Soooo... as the dust settles on Super Bowl XXXVIII, leaving the Pittsburgh
Steelers (!) as NFL Champions after their 24-15 victory over the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers (!!), all 32 teams in the league are looking ahead to their next
campaign. And the Arizona Cardinals are no exception.
I break the news of his firing to Dave McGinnis delicately and tactfully, with
full concern for his feelings (“All those of you who have a job take one step
forward... McGinnis, where d’you think you’re going?”), and set about the task
of finding myself a new head coach. I ponder long and hard, and eventually
decide that if I’m going to go for a defensive guy, I might as well go for a
proper defensive guy and signed up Monte Kiffin, the Bucs’ defensive
co-ordinator, to a 4-year deal. As well as his defensive expertise, Kiffin
excels in building team chemistry and will hopefully help instil a good work
ethic on our young squad.
Kiffin will be aided by Dave Campo, the Oranges’ DC and former Dallas head
coach. The offensive side of the ball will be managed by Gil Haskell, previously
Seattle’s OC and someone who has also had considerable success coaching in
Carolina and Green Bay.
Yeah. That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.
So, with that under our belt, we move to my favourite part of the
post/pre-season – the list of retirees. To be honest, it’s a bit of a tame batch
this time out, the big names mostly coming, predictably enough, from the Oakland
Medicares – Gannon, Brown, Romo and, of course, the biggest names of all, Jerry
Rice and Emmitt Smith...
Hang on... Emmitt Smith? He had another year left on his contract! Ooooh, the
miserable, money-grubbing, all-time-rushing-leading little git! It’s a damned
good job that I’ve got more cap space than I know what to do with this year, or
I’d be seriously hacked off about that.
Another note on the list, then – need a backup running-back from somewhere.
Preferably a third-down, pass-catching type, since that’s mostly what Emmitt
brought to the table last year.
In other news, Cardinal Emmanuel McDaniel (CB, OVR 55) also announced his
retirement. I did a quick ask-around, but nobody on the team could remember ever
having seen the guy before. So... yeah. Goodbye, I s’pose.
Some nice progression from our younger lads in the wake of the season – Marcel
Shipp grabbed an extra 4 OVR points to take him to a total of 84, but the big
winners on the offence were Anquan Boldin, +6 OVR (!) to take him to 90, and
Bryant Johnson, who went up a massive 10 OVR points (!!) including 13 on his
Awareness alone (!!!) to take him to up 87.
Those two are going to own cornerbacks next year, you mark my words.
On the defence our starting nose tackle, Wendell Bryant, continues to make
progress toward acheiving full-on “Force Of Nature” status with a gain of 5 OVR
(86 OVR). Our two outside linebackers, Raynoch Thompson and Levar Fisher, get 3
and 4 points respectively to take them both to 78 OVR. Rookie right end Calvin
Pace also picks up 4 OVR, also reaching 78 OVR. Our secondary all gain 2-3 OVR
points each, particularly noteworthy in the case of SS Adrian Wilson as it takes
him all the way up to 91 OVR.
It’s not all good news, though. The most damaging blow is how much CB Duane
Starks’ play has degenerated during his year on IR. Once easily our best
cornerback, the loss of 10 OVR points (now 75 OVR) drops him down to the point
where he can only be considered for dime duty. More worryingly, the lingering
effects of his injury robs us of our only shut-down cornerback and makes it
doubly important that we bring in an elite player via the draft or free-agency.
Hmmm.
-
I cave during the contract renewal period and overpay to re-sign Bryan Gilmore (WR,
OVR 75, 4th year, 5 years/$9 million), basically because he’s proved himself to
be pretty reliable, because he’s the quickest wideout on the team and because
I’ve got the cap space to throw around. TE Freddie Jones throws his toys out of
the pram and threatens to hold out unless we up his contract, and I reward him
with a new deal because there’s no-one on the team who can replace him and I
can’t be arsed to go and find a new tight end (OVR 83, 8th year, 3 years/$7.03
million).
There’s no other real drama. Everyone I planned on keeping I dealt with during
the season, so it just remains to say goodbye to some roster-chaff (including
both centres. Note to self – might be an idea to pick up a new one at some
point) and look to the future.
