Are we really going to retool the OL? Draft & FA needs.

Cardsfaninlouky

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I know how most of you feel about SK, he's failed with alot of players, some due to bad luck with injuries & others were just bad signing/picks. He may have got this OL right? This OL is averaging 5.0 YPC, only 5 other teams are averaging as many or more. They have only 2 rush attempts with negative YDS which is tops in the NFL. They've scored 9 rushing TD's, only 12 other teams have as many or more. Imagine how much better this OL would be had Marcus Gilbert not gotten hurt? SK had enough sense to go out & hire one of the best OL coaches in the league, Sean Kugler.

D.J Humphries:
His contract is up after this season, quality Tackles are hard to find so we will probably sign him, unless we can get Thomas in the draft & move Humphries over to RT, we should resign him? Seems to be staying healthy in this system.

Justin Pugh:
He has 3 yrs left on his contract after this season. He's stayed injury free so far, played well & man, what a job he did against the 49ers moving over to play RT out of position.

A.Q. Shipley:
His contract is up after this year but he's played well. Beat out Mason Cole for the starting job after coming back from an ACL injury. I know some of you want a bulldozing type center but we have more team needs. Those type of centers will be gone quickly in the 1st RD & we need not pick one with our 1st pick. Either resign him or use Mason Cole.

J.R Sweezy:
He has 1 YR left on his contract after this season. That man hasn't allowed a sack all season (he did sack KM in a preseason game though lol) he's graded out with PFF higher than any other OL on our team most games this season. Won't have to worry about him until after next season.

Justin Murray:
He's played well at times, did a hell of a job against the Lions, considering he had only been with the team a few days before playing them. We should resign him for depth. Sean Kugler could probably turn him into a starter or quality backup with a full off-season working with him.

Max Garcia:
I have no clue, he just came off the injury list & hasn't played a down with us yet, the coaches should know soon what he can & can't do? He's still young but has an injury history.

Marcus Gilbert:
His contract is up after this season, he's getting into his early 30's but when healthy (not often) he's still considered a top 10 tackle in the NFL. Since he tore an ACL, we should be able to sign him to a cheap 1 YR prove it deal & see what happens? Backup or starter depending on his health & what we do in FA & the draft with the OL.

TE:
Max Williams:
Contract expires after this season. He's played very well, catches every ball thrown his way. Has yet to drop a pass to my knowledge? We should resign him, he's still young.

Charles Clay:
He's caught every pass thrown his way to my knowledge. He's getting up in age but is still serviceable. FO decision on him, depends on whether we could draft a better one or not?

Darrell Daniels:
He can be replaced if need be.

DL:

Corey Peters:
He has 1 YR left on his contract after this season. Love the dude, he's a University of Kentucky product & I watched him develop all 4 yrs there being a season ticket holder. He pushes his man into the backfield almost every time & has at least 2 sacks so far. He's getting older & I think we should seriously consider drafting a disruptive DT with our first pick in the 2020 draft.

Zach Allen:
Rookie but has alot of potential. High motor guy that doesn't give up on a play. Think Kyle Vanden Bosh.

Bullard, Kerr & McDonald:
All 3 of their contacts expire at the end of this season. Coaches & FO decisions on them for depth & depending who we draft & sign?

LB:

Chandler Jones:
He's under contract for 2 Yrs after this season, need I say more? He's a beast.

Jordan Hicks:
He's under contract for 3 more Yrs after this season. Wish he was a little faster in coverage though but in the top 10 with tackling this season.

Haason Reddick:
He has 2 Yrs left on his contract. He's made some plays this YR but cannot cover a TE, may need to switch back to DE?

Turner & Gardeck:
Each have 1 Yr left on their contracts, we could replace them but Gardeck is good on special teams.

Reed & Walker:
Both their contracts expire after this season. They will be replaced imo.

Cassius Marsh:
His contract expires after this season. Plays with a high motor, I hope we resign him.

Safeties:

Baker & the Thompson twins:
Budda is good in run support playing close to the LOS & the twins are rookies that will only get better. We're good there but we may sign a veteran?
 
