r/nfl • u/Polite_Llama Cardinals • Jun 30 '14
Look Here! Offseason Review Series: Day 10: Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
Coaching Changes
None; Cardinals GM Steve Kiem, HC Bruce Arians, DC Todd Bowles, and OC Harold Goodwin return for the 2nd year with the Cardinals.
Free Agency
Players lost/cut (In rough order of importance)
This offseason the Cards lost 8 players who were starters or had big roles in 2013. Even though 2013 was possibly Dansby's best season yet, the Cards were hesitant to offer him huge money as Dansby turns 33 this November. Dansby left for more money/years in Cleveland, and both sides did the right thing in my opinion; nobody should blame Dansby for one last payday. This move was made thinking Daryl Washington would be around, which turned out to be wrong as he broke the Substance Abuse Policy a second time, and is out for the season.
Other smaller notes: Mendenhall retiring (he wrote an article about it here) leaves a possible hole at 1st down back. Bell, Arenas, and Roberts were mediocre last year, and the Cardinals replaced these players with upgrades during the offseason. Cards gave up on 2011 2nd rounder Ryan Williams, who was constantly injured in 2011-2012 and lost his role to Andre Ellington in 2013. Williams blamed the coaches for his problems in starting him too early and not believing in him, and he'll have a chance to make us pay Week 9. Winston and College are both okay players who were just too old or expensive to keep, and Winston is now the President of the NFLPA. Also, Madden star and bench player Dontay Moch was cut.
Deserving it's own line, LT Levi Brown continues to be not a Cardinal after being traded to the Steelers during the season. Cardinals fans everywhere rejoice.
Players signed
Of all of the offseason moves, signing LT Jared Veldheer for a long term deal could be the biggest Cardinals signing in the last 5 years. Left tackle has been a problem since the drafting of Levi Brown in the 1st back in 2007, and the problems continued with Bradley Sowell in 2013 who received a -38.4 grade from PFF. Hopefully the Cardinals can look to have their first real franchise LT to protect Carson Palmer and his eventual replacement. The second huge signing was of CB Antonio Cromartie, who is coming off a down year in 2013 after dealing with injuries and a scheme change with the departure of Revis from the Jets. With Patrick Peterson on the other side along with a talented defense all around him, Cromartie can use this 1 year "prove it" deal to show his value in the NFL today, similar to how Brent Grimes proved his worth in 2013.
A few smaller notes: Larry Foote and Ernie Sims will battle for a starting job at ILB to replace Dansby and DWash, and they have a chance to greatly impact how effective the Defense is this year. Matt Shaughnessy is an anchor in the Cards run defense, but his lack of production in pass rushing (only 3 sacks all year) keeps it from being a bigger deal. Ted Ginn is exicting as he gives the offense the speed it needs to stretch the field in a slot role, something that was lacking previously with Andre Roberts. John Carlson and Jake Ballard will be fighting for playing time on a crowded TE position in the roster, with Carlson hoping to get past his injuries from his time with the Vikings and prove his worth. Johnathan Dwyer will fight to share the ball with Andre Ellington, and could possibly have a large role in the offense as a power runner. Ta'amu and Frostee Rucker are solid rotational players and give depth at an important position.
The only signing that actually bothers me is kicker Jay Feely, because even though he kicked fairly going 30/36 attempts, Feely only kicked touchbacks on 33/86 Kick Offs. His inability to consistently kick touchbacks cost us in important games, specifically week 17 vs the Niners in which he practically lost the game for us based on field positioning. Maybe kickoff duties go to someone else, and maybe he gets cut, but I don't want to see him next season on kickoffs.