I promise you this – the next time I do a draft, I’m going to make do a proper
writeup on who’s available, who I scout, who ends up where etc. It’s one of my
favourite parts of the game, and yet both times I’ve gotten to write about one
I’ve not done it justice.
Never mind. Next time.
Before draft-time, I sneak a quick peek at the available free-agents to give me
a better idea of where I have to invest my picks. To be honest, there’s not an
awful lot of help – all the players I’d tentatively tagged as cap-casualty
recruits seem to have been re-signed – the Rams giving Marc Bulger a blockbuster
4-year, $31 million deal yet still keeping Kurt Warner on the roster. A
couple of years and that team are going into cap meltdown, which’ll be fun to
watch. The Titans have kept Kearse and Rolle – damn – and even the Oranges are
hanging on to both Kelly Holcombe and Tim Couch.
Which isn’t to say there’s nothing there at all – it doesn’t look like I’ll have
too much of a problem filling the holes in the centre of both my lines, which
means I can concentrate on finding the edge-rusher and cornerback that I’m
convinced we need.
There are a couple of likely-looking corners available with my first-round pick,
and although the Bears steal my first choice (Bobby Harris, Texas A&M, OVR 81)
out from under my nose, I’m not too disappointed to land Jed Bowden from
Louisville (OVR 77, 5 years/$9.5 million). Bowden lacks ideal size (5’10”), and
will probably take a little time to adjust to the pros (AWR 59), but has both
speed and quickness (SPD 93, ACC 95) and will have every chance to develop with
the other young cornerbacks in our secondary. A solid pick.
If Bowden is satisfying, then having projected first-round talent Larry
Dickerson (RE, Nebraska, OVR 79, 5 years/$5.7 million) fall to me in the
second is an unexpected bonus. A bright player (AWR 74) who lacks a little in
both flat speed and nimbleness (SPD 58, AGL 62) but more than makes up for it
with a lightning first step (ACC 93!). Like him a lot.
Most of the players I think can really help us are gone by the third round, but
we unearth an unexpected gem in USC cornerback Jermaine Buchanan (OVR 70,
5 years/$3.4 million). Jermaine’s strength is his ability to follow receivers
through their cuts then break on the ball (AGL 98, ACC 96), his weaknesses a
lack of flat speed (SPD 85) and that he doesn’t contribute much in run support (TAK
47). Still a nice pick for this stage of the draft.
The later-round picks fill out various backup spots on the roster. Alonzo
Wheeler (RT OVR 68, Southern, 5 years/$3.3 million) and Antoine Wade
(C OVR 67, Kent State, 3 years/$1.23 million) provide depth on the o-line, while
Andre Harris (LOLB OVR 65, Kansas, 3 years/$950K) will back up our
linebackers along with probably-not-the-same-guy-who-had-a-hit-with-Steppin’-Out
Joe Jackson (ROLB OVR 65, Texas A&M, 3 years/$1.17 million).
So. Two defensive starters, one decent backup and roster filler. Not ideal, but
not too shabby either.
-
We don’t set the world on fire with our free agent signings, but all three fill
specific needs and can be expected to make a significant positive impact in the
new season. Probably the best signing is Roberto Garza, a 4th year player
who stood in at guard last season for the Atlanta Falcons but for us will revert
to centre (OVR 79, 5 years/$6.5 million).
A veteran entering his 9th year in the league, Paul Grasmanis comes in to
supply much-needed beef to the heart of the defensive line (OVR 81, 3 years/$6
million). Grasmanis is an excellent run-stuffer who should be a fine complement
to nose tackle Wendell Bryant.
The last player I grab is former Miami change-up back Travis Minor. Still only in his 4th year, Minor
should fill the 3rd-down-back role vacated by Emmitt Smith’s retirement
perfectly adequately (OVR 74, 3 years/$6 million).
Looking pretty good, if I do say so myself.
-
With Bowden and Buchanan coming in, it looks on the face of it like we’ve got
one cornerback too many. Four of the corners are young players just coming into
their peak form, one is a potent weapon on punt returns, and the sixth is a
veteran with his best years behind him who’s coming off a devestating injury and
is due to be paid $23 million over the next four years.
