Blockbuster Trade Proposal
August 20, 2007 by Walter Mitchell
If there was one player in the Cardinal defense they could least afford to lose it was OLB/DE Chike Okeafor. Okeafor was the best playmaker in the front seven last year and was thriving at camp in his new role as a 3-4 OLB before he suffered what appears to be a season ending arm injury. The real problem now for the Cardinals is that the drop-off in talent and productivity from Okeafor to backups Calvin Pace and Darryl Blackstock is too significant to be ignored, especially if the Cardinals wish to contend for the NFC West title. Here is a six player trade proposal with the Baltimore Ravens that could make a world of sense.
The Arizona Cardinals trade WR Bryant Johnson, CB Antrel Rolle and OLB Darryl Blackstock to the Baltimore Ravens for DE/OLB Jarret Johnson, TE Quinn Sypniewski and CB Ronnie Prude.
Why the Deal makes sense for the Cardinals:
Jarret Johnson (6-3, 270, 5, Alabama) fills Okeafor’s void and gives the Cardinals an athletic and productive playmaker on the edge. Sypniewski (6-6, 270, 2, Colorado) is the blocking TE the Cardinals have been desperate to add, and Prude (5-11, 178, 2, LSU) is the nickel back they need.
Rumor has it that Bryant Johnson wants to sign with the Ravens next year anyway because he is good friends with several of the Ravens’ players. While the Cardinals hate to part with Johnson, he is a luxury as a #3 WR, and if he bolts as a UFA next year, the Cardinals would get nothing in return for him.
What would this do to the Cardinals depth at WR? Steve Breaston, who is having a very strong camp becomes the #3. Sean Morey, a special team’s ace and solid contributor at WR in camp thus far becomes the #4, and the Cardinals will decide on the #5 between LeRon McCoy, Todd Watkins, Michael Spurlock, Matt Trannon or Greg Lee.
It’s no mystery that CB Antrel Rolle has struggled in coverage. Perhaps a change of scenery and playing in a more aggressive scheme will do him good. As it is, Rolle is getting beat out of his starting job by Roderick Hood. The tantalizing thing here is that the Cardinals do not know how good of a strong safety Rolle could be (seemingly his natural position) because they have never tried him there. But, the Cardinals already have a Pro Bowler at strong safety in Adrian Wilson.
Blackstock is thrown into this deal because the Ravens would like some depth at OLB and the Cardinals now have their starter in Jarret Johnson.
Why the Deal Makes Sense for the Ravens:
They love rookie Antwan Barnes, so Jarret Johnson becomes expendable. Prescott Burgess is also making a splash in the system. They are going to use rookie Marshall Yanda as a blocking tight end in short yardage situations, and they already have two other good nickel backs in Corey Ivey and Evan Oglesby.
WR Derrick Mason is getting older and the backups for Mason and Mark Clayton are Demitrius Williams and Clarence Moore. To land Bryant Johnson in this deal is the key for them.
The Ravens also have been concerned about their CB Rolle…Samari…he’s getting a little long in the tooth, and they would love to get their hands on Antrel (no relation) and feel that a switch to RCB and playing in a system that features a savage pass rush will allow Antrel Rolle to play more aggressively.
Adding Blackstock, another OLB pass rusher is gravy.
Yes, the Cardinals give up two past first round draft picks in this deal, but neither one of them is going to start on this team.
The deal also gives the Cardinals added cap space, which may allow them to pursue other trades.
Posted in arizona cardinals, football
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It can make all the sense in the world, but it will never happen and seldom does in the NFL. I would make the trade, but with our luck Q or Fitz would get injured before Johnson got on the plane to leave for Baltimore.
Rest assured we will pick up 3 or 4 cast offs that get cut on the final day.
If we can get them to give us three promising players for three disappointments…..sure, make it happen.
You say it would create cap space for us. Do the Ravens have the cap space to do it? I’d like to see the cap breakdown if you have it.
All we’d have to do is put Ozzie Newsome in a burlap sack and throw him into Chesapeake Bay, because there’s no way he’d approve this deal.
According to Madden last night, Brian Billick isn’t worried about anything thus far into the preseason. The Ravens go to war with the players they have, and I’m not sure that they’d want to trade a guy that they felt comfortable with for a WR in the last year of his deal and a disappointing cornerback with a gargantuan contract.
