My Cardinals’ Roster Decisions
August 31, 2007 by Walter Mitchell
Late last night my advanced scouts and I sat down and made the following conclusions with regard to the Cardinals’ roster. We are not happy campers right now. We were very disappointed with what we saw on defense and special teams this pre-season and we are poised and ready to address the issues. We were far more pleased with the offense, but the offensive personnel needs a little tweaking too. Here are the tough decisions…
QB (3): Leinart, Warner and Boyd.
We are keeping Boyd. Good scout QB…which is one of the more underappreciated and undervalued roles on an NFL team. Having a double threat as a scout QB is ideal. This game is all about preparation.
RB (3): James, Shipp, Arrington.
Three different styles to choose from here.
FB (1): Smith.
We like Castille, but figure he’ll pass through waivers and be one of the first to sign on the practice squad.
WR (6): Boldin, Fitzgerald, Bryant Johnson, Breaston, Morey and Trannon.
We are not hesitating about Trannon. We like him too much to expose him to waivers. The one we are hesitating about, however, is Morey. He hasn’t been the special teams ace we thought he would be…not yet anyway. But, because of his experience and track record of success on special teams, and because we need all the help we can get on special team, we are going to stick with Morey, but if he doesn’t step up his game in the next three weeks, he’s gone.
TE (3): Pope, Patrick, TBA (waivers).
We are wary of the Patriots and GM Scott Paoli, who loves young, talented TEs and lost a good one this off-season in Daniel Graham. Thus, Patrick sticks. Off waivers we claim the best all-around TE we can find. We like Bienemann’s talent, but he’s not ready for primetime, so it’s best he spends some time on the PS until he’s ready.
OL (9): Gandy, Wells, Al Johnson, Lutui, Levi Brown, Gorin, Elton Brown, Leckey, Brian Johnson.
For now we stick with Gorin, unless there’s a better tackle on the waiver wire. We are tempted to keep Badger or Mitchell because of their versatility, but Brian Johnson has been a nice surprise and we don’t want to risk waiving him. He factors into the future and Badger and Mitchell don’t. Elliot Vallejo is practice squad bound.
NT (2): Watson, Branch.
We are hoping big things from both these Wolverines.
DE (6): Berry, Cooper, Dockett, Smith, Pace, Okeafor.
Berry and Pace are rush DEs in 4 man pass rushes, period. No more LB talk or responsibilities for either one of them. If there’s a DE on the waiver wire we like more than Pace, Pace is out. Okeafor sticks. We think he’ll be back this season for the stretch run when the playoff are on the line.
ILB (4): Hayes, Beisel, TBA, TBA.
We are not kidding here. We want to add two middle backer types who can bolster out special teams. We like Pago Tagofau, but he’s a year away. PS for him. We are not even sure we like Buster Davis, but we are sure he cannot play in an NFL game right now (not even on special teams), so we are going to waive him and sign him to the PS if he clears. We think he will.
OLB (4): Dansby, Blackstock, Holloway, TBA.
We are not kidding here either. Dansby belongs on the edge rushing on blitzes quite frequently, not fighting his way through traffic in the middle. Blackstock is showing signs of improvement so we keep him. Holloway, we feel, can be very good on special teams and has a future at OLB. Brandon Johnson is not physical enough to play for us yet (not even on special teams), so we waive him and try to sign him to the PS. We are going to trade for a starting OLB, and are offering a 6th round pick to the NY Giants for Kawika Mitchell.
CB (5): Hood, Green, Hunter, TBA, TBA.
We like Hunter’s speed, special teams ability and CB talent (he’s making progress). But, we need two CBs to challenge for the nickel, so to the waiver wires we go.
S (4): Wilson, Francisco, Holt, Rolle.
We are moving Rolle to SS where he belongs…and are anticipating a creative role for him in two SS schemes.
ST (3): Rackers, Hodel, Barr.
Rack ‘em up. No Hodel’s Barred!
PS (8): RB Steve Baylark; FB Tim Castille; WR Michael Spurlock; TE Troy Bienemann; T Elliot Vallejo; ILB Pago Togafau; ILB Buster Davis; OLB Brandon Johnson.