Hmmm. I wonder which one would be best to try and get off the books?
To be honest, my hopes aren’t high. Who’s going to be willing to tie up that
much cap-space on a player whose reputation far outweighs his actual ability?
Thank God for the one, the only Mike Martz, eh?
Let the record show that I didn’t go actively seeking a deal, I just put Starks
up on the block and waited to see if anyone would come to us. The trade’s hardly
a blockbuster – Duane Starks (CB OVR 75, 7th year) for sophomore wideout
Shaun
McDonald (OVR 70) and the Rams’ 6th round pick in next year’s draft. I like
McDonald’s pace (SPD 90) and I like the idea of potentially plunging St. Louis
even further into Salary Cap Hell (ROLB Tommy Polley and RE Grant Wistrom are in
their respective contract years, for example), so the deal is done.
McDonald will be our 4th wideout this season, with Larry Foster (WR OVR 68, 5th
year) cut to give us space on the roster. Shame. He’s such a nice lad, Foster.
To judge by his mugshot, at least.
And so, with the roster at least partway bedded-down, it’s off to training camp.
Both our star rookies look sharp, CB Jed Bowden working intensively on improving
his hands (+3 CTH, to 69) and Larry Dickerson, the RE, particularly impressing
in trench-fighting drills, getting himself all the way up to 81 OVR. Dickerson’s
performance seemed to spur on sophomore RE Calvin Pace, who improved himself to
79 OVR – with nothing to choose between them, I’m definitely going to have to
move one of the two to the left side of the defensive line so that both can
start.
The early indications from Marcel Shipp are encouraging, too, the big back
making great strides toward improve his ball-retention (+5 CAR, to 87, 85 OVR),
and Anquan Boldin looks ready to try and steal some of the acclaim that went Johnno’s way last season, with an outstanding training camp that sees him up to
90 OVR.
Both quarterbacks look solid enough in practice (Blake 83 OVR, McCown 69 OVR),
as did Bill “The Other” Gramatica (+3 KPW, to 93) and Scotty Player (+4 KPW, to
97). But we won’t really know what sort of shape the team’s in until the we’ve
played our fake games...
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As is traditional, not too much effort expended on the pre-season...
PIT 45-21 ARI (0-1)
Game Notable For: Being the first game for the New And Improved Cardinals’ Defence. Which looks at first glance an awful lot like the Old And Unimproved Cardinals’ Defence.
Upside: The new defensive starters play for the first quarter, during which Pittsburgh’s high-powered pass offence scored nary a point and Maddox throws a pick. Hold the Steelers to less than 50 yards rushing.
Downside: Josh McCown throws three TD passes – one for Jason McAddely, and two for the Pittsburgh secondary. Five turnovers in all torpedo what is a pretty damned solid defensive performance.
Stat Of The Game: One of the all-time great debuts for a running back sees Travis Minor rack up 13 rushes for -13 yards, no scores, two fumbles. Yes, that’s minus thirteen. It’s like the Second Coming of Ron Dayne.
ARI 45-31 ATL (1-1)
Game Notable For: Being a tight, low-scoring, defensive battle until the half. At which point things go completely mental.
Upside: This time the New Defence plays the entire first half, holding Atlanta to just 3 points. Once again, the run defence is much improved, the Falcons gaining just 64 yards, 23 of which are a couple of Vick scrambles. Good showing by the new Cards – rookie RE Larry Dickerson has a sack and a tackle-for-loss, rookie CB Jed Bowden picks off a pass, free-agent DT Paul Grasmanis registers a sack and WR Shaun McDonald gets 146 yards on 6 catches, including a 74-yard TD.
Downside: Kurt Kittner puts up 336 yards passing in the second half.
Stat Of The Game: Points scored in the first two quarters – 17. Points scored in the 3rd quarter - 45 (24 by the Cardinals, 21 by the Falcons).
ARI 28-35 GB (1-2)
Game Notable For: Being nip-and-tuck until the 4th quarter, when Green Bay scored 3 TDs to finally put this sucker away.