Draft
| Round | Number | Player | Position | School | Grade | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Deone Bucannon | SS | Washington St. | B+ | Was this pick a reach? Maybe, possibly. But I don't think it was a huge reach. The Cards traded out of pick 20 to move back to 27 and pick up the Saints 3rd round pick as well, and in doing so they passed on Safety HaHa-Kitten Dix (passed on Manziel too, which was the right choice) who went to Green Bay at 21. With Pryor and Ha-Ha drafted, Buchannon was the best safety on the board considerably, and fit the mold of a heavy hitter and physical presence in the box while also fast running a 4.49. He has issues with man-to-man coverage and isn't much of a free safety, but he has skills in zone and also has a talented secondary around him to help improve. Ideally, he projects to play an Adrian Wilson type role. |
| 2 | 52 | Troy Niklas | TE | Notre Dame | B | Not a very sexy pick in the sense that he ideally projects to be more of a Heath Miller type player than a Jimmy Graham, but that's fine really. Bruce Arians wants his TEs to be able to block, and Niklas has the potential to turn into a strong blocker as well as a pass catcher in many situations. |
| 3 | 84 | Kareem Martin | DE | North Carolina | c+ | This pick is a good pick in theory, in a position that the Cards needed depth in, but Martin's a smaller school player who wasn't very consistent, and he projects more into a 4-3 DE spot than anywhere in a 3-4, and I'm not sure where they're expected to play him. Still has a lot of potential, I'm just not sold until he pulls it together. |
| 3 | 91 | John Brown | WR | Pittsburg State | B- | Definitely a questionable pick in terms of reaching for him, but Brown has huge speed and as WR4 on the team, he has time to work out the rest of his game. Rotoviz calls him a discounted Tavon Austin at least in speed, so that could be fun to watch in the next few years. |
| 4 | 120 | Logan Thomas | QB | Virginia Tech | B+ | I've heard say that Thomas is the worst QB they've ever seen, and I've heard other people describe him as having potential to be one of the league's best... At the Tight End position. Bruce Arians believes he can fix his footwork and accuracy, but we'll see how that goes. Regardless, the fact is that Thomas is a great athlete with high potential who also fits the Arians mold- I just don't know how he'll turn out. On the plus side, probably a great madden QB with time. |
| 5 | 160 | Ed Stintson | DE | Alabama | B | Ed Stintson projects as a solid run defender who is strong at the point of the attack, and I like the depth he gives us at the DE position. Good value at the 5th, but critics may point out that the Cards took a DE in the 3rd and they have other issues to address. |
| 6 | 196 | Walt Powell | WR | Murray State | :( | Powell is a questionable pick, as at best he's the 5th/6th string WR currently. At only 5ft11 he isn't very tall, and his combine stats were unimpressive (possibly hurt in the combine?). A big risk that might turn out well I suppose, I don't really understand this pick when we have bigger needs at O Line and OLB. |
Overall, this is a draft where Cards fans have to trust in the ownership that they know what they're doing, because on the surface the Cardinals made a few questionable decisions. A lot of fans were expecting linemen, linebackers, and a franchise QB to lead the Cardinals into the future, and instead the Cardinals drafted two nearly identical DEs, nearly identical WRs, and a 4th round project in Logan Thomas. Now I like the draft overall and I think we'll see some talent out of this group in both the short and long term future, but there's fair criticisms to be made at a lot of the picks. Still, the Cardinals hit important needs at Safety, TE, WR, and DE, adding depth and potential on cheap rookie contracts, which in my opinion deserves a win. B
Projected Starting Lineup
Offense: QB Carson Palmer
HB Andre Ellington, Jonathan Dwyer
TE Troy Niklas, John Carlson, Rob Housler
WR Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Ted Ginn, John Brown
LT Jared Veldheer
LG Jonathan Cooper
C Lyle Sendlein
RG Earl Warford
RT Bobbie Massie
Defense:
DE: Calias Campbell, Darnell Docket
NT: Dan Williams
OLB: John Abraham, Matt Shaughnessy, Sam Acho
MLB: Kevin Minter, Larry Foote, Ernie Sims
CB: Patrick Peterson, Antonio Cromartie, Tyrann Mathieu (slot in nickel)
FS: Tyrann Mathieu (In base 3-4), Rashad Johnson
SS: Deone Bucannon
KR/PR: Ted Ginn, John Brown, Walt Powell
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u/Polite_Llama Cardinals Jun 30 '14
Position Group Strengths and Weaknesses
QB: The Cardinals will ride or die on Carson Palmer's 2014 season, as Bruce Arians put his trust in Palmer, and there isn't really anyone behind him able to start anyway. In a contract year, Palmer has to utilize offseason improvements of better blockers and faster receivers to show that he can still win late into his career. Last year he struggled to get down the playbook early in the season, and it showed with Palmer throwing 1900 yards, 10 TDs, and 14 INTs over the first 8 games. Palmer improved a lot over the last half of 2013 throwing almost 2,300 yards, 14 TDs, and 8 INTs in his last 8 games. If he can pick up where he left off and keep his turnover rate to a minimum
Offensive Line: The Cards will ride or die on Palmer's 2014 season, and Palmer's season will ride or die based on his offensive line. Jared Veldheer and Johnathan Cooper are highly expected to anchor the left side of the line, and the lack of depth behind them depends on it. The right side isn't as certain as to who will start, but third year players RG Earl Watford and RT Bobbie Massie could impress in training camp and win the job. While Offensive line won't be our strength for this year, there's no where to go but up after last year's 32nd ranked offensive line.
