Well guys, I'm sorry I haven't posted in forever, been stuck out here in Fort Sill, OK and before that in O.C.S. down in Fort Benning, GA. Anyways, It is truly awesome to enter a season with not just pipe dreams of making the playoffs but legitimate expectations of not only making it to the playoffs but to be division champs for the second straight year, to be NFC champs again and to finally win the big one.
Just wanted to let you guys know that after 21 years of watching the Cards struggle and being loyal it is unreal to finally see the day were it all pays off (so to speak) and I'll be cheering for them as I finish my time out here in Fort Sill and get ready to head to Korea.
Keep up the good work with the board all you Cardinal fans. That means EVERYONE from the kool-aid drinkers to the darksiders and everyone in between
With all that said, I think we've improved as a team, but the running game and defensive backfield will be the keys to whether it all clicks this year. We know we can throw all over the field and our run defense is solid (though sometimes they have brain farts on angles and how to finish).
The big questions in the secondary (at least to me and that's not saying much) are can McFadden stay healthy and how will we use Johnson are rookie safety? When McFadden is on the field he's solid and will make a great combo with DRC and I think Johnson is a vast upgrade over Francisco (which is like saying a Lamborghini is an upgrade over a yugo). But the release of Hood bothers me, yes Rolle is there, but aren't we expecting him to be our starting FS or will he be playing the nickel corner with Johnson sliding in? Personally I think that if we do not use the newly freed cap space to resign/redo the contracts of Dockett, AW, Boldin, or Dansby it will hurt more than help.
As for the running game, the Line has to get just flat out meaner. They do well in the pass protection but they don't seem to have the same fire when they have to attack the guy across from them rather than deflect the rush. Over simplification I know, but that is going to be the main issue to me. Grimm should be able to fix this, being his third year in the desert and the guys looking more and more like they are buying into the concepts put down by the coaches. The second part of this equation is going to be the loss of Edge and the drafting of Wells. I hope that Wells' injury history is a thing of the past like AP who shrugged all of that off and seems to be the most complete running back in the league. If that is the case then we have no worries at RB, but if he is still being bit by the injury bug then we have an issue because frankly I don't believe that Hightower is the answer as a full time starter, as a goalline monster and short yardage/spell back yes, starter no.
And that's all I got to say about that....have fun ripping it apart and now back to your regularly scheduled craziness.
Just wanted to let you guys know that after 21 years of watching the Cards struggle and being loyal it is unreal to finally see the day were it all pays off (so to speak) and I'll be cheering for them as I finish my time out here in Fort Sill and get ready to head to Korea.
Keep up the good work with the board all you Cardinal fans. That means EVERYONE from the kool-aid drinkers to the darksiders and everyone in between
With all that said, I think we've improved as a team, but the running game and defensive backfield will be the keys to whether it all clicks this year. We know we can throw all over the field and our run defense is solid (though sometimes they have brain farts on angles and how to finish).
The big questions in the secondary (at least to me and that's not saying much) are can McFadden stay healthy and how will we use Johnson are rookie safety? When McFadden is on the field he's solid and will make a great combo with DRC and I think Johnson is a vast upgrade over Francisco (which is like saying a Lamborghini is an upgrade over a yugo). But the release of Hood bothers me, yes Rolle is there, but aren't we expecting him to be our starting FS or will he be playing the nickel corner with Johnson sliding in? Personally I think that if we do not use the newly freed cap space to resign/redo the contracts of Dockett, AW, Boldin, or Dansby it will hurt more than help.
As for the running game, the Line has to get just flat out meaner. They do well in the pass protection but they don't seem to have the same fire when they have to attack the guy across from them rather than deflect the rush. Over simplification I know, but that is going to be the main issue to me. Grimm should be able to fix this, being his third year in the desert and the guys looking more and more like they are buying into the concepts put down by the coaches. The second part of this equation is going to be the loss of Edge and the drafting of Wells. I hope that Wells' injury history is a thing of the past like AP who shrugged all of that off and seems to be the most complete running back in the league. If that is the case then we have no worries at RB, but if he is still being bit by the injury bug then we have an issue because frankly I don't believe that Hightower is the answer as a full time starter, as a goalline monster and short yardage/spell back yes, starter no.
And that's all I got to say about that....have fun ripping it apart and now back to your regularly scheduled craziness.