The other idea is that if Rolle ends up working out in Baltimore, it’s another embarrassment for Rod Graves, who already allowed Baltimore to take Terrell Suggs while the Cards were stuck with Calvin Pace.
It would not bring us more cap space. In fact that trade would cost us 6.4 Mill towards our cap after all prorated bonuses are added, minus the base salaries of the players traded, plus the base salaries of the players traded for.
Any trade of Rolle and you have to add 5+ Mill in pro rated bonus that will count towards this season cap.
The only chance we have to be an 8-8 team this year is to employ the 3wr set.
Thanks for the cap report, Joe. I should have consulted you first.
Does anyone else feel a sense of desperation about Okeafor’s loss?
If the Cardinals cannot make a trade…I say put the eleven best defensive players on the field…have Antrel Rolle line up on the outside eye of the TE and have him pop the TE and fire into the backfield if TE blocks down…shadow the TE if he releases…and blitz like a madman from the edge on occasion.
Away from Rolle, have Bertrand Berry play the weakside edge and have him rush the edge every play (defending the run while rushing the passer, which is what great defenses do). Clog the middle with a trio of Branch-Watson-Cooper…play Hayes and Dansby inside…Hood and Green at the corners, Francisco or Holt at FS, and move SS Adrian Wilson around accordingly…line him up opposite the slot if the formation is twins away from the TE…and play man or zone out of it, with Wilson bringing the heat on select plays. Essentially this becomes a 4-4-3 defense, designed to put as much pressure on the QB as possible, while charging and stacking the middle.
I wouldn’t waste my time with Pace and Blackstock as OLBers (I’d have them back up Berry at weakside rusher).
That’s the best I can think of with the current personnel.
With a player like Jarret Johnson in the fold…there’d be other options for sure.
I’m not despondent about losing Chike, but that’s mostly because I didn’t really expect the defense to be that good. What I’m worried about is that this seems to give the Front 7 an excuse to suck, which isn’t good.
The biggest loss that Chike brings is the element of surprise. No one’s going to believe that Berry isn’t rushing the QB every down, so the only element that will change is whether he’s going to stunt (which may be the only upside of the two-point stance for him). With Chike, there was always the chance that he would rush (bringing a 5 man rush) or drop into coverage.
Joe’s mentioned elsewhere that the defense that the Cards are seeming to play on run downs is actually a 5-2-4. That’s an assessment that I agree with. Since this is the case, it’s reprehensible that this unit is getting the holes torn up the middle that we were seeing Saturday, and that we weren’t getting any push in the passing game, as well. We’ll see if Pendergast is able to brew something once the games start to count. I expect he will, but that potion is only going to last until the bye week. You can only scheme so much, and the front 7 is talent poor.
I can see us using a 3-3-5 alignment on obvious passing downs or against pass-happy teams, where Berry, Hayes, and Dansby are in two-point stances with Hood and Green on the corners. The Safeties would be Holt and Francisco, but you’d have Wilson and Rolle as rovers or “talon” backs who stay mostly inside the tackle box or move around at the LOS keying on the QB and OL, deciding whether to blitz or drop into coverage. This alignment would have a much better zone-blitz potential.
That defense would be further aided by having 12 players on the field.
Dockett was moving really quick for a DE Saturday. Maybe they should try him at Chikes spot and have Cooper play the DE.
K9, I don’t think an extra player would help. They had several guys sitting around in a zone doing nothing Saturday as it is.
Ravens fans found your article and are talking about it
http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12136
Nah ga happen.
Trades are always easier to make “on paper” than they are in real life - where both teams’ situations, management personalities, potential for disrupting the roster 2 weeks before regular season and differing perceptions of the value of the players involved come in to play.
And you have to ask yourself - “In terms of disruption of the team, is it worthwhile to shake things up this far into training camp?
Sometime (though by no means always) we’re better off with no decision than we are a decision.
Ravens will never agree to this. When was the last time you saw a six player trade in the NFL? it doesn’t happen. The Cards need to keep an eye on the waiver wire while the rest of the D needs to step up and play better.
Don’t hold your breaths, folks. Jarret Johnson isn’t going anywhere. If he were so expandable then why did the Ravens sign him to a multi-year contract extension at the end of last season? No matter how well Barnes performs this year, I highly doubt the Ravens are going to trade away an investment, especially a guy who will factor deeply into the defense this year.