AZ54

I totally agree there are different levels of athleticism and Iglesias is not at the top among our WRs. However, when I said talent I was trying to consider all the aspects of being a WR. Certainly Knox, Bennett, DA have a leg up on Iglesias in terms of playing time last year but as compared to Knox or DA I think Iglesias is a more polished WR with more reliable hands. It seems it was preordained that we wouldn't see Iglesias much last year as he was forced to do what Bennett did while Knox was given a very limited route package. As you said, Iglesias is a better route runner than Knox and DA and given the need to learn a new offense and Martz' demand for the WR to be in the right spot all the time I can't rule out Iglesias winning a job. Would Martz prefer the more athletic guys win the starting job? Absolutely. Did Knox struggle on routes and timing last year? Often but he got better later in the year. While he might not be the favored horse in this race our other WRs are not proven enough to rule Iglesias out of the competition. I prefer Iglesias' quickness and YAC ability over what Bennett brings to the field. Bennett is a good reliable WR, the kind of player you love to have fill out your roster behind the top talent, he's just not a difference maker and I believe you have to have some difference makers on the field to win.

Hmmm....Jerry vs. Jerry the draft skill battle brews.

We know Martz really likes Knox's athleticism but who starts is going to depend on who learns to run the routes the right way. It's quite possible our starting receiving corps changes during the course of the season. I think Hester is a given for the slot role. On the outside it could be DA, Knox, Bennett but if any one of those three struggles learning the offense it will open the door for Iglesias. While the first three all have some experience over Iglesias I am not sure they are that much more talented that they deserve the starting role over him. I am leaving Rashied Davis out of the discussion on purpose.

That's exactly what I was thinking...he just won't get enough carries to hit 1000 yards rushing. You just did a great job putting together the numbers to back up my gut feeling. What I like best about our RB tandem is that both are good catching the ball out of the backfield as they are running. It will help with the variety in play calling from the same formation regardless of personnel.

We still have beer!

I don't see Forte hitting 1000 yards rushing but he will have well over 1000 combine rushing/receiving.

Maybe it was predictable it's just that Forte was a better player his first year. He certainly was in better shape his rookie year.

Not served yet, more appeals coming.

Tice says he likes our guys and does not want a veteran on the Oline to compete. Then today it comes out that he says the LG spot is wide open and anybody can win it ("you, me, anybody"). I appreciate his honesty about the position being open but if it's that wide open you'd think he'd be interested in bringing in someone else to compete. He makes no hesitation at all about putting Omiyale at OT versus OG. Just another in a long line of bad decisions by our previous Oline coach/OC/HC/GM/somebody.

I admit to being very surprised by Tice's comments. At the very least I think he'd just state that it's all an open competition and use the standard Lovie line saying "we're always looking to make our team better." But he didn't.

Interesting discussion considering how far Dez Bryant fell because of his heart condition.

I think you neglect the effect of a running game on the passing game. If we are solely talking about 3rd and 8 maybe that's not so much a factor but you can't dismiss the effect a guy like Adrian Peterson has on a defense and how that opens up the field for the passing game. Consider AP, New Orleans has Reggie Bush, Dallas has excellent RBs plus a TE in Jason Witten. You either have multiple threats or a QB who can just flat out distribute the ball perfectly around the field no matter what a defense is doing. We all know Tom Brady belongs in that list too even if none of his WRs made your first list.

Actually the one thing that stands out among that list is the fact those teams all have multiple threats on offense, not just one guy. Either that, or the QB is at the top of the league (i.e. Brees) and can distribute the ball so well everybody is a threat. The one exception might be Andre Johnson.

How long before this devolves into most hated coach?

Tice is saying he likes his guys, they have all bought into his system, and he doesn't want to bring in a vet. I know that would be different if there were a high caliber veteran available but there isn't. His opinion seems to be why bother bringing in a subpar vet when he's already got plenty of those to deal with?

Compliment for Martz while slamming Turner without calling him out...he should be in politics. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/...tz-offense.html Asked about Martz's notoriously extensive playbook, Forte said, "It's not intimidating, it's actually exciting. It's keep the defense on their heels. They're not going to know what we're going to do just by studying what formations we run our plays in or trying to (key) on our tendencies. They're not going to be able to pick up things easily." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's kinda what I was thinking...how much was Holmgren and how much was Ruskell. Just like our debates on how much influence Lovie has had since the Superbowl. It's an odd hire from Ruskell's point of view seeing as JA is near the end of his rope but maybe his deal is guaranteed.

Most hated: So many options to choose from but I'll give two Rick Meier, Cade McClown, The first time I saw them play I was like WTF? (to borrow a phrase from my daughter) Most loved is hands down Walter. Never saw a player give more on every single play than him and he kept coming back for more.

In a league awash in parity this makes a lot of sense.

That pickup would make sense to me too.

I agree we need a 6th WR and it should not be someone named Rashied. I admit that I'm not that enamored with a 4.7-forty WR who can be run down by Lance Louis and it's hard to imagine him doing anything more than underneath routes and quick slants which makes him but we'll see what he's got. He sounds like the second coming of that WR (Bilentnikof award winner from Oregon) who could never get off our practice squad..I think it was Mike Hass. Same type of WR, would catch anything he could get his hands on but too slow to be effective. Aside from Barnes the other guys on the roster are Greg Mathews from Michigan. We know how Michigan WR turn out. Antonio Rboinson out of Nicholls State...he didn't even excel there so I find it hard to project anything out of him at all much less in his first year in the NFL. Eric Peterman....second year with the team has the full benefit of the offseason work, ran a sub-4.5 forty in pre-draft workouts. Went to Northwestern so he should have the smarts to figure out Martz' offense fairly quickly. If I have to guess right now I say he ends up the 6th WR on our roster, however, I wouldn't be surprised at all if we add a veteran who gets cut later in the offseason.

I think this was an excellent deal. We had too many LB and one of them was going to get cut and it wasn't going to be Shaw who is likely our special teams leader this year. We traded away a player who might have been cut and filled a definite need position with a proven player who already knows our scheme.

You clearly don't watch many Cardinals games. There's a reason he was traded.

He's also joining his former OC in Whisenhunt. If they haven't done so the Cards will now be actively working to trade Deuce Lutui. We could sign him and have him practice everyday against Harris just to see if Harris is "stable". I don't see a reason for us to trade for Deuce, he's limited in his pass blocking but is a decent run blocker. If he were a FA and we needed help he's worth a look. Right now it seems to me that Tice likes what we have or we'd have made a bigger push for Faneca. $2.5 mil isn't all that much.

Have you been talking with Belichick?