Green says Shelton cut wasn't personal

[slanidrac16]

I don't think Green has to say anything more about Shelton and/or Clement. For the most part we as fans fall in love with our players. We became content, assuming and use to seeing Shelton as our LT and Clement as our RT. They have both been here for a while and maybe, just maybe they were not as good as we thought they were. It's obvious when you look at production on the field.

Our offensive line over that period has been less than mediocre. We spent big bucks on Clement, Shelton, Kendall, Grutadarria(sp) and they did not pay the dividends in return. Whether it was talent, attitude, salary or whatever, it's time to move on.

Remember when we made the June cuts last year? The board went nuts! How could we cut Bush? How could we cut Bell? How could we cut Lucas?

This is no different.
If you guys bought an auto repair shop with 3 mechanics sooner or later you would have to access the job they were doing. The last guy who owned the place paid 1 guy more than you think he's worth. The other guy is late 25% of the time and the last guy was just okay.
What would you do? You would look to upgrade your mechanics with guys that you liked or who you thought could do a better job for you.

Thats all Green is doing. He doesn't have to explain anything to anybody. The guys he released , in his opinion, just were not good enough.

If we make the playoffs this year the name L.J. Shelton will never be mentioned on this board again.....unless he happens to be a starter on a team we are about to play in the playoffs.

 

[ajcardfan]

I don't think Green has to say anything more about Shelton and/or Clement. For the most part we as fans fall in love with our players. We became content, assuming and use to seeing Shelton as our LT and Clement as our RT. They have both been here for a while and maybe, just maybe they were not as good as we thought they were. It's obvious when you look at production on the field.

Good point. I think that's all we've had to cling to as Cardinals fans. That's why we are prone to becoming overly attached to mediocre players moreso than fans of other teams. Shelton never even made it as a Pro Bowl alternate. And, it's hard for even his most ardent defenders here to argue that he ever will.

 

[Shane]

Good point. I think that's all we've had to cling to as Cardinals fans. That's why we are prone to becoming overly attached to mediocre players moreso than fans of other teams. Shelton never even made it as a Pro Bowl alternate. And, it's hard for even his most ardent defenders here to argue that he ever will.

Sorry aj but that doesnt really mean a whole lot. Especially when you play a position that has what one LT rep in the pro-bowl and one alternate?

Considering the LTs we have had in the NFC over that period its no knock on Shelton. You could be a very good player at the position and not sniff the pro bowl.

 

[ajcardfan]

Sorry aj but that doesnt really mean a whole lot. Especially when you play a position that has what one LT rep in the pro-bowl and one alternate?

Considering the LTs we have had in the NFC over that period its no knock on Shelton. You could be a very good player at the position and not sniff the pro bowl.

You can be good and still not be a "make-or-break" type of player for your team. Shelton played well at times over the years, not so well at others. You look at the end of last year, he goes down the last three games. Clement comes in, another player the staff doesn't like, and the line not only doesn't get worse it probably had it's best 3 games overall. Why would the coaches rate him as the key to the playoffs this year like a poster or two around here did? I liked LJ too, but he never cracked any sort of top OT rankings his whole career here. Do you really think any experts and coaches out there love him as much as some of the fans here?

 

[Shane]

You can be good and still not be a "make-or-break" type of player for your team. Shelton played well at times over the years, not so well at others. You look at the end of last year, he goes down the last three games. Clement comes in, another player the staff doesn't like, and the line not only doesn't get worse it probably had it's best 3 games overall. Why would the coaches rate him as the key to the playoffs this year like a poster or two around here did? I liked LJ too, but he never cracked any sort of top OT rankings his whole career here. Do you really think any experts and coaches out there love him as much as some of the fans here?

I was specifically referring to your post about him never sniffing the pro-bowl even as an alternate. Thats really not hard to do in a conference with Orlando Pace and Walter Jones. So to me that isnt a fair measuring stick. Call me a homer but I have watched LJ play for the last 5 years and seen a guy that has easily been the most consistent and best OL over that period. Last year would be the only exception. I would see an OT that would go out and play hurt and at times shut down some of the elite DE in the league like Hugh Douglas in his prime. The guy proved more than once that he is a warrior IMO.

Was he inconsistent at times? Of Course. But the same could be said for Leonard Davis who has been as inconsistent as anyone on that mediocre line. Yet he still gets high praise?

Your referance to last year isnt a fair barometer IMO since he was playing a position that was completely new to him, and he wasnt in shape due to his injury until after the start of the season.

 

[joeshmo]

Was he inconsistent at times? Of Course. But the same could be said for Leonard Davis who has been as inconsistent as anyone on that mediocre line. Yet he still gets high praise?

Not Denny Green he called Davis out.

This is Davis last year to prove himself as well IMO.

 

[ajcardfan]

Not Denny Green he called Davis out.

This is Davis last year to prove himself as well IMO.

Yeah, I'm not sure where Davis is getting "high praise" from. It's not from me.

 

[joeshmo]

Yeah, I'm not sure where Davis is getting "high praise" from. It's not from me.

I think he gets more high priase because he has shown absolute flashes of being the most dominant force in the NFL. The problem is he show it less then third of the time which makes it so frutrating, becuase we all know he can do it why the heck not on a full time basis.