RM: Pre-season assement and final 53 predictionss

[RugbyMuffin]

Cardinals Pre-Season Assessment:

To be honest, I wrote most of this Saturday morning. I know that Burns& Gambo is not the best sports show out there, but their coverage of the Cardinals in the afternoon has been pretty good over the last few years.

When I heard from Bruce Arians that there was only one starting spot open, it was easy to put together the starting lineup, which is more than half the roster. Then when you talk about backups, guys like Andre Ellington, JJ Nelson, Earl Watford, and even Alex Okafor are sure no brainers to make this team.

The drama for this preseason, has been nil. This team is what it is, and besides moving a few pieces here and there, we are looking at the same foundation and the same goal. “Not a Super Bowl, a Super Bowl RING”

Yet, with that being said. Our quarterback play has to be MUCH better, and overall, you do not like to go into the season with some of the questions on offense and defense. But, isn't that always the case this time of year.


The Starters for the 2016 season:

Offense:

1. Carson Palmer, QB

2. David Johnson, RB

3. Larry Fitzgerald, WR

4. Michael Floyd, WR

5. John Brown, WR

6. Jaron Brown, WR

7. J.J. Nelson, WR

8. Troy Niklas, TE

9. Jermaine Gresham, TE

10. Jared Veldheer, LT

11. Mike Iupati, LG

12. A.Q. Shipley, OC

13. Kevin Mathis, RG

14. D.J. Humphries, RT


Defense

15. Cory Peters, NT/DT

16. Calias Campbell, DE/DT

17. Frostee Rucker, DE/DT

18. Josh Mauro, DE/DT

19. Chandler Jones, OLB

21. Markus Golden, OLB

22. Alex Okafor, OLB (inactive game day?)

23. Kareem Martin, OLB/ST (inactive game day?)

24. Deone Bucannon, ILB

25. Kevin Minter, ILB

26. Patrick Peterson, CB

27. Brandon Williams, CB

28. Justin Bethel, CB

29. Tyrann Mathieu, S

30. D.J. Swearinger, S

31. Tony Jefferson, S

32. Tyvon Branch, S

33. Chandler Catanzaro, K

34. Drew Butler, P

35. Kameron Canady, LS


More or Less these are your starters.



36. Drew Stanton, QB

37. Chris Johnson, HB

38. Andre Ellington, HB

39. Stepfan Taylor, FB/HB/ST

40. Britten Golden, WR/ST (inactive game day)

41. Darren Fells, TE

42. Earl Watford, T/G/C

43. Greg Toner, G

44. Even Boehm, C (inactive game day)

45. Robert Nkemdiche, DE/DT

46. Rodney Gunter, DE/NT

47. Alani Fua, ILB/ST

48. Cariel Brooks, CB/ST

49. Marqui Christian, S (inactive game day)

I would consider these players to be the depth and anckups for the season.


That would leave four roster spots that would be consider the most valuabe players left on the roster. That being said, keep in mind we are talking about "value" relative to the fact these next four players are probably not going to see much action during the year. There are already 49 players that I believe will be the team going into the season, and 4 of them will have to be inactive game day.


50. Chris Clemens, $LB/S (inactive game day)

51. Rob Crisp, OT (inactive game day)

52. Infenyi Momah, TE (inactive game day)

53. Gabe Martin, ILB/Christian Okapulunga, OLB (inactive game day)


As for the practice squad, who knows, our scounting department is pretty good, so they will be pulling guys in from everywhere.


Top 5 stories of the Preseason (in no order of importance):

1. Mike Jenkins goes down with a season ending injury. Best case: Marqui Christian shows he is an NFL calibur player. Worst case: Both Bethel and Williams struggle all year long.

2. Drew Stanton shows why he is a backup. Preseason is stupid, I got nervous about Stanton, he looked fine against the Texans. Palmer is the more concerning situation, not so much that Palmer is not going to play well, but it seems he is still stuck in "Bad Palmer Mode." The ony good thing about "Bad Palmer Mode" is that with the Cardinals running game, this team can still beat average opponents when Palmer is playing poorly. I would be shocked if the team keeps three quarterbacks on the final roster.

