2010 Preview:

Hopefully Cardinals fans enjoyed their 2 years of playoffs, because it looks like they’ll be back to mediocrity this year. Kurt Warner was far and away the biggest reason why they had success in the past few years and now he’s retired and Matt Leinart, who was their quarterback when they weren’t very good, is back as the starter. Leinart was 274 for 489 for 3294 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 16 picks in his first two years as Arizona’s starter. That’s with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin at his disposal. Now Boldin is gone. Derek Anderson will compete with him for the starting job, but he absolutely stunk in Cleveland last year. Poor quarterback play was the reason why they stunk earlier this decade and, in what should be a very unsettling fact for Cardinals fans, they once again should have poor quarterback play.

Matt Leinart could have a bounce back year this year thanks to some time on the bench. We’ve seen it before, namely with Vince Young and Alex Smith last year. However, Leinart has been 66 for 106 for 699 yards, 1 touchdown, and 4 picks in limited action since getting benched. That’s not promising. Neither is the fact that the Cardinals, who have had a first hand look at Leinart this offseason, signed Derek Anderson, drafted John Skelton, and considered signing Marc Bulger. That’s not something a team sold on their quarterback as the guy who can take them to the playoffs does.

Now, Warner isn’t the only loss they had this offseason, just their most important. They also lost Boldin, as I mentioned. Cutting Antrel Rolle and replacing him with Kerry Rhodes also will hurt a bit. Same with the loss of Karlos Dansby, who was replaced with 2^nd round pick Daryl Washington. Washington is a 228 pound linebacker who will have trouble fitting their base 3-4 scheme, should they continue transitioning to that scheme. None of those losses will hurt as much as the loss of Warner, but none of them help them at all either.

Projection: 5-11 3rd in NFC West

Power Ranking: 25 

Last season: 10-6 

Draft:

#26 NT Dan Williams (Tennessee)

This pick is a solid pick, if, and only if, Matt Leinart or Derek Anderson are the answer at quarterback. If not, they’ll regret passing on Jimmy Clausen. Still, Williams fills a major need at nose tackle and is a good value. They were a nose tackle away from having a true 3-4 and they could have a very solid defense next year as Williams was the most complete nose tackle in this draft class. Unlike most nose tackles, he’ll be able to play most downs and doesn’t have bad stamina.

Grade: B-

#47 MLB Daryl Washington (TCU)

The Cardinals had a perfect opportunity here, after trading up, to take Jimmy Clausen and still have Dan Williams. However, the completely blew it. Washington is a solid player, but he’s not a good fit for a 3-4 and I don’t like the decision to move up for him.

Grade: D

#88 WR Andre Roberts (Citadel)

Many people in the know have pegged Roberts as a sleeper, as he only dropped 6 passes in his college career and held his own at Senior Bowl week with the best of the best. However, the Cardinals already were three deep at receiver with Fitzgerald, Breaston, and Doucet.

Grade: B-

#130 RLB O’Brien Schofield (Wisconsin)

They probably could have gotten Schofield a little later, but I don’t know that for a fact. However, Schofield is a great pick for them. He was a very good pass rusher in his college career and was one of the league leaders in sacks last year. He’ll have to learn a new position and he had a nasty injury in Senior Bowl week, but he did alright with a new position at the Shrine Game and the Cardinals, with 3 decent pass rushers on the roster already, don’t need Schofield right away. Schofield probably will be able to step in as a starter across from Cody Brown in 2011 or 2012 and a future starter at this juncture is a steal in my book.

Grade: B

#155 QB John Skelton (Fordham)

I wanted them to take Clausen earlier, because he could have been a week 1 starter for them, but I’m so glad they didn’t take a quarterback in the 3^rd round range. Matt Leinart isn’t very good, but he’s also not mentally tough and if he senses his team doesn’t have faith in him, as bringing in a 3^rd round quarterback would suggest, he could lose confidence again and that’ll be bad. Skelton was drafted late enough that Leinart will only see him as a backup and he has good upside in the future. Skelton’s arm fits their downfield offense very well.

