Cardinals’ Offensive Personnel 2007: The Winners Are?
June 9, 2007 by Walter Mitchell
Here is a look at the Cardinal players who will, through the course of time, rise to the top of the depth charts in 2007. Ken Whisenhunt has stressed competition, and as a new head coach presented with the formidible task of turning a perennial loser into a winner, has committed himself to finding the players who will give his team the best chances to win. When the dust settles, here are the birds who will soar to new heights.
Quarterback:
7 Matt Leinart—potentially elite player who is adept at orchestrating scoring drives. Has already garnered the respect of his coaches and teammates…and has eagerly placed the fortunes of the offense on his left shoulder.
Reserves: 13 Kurt Warner—affable veteran who needs to prove he can still win in the NFL if and when called upon. 9 Shane Boyd—gifted athlete who knows the system—ideal scout team QB due to strong arm and running ability.
Practice squad candidate: 12 Toby Korrodi—strong armed rookie who will have ideal mentoring and a possible future in Arizona.
Running Back:
31 Marcel Shipp—hard running, no nonsense player who is the consummate grinder. Is now running at 100% and fits Whiz’s system the best of any RB on the roster due to his straight ahead, lower-the-shoulder style. Not a blazer…but brings superior toughness and attitude to the position.
Reserves: 32-Edgerrin James—mutli-talented RB who needs to alter his style to fit into the new system. The transition will not be easy. He will be the starter…but Shipp will share the load and may wind up making a stronger impact, particularly in crunch time. 28 J.J. Arrington—will continue to show marked improvement by making a splash on special teams and as a change-of-pace and third down back. This year he will show a nose for the end zone.
Practice squad candidate: 33 Steve Baylark—hard runner, gutsy, high desire player who will endear the coaches the way Shipp did as a rookie from UMass.
Fullback:
46 Tim Castille—can do it all…spring the RB with jarring lead, iso blocks and convert short yardage conversions as a tough, slippery inside runner, particularly in the red zone.
Reserve: 36 Roshon Vercher—will make this team as a special teams dynamo and explosive short yardage blocker.
The two rookies will be too good to pass up, which likely means that Terrelle Smith, a good, but aging FB, will be hooking up with another team come late August or early September.
Practice Squad candidate: 34 Brandon Snow. Has strong potential and will battle the other two right to the wire.
Tight End:
83 Troy Bienemann—one of the major surprises in training camp. Emerges as a reliable blocker and athletic, sure handed receiver. Will share time with 82 Leonard Pope whose progress will remain slower than anticipated for the first half of the season…then Pope will make a name for himself down the stretch.
Reserve: 89 Ben Patrick—will need some time to work his way into the offense, but will show flashes of excellence in practices and eventually in games.
Left Tackle:
69 Mike Gandy—will be solid and steady, a little prone to getting beat by quicker rush DEs, but Leinart will be able to see the pressure and react.
Reserve: Oliver Ross—will be called upon in case of injury, although his salary may be an issue come final cuts.
Left Guard:
74 Reggie Wells—he will be a surprise this year thanks to Russ Grimm’s coaching and a scheme that favors Wells’ athleticism.
Reserve: 65 Brian Johnson. Tough-nosed LSU Tiger will make this team and contribute immediately on special teams.
Practice Squad Candidate: Jon Hameister-Reis—the coaches will like his size and skills.
Center:
60 Nick Leckey—there are good reasons why he emerges as the starter each year—-he’s instinctive, savvy and offers much needed leadership.
Reserve: 50 Al Johnson—will likely start the season, but will have to play very well to stave off Leckey. When Leckey emerges Johnson may be switched over to guard if help is needed there.
Practice Squad Candidate: 63 Lyle Sendlein—local kid who plays hard but needs grooming.
Right Guard: 76 Deuce Lutui—will make a formidible blocking tandem with on the right side with Levi Brown and, get this—-will make the Pro Bowl as an alternate this year.
