Robert Alford

Veer

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We got lucky that Alford got available in first place. He must be among the best in terms of a true #2 CB. He is used to getting picked on by other teams because Trufant plays on the other side and the Falcons defense - when healthy - is very fast and hard hitting over the middle. This could be Antonio Cromartie all over again, the only time we had a legit CB opposite PP who could make plays consistently. Marcus Cooper obviously made some highlight reel plays as well. We could never keep him because he was just on Keim's special prove-it deal and obviously wanted more money. I still remember him being torched quite often for biting too much on double moves, which was unacceptable in our man free defense. Alford has always striked me as a true #2 CB that won't embarass himself opposite a true shutdown CB and can make plays as well. We had enough embarassing CBs starting opposite PP in recent years that we should appreciate finally having a legit one. Have to draft one as well at some point, but more likely to challenge Alford's spot in 2020.
 

JeffGollin

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Most posts either say: "He sucks" or "Great pick."

Somewhere between the extremes probably lies the truth.

So...would anyone care to objectively lay out Alford's good points and poor points and why one of the two sets of points out-trumps the other (if it, in fact, does)?

(This will be a reocurring theme of mine because I know less about these guys than I should, and get frustrated because most of the player write-ups here point to "Pro Bowl" or "abject failure" making it hard to determine whether player-info is or isn't credible).
 

unseenaz

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I heard on the radio that he was injured for most of last season and his play suffered because of that. If true, and he was able to get healthy over the offseason this could be a great move
 

RugbyMuffin

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’d rather gone after Bradley Roby who is younger and played a lot of man and under Vance Joseph in DEN.

???? Not sure how the Cardinals could have done that since free agency has not started yet ?

I think it would be EXTREMELY premature to think this is all that is going to happen at the CB position this offseason.

Patrick Peterson
Robert Alford

............................................*crickets*


And no David Amerson who was pulled off the pile of guys that were available in the last 3rd of the regular season is not something the Cardinals should be sitting on.

It's not even March.

EDIT: To be fair, if this IS the only move the Cardinals make without creating some sort of competition for that CB2 position, then that would be a mistake. The money would suggest that they are slotting this guy in to be a starter.

One would hope they draft one of the many promising cornerback prospects coming out in the draft, or at least bring in more veteran competition.

If this is the Cardinals' main move for the spot, that is putting a lot of eggs in one basket and hoping that basket can reverse the course of his career.
 
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RugbyMuffin

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That's a ridiculous comparison. Alford has been a starting corner since his rookie year.


Agreed. Justin Bethel played ........ wait for it. 0% of the snaps for the Falcons last year at corner back. Bethel even seeing the field in AZ was pure Keim hubris at his best.

So, yes, the comparison is quite poor. Not saying Alford is the answer, but this team needs depth as well. Before signing Alford, this team has NO ONE behind Peterson.

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Cbus cardsfan

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I'm ok with the signing. I just think it's a little pricey.

I just hope Keim doesn't go all Daniel Snyder and start over paying everybody out of desperation. Getting a #2 CB was a priority though.
 

Chopper0080

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This is the equivalent of our Jermaine Gresham signing. IS he better than what we had? Yes. Is he worth what we are going to give him? No.

This dude even has a similar issue as Gresham as being the bonehead who is always getting a penalty called on him when you can least afford it.

I get it is better than Amerson and Brandon Williams, but that doesn't make it a good signing.
 

ARZCardinals

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Way to go Keim!

"Atlanta Falcons veteran cornerback Robert Alford, on the other hand, struggled to limit opposing quarterback and wide receiver success in 2018, allowing a league-high 137.0 passer rating across his 557 coverage snaps. He allowed 51 receptions from 75 targets for 849 yards, 36 first downs and seven touchdowns in the regular season, and he logged zero interceptions to boot."

8 million a year spent on him - KEIM TIME
11 million on WR who ranked 36th in the league.

Keim is spending money like a drug addict who just got his parents inheritance.
 
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Jetstream Green

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Most posts either say: "He sucks" or "Great pick."

Somewhere between the extremes probably lies the truth.