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Cardsfaninlouky

Cardsfaninlouky

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I appreciate the effort u put on this post but reading it looks like we have a playoff team
Nah, just kind of giving props to the OL that SK brought here & Sean Kugler is coaching into a pretty good unit. Light yrs ahead of the OL we had last yr. Also pointing out the player contracts & my opinion on most every player. We have holes & are far from being a playoff team. With the right additions in the offseason, we should be even more competitive next season than we've been this yr. We'll see what happens?
 

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Cardsfaninlouky, great job. Seems to me that we are set on the interior of the OL, but that tackles are in question:
1. What to do with Humphries, resign, move to RT or keep him at LT. I'm guessing that we keep him at LT, because LT's are hard to come by.
2. Gilbert, Murray, Pugh and FA give us options at RT.
3. A lot of decisions for SK. But he does have options.
 

AZCrazy

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OL depends on Gilbert's recovery. We need two starting caliber tackles. The interior line is doing okay, and we have developing centers in Cole and Gaillard.

We've dicked around with Reddick a bit too much. He was a DE coming out of college, so naturally we've used him at OLB and ILB. He's improved a lot, learning a couple new positions under three different schemes in his first three years, but what he's shown is that his tackling is good, his instincts are a mite slow, and he has trouble covering shifty or speedy TE's.
What's his natural best position then?
 

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I know how most of you feel about SK, he's failed with alot of players, some due to bad luck with injuries & others were just bad signing/picks. He may have got this OL right? This OL is averaging 5.0 YPC, only 5 other teams are averaging as many or more. They have only 2 rush attempts with negative YDS which is tops in the NFL. They've scored 9 rushing TD's, only 12 other teams have as many or more. Imagine how much better this OL would be had Marcus Gilbert not gotten hurt? SK had enough sense to go out & hire one of the best OL coaches in the league, Sean Kugler.

D.J Humphries:
His contract is up after this season, quality Tackles are hard to find so we will probably sign him, unless we can get Thomas in the draft & move Humphries over to RT, we should resign him? Seems to be staying healthy in this system.

Justin Pugh:
He has 3 yrs left on his contract after this season. He's stayed injury free so far, played well & man, what a job he did against the 49ers moving over to play RT out of position.

A.Q. Shipley:
His contract is up after this year but he's played well. Beat out Mason Cole for the starting job after coming back from an ACL injury. I know some of you want a bulldozing type center but we have more team needs. Those type of centers will be gone quickly in the 1st RD & we need not pick one with our 1st pick. Either resign him or use Mason Cole.

J.R Sweezy:
He has 1 YR left on his contract after this season. That man hasn't allowed a sack all season (he did sack KM in a preseason game though lol) he's graded out with PFF higher than any other OL on our team most games this season. Won't have to worry about him until after next season.

Justin Murray:
He's played well at times, did a hell of a job against the Lions, considering he had only been with the team a few days before playing them. We should resign him for depth. Sean Kugler could probably turn him into a starter or quality backup with a full off-season working with him.

Max Garcia:
I have no clue, he just came off the injury list & hasn't played a down with us yet, the coaches should know soon what he can & can't do? He's still young but has an injury history.

Marcus Gilbert:
His contract is up after this season, he's getting into his early 30's but when healthy (not often) he's still considered a top 10 tackle in the NFL. Since he tore an ACL, we should be able to sign him to a cheap 1 YR prove it deal & see what happens? Backup or starter depending on his health & what we do in FA & the draft with the OL.

TE:
Max Williams:
Contract expires after this season. He's played very well, catches every ball thrown his way. Has yet to drop a pass to my knowledge? We should resign him, he's still young.

Charles Clay:
He's caught every pass thrown his way to my knowledge. He's getting up in age but is still serviceable. FO decision on him, depends on whether we could draft a better one or not?

Darrell Daniels:
He can be replaced if need be.

DL:

Corey Peters:
He has 1 YR left on his contract after this season. Love the dude, he's a University of Kentucky product & I watched him develop all 4 yrs there being a season ticket holder. He pushes his man into the backfield almost every time & has at least 2 sacks so far. He's getting older & I think we should seriously consider drafting a disruptive DT with our first pick in the 2020 draft.

Zach Allen:
Rookie but has alot of potential. High motor guy that doesn't give up on a play. Think Kyle Vanden Bosh.