Upside: Shut down Ahman Green stone cold – 7 rushes, 17 yards. Those are Travis Minor-type numbers! Another big day for Josh McCown against the scrubs – 21/24, 272 yards.
Downside: Najeh Davenport owned us in the 2nd half – 10 rushes, 79 yards, 2 TDs.
Stat Of The Game: Cardinals passing yardage – 497. Cardinals rushing yardage – 54. Cardinals receiving TDs – 0. Cardinals rushing TDs – 4.
OAK 28-38 ARI (2-2)
Game Notable For: Up by 10 and facing 1st and goal on the Raider 1-foot line with 30 seconds to go, we show class and take the knee to see out the clock. Never hurts to make a small deposit in the Good Karma bank.
Upside: Total 265 yards on the ground – Marcel getting 124 on 29 attempts and Travis Minor finally has a good game, picking up 141 yards on just 15 carries, including a 59 yard TD as we’re grinding the clock at the end of the 4th.
Downside: One of the worst passing attacks in living memory drops 350 yards and 2 TDs
on us.
Stat Of The Game: Raiders run 8 times, pass 39 times. Cardinals run 44 times, pass 29 times.
-
Progression is a smidge disappointing – the only two players who gain
significantly are St. Louis castoff Shaun McDonald (+4 OVR – 74) and, gasp, Josh
McCown (+3 OVR – 72). 1st-round pick Jed Bowden picks up 2 points to take him to
79 OVR, and DolFan’s best mate Gerald Hayes also gains 2 points, now on 72 OVR –
probably not quite enough to force me to start him, although he’ll be 2nd in the
depth chart for all three linebacker positions.
The starters for the 2004 Arizona Cardinals, then, look more than a little like
this:
OFFENCE
QB – Jeff BLAKE (13th year, 83 OVR)
HB – Marcel SHIPP (4th year, 85 OVR)
FB – James HODGINS (6th year, 91 OVR)
FL – Anquan BOLDIN (2nd year, 91 OVR)
SE – Bryant JOHNSON (2nd year, 88 OVR)
TE – Freddie JONES (8th year, 83 OVR)
LT – Leonard SHELTON (4th year, 84 OVR)
LG – Pete KENDALL (9th year, 91 OVR)
C – Roberto GARZA (4th year, 79 OVR)
RG – Leonard DAVIS (4th year, 96 OVR)
RT – Anthony CLEMENT (7th year, 77 OVR)
DEFENCE
LE – Calvin PACE (2nd year, 80 OVR)
DT – Wendell BRYANT (3rd year, 86 OVR)
DT – Paul GRASMANIS (9th year, 81 OVR)
RE – Larry DICKERSON (Rookie, 81 OVR)
SLB – Raynoch THOMPSON (5th year, 78 OVR)
MLB – Ronald McKINNON (9th year, 83 OVR)
WLB – Levar FISHER (3rd year, 79 OVR)
LCB – Jed BOWDEN (Rookie, 79 OVR)
FS – Dexter JACKSON (6th year, 85 OVR)
SS – Adrian WILSON (4th year, 91 OVR)
RCB – Tay CODY (4th year, 79 OVR)
SPECIAL TEAMS
K – Bill GRAMATICA (4th year, 92 OVR)
P – Scott PLAYER (7th year, 99 OVR)
KR/PR – Terry FAIR (7th year, 99 OVR)
KR – Josh SCOBEY (3rd year, 85 OVR)
OFFENCE: 85
DEFENCE: 81
SPECIAL TEAMS: 96
OVERALL: 83
Still not there in terms of being a playoff contender, but definitely moving in
the right direction. The biggest improvements are along the D-line, at centre
and at wide receiver, while our secondary has become much deeper – vital when
you share a division with the St. Louis Rams and the Seattle Seahawks. The
offence, with just one new starter, should be at least as effective as last year
while the defence is now merely below average, as opposed to “laughable”.
Bottom line – if the defence can manage just two extra “stops” a game this year,
and the offence doesn’t drop off in performance (and there’s no reason why it
should), we’ll be an 8-8 team. I’m absolutely convinced of that.
Of course, I was absolutely convinced that Miami would walk the AFC East this
year, so what do I know?
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(c) daniel
roe 2004