Grade: A

#201 CB Jorrick Calvin (Troy)

I hadn’t heard of Calvin before Draft Day and, in my mind, that makes him a reach, though he does fill a position of need.

Grade: D

#223 TE Jim Dray (Stanford)

I would have liked for them to take a pass catching tight end, but Dray is a good blocker and I can’t say that wasn’t needed.

Grade: B-

Overall:

I think there is a good chance the Cardinals look back at this draft with regrets about not taking Jimmy Clausen at either 26 or 47, but if Matt Leinart, Derek Anderson, or John Skelton do pan out longterm as quarterbacks, they’ll have to be very happy getting talented guys like Washington, Williams, and Schofield out of their draft. Even though Washington doesn’t quite fit the scheme, I think he projects as a future starter which gives them at least 3 future starters in this draft. It greatly solidifies their defense as one of the fuller 3-4 defenses in the league and I think Roberts and Skelton give some upside on offense as well. I don’t like that they didn’t take a tackle. Their bookends couldn’t protect Kurt Warner last year and, if they planned on using Matt Leinart next year, it would have at least been a good idea to get him some better protection. Maybe a center who doesn’t step on his feet would have been nice too, as would a pass catching tight end.

Grade: B-

Key undrafted free agents

CB AJ Jefferson (Fresno State)

QB Max Hall (BYU)

WR Stephen Williams (Toledo)

Offseason needs:

Offensive Tackle:

Mike Gandy and Levi Brown each gave up 9 sacks and combined to give up 27 hits, and, 59 pressures and this is even though Gandy missed four starts with injury. Kurt Warner can handle that kind of pressure and not be too effected by it. Matt Leinart is not Kurt Warner. He is not as mentally tough. The Cardinals need to take at least one offensive tackle in the first two rounds and then one more. Trent Williams could be an option at 26.

Quarterback:

I don’t think Matt Leinart is going to work out at quarterback. However, if they take one in the first 3 rounds, it will hurt his development because he will lose confidence knowing the organization has lost confidence in him. They need to go big or go home with this one. They either need to draft a quarterback in the first round, which would likely require a reach, or trade their first rounder for a guy like Donovan McNabb and bench Leinart, or they need to wait until after the 3^rd to take a quarterback, a backup, a fall back plan, and pretend to be confident in Leinart’s abilities. Either way requires them to get a quarterback, it’s just a matter of how much they actually do believe in Leinart. Do they take someone like Tony Pike in the first or trade for McNabb or try to get Jason Campbell from the Redskins, or do they wait for someone like Bill Stull or Jarrett Brown and use them as backup/fall back.

Signed Derek Anderson, Drafted John Skelton (#155) 

Tight End:

If they choose to go with Leinart, it’d be wise to continue building the offense around him. That would require an upgrade at tight end, a true pass catching tight end to help Leinart when in trouble. They should target one in the first 3 rounds.

Drafted Jim Dray (#233) 

Middle Linebacker:

Karlos Dansby is a free agent and, after being franchised twice, he probably is not going to want to come back. Even if he does, Gerald Hayes next to him could be upgraded. If Dansby doesn’t resign, look for them to possibly target Sean Weatherspoon or Brandon Spikes in the 1^st round.

Signed Paris Lenon, Drafted Daryl Washington (#47) 

Nose Tackle:

If the Cardinals got a true nose tackle on their roster, they could switch full time to a 3-4, which would help their defense because their personnel is better suited for it. Terrence Cody is a dark horse at 26 in the first. If he isn’t taken, they’ll look at Cam Thomas in the 2^nd and Linval Joseph in the 3^rd.