So...would anyone care to objectively lay out Alford's good points and poor points and why one of the two sets of points out-trumps the other (if it, in fact, does)?

(This will be a reocurring theme of mine because I know less about these guys than I should, and get frustrated because most of the player write-ups here point to "Pro Bowl" or "abject failure" making it hard to determine whether player-info is or isn't credible).

This and he is worth the contract because that evaluation of him is exactly what a number two starting corner usually is. This sure the hell beats waiting on Brandon Williams and other cheap options which on cue suck rocks and then we have to grasp for a vet
 

ARZCardinals

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This and he is worth the contract because that evaluation of him is exactly what a number two starting corner usually is. This sure the hell beats waiting on Brandon Williams and other cheap options which on cue suck rocks and then we have to grasp for a vet

If he was valued at a #2 starting CB and not what he's actually done.
Last year he was the WORST CB against QB's and WR's who raked up a 137.0 passer rating against him.
Just cause Keim opens the wallet doesn't make this fool a #2 CB.
As everyone here has seen Keim has NO ability to find a CB across from PP. The list is longer than Browns QB's.

Gotta love all the GREAT JOB talk re: Alford....it takes all of 4 minutes to research what he's done to find out Alford ranked worse than Justin Bethel at CB....yea you just got a CB worse than Bethel...and you paid $24 million for him.
 

GuernseyCard

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If he was valued at a #2 starting CB and not what he's actually done.
Last year he was the WORST CB against QB's and WR's who raked up a 137.0 passer rating against him.
Just cause Keim opens the wallet doesn't make this fool a #2 CB.
As everyone here has seen Keim has NO ability to find a CB across from PP. The list is longer than Browns QB's.

Williams, who returned to GB, was a solid #2.
 
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Jetstream Green

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If he was valued at a #2 starting CB and not what he's actually done.
Last year he was the WORST CB against QB's and WR's who raked up a 137.0 passer rating against him.
Just cause Keim opens the wallet doesn't make this fool a #2 CB.
As everyone here has seen Keim has NO ability to find a CB across from PP. The list is longer than Browns QB's.

Cooper and Williams says he can, so you are wrong about that and Alford was playing hurt last year and that's not an excuse but a fact, and yet they trusted him more than putting a free agent Falcon out there which goes by name of Bethel now. The salary can be explained without giving you an explanation because you have seem to have watched the Falcons by your judgement and I would imagine also must know their recent draft history and Alford's salary which they would have to pay him... so you must be making a clever ploy at sarcasm :)
 
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Jetstream Green

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Cooper and Williams says he can, so you are wrong about that and Alford was playing hurt last year and that's not an excuse but a fact, and yet they trusted him more than putting a free agent Falcon out there which goes by name of Bethel now. The salary can be explained without giving you an explanation because you have seem to have watched the Falcons by your judgement and I would imagine also must know their recent draft history and Alford's salary which they would have to pay him... so you must be making a clever ploy at sarcasm :)

Wait Jet, you're wrong... you forgot Jerraud Powers at CB which did work I believe when Keim took the job :mrgreen:
 
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Krangodnzr

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This is the equivalent of our Jermaine Gresham signing. IS he better than what we had? Yes. Is he worth what we are going to give him? No.

This dude even has a similar issue as Gresham as being the bonehead who is always getting a penalty called on him when you can least afford it.

I get it is better than Amerson and Brandon Williams, but that doesn't make it a good signing.

I think the bigger problem with signing Gresham to that kind of money is that TE is a non-premium position. Cornerback is a premium position. Alford has been a decent starting corner for most of his career.

Look at like this. Would you rather pay an average TE $7.5 million, or pay an average corner $8 million? Hopefully the idea is that Alford fills a hole and that Keim finds a young guy in the draft. CB is just another position that Keim hasn't been able to identify (as well as OL, ILB, and TE).
 
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Jetstream Green

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I think the bigger problem with signing Gresham to that kind of money is that TE is a non-premium position. Cornerback is a premium position. Alford has been a decent starting corner for most of his career.