Bullard, Kerr & McDonald:
All 3 of their contacts expire at the end of this season. Coaches & FO decisions on them for depth & depending who we draft & sign?

LB:

Chandler Jones:
He's under contract for 2 Yrs after this season, need I say more? He's a beast.

Jordan Hicks:
He's under contract for 3 more Yrs after this season. Wish he was a little faster in coverage though but in the top 10 with tackling this season.

Haason Reddick:
He has 2 Yrs left on his contract. He's made some plays this YR but cannot cover a TE, may need to switch back to DE?

Turner & Gardeck:
Each have 1 Yr left on their contracts, we could replace them but Gardeck is good on special teams.

Reed & Walker:
Both their contracts expire after this season. They will be replaced imo.

Cassius Marsh:
His contract expires after this season. Plays with a high motor, I hope we resign him.

Safeties:

Baker & the Thompson twins:
Budda is good in run support playing close to the LOS & the twins are rookies that will only get better. We're good there but we may sign a veteran?

You make some great points about our production in the run game. Those stats are a little inflated by Murray's scrambles, but not a lot. We've been effective running the ball.

The only OL actions that I would say are 100% necessary, are:

1. Replace Shipley (his contract is up this year, he's pretty old, and below average IMHO)
2. Start planning to replace Sweezy, who I think probably has one more good year left in him (and his contract is up after next year).
3. Somehow Plug the gaping hole at RT.

I think those three things would result in an Oline that could get us to the playoffs, but will also take plenty of our draft and FA capital this off season. We can't afford to do much more as we try to rebuild the defense.
 
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Cardsfaninlouky

Cardsfaninlouky

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You make some great points about our production in the run game. Those stats are a little inflated by Murray's scrambles, but not a lot. We've been effective running the ball.

The only OL actions that I would say are 100% necessary, are:

1. Replace Shipley (his contract is up this year, he's pretty old, and below average IMHO)
2. Start planning to replace Sweezy, who I think probably has one more good year left in him (and his contract is up after next year).
3. Somehow Plug the gaping hole at RT.

I think those three things would result in an Oline that could get us to the playoffs, but will also take plenty of our draft and FA capital this off season. We can't afford to do much more as we try to rebuild the defense.
Defense definitely needs to be built first. Disrupting DT or an aggressive bad ass edge rusher.
 
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Cardsfaninlouky

Cardsfaninlouky

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Cardsfaninlouky, great job. Seems to me that we are set on the interior of the OL, but that tackles are in question:
1. What to do with Humphries, resign, move to RT or keep him at LT. I'm guessing that we keep him at LT, because LT's are hard to come by.
2. Gilbert, Murray, Pugh and FA give us options at RT.
3. A lot of decisions for SK. But he does have options.
Yes he does have options, most certainly. He's made plenty of mistakes & he knows it, been lambasted on social media & talk shows. Thing is, hardly no one wants to give him props for things he gets right. This OL & the hiring of Sean Kugler have worked out really well. Think about the one stat I listed for a minute. They've only had 2 rushing attempts stopped for negative yardage, 2..............that leads the NFL. You could say "well..............thats because they throw the ball a lot more than they run it, making that stat a little misleading" noooooooooooo, we actually have good balance now & are running the ball a whole lot more, especially in about 6 of the 9 games we've played. Stat speaks for itself & a whole lot of the sacks given up this season are on KM, running backwards or just falling to the ground.
 
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Cardsfaninlouky

Cardsfaninlouky

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OL depends on Gilbert's recovery. We need two starting caliber tackles. The interior line is doing okay, and we have developing centers in Cole and Gaillard.

We've dicked around with Reddick a bit too much. He was a DE coming out of college, so naturally we've used him at OLB and ILB. He's improved a lot, learning a couple new positions under three different schemes in his first three years, but what he's shown is that his tackling is good, his instincts are a mite slow, and he has trouble covering shifty or speedy TE's.
What's his natural best position then?
He should be a DE, they need to move him back there next season & draft or sign the best ILB possible.
 

Chopper0080

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I believe that while DE has the least talent, offensive line is more of a need. That is because we are tied to the development of a young QB.

