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 

 

The Giants certainly need safety help. None of their safeties could tackle at all last year and they gave up no many big plays both through the air and on the ground. However, Rolle is now the highest paid safety in NFL history after the Giants gave him 5 years 37 million. Rolle is an above average safety, but not greatest safety in NFL history.

Grade: C+

By Matthew Frank

New safety Antrel Rolle criticized the Giants for a lackluster effort and game plan this past weekend.   Rolle wasn’t very specific, but generally indited the coaches for a creating an atmosphere with no passion and a game plan that did not attack the offense well enough. 

It’s hard to say that he is wrong, though publicly airing this early in the season might not be the best idea.  The Giants came out very flat all game, and the defensive plan was clearly picked apart by the Colts.  The first game the defense got bailed out by a bunch of end zone interceptions which are not going to happen very often against a veteran quarterback.  The Giants better figure out what is going on quickly or they may be in trouble this weekend against the Titans.

http://www.bigbluefootballreview.com/

 

This is technically a 2 year, 6.6 million dollar contract, but 5 million of that is in 2013 and non-guaranteed, so it’s essentially a 1 year, 1.6 million dollar deal. That’s a good deal for a solid, but aging defensive lineman. He’ll continue to split time with Cam Thomas.

Grade: A

 

Deal for Chargers:

So far this offseason the Chargers have gotten rid of LaDainian Tomlinson, Jamal Williams, and Antonio Cromartie, lost Brandon Manumeleuna, added no draft picks for 2010, and resigned their 175 pound “running back” for 7.7 million next year. I think they have to best having the worst offseason. Cromartie is a good player, regardless of his character issues and I think he is worth more than a future 3^rd.

Grade: C

Deal for Jets:

The Jets could possibly have the best pass defense in the league next year. They got themselves a good cornerback opposite Darrelle Revis, who can only make Cromartie better. If they use their first 2 picks on pass rushers (one D-Line, one linebacker), which this move allow them to do, they could be nearly impossible to pass against. If Cromartie doesn’t pan out. Then all they lost was a 2011 3^rd rounder.

Grade: A

 

Antonio Bryant has two seasons over 1000 or more receiving yards in his career, both in contract years. In the rest of his career, he has averaged less than 600 yards per season. He’s also coming off of a season plagued by leg injuries and he’s had problems with pretty much every coach he’s ever had. He’s also been suspended for a year in his career once before for falling a drug test. Is that the kind of guy you want to pay 28 million over 4 years to? That’s how much Anquan Boldin got in his extension for the Ravens. All the Bengals had to do was give up that much money and two mid round picks and they could have gotten Boldin, a much more talented high character guy. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the last thing the Bengals needed was to give another low character guy a longterm deal.

Grade: C-

 

Running Back/Full Back

Mississippi State

6-1 233

40 time: 4.65

Draft board overall prospect rank: #70

Draft board running back rank: #7

Overall rating: 74*

1/17/10: Not the most mobile guy, but he’s agile for his large frame, 240 pounds, and is a very strong and physical runner and he gets his pads down low to the ground when he runs unlike Toby Gerhart and should be able to be a decent running back at the next level and break tackles. However, he’s slower than Gerhart and doesn’t have much upside at all. In fact, one can argue that he ran the ball too much in college, 910 attempts in 4 years, and that will shorten his NFL career. He also has a DUI to his name and that is a bit of a red flag. He’ll be drafted in the 3^rdround range as a kind of, you know what your getting type guy. I don’t see him as a feature back at the next level.

            Anthony Dixon is being often compared to Toby Gerhart of Stanford this season because both are having amazing seasons and are big power backs that lack elite speed. I think, as a football player, Anthony Dixon is actually better than Heisman favorite Toby Gerhart. Dixon is a better pass protector, has better mobility, better hands, and a better college track record. However, he has more off the field troubles. He was arrested for DUI before this season, but was not suspended. When I heard, that, I thought that , coupled with a lack of elite speed, would make the former elite recruit a 6^th round prospect at best. Then he came out and had the best season of his career and flashed the potential to possibly be an every down back at the next level like Brandon Jacobs. I love players who perform consistently over multiple seasons. This entire season Dixon only rushed for less than 81 yards once and that was against Florida which makes it somewhat excusable, especially since he only got 15 carries in that contest. Dixon led Mississippi State in rushing not once, not twice, not three times, but in every single season in his college career. He has amassed almost 4000 rushing yards in his college career on 910 carries and 42 touchdowns. His use of hands in pass protection are elite for someone of his age and figure to improve as he matures. He also doesn’t fumble that often which is often a problem for young backs and he’s a good pass catcher for his size. If he can keep his off the field troubles away, he can be a nice backup, goal line back, and possibly a 3^rd down back. He also has the potential to be a feature back, which I don’t think Toby Gerhart has.

NFL Comparison: Michael Bush

*= For a breakdown of what this means, click here

 

Offensive Tackle

Rutgers

6-5 323

40 time: 5.35

Draft board overall prospect rank: #44

Draft board offensive tackle rank: #6

Overall rating: 79* 

3/15/10: How can I lower his stock if he didn’t do anything? Well simply that, he did nothing. He didn’t show up to his Pro Day, canceling at the last minute (Andre Smith anyone?). He needed to be in shape for his Pro Day after showing up out of shape to The Combine, but he didn’t even show up to the Pro Day, probably because he was even more out of shape. This show he lacks commitment (bailing at the last minute) and work ethic (being out of shape). Neither of those things are good for an offensive lineman. This guy might as well have BUST stamped across his forehead.

2/25/10: How does a 323 pound tackle bench 225 pounds a mere 21 times. There were already questions about his work ethic coming into this week and now the Andre Smith comparisons seem to be becoming more and more accurate. The upside is there, but is anything else?

1/19/10: He’s that Jason Peters type left tackle, overrated against the pass, but a huge mauler against the run. He’s only 20 years old and is still inexperienced at the left tackle position and has huge upside as a pass blocker, but right now the 330 pound tackle’s best attribute is his mauling run blocking and ability to use his large frame to his advantage. 

            6/29/09: Anthony Davis is a massive offensive lineman with huge potential. He’s a natural guard and an excellent run blocker, but Rutgers moved him over to offensive tackle because of his large size. He flawlessly made the transition to offensive tackle, using his long arms and strong upper body to protect Mike Teel, who led one of the Big East’s most electrifying offenses last season. He’s still very raw and struggles with the fundamentals at left tackle, but he’s the type of guy that coaches and GMs will take a chance on at the next level, with his high potential, and also knowing that he can play guard and probably right tackle if he doesn’t pan out at left. He’s a bit slow on his feet, which is expected because of his size. However, speed rushers can still blow past him. He doesn’t always play up to his size and he doesn’t always quite know how to use his size to his advantage. Still, the upside is there and with the way teams have been reaching for left tackles, Davis has a very good shot of going in the first round, assuming he continues to grow and learn the fundamentals of his new position as expected.

NFL Comparison: Andre Smith

*For a breakdown of what this means, click here

 

Bio: Anthony Brown is a lifelong Washington Redskins fan and 48-year season ticket holder. He has blogged about the Redskins since 2004 and now one of the talents behind Redskins Hog Heaven. Anthony reaches for a deeper understanding of Redskins performance, often challenging conventional wisdom of what’s going on with the team.

Anthony (Tony) Brown

Redskins Hog Haven

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