This is a team that is in desperate need of a quarterback. Larry Fitzgerald is still awesome and getting open but his quarterback(s) in 2010 were atrocious. The entire history of the Chicago Bears organization looked at the 2010 Arizona Cardinals and were laughing at how bad their quarterback play was. John Skelton proved he's at least accurate enough to throw to a wide open receiver (in Fitzy) which was something Derek Anderson and Max Hall could not do.
I know this team has many other areas to address and the last "97" (the highest rating for a college player according to Scout's Inc) player left is OLB Von Miller- which this team could desperate use, but this team needs Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert. The Cardinals have the benefit of playing in the worst division in professional sports so the addition of Gabbert could immediately spring this team into a playoff birth.
Now the Cardinals probably are a linebacker away from being an elite defense again, but I think former Steelers coordinator Ken Wisenhunt can address those needs later in the draft. This team has a pretty darn good secondary with Kerry Rhodes and Adrian Wilson at safety and the best Cromartie corner in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. According to Advanced NFL Stats the Cardinals had the best defensive lineman in 2010 in Darnell Dockett. So Texas A&M's Von Miller playing opposite of the aging Joey Porter could do great things, but I'll trust Whisenhunt with an offense.
After taking a *huge* whiff and miss (much like a Carlos Pena at bat in 2010) on Beanie Wells a few years back the Cardinals also need a running back. While I am under the personal belief that Tim Hightower could do pretty darn good with talented offensive line, if Illinois running back Mikel LeShoure falls out of the first round (which is entirely plausible) I think he could fall to Arizona in the second. Denver is "stuck" with Knowshown Moreno, the Bills have Spiller and Fred Jackson and the Bengals have Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott. With New England having the first pick in the second round (via a trade with Carolina) and two first round picks it does worry me that they will draft either LeShoure or Alabama's Mark Ingram which will mean there is no way a good running back (in either LeShoure or Ingram) will fall to Arizona. But that being said, we're talking about the New England Patriots here. They have such a fantastic offensive line that they can plug in a practice squad guy (Danny Woodhead) and their 4th guy on the depth chart (The Law Firm) and have a great rushing attack so why draft a running back? Point is, if either LeShoure or Ingram fall to the Cardinals in the beginning of the second round, the Cardinals should snag them up in a heart beat.
Cardinal's Needs:
- Offensive Lineman
Essentially every bad team's needs offensive lineman
- Linebacker
- Defensive Lineman
Arizona needs someone, anyone to help out Dockett
it was quite shocking to me when i heard mcshay on the radio raving about blaine gabbert. yes, he did torch the illini every season opener, but i never thought of him as a top QB prospect. Yes he's tall, with a pretty good arm, but i feel like he doesnt have anything else that would make him elite. Just profiting off a very weak QB class
ReplyDeleteI've heard nothing but the opposite. Trent Dilfer, Todd McShay, and Mel Kiper all have Gabbert as an elite prospect, the #1 quarterback, and all have expressed, even without Luck, how strong this QB draft is.
ReplyDeleteI dunno we'll see, David Carr, Tim Couch, and Joey Harrington all have been elite prospects as well, but with guys like Matt Ryan, Sam Bradford, Joe Flacco and Josh Freeman maybe these guys finally know what they're talking about