Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
One has to wonder what is going through Steve Keim's mind these days.
Having built what many pre-season pundits deemed a championship worthy roster---and then watching the team implode, must be very frustrating for Keim.
During the off-season, Keim quickly got on a roll. He made the Chandler Jones trade. He re-signed RB Chris Johnson and TE Jermaine Gresham despite their having received more lucrative offers elsewhere. He re-signed QB Drew Stanton---and claimed it was one of his top priorities. He signed G Evan Mathis to shore up the offensive line and then signed DB Tyvon Branch to be a sticky cover guy on taller WRs and TEs.
Then, in the draft he rolled the dice on DT Robert Nkemdiche who was supposed to be an inside pass rushing threat. He took a chance on CB Brandon Williams, a tall, fast, but green as grass cover man. He drafted C Evan Boehm to challenge A.Q. Shipley at center. He raved about adding Adrian Wilson's small school gem, S Marqui Christian. Then he added OL and CB depth in G Cole Toner and CB Harlan Miller.
Following the draft, many fans expected Keim to round out the roster with low-cost veteran additions at LS, T, ILB, OLB, CB and P. However, save for adding CBs Mike Jenkins and Alan Ball when it appeared expected starter at RCB Justin Bethel was still sideline by a foot injury, and adding ILB Donald Butler to a prove it deal...the signings halted...and lo and behold the Cardinals were heading into the season appearing very untested and vulnerable at LS, T, CB and P.
Many fans, including myself, were wondering how a GM who was supposedly "All In" for making a Super Bowl run would take so many gambles.
When Bethel was still hurting, with Jenkins headed to the IR and with rookie Brandon Williams struggling, Keim made a last ditch trade to acquire CB Marcus Cooper. But, the trade did not come in time to help the team in game one versus the Patriots---a game in which Williams made a couple bad and costly rookie mistakes. Then, the underrated rookie long snapper wilted under the bright lights and suddenly the Cardinals were looking like chokers.
In retrospect---Keim gambled right on RT D.J. Humphries---he improved the edge rush in adding Chandler Jones---his hope that Evan Mathis would hold up at RG failed---his trade for CB Marcus Cooper paid good dividends early, but not so good as the season went along---his initial decision to go with CB Justin Bethel as the starter at RCB now seems more iffy than it was at the time---his depth at ILB turned out to be so thin that Kevin Minter became a 3 down LB, which has hurt the team in coverage---his depth at OLB was so thin that the early sack production from Markus Golden and Chandler Jones has fallen off significantly, just when it was needed the most (still have a hard time understanding why Dwight Freeney wasn't re-signed to another incentives contract)---and his decisions to ride an underrated rookie at LS and to remain committed to a bottom of the league punter now seem very symbolic of how and why the Cardinals' STs are such a low priority to the organization. There is still no viable kickoff or punt returner---and let's face it, Patrick Peterson is a pretender in that role now.
In terms of the draft---Keim deserves some satisfaction as to how his 2015 draft is shaping up. However, once again failing to get any significant contribution from his 1st round draft pick has to sting. Keim went out on a limb to draft Nkemdiche---even Michael Bidwill was brought in to sign off on the move---but to get absolutely zero from him in light of the circumstances is more than a tad demoralizing and worrisome in terms of the pattern.
One may wonder what Keim feels about BA and his coaches and their often reluctant and slow development of younger players. One may wonder, for example, what Keim felt when his 2015 1st round pick was early branded with the nickname "Knee Deep."
Which leads to the question of just how acquiescent Keim has to be to BA's total control of the coaching staff and of the roster.
If I were Steve Keim---right now I would be very concerned about the direction BA is heading.
What I would want to do this off-season, if I were him:
1. Move on from Amos Jones. 4 years of sub par and at times embarrassing STs is way too long. Make day 3 of the draft a focus on STs.
2. Make the QB position competitive. In my opinion, the only way to get Carson Palmer to turn the ball over less is to threaten his playing time. If Palmer continues to make his 3-4 poor decisions a game, this team is not going to a Super Bowl next year, nor will it likely make the playoffs. Plus, if Palmer gets hurt, there needs to be a stronger option than Drew Stanton. Moreover, how much longer can the team afford to give the QB Wednesdays off? Tom Brady is older and he doesn't take days off.
3. Move D.J. Humphries to LT and switch Jared Veldheer to RT. Sign a good veteran RG. Go with Boehm at center, but draft another center on Day 3 this year to challenge Boehm.
4. Switch some of the past focus on speed at WR to toughness by adding a couple of tough slot WRs.
5. Draft a punt returner.
6. Sign the best possible punter.
7. Find a way to keep Campbell and Jones without having to use the f-tag.
8. Add pass rushing depth.
9. Add a dynamic tackler to pair with Deone.
10. Sign a good UFA CB.
11. Sign Jefferson or Swearinger (hopefully both if reasonable), and add a deep cover FS for the sub packages.
12. Sign a new CB coach---enough is enough. Poor technique continues.
13. Convince BA to use a FB when necessary.
14. Convince BA to reduce Fitz's interior blocking responsibilities for the sake of his longevity.
15. Convince BA to maximize pass protection rather than minimize it.
16. Advise BA to stop dropping repeated f-bombs on the refs.
17. Advise BA to get a reliable guy in the booth to call down for challenges.
18. Advise BA to stop berating players to the media.
Obviously it is going to take some real wheeling and dealing and cajones to get most of these areas addressed. What worries me is that Keim may find it more difficult to sign UFAs at decent salaries because free agents may be leery of playing for Arians, particularly if Fitz retires or asks to be traded.