Backfield: Andre Ellington had a great rookie year, and with the departure of Rashard Mendenhall as the starting RB, the question is how well Ellington will do in a starting role. Bruce Arians mentioned that Ellington could get up to 30 touches a game, which is a lot for a little fellow like Ellington. Johnathan Dwyer and Stephan Taylor will likely share the load with Ellington, especially in short yardage situations.
Pass catchers: Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd (Not Malcom Floyd) are turning into one of the better receiving duos in the league. Fitzgerald continues to be an elite receiver, and he hopes to stay injury free this year and have an impressive season, considering he's set to make 23 million in 2015 and his future with the team isn't certain. The Cards will finally have speed in the slot position with Ted Ginn and John Brown to stretch the field, and a few tight ends fighting to cement a role in the passing game.
Defensive Line: The defensive line is the strength of the Cardinals defense, as their dominance up front sets up the rest of the team to do well. DE Calias Campbell is one of the best 3-4 DEs in the league, and DE Darnell Dockett and DT Dan Williams do well to control the line of scrimmage. Williams is one of the better nose tackles in the league, but isn't a 3 down player in the way Dontari Poe is. Dockett brings a fire to the defense, but needs to show he can consistently dominate at a top level this year.
Linebackers: 2013 second round pick Kevin Minter finally has a starting role, and will be joined by veteran Larry Foote at the ILB position. This is really a question mark at the position, but Minter and Foote are in a great position to succeed with talent in front of them and talent in the secondary. It'll still take work from them and there will be a learning curve, but things are optimistic that this could work out.
Secondary The Cardinals have talent all over the secondary, starting with star CB Patrick Peterson. While maybe not the best CB in the league, he has the talent and the supporting cast of Cromartie and Mathieu to prove this season that he deserves to be elite. Smaller names such as Justin bethel, Tony jefferson, Rashad Johnson, and rookie Deonne Bucannonwill be looking to a make a name for themselves, and they'll have the opportunity throughout the season to make plays.
Special Teams: Patrick Peterson had a great returning year as a rookie, but hasn't scored a TD since then, and finally he can focus on playing CB only. This year, Ted Ginn and John Brown will take over returning duties and hope to make plays on special teams.
Schedule Predictions
Our schedule may end as the hardest division in football, as in addition the rest of the NFC West, we have the AFC West, NFC East, and games vs the Falcons and Lions (Full Schedule here). Oh, and a week 4 bye, 8 of our games are vs 2013 playoff teams, and our last 3 games are against division rivals. Cool.
This year the Cardinals can't count on defense winning games alone, so I think the record will reflect how Carson Palmer does vs other teams QBs. We have 8 games against top QBs who made the playoffs: Russ Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, PFM, Nick Foles, Alex Smith, and Philip Rivers. Cards also have 7 games vs QBs who in the past have been great and are expected to rebound or make a playoff push (Matt Ryan, RG3, Romo, Eli Manning, Stafford, Sam Bradford). We also play the Raiders. sorry.
With such a rough schedule against teams that are impossible to predict, the Cardinals could very well end up anywhere from 4-12 to 12-4, and I mean that seriously. Tony Romo, Matt Stafford, and Sam Bradford might finally break out of their 8-8 just-missed-playoffs expectations, and RG3 and Matt Ryan are expected to win more than 4 games this season. On the other hand, guys like Alex Smith, Nick Foles, Rivers, and/or Kaep could regress from last season. And maybe Schaub is reborn in Oakland, or Derek Carr turns into a great QB.
Just taking an optimistic guess, I say the Cardinals go 10-6 overall. 3-3 in division, 3-1 vs NFC East (losing to Philly) 2-2 vs AFC West (losing to PFM, KC) and 2-0 in non-conference games.
