Thursday, January 19, 2006
Season Re-cap
Let's look at where the Cardinals improved and where they regressed.
Defense - officially ended up statistically higher than 2004. I't hard to say they really got better, but they did start to figure out their schemes towards the end and I think it confused some teams. They still need a consistent rush from their front four, but I expect improvement next year. Linebackers - Orlando Huff was a downgrade from Ronald McKinnon. James Darling has a ton of heart, Karlos Dansby had a great year, and we still do not know what to expect from Gerald Hayes.
Our safeties were worse. Adrian Wilson had a good year towards the end when they basically lined him up as a linbacker and blitzed - but as far as a true safety - he is not. Robert Griffin suprised me a bit, but still slow - I think Ohalete was better last year.
Corners - too many injuries to evaluate, but Rolle looks like the real deal. Eric Green was burned a lot, but I see some things in him and will turn into a solid corner. (He was better than Pac man Jones!) Macklin is inconsistant - but a decent corner nonetheless.
Offense - yardage wise, much improved over last year, but could not score points. They ended up the number one passing offense. 2 receivers over 1400 yards is simply amazing. It can be argued that even with the huge numbers, it isn't a big improvment, except that Fitz did improve. Anquan is still the better receiver. We had way too many passing attempts.
Run - obviously a regression. No one really faults the RB's, but think about this - Emmit Smith ran behind basically the same line, and he was able to put together 950+ yards and a few 100 yard games. Sometimes, it was just the coaching not staying committed.
TE - they were a big improvement. We still couldn't get much blocking out of them, but Bergen was pretty solid for a rookie. Should be a good year next year.
Enough said about the line. It would be great to find a starting left tackle. move Leonard back to right guard, Lecky at center with Reggie Wells at Left guard. If healthy - that line could produce.
Defense - officially ended up statistically higher than 2004. I't hard to say they really got better, but they did start to figure out their schemes towards the end and I think it confused some teams. They still need a consistent rush from their front four, but I expect improvement next year. Linebackers - Orlando Huff was a downgrade from Ronald McKinnon. James Darling has a ton of heart, Karlos Dansby had a great year, and we still do not know what to expect from Gerald Hayes.
Our safeties were worse. Adrian Wilson had a good year towards the end when they basically lined him up as a linbacker and blitzed - but as far as a true safety - he is not. Robert Griffin suprised me a bit, but still slow - I think Ohalete was better last year.
Corners - too many injuries to evaluate, but Rolle looks like the real deal. Eric Green was burned a lot, but I see some things in him and will turn into a solid corner. (He was better than Pac man Jones!) Macklin is inconsistant - but a decent corner nonetheless.
Offense - yardage wise, much improved over last year, but could not score points. They ended up the number one passing offense. 2 receivers over 1400 yards is simply amazing. It can be argued that even with the huge numbers, it isn't a big improvment, except that Fitz did improve. Anquan is still the better receiver. We had way too many passing attempts.
Run - obviously a regression. No one really faults the RB's, but think about this - Emmit Smith ran behind basically the same line, and he was able to put together 950+ yards and a few 100 yard games. Sometimes, it was just the coaching not staying committed.
TE - they were a big improvement. We still couldn't get much blocking out of them, but Bergen was pretty solid for a rookie. Should be a good year next year.
Enough said about the line. It would be great to find a starting left tackle. move Leonard back to right guard, Lecky at center with Reggie Wells at Left guard. If healthy - that line could produce.
