Anthony Goegan is currently an employee at Fletcher Tire and Auto, where he mainly changes oil and busts tires. His plan is to learn as much about the automotive industry as possible, so that he can some day own his own independent full-service shop. Outside of that, his main hobby is sports. A few years ago he was an internet sports writer for several sites, incluindg e-Sports. The end of the NFL regular season is just around the corner and, for the Arizona Cardinals, the question is what to do about the quarterback situation.
Josh McCown has shown some upside as the season has been winding down.
In the
Last Sunday against
Head Coach Dennis Green stated that McCown will indeed be the starting quarterback for the Cardinals next season, but he also said that Pete Kendall would be the anchor of the offensive line before cutting the center in training camp.
As of right now, the Cardinals would own the seventh pick in the draft. However, with the quarterback class of 2005 looking to be a weak one, if the Cardinals decide that McCown is not the future of this ball club, they will need to weigh their options heavily before investing millions of dollars on a top 10 draft pick.
The free agent market isn?t much better.
If the Cardinals can develop a running game over the off-season, the offense will open up for McCown and he may work out after all.
At running back, the Cardinals have Marcell Shipp coming back next season. In 16 games last season, Shipp ran the ball 228 times for 830 yards. In 2002, he ran the ball 188 times for 834 yards and six touchdowns.
So his numbers aren?t all that bad, he just simply didn?t have the receiving threats that he will have complementing him next season.
If the Cardinals want to look elsewhere for a running back, Derrick Blaylock of
Coming out in the draft will be Cedric Benson, who had four straight seasons of over 1,000 yards rushing for Texas, and from Auburn, both Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, who has done it all for the Tigers.
In my opinion, the Cardinals should draft a running back, perhaps Brown, with their top 10 pick. They should keep McCown and hope he can come out in 2005 with some poise and run a wide open offense.
The Cardinals then need to seek a shut down cornerback in free agency.
This off-season, Chris McAllister will be available via free agency, Champ Bailey will be a free agent, Troy Vincent will be available and Charles Woodson will be an unrestricted free agent.
If Dennis Green and the front office can come out aggressive this off-season and pick up a top tier cornerback, the Cardinals defense will improve drastically.
As of right now, the nucleus is there for the Cardinal defense.
They have Bertrand Berry, who will be playing in the Pro Bowl this year, and Darnell Dockett, a rookie who showed signs that he will be a solid defensive tackle in the NFL, running the line.
In addition, they have Carlos Dansby, who also showed signs of future greatness at linebacker and safety Adrian Wilson, who just signed a five year deal to remain an Arizona Cardinal, in the defensive backfield.
With a shut down corner and possibly another solid linebacker, which they should use their second round pick on, the Cardinals defense will be something to fear come next season.
Despite their 5-10 record heading into the final week of the season, the Cardinals showed some upside in the desert for the first time since 1998 when they last went to the playoffs.
As you can see, the Cardinals are a mere three players away from getting back to the playoffs. Now lets see if their front office can get its act together and take advantage of this improved play and make