Having built what many pre-season pundits deemed a championship worthy roster---and then watching the team implode, must be very frustrating for Keim.
During the off-season, Keim quickly got on a roll. He made the Chandler Jones trade. He re-signed RB Chris Johnson and TE Jermaine Gresham despite their having received more lucrative offers elsewhere. He re-signed QB Drew Stanton---and claimed it was one of his top priorities. He signed G Evan Mathis to shore up the offensive line and then signed DB Tyvon Branch to be a sticky cover guy on taller WRs and TEs.
Then, in the draft he rolled the dice on DT Robert Nkemdiche who was supposed to be an inside pass rushing threat. He took a chance on CB Brandon Williams, a tall, fast, but green as grass cover man. He drafted C Evan Boehm to challenge A.Q. Shipley at center. He raved about adding Adrian Wilson's small school gem, S Marqui Christian. Then he added OL and CB depth in G Cole Toner and CB Harlan Miller.
Following the draft, many fans expected Keim to round out the roster with low-cost veteran additions at LS, T, ILB, OLB, CB and P. However, save for adding CBs Mike Jenkins and Alan Ball when it appeared expected starter at RCB Justin Bethel was still sideline by a foot injury, and adding ILB Donald Butler to a prove it deal...the signings halted...and lo and behold the Cardinals were heading into the season appearing very untested and vulnerable at LS, T, CB and P.
Many fans, including myself, were wondering how a GM who was supposedly "All In" for making a Super Bowl run would take so many gambles.
When Bethel was still hurting, with Jenkins headed to the IR and with rookie Brandon Williams struggling, Keim made a last ditch trade to acquire CB Marcus Cooper. But, the trade did not come in time to help the team in game one versus the Patriots---a game in which Williams made a couple bad and costly rookie mistakes. Then, the underrated rookie long snapper wilted under the bright lights and suddenly the Cardinals were looking like chokers.
In retrospect---Keim gambled right on RT D.J. Humphries---he improved the edge rush in adding Chandler Jones---his hope that Evan Mathis would hold up at RG failed---his trade for CB Marcus Cooper paid good dividends early, but not so good as the season went along---his initial decision to go with CB Justin Bethel as the starter at RCB now seems more iffy than it was at the time---his depth at ILB turned out to be so thin that Kevin Minter became a 3 down LB, which has hurt the team in coverage---his depth at OLB was so thin that the early sack production from Markus Golden and Chandler Jones has fallen off significantly, just when it was needed the most (still have a hard time understanding why Dwight Freeney wasn't re-signed to another incentives contract)---and his decisions to ride an underrated rookie at LS and to remain committed to a bottom of the league punter now seem very symbolic of how and why the Cardinals' STs are such a low priority to the organization. There is still no viable kickoff or punt returner---and let's face it, Patrick Peterson is a pretender in that role now.
In terms of the draft---Keim deserves some satisfaction as to how his 2015 draft is shaping up. However, once again failing to get any significant contribution from his 1st round draft pick has to sting. Keim went out on a limb to draft Nkemdiche---even Michael Bidwill was brought in to sign off on the move---but to get absolutely zero from him in light of the circumstances is more than a tad demoralizing and worrisome in terms of the pattern.
One may wonder what Keim feels about BA and his coaches and their often reluctant and slow development of younger players. One may wonder, for example, what Keim felt when his 2015 1st round pick was early branded with the nickname "Knee Deep."
Which leads to the question of just how acquiescent Keim has to be to BA's total control of the coaching staff and of the roster.
If I were Steve Keim---right now I would be very concerned about the direction BA is heading.
What I would want to do this off-season, if I were him:
1. Move on from Amos Jones. 4 years of sub par and at times embarrassing STs is way too long. Make day 3 of the draft a focus on STs.
2. Make the QB position competitive. In my opinion, the only way to get Carson Palmer to turn the ball over less is to threaten his playing time. If Palmer continues to make his 3-4 poor decisions a game, this team is not going to a Super Bowl next year, nor will it likely make the playoffs. Plus, if Palmer gets hurt, there needs to be a stronger option than Drew Stanton. Moreover, how much longer can the team afford to give the QB Wednesdays off? Tom Brady is older and he doesn't take days off.
3. Move D.J. Humphries to LT and switch Jared Veldheer to RT. Sign a good veteran RG. Go with Boehm at center, but draft another center on Day 3 this year to challenge Boehm.
4. Switch some of the past focus on speed at WR to toughness by adding a couple of tough slot WRs.
5. Draft a punt returner.
6. Sign the best possible punter.
7. Find a way to keep Campbell and Jones without having to use the f-tag.
8. Add pass rushing depth.
9. Add a dynamic tackler to pair with Deone.
10. Sign a good UFA CB.
11. Sign Jefferson or Swearinger (hopefully both if reasonable), and add a deep cover FS for the sub packages.
12. Sign a new CB coach---enough is enough. Poor technique continues.
13. Convince BA to use a FB when necessary.
14. Convince BA to reduce Fitz's interior blocking responsibilities for the sake of his longevity.
15. Convince BA to maximize pass protection rather than minimize it.
16. Advise BA to stop dropping repeated f-bombs on the refs.
17. Advise BA to get a reliable guy in the booth to call down for challenges.
18. Advise BA to stop berating players to the media.
Obviously it is going to take some real wheeling and dealing and cajones to get most of these areas addressed. What worries me is that Keim may find it more difficult to sign UFAs at decent salaries because free agents may be leery of playing for Arians, particularly if Fitz retires or asks to be traded.
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