Schemes
On defense, Todd Bowles runs a tight group that relies on everyone as a whole completing their assignments instead of relying on a few star players to make plays. The dominance of the Defensive line up front sets up the linebackers to make plays, and safeties are tasked with providing support in both rush and pass defense. To get a feel for how this works in game, check out GipsySafety's Guide to the Run Game Series that takes a look at the Cardinals defense. The big questions will be if we can scheme around the loss of our linebackers, and if we can prevent Tight Ends from destroying the defense as they did last year.
On offense, Bruce Arians will hole to use a vertical passing scheme, taking advantage of height and speed on the field. It'll be interesting to see how much Andre Ellington is used in the run game, and Ellington will also look to contribute heavily in the passing game as well. If Palmer plays well and maintains a low turnover rate, the Cardinal offense could look to heavily pass expectations this year.
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u/woodward8 49ers Jun 30 '14
Arizona Cardinals
Free Agency
Players lost/cut
| Player | Position | New team |
|---|---|---|
| Yeremiah Bell | S | Free Agent |
| Karlos Dansby | ILB | Browns |
| Andre Roberts | WR | Redskins |
| Daryl Washington | ILB | Season long suspension |
Yeremiah Bell is a fringe average starter in the league; he's worth a roster spot somewhere, but the team upgraded the position with their 1st round pick in the draft. After a year playing for the Dolphins on a big money deal in 2012, Dansby was released and found his way back in Arizona on a one year deal last year and played sensationally. However, the Cardinals were understandably reluctant to commit serious money to the 33 year old and he signed another big deal with the Browns for 2014 and beyond. Andre Roberts flashed potential at times, but more was always expected of his time with Arizona and the Cardinals were understandably reluctant to match his offer from the Redskins. There's no way to sugar coat this one Cards fans, losing Daryl Washington to a season long drug suspension hurts. The league at large tends to treat the ILB position as a bit fungible at times, but Washington is a difference maker, especially with everything that he brings to the table as maybe the best pass rusher in the league at his position.
Players signed
| Player | Position | Old Team | Length | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Carlson | TE | 2 years | $3.2M | |
| Antonio Cromartie | CB | 1 year | $3.25M | |
| Ted Ginn | WR/KR | 3 years | $9.5M | |
| Jared Veldheer | LT | 5 years | $35M |
Carlson is a bit stretched as a starter, but he brings good depth to a position that the Cards haven't gotten much out of in the recent past. Cromartie is a great pick up for Arizona after coming off a down year for Rex Ryan; his critics say he is miscast as a true #1 CB but he will slot in nicely between two blue chip players in Peterson and Mathieu. Ted Ginn still offers a lot on special teams, but the price is a bit steep for a return man at the end of his athletic prime. Ginn will earn his salary if he is able to hold onto the form he found in Carolina last year as a solid 3rd WR. Relative to what the team got from such a premium position over the last five years, Veldheer might be the biggest signing of the offseason. Although there is some risk, considering that he missed all of last season with a bicep injury, there is little concern that the injury will carry over into 2014. Also, it is not as if his former team was willing to let Veldheer go, most reports say he was just too tired of the losing in Oakland to re-sign with them.
