get Braylon some one on one coverage and say what you will about Braylon and his abilities, the man is still 6'3 214. I believe Braylon will be a more effective number 2 receiver here, than a potential number 1 receiver in San Fran.
3. His legal problems will only continue to hurt him. The longer he remains unsigned, the more and more details spill out about what happened at his recent bar fight. Reports are now showing that Edwards was the individual who started the fight. We all know how strict Roger Goodell is when it comes to punishment, and while that may change a little bit with the new CBA, I still think he will hold some power over issuing punishments to players.
4. The Cardinals at the moment are a more sound organization. Yes I know it seems silly to say that a team that just went 5-11 with the most inept QB rotation maybe ever fielded is more sound, but alas it is true. The Cardinals have a returning Head Coach, with a set system in place. We have a premiere receiver in Fitz, they have shown this off-season that they are committed to winning(whether this is just a short-term strategy will remain to be seen) and have had more recent success than the 49ers. Not to mention we have a few players that Braylon has a history with in Kerry Rhodes and Jay Feely.
It is for these reasons alone that I believe this is just a ploy by Braylon to get as much money out of the Cardinals as possible.
UPDATE
Well looks like I was wrong. Braylon signed a 1 year deal worth 3.5 million with the 49ers today. I don't fully understand it but I guess he did what's best for him.
1. Braylon Edwards doesn't strike me as the type of guy who will voluntarily go to a losing team with no upside. Despite getting Jim Harbaugh and having weapons like Frank Gore and Vernon Davis, let's not kid ourselves here and think the 49ers have any true desire to try to win this year. They are bringing back Alex Smith who while showing flashes here and there, hasn't done anything to prove his critics wrong who claimed he was not worthy of the overall number 1 pick in 2005.
2. Unless he is able to sucker the 49ers into a 3-4 year deal, Edwards will be signing a one year deal in order to prove he is worthy of the type of money he is reportedly trying to receive this year. The best way for him to up his stock for next years free agency is by going to a team with an elite WR, catch some balls, and score some touchdowns and most importantly, stay out of trouble. Granted, we have no idea what Kevin Kolb is capable of here in Arizona, but we know what Alex Smith is capable of and it's not much. The pressure that Fitzgerald will demand will be enough to get Braylon some one on one coverage and say what you will about Braylon and his abilities, the man is still 6'3 214. I believe Braylon will be a more effective number 2 receiver here, than a potential number 1 receiver in San Fran.
3. His legal problems will only continue to hurt him. The longer he remains unsigned, the more and more details spill out about what happened at his recent bar fight. Reports are now showing that Edwards was the individual who started the fight. We all know how strict Roger Goodell is when it comes to punishment, and while that may change a little bit with the new CBA, I still think he will hold some power over issuing punishments to players.
4. The Cardinals at the moment are a more sound organization. Yes I know it seems silly to say that a team that just went 5-11 with the most inept QB rotation maybe ever fielded is more sound, but alas it is true. The Cardinals have a returning Head Coach, with a set system in place. We have a premiere receiver in Fitz, they have shown this off-season that they are committed to winning(whether this is just a short-term strategy will remain to be seen) and have had more recent success than the 49ers. Not to mention we have a few players that Braylon has a history with in Kerry Rhodes and Jay Feely.
It is for these reasons alone that I believe this is just a ploy by Braylon to get as much money out of the Cardinals as possible.
UPDATE
Well looks like I was wrong. Braylon signed a 1 year deal worth 3.5 million with the 49ers today. I don't fully understand it but I guess he did what's best for him.
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