FanPost

Shake ups, shaking up and the Position group grades.

Defense: Since the last post our defense is still quietly one of the better units in the league still. They have up'd the ante on generating the ever so critical turnover via INT. Grade: A-

Secondary: Peterson is shaping up to be a shutdown kind of a guy, but the problem is Gay has made plays, but he is also a liability on the other end. Rhodes has still been solid, and our rookies have been burned, but in fairness to our rookie's those TD passes caught on their watch were fantastic, and there was nothing else they really could have done from a coverage standpoint so they get a pass. Rhodes is still playing solid, and Whisenhunt pulled a bold move by benching our beloved Adub on passing downs. While I have been wondering who the heir apparent to Adub was going to be it's obvious we already have him on the roster in Johnson. The plus about Johnson is he loves going for the dirty shot (see his two fines). Grade: A+

Linebacker: Acho is still going to be the steal of his draft, if D-Wash gets passed over as an all pro selection it should be the crime of the season. Groves has been a pleasant surprise. Which leads me to the biggest liability on our outstanding defense, Paris Lenon, it is time to show old man Lenon the door he had faded after Week 10 since he was a Cardinal and it's no coincidence opposing offense's target him early and often in the run game. It's frustrating that Whiz will bench Wilson, but Lenon still sees nearly every snap of a game. Grade: C+

Line: Our D-line has dealt with some injuries with Cambpell and have not lost a step, in fact the fresh legs of David Carter are collapsing a pocket much like CC and DD did early in the season. We may have the most talented and deepest front 3 in the entire league. All in all they are still performing at an elite level, and the losing streak has nothing to do with this squad. Someone remind me, but I am almost positive PFF gave both Dumpster Dan and David Carter the secret superstar nod, turns out that they have been on the money. Grade: A+

Offense: Still depressing, one group rises and the other falls. Coupled with a questionable move by our head coach. Grade: F

Quarterback: Well we saw Ken Whisenhunt bench John Skelton with a healthy lead against Atlanta, because he missed a wide open Fitzgerald, and gave Lindley his first action of the season, this was a head scratcher after 7 passes. Lindley came in against Atlanta and played St. Louis, he seemingly threw a nice looking deep ball against Atlanta that appeared to be off in timing with WR's; however we watched the same deep ball miss multiple times in St. Louis. The accuracy issues he displays with his deep ball are worrisome much like Skelton, but he does throw a nice looking ball on medium/short routes, and he has been finding Rob Housler however he has yet to throw a TD pass and has a whole stack on INT's already in two games. Kolb is still injured (is anyone surprised?) and hasn't helped the team in any aspect as of late, outside of a huge HUGE pay cut it will be time to bring the Kevin Kolb project to an end in the desert. Grade: D-

Running back: Alright, first priority for the FO is to make LaSH a Cardinal for a long LONG time. All he has done is produce every time he gets touches and his touches have been very spotty if you will since he was picked out of the 7th round. If they want to send a message to rest of the offense, it needs to be by dealing LaSH a hefty extension. We saw some WiPo in the game against the Rams, and he seems to be picking up steam, but it's been so limited it's hard to say much else at this point. Beanie returned in St. Louis and scored two touchdowns, much like Kevin Kolb though it will be time to either see what we can get for him via trade or just let him play out his contract as his injured far to often for anyone to rely on, and given our inaccuracy issues at QB having Beanie deal with the ball inside the 10 would have helped the offense out immensely in the month of October/November. Grade: B

Wide Receivers: Fitz hasn't been the Fitz we all know lately, and seems completely disinterested, it may be time to dangle him as trade bait. Roberts has been the offensive surprise of the season, and Floyd is coming on strong. We also got to see LaRon Byrd for the first time this season, and Lindley did his best DA impression and left him out to get rocked by a Rams LB. The drops have been troubling and as of late our signal caller has had time, but our WR have been wasting the opportunities away. These drops are inexcusable. Grade: F

Tight Ends: Heap is another one that has been injured, and it is time to part ways. Jeff King has been arguably the best FA singing this FO has made since Whiz and Co. arrived. Housler has seen much more playing time that we have seen and had been found by our signal callers. Folks, when Housler has the ball in his hands he appears to be like a man beast on the field. The future looks incredibly bright for him and if he keeps up will soon have D coordinators over committing to keeping the ball away from him. Grade: A-

Offensive Line: Finally this unit gets the turnaround of the season award. Since the last post these guys have been wonderful. Potter is still having issues with bull rushers, but rarely do they get behind him. Colledge hasn't been talked about so that is a good thing. We just recently lost Lyle Sendlein who apparently played with a torn MCL for 3.5 quarters of the St. Louis game (beast). Adam Snyder (unfortunately) has returned to the starting lineup, but since the shake up and Whiz threatening the bench on many guys Snyder hasn't been a problem, and that's a good thing. Last but not least, the curious case of Bobby Massie. The Cardinals team site has a new article about Bobby Massie this week, in cast you have not read it I encourage you to check it out right now http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/Massie-Brings-Season-Into-Focus/3e1236a4-0554-4de1-8c48-4087df784921. Now I'm sure most players will never admit it, but I give Bobbie Massie huge props for taking the scrutiny he received by our friends over at PFF, and putting in the work to become better. If he keeps up at this rate Massie can anchor that RT position for the next decade. Our offense is still sputtering, but it is not because of these 5 anymore. Grade: B

Special Teams: Still doing what they do best, Peterson is at least getting yards, but he was still foolish to claim he was going to crush the record for returns. Way to give you opponents fuel Patrick. Feely still seems like he could bench press more than anyone else on the team. The star of this squad however is Zasty the Nasty, he has been fantastic in his punts. Grade: B+

Since the last post we watched a few bigger names on the squad see the bench, but what is troubling is Lindley still seeing the field against St. Louis, and still being the starter after throwing 4 INT's, two of which were pick 6's that ultimately ended up deciding the game. The playcalling on offense is still as bland as always, and while I love the bold decisions Whisenhunt has made. The results aren't exactly leaning in his favor. A few things that need to stop right now are calling for Russ Grimm's head, if you read the article I posted, you will see that he is clearly not the issue. The other issue is this non sense of firing Whisenhunt to make Ray Horton the head coach, you would really want Horton to take over the HC position and dilute what he is doing with the defense? Surely some of you calling for that can not be serious. Ray Horton needs to be treated like Dick LeBeau and kept right in place if there is any shake up with the head coaching position. I was calling for Whisenhunt's head, but it would appear the team hasn't given up yet, but something needs to be done about who makes the calls during free agency. The draft gets a pass due to the results we have gotten over the last 3 seasons. Personally, when it comes to the offense I would rather see the team lose in flames, then lose playing uberly conservative on offense. If we lose the ball 4 times because of some wacky double reverse later, TE to QB bubble screen pass then so be it. Last but not least to some of you newcomers here at ROTB I say what I say, but in the end Win, Lose, or Draw I will always bleed Cardinal Red.

<em>This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Revenge of the Birds' (ROTB) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of ROTB's editors.</em>