Arizona Cardinals News: Roster Cuts and Packers Aftermath
The Arizona Cardinals have two major goals over the next two days. The first, cutting the roster down to 75, shouldn't be terribly difficult but the second, determining whether Friday nights game was a sign of things to come or just a hiccup, will prove to be a more tenuous evaluation. First things first though, the Cardinals have to cut four players by tomorrow, assuming that Cody Brown is finally placed on IR. Another factor that will effect the number of players exiting will the be severity of Pago Togafau's injury. According to various reports he broke a bone in his right foot and while no one has mentioned a timetable for his return, there are some reports that he could miss significant time. If he is headed to the injured reserve as well, then the Cardinals would only hand three players their walking papers. Regardless of how many are cut, the news is expected to come down sometime today, if not very soon.
Sadly for the Cardinals though the bigger issue right now is the underwhelming, to say the least, effort that they displayed Friday night against the Packers. Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt was "embarrassed" and hoped that this would be a wake up call to his team (sounds eerily familiar to his comments after a 47-7 loss to the Patriots last year). Darnell Dockett questioned whether some of his teammates played "all out," Kurt Warner said that everyone on the team should feel a "sense of urgency" and Karlos Dansby simply said that is was time to go "back to the drawing board," but the time for talking is just about over. The defending NFC Champs will take the field just one more time in the preseason, in three short days, but starters and veterans rarely play much more than a series or two in the preseason finale, so it's very likely that we'll enter the regular season opener with more questions than answers. Among the questions that need to be answered:
Kurt Warner's health/effectiveness: First let's be clear, no one is calling for KW to be benched or put on a short leash but his play through three preseason games has been somewhat alarming. Questions about the health of his surgically repaired hip won't go way, especially when his preseason play so far has consisted of three turnovers, zero touchdowns and a QB rating of 56.8. Would his 38 year old body be better served by resting for a week or are his struggles simply a result of a lack of preseason game planning?
Antrel Rolle second season at safety: It was a generally accepted theory that Rolle would have a breakout type season in 2009 simply because he's fully acclimated to the free safety spot and he could finally rely on his natural playmaking instincts and top flight athleticism rather than trying to learn on the fly. So far though, Rolle still looks raw and he's still struggling with plays getting behind him. Is this the year that Rolle finally puts it all together or will he continue to be a step behind?
Depth at Linebacker: The depth at linebacker wasn't considered a strength of this team heading into camp and so far they've lost their second round draft pick for the season and one of the top backups on the inside now has a broken foot. With the importance placed on solid linebacker play and performance from a 3-4 defense, it will be very important to keep Dansby, Gerald Hayes, Chike Okeafor and Clark Haggans healthy. While a couple of youngsters are showing some promising signs, will the Cardinals be looking for a veteran backup on the waiver wire?
Offensive line continuity: For all the of positive vibes coming out of the offseason and training camp about how the Cardinals line was going to be stronger than ever after having their starting five work together for all 20 games last season, there are quite a few pass rushers getting clean shots on Cardinals quarterbacks this preseason. Too often the opposing defenses are finding ways to bring blitzers free with pressure off the edge or twisting moves of the middle. Can this offensive line keep the quarterback clean long enough for him to find the talented receivers on this team?
Who makes the cut at WR: For the past several months the question has been who makes the squad as the fourth, fifth or even sixth wide receiver this season. With so much talent at the top of the depth chart it's been hard for some younger guys to break through but several guys had a chance on Friday with two of the top four sidelined with injuries. Now that the dust has settled though, I'm not sure that anyone really helped or hurt their case for the final roster. Sean Morey showed that he had some decent hands and could take a hit but we all know that he's a special teams player first and foremost. Early Doucet dropped a couple of balls but also ended up with five catches (18.6 ypc) and a nifty touchdown on a WR screen. Lance Long had the worst game of the guys squarely on the bubble considering that he had just one catch, a dropped pass and fumbled a punt return. It's probably splitting hairs but the race for the final WR spot will probably go down to the wire.