I also believe that people are failing to identify that this year is a bit if a outlier, and we are in territory that we have never been in before. We have a league average functioning offensive line...when it is at it's best and everyone is healthy. We are seeing the top end result of the talent we have on this roster. That being said, we have never been in the position where we are not adding offensive line pieces because an immediate need. Humphries, Pugh, Murray, and Sweezy are all very likely to be under contract next year. That being said, the only one we are really going to be tied to is Humphries. We can easily add top end, rookie OL talent in the draft, keep continuity unless someone beats out a starter, and improve our overall talent.
 

Cheesebeef

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OL depends on Gilbert's recovery.

the O-line shouldn't depend on ANYTHING regarding Gilbert. He shouldn't be even a consideration as far as the starters go and should only be looked at as possible depth at this point. How many times do people have to be Charlie Brown'd by constantly injured players? If you go into the season depending on him for anything more than riding pine and break in case of emergency depth, we're setting ourrselves up for failure.
 

Chopper0080

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the O-line shouldn't depend on ANYTHING regarding Gilbert. He shouldn't be even a consideration as far as the starters go and should only be looked at as possible depth at this point. How many times do people have to be Charlie Brown'd by constantly injured players? If you go into the season depending on him for anything more than riding pine and break in case of emergency depth, we're setting ourrselves up for failure.
I think this goes across the board.

I can see a world where we re-sign Gilbert, re-sign Murray, and draft Wirffs or Wills Jr or Leatherwood. Because all of those dudes are likely to be able to play RT and RG, and Leatherwood could play LG and/or LT.

Grabbing one only helps our line moving forward, and also provides them an opportunity to break into the starting lineup when they are ready vs before they are ready.
 

Chopper0080

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Here is what we know regarding the offensive line for next year...

DJ Humphries - LT - A FA who is likely to re-sign. Oft injured over his career.
Justin Pugh - LG/RT - Under contract for 2020 and 2021 before he can be cut.
Mason Cole - LG/C - Under contract. Has been spoken highly of by Kugler, played well at LG.
AQ Shipley - C - FA. Unlikely to be back in my opinion.
Lamont Gaillard - C - Rookie in 2019. No film so far to support he can replace Shipley.
JR Sweezy - RG - Journeyman player, under contract for 2020 only. Mediocre play.
Justin Murray - RT - Restricted FA. Young. Film is average at best.
Max Garcia - OG - FA. Injured for first 9 games of 2019. Career average player.
Joshua Miles - OT - Backup OT in rookie season. No snaps to gauge skill.

Here is what we have under contract for next year
Justin Pugh
Mason Cole
Lamont Gaillard
JR Sweezy
Joshua Miles
Brett Toth

Here are our FAs
DJ Humphries
AQ Shipley
Marcus Gilbert
Max Garcia
Jordan Mills
Justin Murray - RFA
 

Cardsfan77

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I’d be happy with a legit C and RT that have shown that they can stay reasonably healthy. After that DL and LB so 4 solid players could make a huge difference IMO
 

Jay Cardinal

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This offensive line has been legit in the run game, but needs some work in pass pro.

That being said, I hope we are able to draft a D lineman -- it's been ugly without a difference maker up front.
 
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Cardsfaninlouky

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I believe that while DE has the least talent, offensive line is more of a need. That is because we are tied to the development of a young QB.

I also believe that people are failing to identify that this year is a bit if a outlier, and we are in territory that we have never been in before. We have a league average functioning offensive line...when it is at it's best and everyone is healthy. We are seeing the top end result of the talent we have on this roster. That being said, we have never been in the position where we are not adding offensive line pieces because an immediate need. Humphries, Pugh, Murray, and Sweezy are all very likely to be under contract next year. That being said, the only one we are really going to be tied to is Humphries. We can easily add top end, rookie OL talent in the draft, keep continuity unless someone beats out a starter, and improve our overall talent.
Fair point. However, if we had a stud #1 WR this yr, given the time KM has had to throw the ball this yr on most passes, do you not think that would've made a difference in points scored? My thing is, this OL has been serviceable & we can get at least one more yr out of it imo & they have opened up nice holes for our running game. That being said, our defense can hardly ever stop anyone when we need it & the offense has scored plenty enough points to have won at least 2 more games. Defense needs to be built first, that is our main problem. We need fast LBers that can cover & a disruptive DT plus another fearsome pass rusher off the edge. We get all of that next season, we will definitely be in some games with this offense.
 