3. Who the hell is going to be the cornerback across from Peterson. At this point I would say it is Brandon Williams by default. Mike Jenkins is out for the season, or at least that is what it looked like, and Bethel looked very poor in his small showing in the preseason.

4. Andre Ellington looks very good catching punts, and returning them. I think having him as both the kick returner and punt returner is a very good role for him, and it gives him more value to this team. Not to mention he looked really good in the preseason.

5. Marcus Golden showed a lot of promise, I was disappointed in his play against the Texans but his fist two games of the preseason, he looked like an animal. He has to stay consistent, but he was a VERY nice surprise this preseason.


Top Board Topics from the Cardinals Preseason:

1. Who will be our #2 cornerback ?

Brandon Williams will be our #2 cornerback because he is better than Bethel, and Jenkins is going to go on I.R.


2. What about John Brown and his injury ?

Jaron Brown has looked so good, that the only thing that John Brown’s absence will take away is a speed threat with good hands and good route running. J.J. Nelson has the speed but lacks the hands that Brown has, and the route running. Not having Brown is a negative but not a huge negative.


3. Is A.Q. Shipley good enough to play center for this team ?

Yes, he is “good enough.” But, he is not a good center, and when you find yourself thinking Lyle Sendlein is a better option, that is not good. I am not worried about DJ Humphries at all, and when Earl Watford comes back, I think he will not only solidify the swing tackle position, he may push Shipley for the starting center job. Earl Watford’s injury this preseason could not have come at a worse time for him and the team, IMHO.


4. Is Drew Stanton good enough to be the backup ?

Yes, Stanton is fine. He looked like his old self during the Texans game. He is inconsistent and that is why he is a backup. Unless there is a surprise cut and the Cardinals bring in someone to compete with Stanton, which I HIGHLY, HIGHLY doubt, then Stanton is the backup. You are not going to have two starting caliber QB’s on an NFL team when 30% of the team in the NFL cannot find one.


5. The Cardinals are going to go 0-4 in the preseason, is this a problem ?

No. The only issue I see is if the Cardinals as a whole do not come out on Sunday night football with a different mindset, then I can see the Patriots sneaking out a victory. But, at some point this monster of a team will awaken and start playing like they should. It is only preseason, and while I understand we are all REALLY excited to get started, let’s not freak out because team’s are keying on the same preaseason plays this team is running over and over again.


That is it. The fourth preseason game is a joke. The ONLY thing that can effect anything in that game is a ( :knockknockonwood: ) injury to a depth player. At this point, the fourth preseason game is an league wide audition of practice squad players.

On to the season. No matter what, I think this team makes the playoffs, and as long as that happens, this team has a chance to reach its goal. If things go "as they should" then this team goes 12-4.

Regardless, I am excited for the season to begin. Go Cardinals!

 

[DVontel]

Great write up, RM.

I'm not sure if you can say Nelson lacks the hands Smoke does. Small sample size, yes, but Nelson made more impressive catches to me last season than Smoke did despite playing way less snaps.

 

[BigRedRage]

Great write up, RM.

I'm not sure if you can say Nelson lacks the hands Smoke does. Small sample size, yes, but Nelson made more impressive catches to me last season than Smoke did despite playing way less snaps.

he can catch but john brown has proven to be nails over and over while JJ has just made a few big plays. I hope john is back come 9/11 but if not, Nelson is like a cheap version of him. It seems people are discounting brown and what he does, like anyone else can take the top off the way he does but taking the top off isnt just about being fast, its about being fast AND a true threat.

 

[oaken1]

Great write up, RM.

I'm not sure if you can say Nelson lacks the hands Smoke does. Small sample size, yes, but Nelson made more impressive catches to me last season than Smoke did despite playing way less snaps.

