“Pick Me! No Pick Me!”…….Draft 2008 – Defense

Well yesterday we looked at the offense and identified the Running Back position as the one being in the greatest need of help this off-season. The lack of quality depth behind Edgerrin James as well as not having a RB with the quickness and breakaway speed limits the offense’s production.

Today let’s look at the defense, where more help is needed:

D-Line:
They had their ups and downs. Ups – DT Darnell Dockett was lights out this year, gathering in 9 sacks which ranked him in the top 3 for DTs. Antonio Smith also played well and racked up six sacks, as well as causing the fumble in the home game against Seattle that led to the Cards last second field goal win. Downs – Bertrand Berry was hurt….again. Chike Okeafor didn’t even have a chance at playing this year after going down in preaseason. The loss of our top two DEs led to an inconsistent pass rush, which just let teams like Seattle and New Orleans chew us up through the air. A consistent, speedy pass rusher is a definate NEED for this team.

Linebacker:
The Cards have a great group of linebackers. Karlos Dansby is an inch away from being a star in the NFL. Calvin Pace had a career saving year. Gerald Hayes is a leader on and off the field. We just have a great group of guys here. Dansby isn’t going anywhere, even if we have to franchise him. And I’m pretty confident that Pace will work out a deal to stay where he is and continue to get better. We also have quality depth in Monty Beisel and Darryl Blackstock. To me, this is a definite strength on our team.

Secondary:
The obvious achilles heel of this team. The Cards were one of the worst teams in passing defense in the league in 2007, and the loss of stud SS Adrian Wilson half way through the year did not help at all. A-Dub will be back, but we still have a glaring weakness at FS, where free agent signee Terrance Holt was a total bust. The idea of putting Antrel Rolle back at FS is becoming more and more likely given his success at the nickel back position when he is able to float in space. CB is also a concern, as the Cards do not have a true lockdown Corner. Eric Green is great in run support, but still lacks the wheels to cover the burners he faces on a weekly basis on the deep routes. Rod Hood played very well this year, returning two picks for TDs and having two games with multiple INTs. But he is also aging and will likely stick with the team for only two more seasons. One option is to have Green and Hood rotate in and out at one corner, while the other corner position is filled by a top draft pick such as Aqib Talib or Michael Jenkins. Secondary is a NEED that will be addressed one way or another this offseason.

So for the defense, it looks like there are two definitive needs: Cornerback and Defensive End. There are many directions to go to try to fix these positions. There is the draft, there’s free agency, or there is the simplest option which is to change nothing and attempt to develop what you already have. But remember, just because it’s the simplest option doesn’t mean it’s the best one!

Well we’ve talked about both offense and defense. You think about all that, and we’ll talk more tomorrow. GO CARDS!!

Mike Duggan
AZCardsfan4life