Reserve: 61 Elton Brown—has already begun to improve his stock by shedding 40 pounds…has the feet coaches like in a player his size, particlarly in this new scheme.
Practice Squad Candidate: 64 T.J. Downing—strong competitor who will make his practice squad case in pre-season.
Right Tackle: 75 Levi Brown—-will start to feel comfortable at RT early in camp due to strong coaching and chemistry with Deuce. Will make steady improvement in pass protection throughout the season. But, will run block better than any tackle we’ve seen in Arizona in years.
Reserve: 79 Oliver Ross—-talked about earlier.
Practice Squad Candidate: 68 Elliot Vallejo—good athlete who needs coaching and improved strength.
Flanker (Slot WR): 81 Anquan Boldin—-back where he belongs and loving every minute of it—will be the MVP of the offense and will make his 3rd Pro Bowl in four years.
Reserves: 15 Michael Spurlock—will share time with Steve Breaston as punt returner and will be a main middle of the field threat out of the slot opposite Boldin in 4 WR sets. 87 Sean Morey—special teams’ ace, potential Pro Bowler on special teams. 18 Steve Breaston—will show promise as a punt retruner and will develop as a slot WR in time.
Wide Receiver: 11 Larry Fitzgerald—may not catch as many balls this year, but his receptions will be clutch and timely, particularly in the red zone.
Reserves: 80 Bryant Johnson—will be used to exploit mismatches in nickel and dime coverages—will have a big year—and will love the new system so much he will re-sign with Arizona this off-season. 19 LeRon McCoy—will be in a struggle to make the team, but, due to talent, cannot be counted out—is good insurance should there be an injury or two.
Practice Squad Candidate: 14 Todd Watkins—coaches love his speed, the question is how much stronger he needs to become to make it as an NFL WR. 17 Matt Trannon—may be converted to TE due to size and strength, but lack of true perimeter speed.
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Shipp being better than edge this year? I had to stop right there, I don’t know what you’ve been drinkin. We all love underdogs obviously but thats just not gonna happen.
BRR: Marcel Shipp is the most undervalued, under-estimated player on this roster and he will make believers out of everyone, once and for all, this year.
Don’t know enough to comment on most of it, just on four items:
1. Completely agree with you on the RBs. You nailed it. And Edge will be released next year.
2. Mike Gandy is not a tackle. He is a decent guard but is too slow to do any pulling and running.
3, Right on target again with Nick Leckey and Al Johnson.
4. Disagree on Bryant Johnson. He will hardly ever be on the field this year. The days of three WR spreads are over here.
Mitch, why do you think Wells will excel at guard? Don’t Whiz and Grimm want to establish a smash mouth running game that requires strong push in the middle which is opposite to what Wells can do?
I have to completely disagree with FB – Smith not making the team at all. He is proven, doesnt cost much, and they have already paid him a bonus which will go completely down the drain without any returns.
As much as everyone wants Leckey to start myself included who thinks he should still be the starter until Johnson beats him for it, and as much as the coaches talk about playing the best players, I just dont think they can get past the fact that Johnson would be making 7 Mill to sit on the bench. His price tag also tells me that they really didnt like what they saw from Leckey on tape when in concerns fitting their scheme.
I think you are pretty on the money with the WR’s except you have 7 of them on your roster. McCoy at this time is the odd man out, with Fitz, Boldin, BJ, Morey, Breaston, and Spurlock.
I understand why Wells is at LG and think it is a good idea if Grimms scheme is explained to us right. What I want to know is just how much will Wells be on the move to block on pulls and such. Is he really going to be on the move that often? And on pass protection he will not be on the move which means he will have to block one on one with much stronger players then he is which completely plays into the D’s hands, especially since Gandy will need some help in pass pro. himself.
