Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
Defections:
G/T Earl Watford---the Cardinals drafted Cole Toner last year with the notion of him becoming the next Swiss Army sub at G, T and perhaps even C. Watford now gets his chance to be a full-time starter in JAX. Some say he didn't make the most of his opportunities in AZ, but I thought he played well as the starting RT when Bobby Massie was suspended, and, let's face it, during Watford's tenure the Cardinals kept signing veteran guards as stop-gap starters, like Ted Larsen and Evan Mathis. One has to wonder what would have happened if the Cardinals had committed the RG spot to Watford and built him up. Instead, they were content to keep him as the utility man, which is ok for a 4th round draft pick, but not ideal.
TE Darren Fells---last summer Carson Palmer was raving about Fells, how trimmer and faster he looked and how he was gobbling up everything thrown his way in practice. Hopes were high. However, Fells never really got on track as a receiver this year due to a greater focus on the running game, with David Johnson moving to the slot in passing g situations and with Fells battling injuries. Fells is over 30 now, but he's only played 3 years and I think he has 2-3 good years ahead of him. It is surprising that with no logical #2 TE currently on the roster that the Cardinals were loath to re-sign Fells for $1.5M and that they over-spent on Jermaine Gresham at $6M a year when all Martellus Bennett could get was $7M a year. Clearly the Cardinals misjudged the TE market.
CB Marcus Cooper---his defection was a fait accompli from the get-go, with BA insisting that the team "wants his back" (oh, sure) but that "Coop is going to get a big payday." This is exactly how the Cardinals operate when they really do not want a player back. In order to appease the fans and build up the player's marketability, they talk the player up and insist that they want him back. Let's be real. The Cardinals never wanted Coop back---which is fine. And thus he becomes the second 7th round trade one-year rental they have made in the last three years (Matt Barkley).
Additions:
None.
Day 3 Grade: F
When one looks at what the Patriots have accomplished in recent days---adding CB Stephon Gilmore ( a FA target many of us were hoping for), WR Brandin Cooks (who fits BA's offense to a tee and is clearly superior to Brown and Nelson), TE Dwayne Allen (again, who fits BA's offense to a tee because of his prolific blocking and red zone ability), 34DE Lawrence Guy (who was one of my top FA targets to ease the loss of Calais Campbell) and DE/OLB Kony Ealy (who would give the Cardinals a much needed 3rd edge rusher)---one is quickly reminded why the Patriots keep spiraling upward, while the Cardinals keep spinning their wheels.
One might say, but wait, the Patriots have much more cap space than the Cardinals. Yep, that's true. But, could the Cardinals have afforded every one of the moves the Patriots have made? Easily. They could have done what the Pats did with Gilmore in giving him his signing bonus up front and spread it out over the length of the contract---Gilmore is scheduled to count $8M on the cap this year. Cooks is on the 4th year of his 5 year rookie deal and is scheduled to count $1.6M on this year's cap. Dwayne Allen: $5 M. Lawrence Guy: $3M. Kony Ealy: $900K.
Total 2017 Cap Hit: $18.4M.
The Cardinals currently have $20.5M in cap space even after signing Bethea, Dawson and Dansby.
Now---we still do not have a clue as to what is going on behind the scenes with Steve Keim and what the total plan is. Maybe Keim has been trying to spring some deals. But, it is very difficult to watch teams improve their roster while the Cardinals sit tight...especially with all the needs (RG, WR, DE, OLB, CB, FS, PR, KR) that thus far remain unfilled.
G/T Earl Watford---the Cardinals drafted Cole Toner last year with the notion of him becoming the next Swiss Army sub at G, T and perhaps even C. Watford now gets his chance to be a full-time starter in JAX. Some say he didn't make the most of his opportunities in AZ, but I thought he played well as the starting RT when Bobby Massie was suspended, and, let's face it, during Watford's tenure the Cardinals kept signing veteran guards as stop-gap starters, like Ted Larsen and Evan Mathis. One has to wonder what would have happened if the Cardinals had committed the RG spot to Watford and built him up. Instead, they were content to keep him as the utility man, which is ok for a 4th round draft pick, but not ideal.
TE Darren Fells---last summer Carson Palmer was raving about Fells, how trimmer and faster he looked and how he was gobbling up everything thrown his way in practice. Hopes were high. However, Fells never really got on track as a receiver this year due to a greater focus on the running game, with David Johnson moving to the slot in passing g situations and with Fells battling injuries. Fells is over 30 now, but he's only played 3 years and I think he has 2-3 good years ahead of him. It is surprising that with no logical #2 TE currently on the roster that the Cardinals were loath to re-sign Fells for $1.5M and that they over-spent on Jermaine Gresham at $6M a year when all Martellus Bennett could get was $7M a year. Clearly the Cardinals misjudged the TE market.
CB Marcus Cooper---his defection was a fait accompli from the get-go, with BA insisting that the team "wants his back" (oh, sure) but that "Coop is going to get a big payday." This is exactly how the Cardinals operate when they really do not want a player back. In order to appease the fans and build up the player's marketability, they talk the player up and insist that they want him back. Let's be real. The Cardinals never wanted Coop back---which is fine. And thus he becomes the second 7th round trade one-year rental they have made in the last three years (Matt Barkley).
Additions:
None.
Day 3 Grade: F
When one looks at what the Patriots have accomplished in recent days---adding CB Stephon Gilmore ( a FA target many of us were hoping for), WR Brandin Cooks (who fits BA's offense to a tee and is clearly superior to Brown and Nelson), TE Dwayne Allen (again, who fits BA's offense to a tee because of his prolific blocking and red zone ability), 34DE Lawrence Guy (who was one of my top FA targets to ease the loss of Calais Campbell) and DE/OLB Kony Ealy (who would give the Cardinals a much needed 3rd edge rusher)---one is quickly reminded why the Patriots keep spiraling upward, while the Cardinals keep spinning their wheels.
One might say, but wait, the Patriots have much more cap space than the Cardinals. Yep, that's true. But, could the Cardinals have afforded every one of the moves the Patriots have made? Easily. They could have done what the Pats did with Gilmore in giving him his signing bonus up front and spread it out over the length of the contract---Gilmore is scheduled to count $8M on the cap this year. Cooks is on the 4th year of his 5 year rookie deal and is scheduled to count $1.6M on this year's cap. Dwayne Allen: $5 M. Lawrence Guy: $3M. Kony Ealy: $900K.
Total 2017 Cap Hit: $18.4M.
The Cardinals currently have $20.5M in cap space even after signing Bethea, Dawson and Dansby.
Now---we still do not have a clue as to what is going on behind the scenes with Steve Keim and what the total plan is. Maybe Keim has been trying to spring some deals. But, it is very difficult to watch teams improve their roster while the Cardinals sit tight...especially with all the needs (RG, WR, DE, OLB, CB, FS, PR, KR) that thus far remain unfilled.
Last edited:
