Jul 23 2012
#Birdgang Brass Mastering The Art Of BPA
Any Cardinal fan will tell you that offensive line help was a glaring need heading into the 2012 offseason…heck, make that, heading into the last SEVERAL offseasons. So, once the Cardinals passed on making a big o-line free agent splash, the natural assumption was QB protection would finally be addressed in the first round of the NFL Draft. That is until the stars aligned and left the golden-domer, Michael Floyd too tempting to pass up.
Rod Graves and the Cardinals have adopted a “best player available” philosophy with much success in recent drafts. Floyd appears poised to make Larry Fitzgerald the recipient of single coverage once again. Yes, I said it. Michael Floyd is a big strong receiver capable of bringing down jump balls and making opposing teams pay for doubling #11. This finally gives the redbirds a legitimate second receiving threat while allowing Andre Roberts and Early Doucet the option to play in the middle of the field better suiting their abilities.
Of course, that still left the offensive line unsettled…especially at right tackle. There was no second round pick this draft due to the Kevin Kolb trade so when the Cards went DB in the 3rdround, many birdgang fans started to panic. Fortunately, a player they coveted with possible 1stround potential fell directly into their big red lap.
Bobbie Massie is a player who could..and SHOULD come in and start as a rookie. He is a solid run blocker and would almost certainly be an upgrade over the turnstile formerly known as the Brandon Keith Project. Keith never developed into what the coaching staff believed that he could be and will not be returning.
The team continued to bolster the secondary and offensive line later in the draft while still grabbing best player available. Both of these areas should benefit from increased camp competition and depth. I look forward to monitoring these battles from the cool pines of Flagstaff in the coming weeks.
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