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Cardsfaninlouky

Cardsfaninlouky

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This offensive line has been legit in the run game, but needs some work in pass pro.

That being said, I hope we are able to draft a D lineman -- it's been ugly without a difference maker up front.
Well said, you get it. We need that pocket pushing DT to free up Chandler Jones & another edge rusher plus LBers with speed that can cover, our offense will score points.
 
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Cardsfaninlouky

Cardsfaninlouky

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Here is what we know regarding the offensive line for next year...

DJ Humphries - LT - A FA who is likely to re-sign. Oft injured over his career.
Justin Pugh - LG/RT - Under contract for 2020 and 2021 before he can be cut.
Mason Cole - LG/C - Under contract. Has been spoken highly of by Kugler, played well at LG.
AQ Shipley - C - FA. Unlikely to be back in my opinion.
Lamont Gaillard - C - Rookie in 2019. No film so far to support he can replace Shipley.
JR Sweezy - RG - Journeyman player, under contract for 2020 only. Mediocre play.
Justin Murray - RT - Restricted FA. Young. Film is average at best.
Max Garcia - OG - FA. Injured for first 9 games of 2019. Career average player.
Joshua Miles - OT - Backup OT in rookie season. No snaps to gauge skill.

Here is what we have under contract for next year
Justin Pugh
Mason Cole
Lamont Gaillard
JR Sweezy
Joshua Miles
Brett Toth

Here are our FAs
DJ Humphries
AQ Shipley
Marcus Gilbert
Max Garcia
Jordan Mills
Justin Murray - RFA
Why do you say J.R Sweezy is mediocre? Dude hasn't given up a sack all season & grades out higher than any of our other OLmen most every game. D.J Humphries is about to get paid & he can't say that. He's given up plenty of sacks this season but he's handling speed rushers so it's a little more problematic at LT for him. Sweezy can only block who rushes his spot, yet he hasn't given up a sack yet. Dude is a beast imo.
 

Jetstream Green

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A.Q. Shipley is the weak link and we should not settle for 'he knows all the protections'... we need that and strength because even though he was average, Sendlein was the best center for the Cardinals' modern era
 

juza76

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He should be a DE, they need to move him back there next season & draft or sign the best ILB possible.
ILB u can get a good one later, an example darius leonard, lavonte david, kwon Alexander
I would do cartwheels if they ll sign cory littleton, a speedy lb with great cover skills​
Why do you say J.R Sweezy is mediocre? Dude hasn't given up a sack all season & grades out higher than any of our other OLmen most every game. D.J Humphries is about to get paid & he can't say that. He's given up plenty of sacks this season but he's handling speed rushers so it's a little more problematic at LT for him. Sweezy can only block who rushes his spot, yet he hasn't given up a sack yet. Dude is a beast imo.
I agree
Vastly underrated
Has been probably the best addition in the last free agency
Humphries had so many penalties, i think he is the first in the league
 
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Cardsfaninlouky

Cardsfaninlouky

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ILB u can get a good one later, an example darius leonard, lavonte david, kwon Alexander
I would do cartwheels if they ll sign cory littleton, a speedy lb with great cover skills​

I agree
Vastly underrated
Has been probably the best addition in the last free agency
Humphries had so many penalties, i think he is the first in the league
They will probably resign Humphries, even with all the holding penalties lol. His position is hard to find, good cover corners also. He hasn't played bad & he's stayed healthy which has been a problem in the past. At what cost for him though?
 
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Cardsfaninlouky

Cardsfaninlouky

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A.Q. Shipley is the weak link and we should not settle for 'he knows all the protections'... we need that and strength because even though he was average, Sendlein was the best center for the Cardinals' modern era
Can't argue with that, he was better. If we can't draft a bulldozing center in the 3rd or 4th round we should keep him? Problem is, our team needs should lead us to other positions & that type of center will be long gone by the 3rd & 4th rds.
 
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