As for the RB’s. I dont think anyone can say what Wiz run schemes are. I think his run schemes are based on what RB’s he has. He has called plays for the powerful Bus, he has called plays for the speedy Willie Parker. Case in point for parker last year Wiz called 52% of his run plays off tackle or further outside, 48% were in between the tackles. I am also not so sure why Edge has the label that he does and why people dont think he can run another style. He switched his style of run the last 8 games last year when we abandoned the more stretch and zone style of blocking, and did very, very well. It wasnt a hard switch for him and he can lower his shoulder and get extra yards with the best of them. Also people have stated that he doesnt like running behind a FB. This is a media urban legend becuase Edge has never said such a thing, in fact he ran mostly behind a FB in college and was succesfull with it and has also stated this year when we signed Smith that he doesnt have a problem with it as long as he is opening up some holes and becuase he has played behind a FB in the past. now Shipp will get his carries, and I also think JJ wil get his playing time as well, but I have no doubt that Edge will be the starter and be the RB to get 300+ carries on this team.
If Johnson winds up as a backup to Leckey, Graves it will be the worst free agent signing in the history of this franchise. And that’s saying something!
I just can’t see what you see with Shipp. He has no advantage over James as a back.
I also think guys who were fringe players with Green, like Spurlock and McCoy are not likely to make it.
az1965: I prefer Wells at tackle…but…the closer I look at Russ Grimm’s schemes the more I realize that Wells, by virtue of his feet, is the kind of player Grimm wants at guard. I expect Wells to be a nice surprise because Grimm will teach Wells how to create blocking angles, proper pad levels and leverege techniques…all set up by proper footwork (which is Wells’ strength).
Joe…Terrelle Smith has to be head and shoulders better than Castille and Vercher (and Snow) to make the team. If the competition is close, expect the rookies to stick…plus they would likely be more effective on special teams. For some reason it seems the Cardinals have been a little dubious about Smith from the get-go. Bringing in three UCFA FBs was no coincidence.
AJ: Spurlock is actually more of a Whiz-type slot WR in the mold of Randle-El…which is why his chances of making this team are even better than what they might have been had Green stayed on. Spurlock is a keeper. You will see.
As for McCoy, this kid has talent as we saw when he was making good plays down the stretch of his rookie year. The questions are…is he injury prone?…has he regressed after a year on the IR?…is the WR field too crowded for him at this point?
If the competition is close with the FB’s then why would the rookies have an advantage over Smith. It wouldnt be a cap issue becuase cutting Smith and keeping 1 or 2 of the rookies will acutallly cost as much as keeping Smith and 1 rookie, after you take into account his bonus. Smith was also brought in by someone who already has a lot of knowledge about him Maurice Carthon our RB coach.
Why would any of the 3 UDFA’s be likely more effecive on Special Teams. Do any of them have more experiance on special teams. Is Smith not willing to play special teams. I know that Smith is a really, really good kickoff return blocker and has done that every single year he has been in the league.
As for bringing in 3 UDFA FB’s doesnt mean anything dubious at all. If they didnt like Smith then they wouldnt have signed him to a contract. Also 3 days worth of practices of no hitting right before the draft is not time for the coaches to regret their decision. The signings is just a case of not overworking any one player during mini camps and training camps when they will be working on a lot of FB stuff since we havent used for so long. Its the same reason why brought in more UDFA safeties when they dont have a shot in heck to get into the top 4 safeties we have now.
I think this is just a case of you rooting for the underdog or rooting for the UDFA like you normally do. And there is not anything wrong that.
Wow! Enlightened opinions for a change. So much more educating than the junk I read on AZCentral. Thanks for the reasoned commentary, gents. GO CARDS!
Walter says: “I prefer Wells at tackle…but…<B>the closer I look at Russ Grimm’s schemes</B> the more I realize that Wells, by virtue of his feet, is the kind of player Grimm wants at guard.”
What schemes are you looking at, exactly? Grimm hasn’t coached a down in Arizona. Are we to believe that you taped Pittsburg games all season long just in case we fired Denny and hired a Steeler coach as a replacement?