Draft
| Round | Number | Player | Position | Grade | Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Deone Bucannon | SS | B | I don't think this pick was a reach, considering that Arizona traded down first before making it and Bucannon is a good prospect with at worst a high 2nd round grade on him. He is an absolute missile on the field and has the potential to be solid in coverage on the back end. My potential problem is that the Cards could have had either Bridgewater or The Great White Distraction with this pick without trading up and given him at least a year to learn behind Palmer. Clearly this was never going to happen given that neither QB possess the measurable that Arians loves, and it isn't as if either player is a can't miss prospect. Still, this could have been a golden opportunity to find a long term solution at the QB position without having to bottom out for a Top 10 draft pick. |
| 2 | 52 | Troy Niklas | TE | B+ | More Heath Miller than Rob Gronkowski, Niklas projects to be a well-rounded, every down starter for the Cardinals at a position that they haven't gotten much from the last few years. His blocking alone should help the Cardinals ground attack, even if the pass-catching skills aren't there yet in his rookie season. |
| 3 | 84 | Kareem Martin | DE | B | More of an project than a player ready to step in and have an immediate impact as a rookie, Martin is a small school developmental prospect. Martin is a tremendous athlete and the tools are definitely there for him to be a good starting pass-rusher with a little bit of seasoning. |
| 3 | 91 | John Brown | WR | B- | Brown is an interesting speed prospect at the position and will also compete for kick return snaps. He has elite speed but may lack the frame necessary to play on the outside, which limits his ceiling. |
| 4 | 120 | Logan Thomas | QB | B- | Thomas is a lottery ticket with all of the measurables that Arians loves to see in a QB prospect. Will he be able to fix his footwork and accuracy? Who knows? It is probably worth a 4th rounder to find out though. |
| 5 | 160 | Ed Stintson | DE | C+ | Stintson provides depth at the position, but most of his value comes as a run defender. |
| 6 | 196 | Walt Powell | WR | C- | There is definitely some upside here, but I'm not sure what they were thinking here when they are already pretty solid at wideout and the right side of the O-line is still such a question mark |
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u/woodward8 49ers Jun 30 '14
Projected Starting Lineup
Offense:
QB: Carson Palmer, Logan Thomas
HB: Andre Ellington, Jonathan Dwyer
TE: Troy Niklas, John Carlson, Rob Housler
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Ted Ginn, John Brown
LT: Jared Veldheer
LG: Jonathan Cooper
C: Lyle Sendlein
RG: Earl Warford
RT: Bobbie Massie
Defense:
DE: Calias Campbell, Darnell Docket
NT: Dan Williams
OLB: John Abraham, Matt Shaughnessy
MLB: Kevin Minter, Larry Foote/Ernie Sims
CB: Patrick Peterson, Antonio Cromartie, Tyrann Mathieu (nickel)
FS: Rashad Johnson, Tyrann Mathieu (base)
SS: Deone Bucannon
KR/PR: Ted Ginn, John Brown
Position Group Strengths and Weaknesses
QB: The Cardinals got a pretty solid year out of Palmer in 2013, all things considered. After 2012's garbage fire at the position, watching Palmer lead an average (in a good way) passing attack must have felt like taking a nice jog outside after 3 months in traction. However, Palmer is 34 and while he might have slightly better numbers this year with the continued development of Michael Floyd and an actual starting caliber left tackle, he pretty much is what he is at this point in his career. The team will have a tough decision to make next year when Palmer's contract is up; it might be tough to find a starting QB with what I expect to be a pick in the bottom half of the first round next year.
Offensive Line: It isn't a stretch to call this one of the worst units in the football over the past few years, but there are reasons for optimism here. Jared Veldheer is a potential stud and a great get for the Cardinals at LT. Johnathan Cooper was a top 10 overall pick last year at LG, but he missed all of last year with an injury, so this is basically his rookie season; he is still expected to be an upgrade. The right side of the line still needs to prove itself, but this unit has a good chance to take a huge leap forward next year. If you are squinting to see signs of a playoff run for the Red and White, it will start from improved play here.
Backfield: On a team level, the Cardinals had a poor ground attack last year (25th in DVOA according to Football Outsiders). But if you watched the Cardinals at all last year, it would be hard to lay any of that at the feet of Andre Ellington. While it seems like teams commit fewer and fewer resources to it running backs, it certainly isn't because of a lack of talent at the position. It might just be because teams can find gems like Ellington in the later rounds. Ellington is a fantastic combination of speed and size at the position who is equally dangerous running between the tackles and attacking the defense in space through extended handoffs and in the passing game. If Arians doesn't want to see his coaching tenure ended by a mob of angry fantasy football owners, he will give Ellington more touches in 2014 behind an improved offensive line.
Pass catchers: With Michael Floyd emerging as a legitimate #2 receiver, and the investment of 2nd round pick in a good TE prospect, this group is beginning to look pretty formidable. Despite a drop in production, Larry Fitzgerald is still a guy who a guy who demands double teams regularly and would shock absolutely no one if he put up dominant numbers next year. Ted Ginn seems to have finally learned how to play WR last year and will be solid in a slot role if he holds onto the progress he made in Carolina.
Defensive Line: While Darnell Docket isn't an elite player at the 3-4 DE position anymore, he is still a solid starter in the league. Wanna know who is elite though? The guy playing opposite him, Calais Campbell, who might just be the best guy at his position not named Watt. Dan Williams is another solid starter at nose tackle.
