The media finally got their crack at Arizona Cardinals head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, at the owners meeting this week and he didn't disappoint. Whisenhunt covered several different topics but one interesting tidbit is that he said he still hasn't watched the tape fo the Super Bowl yet because the pain of losing is still "too fresh." With no further ado, here is Whiz's take on the upcoming draft, Anquan Boldin, Kurt Warner and the offensive line:
- When asked about the team's needs heading into the draft, he listed tight
end, full back and outside linebacker as positions that he's concerned about. He likes the four guys that they currently have at OLB but he acknowledged that they could use a young player or two to develop. Full back Terrelle Smith could still be brought back at some point but the biggest knock on him is that he doesn't play special teams. - When he was asked about the offensive line, Whiz didn't seem overly concerned. He stated the need to add some competition on the interior but that he also thought that Lyle Sendlein is going to develop into a "very good" player. He also singled out Brandon Keith as a guy that he's still excited about. Still though it sounds like there's a good chance that we'll see the same starting five offensive lineman in 2009 and that if any move is made it'll be at a guard position.
- As for Boldin, Whiz said that they'd traded text messages and talked a couple of times this off season but they've made it clear to Q that Karlos Dansby and Adrian Wilson are ahead of him in the line for a new contract. Whiz went on to say,
"We [the Cardinals] haven't talked about him not being back. He is under contract for two more years. If nothing happens, he plays for us. We recognize what type of player Anquan is and we're working to re-do his contract and recognize him for what he has meant to this organization."
- Whiz also talked on Warner, his recent surgery and possibility of it effecting his play in the upcoming season. He joked with Warner that he'd have to hand off more often and use play action pass (two of Warner's least favorite things), but Warner responded by saying "you better get your hand-offs done early because when I'm fully recovered, you're going to be so impressed you're going to want to throw every down."
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It's surprising to me that Whiz is still concerned about full backs and tight ends considering the numbers that he's got at each position. If the season started today they'd have two full backs (Tim Castille and Justin Green) and five tight ends (Pope, Patrick, Spach, Shor, Becht). I also wonder if his concern at guard is directed towards Deuce Lutui who was on the verge of losing his job for most of training camp and rumored to be at various points during the regular season. What did you think?