Drafted Dan Williams (#26) 

Rush Linebacker:

The Cardinals had 43 sacks last year, but most of that came from their defensive line and if they switch full time to a 3-4, which they should, they’ll need to get more pressure from their linebackers. Their rush linebacker leader in sacks, Bert Berry, has retired and both Clark Haggans, and Chike Okeafor, who finished with 5 and 4.5 respectively, are going to be 33 and 34 respectively next season. Even if Cody Brown, a 2009 2^nd round pick who missed all year with injury, pans out, they’ll need a rush linebacker of the future opposite him.

Signed Joey Porter, Drafted O’Brien Schofield (#130) 

Safety:

Adrian Wilson could be cut this offseason for financial reasons or possibly traded if they can find a suitor. His name was part of a rumored Donovan McNabb deal. If he’s not in Arizona next year, they’ll need a replacement.

Traded for Kerry Rhodes 

Cornerback:

Bryant McFadden could be upgraded and even if they choose not to upgrade him, depth is very clearly needed.

Drafted Jorrick Calvin (#201) 

Center

Lyle Sendlein did a good job of not stepping on Kurt Warner’s foot repeatedly so he’s probably not going to hurt the quarterback anymore, but with 28 QB pressures allowed in 2 years, he’s certainly not going to help. Part of making sure Matt Leinart is comfortable next year includes making sure the guy snapping him the ball doesn’t step on him and/or let some big guy hit him in the face.

 

Free agents:

FB Justin Green (restricted)

WR Jerheme Urban (restricted)- not tendered, signed with Chiefs

WR Steve Breaston (restricted)- resigned 1 year 2.3 million

TE Ben Patrick (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.6 million

TE Stephen Spach (restricted)- resigned 1 year

OT Mike Gandy

OT Jeremy Bridges- resigned 3 years

G Deuce Lutui (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million

C Lyle Sendlein (exclusive rights)- resigned 1 year 1.6 million

C Ben Claxton (restricted)- resigned 1 year

3-4 DE Justin Banks (exclusive rights)

3-4 DE Keilen Dykes (exclusive rights)

NT Gabe Watson (restricted)- 1 year 1.8 million

#3 MLB Karlos Dansby- signed with Dolphins 5 years 43 million

Unlike most of the unrestricted free agents on the market, Dansby is young. He doesn’t turn 29 until November. He has made an impact in Arizona every year of his career and has three straight years of 90 tackles or more. He has experience in both a 3-4 and a 4-3 and has the size and skill set to fit both.

CB Michael Adams (exclusive rights)- resigned 1 year

S Antrel Rolle- signed with Giants 5 years 37 million 

S Hazma Abdullah (restricted)- resigned

K Neil Rackers- signed with Texans 2 years 4.2 million

# refers to unrestricted free agent rank

Offseason moves:

Cardinals re-sign G Deuce Lutui

Cardinals sign CB Justin Miller

Cardinals sign G Alan Faneca 

Cardinals sign K Jay Feely

Cardinals re-sign WR Steve Breaston

Cardinals re-sign NT Gabe Watson

Cardinals re-sign C Lyle Sendlein

Cardinals re-sign CB Michael Adams

Cardinals re-sign TE Ben Patrick

Cardinals re-sign S Hamza Abdullah

Cardinals sign RLB Joey Porter 

Cardinals sign QB Derek Anderson

Cardinals sign MLB Paris Lenon

Cardinals sign G Rex Hadnot

Cardinals re-sign C Ben Claxton

Cardinals re-sign OT Jeremy Bridges

Cardinals re-sign TE Stephen Spach

Cardinals re-sign TE Anthony Becht

Cardinals acquire FS Kerry Rhodes from Jets for 2010 4th-rounder and 2011 7th-rounder

Cardinals trade WR Anquan Boldin and 2010 5th-rounder to Ravens for 2010 3rd-, 4th-rounders

Cardinals cut S Antrel Rolle

Cardinals tender CB Michael Adams

Cardinals tender NT Gabe Watson

Cardinals tender WR Steve Breaston

Cardinals tender G Deuce Lutui

Cardinals tender C Lyle Sendlein

Cardinals tender TE Ben Patrick