I agree...considering Smoke cradles a very high number of his catches against his chest... little dude catches like a TE.... likely due to smaller hands maybe?
One thing I really do not want to see this season is CP getting smoke locked like he did in several games last season. He would throw to JB in double coverage while Floyd was wide open

 

[Buckybird]

Good write up Rugby but I don't think there's no chance in hell Niklas starts for this team. He's a holding machine in the run game & his receiving skills aren't on par with Fells at this point

 

[Chainthroer]

Nice assessment Rugby. However, I'd add Chris Hubert to the final 53. He might be small, but has the speed, hands and moving versatility. I don't believe he can be hidden on the PS.

 

[Shane]

Great write up, RM.

I'm not sure if you can say Nelson lacks the hands Smoke does. Small sample size, yes, but Nelson made more impressive catches to me last season than Smoke did despite playing way less snaps.

Not to mention Browns hands can go into hibernation at times..

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Nice assessment Rugby. However, I'd add Chris Hubert to the final 53. He might be small, but has the speed, hands and moving versatility. I don't believe he can be hidden on the PS.

That could happen, but then this roster would have seven recievers on it. That is a lot, six is a lot already.

 

[Jasper]

I agree...considering Smoke cradles a very high number of his catches against his chest...

I though I was the only one that noticed that. He uses his body and arms to catch the ball.
I think Jaron Brown has better hands. Most quality receivers grab the ball and snatch it out of theair.

 

[football karma]

my take:

guys making the roster based on ST contributions with a *

QB (2) Palmer, Stanton
RB (4) DJ, CJ, Ellington, Taylor*
TE (4) Gresham, Fells, Niklas, Momah
WR (6) Fitz, Floyd, Smoke, JJ, Juron Brown, Golden*
OL (8) Veldheer, Iupati, AQ, Mathis, DJ, Watford, Toner, Boehm

DL (7) Calais, Gunter, Peters, Frostee, Nkemdiche, Mauro, Xavier Williams
OLB (4) Jones, Golden, K. Martin, Okafor
ILB (5) Minter, Fua, Buck, Clemons, G. Martin*
CB (4) PP, Bethel, Williams, Brooks
S (6) Badger, Jefferson, Branch, Christian, DJ Swearinger, Farley*

ST(3) Cat, Butler, Canaday

 

[Cardiac]

Another quality write up Rugby. I doubt Crisp makes the final 53 and I'm sure you don't think both Okafor and Martin will be inactive on game but one of them very well could be.

Pretty much agree with everything else.

 

[Jasper]

Red Bryant not going to make the team?

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Red Bryant not going to make the team?

I do not think so, and I am a big fan of Red Bryant. There is just so much talent at the defensive line position, and only so many player you can dress on game day. It doesn't make sense to keep Bryant, just to have him inactive on game day.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Another quality write up Rugby. I doubt Crisp makes the final 53 and I'm sure you don't think both Okafor and Martin will be inactive on game but one of them very well could be.

Pretty much agree with everything else.

The reason I have Crisp is because Watford is hurt, but if Earl Watford is going to be ready for the season opener, then I agree Crisp doesn't make the roster, and at that point I would think maybe Red Bryant or some other vet sneaks in for now.

I think that Okafor is going to be inactive for a bit, and since Kareem Martin plays special teams he will get the start and do emergency backup duty.

 

[Cardiac]

The reason I have Crisp is because Watford is hurt, but if Earl Watford is going to be ready for the season opener, then I agree Crisp doesn't make the roster, and at that point I would think maybe Red Bryant or some other vet sneaks in for now.

I think that Okafor is going to be inactive for a bit, and since Kareem Martin plays special teams he will get the start and do emergency backup duty.

Gotcha, all makes sense. I would add that they will need to rotate Martin in some just to keep Golden and Jones fresh. I think Jones will get 95% of the snaps and Golden 85% with Martin filling in on some of those and then the goal line and short yardage units may not include Golden.