Tight Ends Race: As with the wide receivers, we've been talking about the tight end spot and all of it's possibilities since the 2009 season ended. So far through a month of training camp and three preseason games the only thing that we know for sure is that we don't really know. Ben Patrick, despite a four game suspension looming, has been the starter each game and looks like he might be the most complete player. Stephen Spach, who had a rough game dropping passes, jumping offsides and collecting a holding penalty just to top off the night, is running with the first team but he still hasn't picked up a single reception this season. Leonard Pope leads all tight ends in receptions and yards but he still hasn't done much to distinguish himself from the pack. Anthony Becht is proving to be as advertised, a third offensive tackle when he's on the field. He's not a threat in the passing game but can seal the edge in the running game. Dominique Byrd, the most intriguing of the bunch, had his best night hauling in a pass and flashing some run after the catch skills as he turned a medium range pass into a 45 yard completion. His blocking skills have been better than advertised but he still seems to be at the bottom of the totem pole. The question remains, how many will they keep and who will it be?
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Thoughts about who gets cut and what other questions need to be answered?
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I'm surprised that most are still chalking these struggles up to just being the preseason
We’re talking about an offense that can’t get out of it’s own way right now. I don’t think there’s any way that you could watch the past three games, preseason or not, and not be at least a tiny bit worried. I’m not saying that anyone should be benched or we all get in a big circle and burn someone’s jersey but the lack of production has been alarming. Who’d have guessed that we’d feel better about the running game than the passing game?
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
I watched the packers gamelast night on my DVR
I originally voted 2, but am now leaning toward 3 or even 4. I hope the cards can really step it up when the season starts.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Sep 1, 2009 2:34 PM MDT up reply actions
lol Who picked option 5?
Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds
Looks like the Cuts are going to be....
keith Lewis, Pago Togafu, Brandon Pearce and Michael Ray Garvin. Cody Brown, as we all knew was gonna happen was put on the IR.
Kind of sad to see Garvin get cut. Seemed like a natural in returning duties. Hopefully once he gets better we can get sign him to the practice squad.
+1
Los Dos Molinos would be an excellent example. Damn I miss Arizona right now.
Section 135, Row 35
by AJ BirdWatcher on Aug 31, 2009 4:15 PM MDT up reply actions
Lance Long didn’t have the best night, but did you catch how much he got smashed? Owch. And he always popped right back up. Always good to see someone who can do that.
That's true.
Whiz gave props to Doucet for playing through broken ribs, but by my count, Long gets hit harder more frequently, and has yet to be injured significantly, which is about the only advantage he has right now.
Not sure what to think about Rolle. Hope R. Johnson pans out?
LBs: Walker & Davis seem to be catching on. This helps settle some of my worries. Hobson has 2 tackles and a sack — could be better, could be worse, I guess? Highsmith has been a total non-factor, but he has been sitting due to injury so I’m not so sure what can be said about him… I think with as much as he’s been injured, we should really look elsewhere for depth.
The O-line is a mixed bag. They seem to be doing better in run blocking and the depth looks pretty good. As for the pass protection, we’ve been facing a lot of blitzes — ridiculous, sell-out blitzes, especially against Green Bay — and I don’t think the offense has really been tuned well enough at this point to give the big guys much of a chance.
My big question at TE’s now is Spach. He’s been pretty quiet when he hasn’t been flubbing every play he’s on the field for. Has he been moving down the ladder? (Don’t remember of the GB game was his first or not) Pope hasn’t been spectacular, but he’s been steady, and hasn’t made many mistakes. What I’ve seen from Byrd has been surprisingly positive.










![Bobby McCray, the man who ended Kurt Warner's career [and nailed Favre in the Ankle] has been released by the Saints according to PFT.com. It seems like it was to avoid a 1.25 million dollar roster bonus.](http://cdn0.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/127186/atg.warner.getty_small.jpg)