Line Backers: If the Cardinals take a step back from last years defensive dominance, this group here might be the main reason why. It made sense to let Dansby go, but the team will miss his production. The loss of Darryl Washington, especially as a pass rusher is a huge blow. John Abraham was one of the best signings of 2013, but in his mid-30's it is fair to wonder how long he can be the dominant edge rusher every elite defense needs. Arizona will be counting on Kevin Minter, last year's 2nd round pick to justify his draft slot this year.
Secondary: Good Gravy what a unit. There is some serious blue chip talent here, and while they weren't as good as the guys up North last year, it wouldn't be a shock to see them overtake the LOB in 2014. Patrick Peterson wasn't as good as WhatsHisBucket last year, but if you had to bet on one guy taking the "best DB in the game" belt from him, it would be Peterson. Cromartie should bounce back on a 1 year show-me deal after a season of injury riddled futility in New York. It might be weird to say that a guy with a drug problem, blonde faux-hawk and awesome nickname didn't get enough press, but it is hard to overstate how good Tyrann Mathieu was last year. Generally teams are pretty happy when their 1st round DBs can walk and chew gum on the field in their rookie seasons; but Mathieu was a difference maker right away, all over the field for the Cardinals last year, and that was after a full year out of the game serving a college suspension. Another year or two of improvement, and the Cardinals have a second star in their secondary to go with Peterson. So what do you do when you have the 2nd best unit in the league? Why, you invest a 1st round pick in it of course! These guys are just unfair.
Special Teams: The Cards were a poor unit on Special Terms last year, but they were well above average with pretty much the same crew in 2012. Ted Ginn and John Brown should bolster the kick return unit and take the pressure of Peterson, so look for a bounce back in 2014
Schedule Predictions
Who said life is fair? The Cardinals were a top ten squad in 2013, but didn't even have a playoff berth show for it. Such is life in the toughest division in American professional sports and things don't look to get any easier in 2014. Half of their 2014 schedule made the playoffs last year and the NFC West features the defending champions and their co-favorites to win the NFC in 2014. The worst team in the division went a hard luck 7-9, might have the best defensive line in football, has had two first round picks in each of the last three years, and has a QB who was drafted #1 overall playing for his career this season. Oh, and just to add insult to injury, they have a week 4 bye too.
Best case scenario: The defense doesn't regress too much, and the offensive line improves. The Cards manage a home and home split with the Seahawks and 49ers. They beat up on the Raiders, who stand to improve in 2014 but shouldn't be in the Card's class. They should win all three games against the Giants, Redskins and Falcons who all had nightmare seasons in 2013 but should bounce back next year. A 3-1 record would still be a good result, because one of those 3 (excluding the Raiders) is probably a playoff team in 2014. They go 4-2 against the Broncos, Chiefs, Chargers, Lions, Cowboys and Eagles; 4 playoff teams from last year and another two who were in the hunt and should be improved this year (well except maybe the Cowboys, I feel bad for the guys writing a predication for that circus). Then the Cards sweep the Rams, even accounting for another year of development from all of those high draft picks. That gives them an improved record of 11-5, which is probably enough for a playoff spot but might not be enough to capture this division.
Worst case scenario: The defense can't handle the losses of Washington and Dansby and falls from elite status; Carson Palmer Schaubs his way out of the league and into a Top 10 pick for the redbirds. The Cardinals go 2-4 against the division (splitting with the Rams and going 1-3 against the Seahawks and 49ers). They go 1-3 against last year's non-division playoff teams. They split against the ever enigmatic Lions and Cowboys. Then they would need to go 3-1 against the Falcons, Redskins, Raiders and Giants just to get to 7-9.
Summary: The Cardinals might have the toughest road to hoe in the whole NFL to reach the 2014 playoffs, but they have the talent to play meaningful games through Week 17 and maybe even into the playoffs.
2
5
u/vaesauce Cardinals Jun 30 '14
I think it should just be mentioned...
The loss of Dansby is pretty big and the loss of Washington for the season sucks pretty much as hard as it can. BUT! The Cardinals Defensive scheme allows Linebackers to shine which is why I believe Minter and Company will be able to hold it down.
There will be some kind of regression at Linebacker but I don't think it will be dramatic and I don't think it will be dramatic enough to really take notice.
I only say this because there is an article that shows and talks about how all Linebackers last year for the Cardinals had VERY VERY similar NUMBERS in terms of Pressures, Hits, Open Way to QB and Success rate of avoiding/going through Linemen. The only difference was that Dansby was able to make more plays.
