Sticking With Andre Roberts Over Braylon Edwards, Others Has Been Wise For Arizona Cardinals So Far

by Tyler Nickel on Sep 29, 2011 6:02 AM MDT in General Arizona Cardinals News

Throughout the offseason, rumors were flying of players that the Arizona Cardinals might have been looking to bring in at the wide receiver position. Instead, Ken Whisenhunt stuck to his guns, continuously praising the development of Andre Roberts and eventually making him the #2 WR across from Larry Fitzgerald.

Now that we are three games into the season, let's take a look at some of the names that were floating around and whether or not the Cardinals should have attempted to bring them in.

First, here are the stats for Roberts:

		RECEIVING							KICKOFF RETURNS					PUNT RETURNS
YEAR	TEAM	G	REC	YDS	Y/G	AVG	LNG	TD	KR	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	PR	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
2011	Cardinals	3	9	89	0	9.8	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

As you can see, he hasn't done too poorly this season. He has only six less receptions than star receiver Larry Fitzgerald and he is quickly becoming a consistent contributor to the Cardinals offense.

Now for the players that the Cardinals had a chance of signing/trading for:

Lee Evans:

		RECEIVING							KICKOFF RETURNS					PUNT RETURNS
YEAR	TEAM	G	REC	YDS	Y/G	AVG	LNG	TD	KR	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	PR	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
2011	Ravens	2	2	45	0	22.5	32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Braylon Edwards:

RECEIVING							KICKOFF RETURNS					PUNT RETURNS
YEAR	TEAM	G	REC	YDS	Y/G	AVG	LNG	TD	KR	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	PR	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
2011	49ers	2	4	48	0	12	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Also of note: Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Jerricho Cotchery.

As you can see, Roberts has better stats this season than any of the aforementioned players. Yes, both Edwards and Evans are on new teams, which means having to learn a new offense, but they are veterans, so they should be able to pick it up relatively quick. Roberts is only in his second season and he is the only one to have started all three games this season.

Aside from that, Cotchery has been out with a hamstring injury all year, Moss has retired from the league (for now) and Owens is rehabbing from ACL surgery.

Would these numbers be different if Edwards or Evans played for the Cardinals? Probably. They would be relied on more heavily and they would be placed into a more pass-oriented offense led by Kevin Kolb.

All in all, it looks like Ken Whisenhunt might have made the right decision after all. Roberts is panning out to be a productive young receiver and he could be a big part of this team for years to come. By the time it is all said and done, who would you rather have? Edwards/Evans for one good season or Roberts for multiple great years?

I look forward to seeing how Roberts' career progresses and I am happy with the front office's decision so far. What about you, fans? Do you think the Cardinals still should have traded for a veteran wide receiver?

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Comments

Not to mention....

Braylon’s knee injury followed by minor surgery. How long will he be out? Nobody knows….

The only thing I will say that’s not taken into acount here, is with Edwards or Evans, there’s the real possibility that defenses would give them more respect, leaving less doubles on Larry.

But yes, all in all, things are looking good. Doucet has also been fairly productive so far this year, actually moreso than Roberts, with :

3 Games, 10 Catches for 175 yards (17.5 yd. avg.) with a long of 70 yds. and 1 TD

by CardsRepInChile on Sep 29, 2011 6:46 AM MDT reply actions

+1 on all accounts.

If you don't have anything good to say about the Cards this season, you'd be correct.

by hevchv on Sep 29, 2011 7:39 AM MDT via mobile up reply actions

Braylon Edwards' knee injury

I was a bit surprised that wasn’t mentioned. Another name that was brought up repeatedly was Malcom Floyd who has had a groin injury already this season.

I’ve been content with what I’ve seen out of both Roberts and Doucet this season so far. I think they will do fine. I would like to see more from Steven Williams.

by hadrarius on Sep 29, 2011 9:48 AM MDT up reply actions

I got this one right.

I was writing on forums that the Cards still had depth at receiver and were not boneheaded to let Breaston go because Roberts was a better option and that the Cards didn’t need to look for a different #2. This makes it look a little better about how wrong I seem to have been about how well Kolb wouldn’t work out.

by Revenge of the Birds on Sep 29, 2011 10:39 AM MDT reply actions

i guess my question would be

why didnt you guys keep Steve Breaston? to outsiders, he seemed liked the heir apparent to Anquain, but it never fully clicked. why?

Yes, I am a Giants fan. Now that we got that out of the way....
IMPEACH DOLAN!!!!
I will not - lose! -Jay Z-
Marines say Oorah; BBVer's say SUAMBP! say it with me - Suuaahmbp!!!!

by wilddre22 on Sep 29, 2011 10:39 AM MDT reply actions

Hes missed some games with a knee injury

and the front office wasnt sure he was over it

by Redbird Nation #1 on Sep 29, 2011 11:09 AM MDT up reply actions

Also

had Doucet coming back and just drafted Roberts. The organization felt the depth was already there with or without Breaston so giving up more money to keep him wasn’t worth it (from their perspective). Personally I thought letting Breaston go was a mistake. Not from a depth issue as I have been a supporter of Doucet. Breaston was a guy who gave maximum effort on the field. Don’t know how he was in the locker room so much but he appeared to be exactly the kind of player that they talked about building a team around.

by hadrarius on Sep 29, 2011 8:02 PM MDT up reply actions