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QB: 2, and 1 on the PS (with exceptions)……there will be much better 3rd QBs tommorow, guaranteed
Troy Smith may be cut, Chris Leak will be cut, Derek Anderson may be cut. Any of these 3 would be a colossal upgrade to either Boyd or Campbell. These 3 would be perfect understudies (especially DA), and would be worth a roster spot
for the PS, there will be plenty of guys to choose from
If Jerame Tuman is cut in Pitt, it’ll take all of 2 secs for the flight to be booked here
DE/LB wise, the only one that could truly play LB is Chike…..I feel sick everytime I think about Pace being the starter at LB after the putrid performances so far.
I agree with you inside LBs, except that I’d have one spot for Pago, and the other for someone else. AFAIC, Buster is not what this team needs after consistently being outplayed by Monty and Pago
OLB, I agree that something must be done. Mitchell is injured, so he’s a no go. THIS MUST be priority #1 tommorow on the waiver wire!
Rolle will not be a safety….its not happening, and he will continue to be burned at corner. Why the defensive coaches can’t see this, I dont know. There will be plenty of dime backs available on waivers though
at S, swap Rolle with Ware
otherwise, I pretty much agree (especially on Trannon-they cut him, they wont see him again)
Mitch-
I dont think you want to fill more than 10% of your roster with waiver wire pickups. Going into week one you would have 6 players on your roster that havent played a down in the Cardinals system.
Like it or not, for 2007 Rolle is a corner. Keep him there. Keep Matt Ware, who can also play corner in a pinch.
The Cards may have to keep two FBs. The thought is that if Terrel Smith gets hurt in a game, it takes half the playbook and puts it in the trash can.
I think Bienemen has shown more than Patrick. Put him on the practice squad — and nobody else in the NFL is going to clear a roster spot to claim Ben Patrick.
ILB is fine with Hayes and Beisel. OLB is no doubt thin.
Walter, on the local broadcast, someone, it might have been Darren Urban, said that Whisenhunt is leaning toward keeping only two QBs.
Apparently, the coaches are displeased with Boyd’s decision making.
Its In The Cards: How badly is Kawika Mitchell injured? Thanks for the info.
En Fuego: The Pats are teh best talent people in the NFL…is there any disputing that Ben Patrick is a fine talent at TE?
Skkorp: You may be right about 2 QBs, particularly if they are saving a roster spot for Chike.
Kawika is having groin problems……yukka yukka
unfortunately, thats something that could linger for a while
not sure if its serious, but you never know
Walter, great article. I feel that Johnson will be waived and hopefully signed to the PS. For two reasons:
1. OT’s are more valuable than OG’s, so I feel that (if it comes to it) Vallejo has the edge.
2. Sendlein, since he plays two positions, IMO, also has an edge.
And if we pick up as many off the waiver wire as you suggest, then there is no doubt that this a very weak roster.
Provocative piece. A few comments -
- If you move Rolle to safety, who’s going to be our nickel corner and cover slot receivers? Hunter? Ware? Despite Antrel’s deficiencies, he’s still the best nickel corner we’ve got on the roster.
- I agree with you about Morey,
- I think we’ll keep more D-linemen (probably Bailey and/or Tafoya) and one less CB and ILB
- The Sendlein vs. Brian Johnson battle could go either way.
- I’d give the odds of Okeafor not being IR’d at about 30%. (i.e. it’s 70% we’ll lose him for the season)
- It’s too early to scope out PS players because you have to rely on guys clearing waivers (i.e. the team doesn’t exercise full control over the destiny of these guys).
- Likewise, it’s still premature to scope out which positions we might try to improve by going outside because we don’t know who’ll be cut or put on the trading block by other teams.
Walter, you nailed the Special Teamers. Naturally, I’m kidding. But one thing I’ve learned over the years, the Cards never make the moves I think they should. And naturally, another three or four positions (OT, TE, and CB) will change with WW pickups.
Morey is bad, real bad. He doesn’t deserve a roster spot, if he does survive it is because of his Piitsburgh ties. If Buster is cut, someone will scoop him up and put him on the roster. Rolle will be on the cut list…..next year.
Hey Mitch, I’ve always wanted some advanced scouts so if you’re not using them all, I’ll take some. I don’t really have anything TO scout right now, but I’m hoping something will show up that needs a good scouting.
Ted…
Are you sure this is correct?…