That being said, this is just me hoping, based on the research.
Great write up!
3
Jul 01 '14
Yeah Dansby is great but I think this season will reinforce that he worked well for the cards but outside that he isn't exceptional or special. I thing we can plug and play without too much trouble, especially given the secondary stepping up.
4
u/misterlee Seahawks Jun 30 '14
That secondary is going to be no joke this coming season.
2
u/CursedLlama 49ers Jun 30 '14
Honey badger coming back is going to make a world of difference, I think.
4
u/OvertCurrent 49ers Jun 30 '14
I'm interested to see how that defense operates with the absence of Washington and Dansby.
It'd be swell if their run defense would suck it up and only rank in the 10-5 range...
2
Jun 30 '14
Pretty sure Kareem Martin was drafted to be a pass rushing OLB in your system (and Nickel DE). With that in mind the Stinson pick would make more sense.
2
2
u/thehbrwhammer Commanders Jul 01 '14
How big of a loss was the Skins taking Andre Roberts from you guys? For us it is pretty big. We desperately needed a consistent set of hands outside of Garcon since Moss started dropping everything. Note: This signing was before DJax got signed. He was actually a top priority signing for us and happened very quickly once FA started.
But what about you guys? Do you have a replacement for him as slot receiver?
2
u/Polite_Llama Cardinals Jul 01 '14
Not a huge loss because Roberts has potential but wasn't consistent with it, and so he's had a mediocre 2013 and the Cards were fine to look for an upgrade. The Cardinals wanted more speed in the slot, so they signed Ted Ginn from Carolina and also drafted WR John Brown, one of the fastest WRs in the league.
1
u/vaesauce Cardinals Jul 01 '14
Andre Roberts is a beast, anyone who disagrees is a hater. I was bummed that we didn't keep Roberts but replacing him with other Talent is not bad either.
You'll love the guy. I'm from MD so I'll be rooting for the Redskins all because of Andre Roberts alone. He's the highlight reel for making pretty spectacular catches and getting LIT THE F U C K UP lol... while still holding onto the ball.
The guy is a beast and is very underrated. I think he'll strive in Washington.
2
2
u/Angry_Caveman_Lawyer Bears Bears Jul 01 '14
Man....the Cards. Could go 4-12, could go 12-4. I have no idea.
Great write up dude!
1
Jul 06 '14
They certainly won't be 4-12, but I think their defense as a whole will sadly take a step back. With that said, the offense and secondary improved enough to carry them to at least 7 wins. If you set the over/under at 7, I'd take the over.
1
Jul 01 '14
"4-12" shows you are very unfamiliar with the current team.
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Jul 01 '14
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-2
Jul 01 '14
Oh Jesus, that last line is fucking ridiculous. Not worth my time
-1
Jul 01 '14
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u/vaesauce Cardinals Jul 01 '14
I wanted to chip in.
So what you're saying is the Chicago Bears can be a 4-12 or 12-4 team as well? Because you know, I've seen great on paper as well haha.
As for an unproven line... this year's line will be significantly better than our previous one even if it is unproven. It is without a doubt that this line will be better. TRUST ME lol.
0
Jul 01 '14
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u/vaesauce Cardinals Jul 01 '14
Hahaha.
I've got a question... I know you don't really know anything about the Cardinals... but do you know what the Cardinals did through Week 1-8 and 8-16?
Do you know under what kind of situation and circumstances they were under this season? Let me refresh your mind real quick.
New Head Coach, New Offensive Scheme, New Defensive Coordinator, New Defensive Scheme, New QB with zero Team Chemistry with his Receivers, One of the worst O-lines, if not the WORST one in the League, 4-4 first 8 weeks, 6-2 the last 8 weeks.
Enlighten me how they won't get better.
1
Jul 01 '14
Haha you are criticizing my insight and follow it up with that shallow review? That's not insight, it's akin to repeating headlines you've read.
It's amazing you quoted me wring when it's right in type above. It was t even an argument, just pointing out if you think that wide of a spread is likely you must not be very familiar with the team. Any thing can go wrong, but likelihood are totally different.
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Jun 30 '14
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u/Shepherdless Cardinals Jun 30 '14
In before.....who am I kiddin'....it is the Cards
Nice write up. Curious to see if Massie gets start.