Look at like this. Would you rather pay an average TE $7.5 million, or pay an average corner $8 million? Hopefully the idea is that Alford fills a hole and that Keim finds a young guy in the draft. CB is just another position that Keim hasn't been able to identify (as well as OL, ILB, and TE).

Yup, free agency and drafting is a totally different thing at the position and Keim does not seem able to identify a corner in the draft :soapbox:
 

slanidrac16

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Way to go Keim!

"Atlanta Falcons veteran cornerback Robert Alford, on the other hand, struggled to limit opposing quarterback and wide receiver success in 2018, allowing a league-high 137.0 passer rating across his 557 coverage snaps. He allowed 51 receptions from 75 targets for 849 yards, 36 first downs and seven touchdowns in the regular season, and he logged zero interceptions to boot."

8 million a year spent on him - KEIM TIME
11 million on WR who ranked 36th in the league.

Keim is spending money like a drug addict who just got his parents inheritance.

Your next positive post will be your first.
 

slanidrac16

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If you visit over the cap you will see the Falcons are capped strapped and simply couldn't afford to keep him. His 2017 stats are outstanding. He is better than any other corner on this roster not named Peterson. If Joseph's is thrilled tehn so am I no matter what ARZ Cardinal/Charger/whatever fan thinks.
 

AZfaninMN

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???? Not sure how the Cardinals could have done that since free agency has not started yet ?

I think it would be EXTREMELY premature to think this is all that is going to happen at the CB position this offseason.

Patrick Peterson
Robert Alford

............................................*crickets*


And no David Amerson who was pulled off the pile of guys that were available in the last 3rd of the regular season is not something the Cardinals should be sitting on.

It's not even March.

EDIT: To be fair, if this IS the only move the Cardinals make without creating some sort of competition for that CB2 position, then that would be a mistake. The money would suggest that they are slotting this guy in to be a starter.

One would hope they draft one of the many promising cornerback prospects coming out in the draft, or at least bring in more veteran competition.

If this is the Cardinals' main move for the spot, that is putting a lot of eggs in one basket and hoping that basket can reverse the course of his career.

We just paid a corner, who had his worst season of his career, $8m/year. He’s paying for past success that he may never have again since he’s now 30. We obviously have to make more moves at the position, but we can’t throw much more money at the position. $8m puts him 25th in the league if that were his cap hit. As I stated in an early post, I am a skeptic. Vance Joseph is a man coverage coach and we signed a player who gave up 31-41 and 8 TDs playing man. Don’t act like he’s a world beater.
 

JeffGollin

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GTHO if you think Cardinals secondary is not upgraded

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Alternate Take -

K2 and his staff will have their hands full transitioning to new schemes, terminology and roster.

Inserting Alford into a seconday with PP21, Swearinger, Budda etc. gives us one less position hole to worry about as we look forward to free agency and the draft
 
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Crimson Warrior

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If he was valued at a #2 starting CB and not what he's actually done.
Last year he was the WORST CB against QB's and WR's who raked up a 137.0 passer rating against him.
Just cause Keim opens the wallet doesn't make this fool a #2 CB.
As everyone here has seen Keim has NO ability to find a CB across from PP. The list is longer than Browns QB's.

Gotta love all the GREAT JOB talk re: Alford....it takes all of 4 minutes to research what he's done to find out Alford ranked worse than Justin Bethel at CB....yea you just got a CB worse than Bethel...and you paid $24 million for him.

Less than a year ago, he was referred to as "one of the most under-rated CBs in the NFL", and his 2017 season was by all accounts spectacular.

You have a valid point related to his performance last year, but overall, 8 per seems like a reasonable amount to gamble that he'll return to close to his 2017 form.
 

splitsecond

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Less than a year ago, he was referred to as "one of the most under-rated CBs in the NFL", and his 2017 season was by all accounts spectacular.

You have a valid point related to his performance last year, but overall, 8 per seems like a reasonable amount to gamble that he'll return to close to his 2017 form.

By all accounts 2018 was the outlier. He's a veteran in a spot where frankly we needed one so we could worry about gambles elsewhere (ie offense)
 
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