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It's the slowest part of the offseason when it comes to NFL football. But we can still find things to discuss.
Take the offseason moves the Arizona Cardinals have made. For Bleacher Report, Shaun Church explained which three moves were underrated moves and which three were overrated.
In a nutshell, he believes that the addition of Larry Foote, Buddy Morris to the coaching staff and the drafting of Logan Thomas were underrated moves.
He believes the signings of Jonathan Dwyer, John Carlson and Ted Ginn are overrated.
When it comes to Foote and Morris, he is right on point.
Foote missed all but three quarters of 2013, but his 2012 was very productive. He played for years in Pittsburgh and should be productive and reliable. Church values his leadership and mentoring even more. He is right. With a young, inexperienced Kevin Minter calling out plays and alignments, Foote will be worth the minimal salary. I just think it will be for his on-field play as well.
Morris is interesting. John Lott is well-regarded around the league and was loved by players like Larry Fitzgerald. Morris has a different philosphy, but the part I believe is the most important part of this was the addition of speed coach Roger Kingdom. He is going to get players like Larry Fitzgerald to be more explosive and efficient in their running, adding just an extra something to increase their speed.
I'm with Church here with it being underrated, but we have to see how player injuries play out.
Church believes that the selection of Logan Thomas is underrated.
While Thomas is an intriguing prospect, I think it is overrated. To expect Thomas to become a franchise QB is to expect far too much from him. He has a chance. There is talent there and is in the right situation, it seems, to be able to do it. But as an inconsistent late round prospect, he seems to be no different than John Skelton or Ryan Lindley, and Cardinals fans have been to that dance before. At this point, it is simply impossible to underrate a fourth round project.
As for the overrated moves, Church is right about Ginn. Since free agency comes before the draft, you can't know who will end up on your team, so you go get veterans that you like. Ginn will become very replaceable as third round pick John Brown gets more work. The addition of Ginn to the return game is much more important than to the passing game, where he has been inconsistent throughout his career.
As for Dwyer's signing, I don't think anyone is actually overrating this move. At the most, people see him as a different Rashard Mendenhall. He is a guy that Bruce Arians is comfortable with in the backfield and can get tough yards, but I don't think he is being overrated. He's simply a guy. You can't overrate someone thinking he is just a replaceable cog to play behind Andre Ellington.
As for Carlson, in terms of potential on-field production, Church is right. Carlson is likely nothing special. But based on offseason comments from both Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer, Carlson has been incredibly valuable. His experience and skill level has elevated the level of preparation, competition and hopefully play from the entire group. With how important the position is to Arians in his offense, I don't think Carlson's addition is overrated at all. And if he can stay healthy, he will have been a very solid acquisition. He isn't Jimmy Graham and he isn't expected to be. He isn't going to block like Troy Niklas, but he will be adequate. He is the leader of the room and is making the other players better. That is not overrated at all.
What are other overrated or underrated moves to consider?
Drafting Ed Stinson is underrated. He is going to make solid depth contributions as a rotation player on the defensive line. Getting him in the fifth round means incredible value. He isn't a guy that people will talk about, but he will be important.
As important as it seemed in free agency, re-signing Matt Shaughnessy will end up overrated. It won't be because of regression, but more because of the players coming back from injury. Shaughnessy was never intended to be a guy to play the majority of snaps at outside linebacker. That sort of just happened when Lorenzo Alexander, Sam Acho and Alex Okafor all were lost for the season in one week. Okafor seems to be impressing and can add pass rushing skills to the position. Kareem Martin will get pass rushing snaps. Sam Acho will be in the mix. Shaughnessy will be a rotational guy. Yes, he was a key player to bring back and he was a big factor in the defense's number one ranking against the run. But had he left, it would not have been devastating.
Are there any other moves you feel are overrated or underrated? Where am I right or wrong? Where does Shaun get it right or not? Discuss it in the comments.
