Cardinals do 1-yr, $6M deal with Evan Mathis

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Wow.

They are leaving us in the dust.

It looks like they are getting better and we are getting worse.

Some teams are eating at John Howie while others seem to be content at Sizzler.

Yeah, that is what the NFL said when the Seahawks grabbed Percy Harvin and again when the team traded for Jimmy Graham. Good for the Cards but you still have to continue to produce on the field.

Losing Tyran Mathieu probably had more to torpedo the Cards last year than anything else.

We need to keep #3 healthy and upright this season for us even to be in the discussion.

Cards Window is now, if they can't do it with Carson they will fall back of the pack quickly, Health and a bit of Luck has to play into it as well, their talent is senior to many teams, now or rebuild.

They are making a lot of common sense deals that look awfully good to me. Sometimes the obvious moves are good ones, too, and Steve Keim has done a good job of building up that roster with exactly this approach.

I think some teams out-think themselves sometimes. Arizona has done well at avoiding this and has boosted and supplemented their roster nicely.

Chandler Jones and Mathis are on 1 year deals. Tells me the Cardinals are pushing all their chips in for this season since it will prob be their last legit shot at contending.

Will cost them a 5th round comp pick next year.

Should get a 2018 R3 comp for Jones though assuming he doesn't explode.

6m for Mathis seems really too high. But yeah they are pushing all in while Palmer still has life in that arm.

Seattle is going to have their hands full next year. Some serious trench talent they're adding.

DavidSeven":41xz4d1s said:

They are making a lot of common sense deals that look awfully good to me. Sometimes the obvious moves are good ones, too, and Steve Keim has done a good job of building up that roster with exactly this approach.

I think some teams out-think themselves sometimes. Arizona has done well at avoiding this and has boosted and supplemented their roster nicely.

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GM and HC have certainly worked well together. They are very resourceful and seem to move effortlessly in stitching together a roster. I think their team view, planing and scouting are very competitive. Such a worthy opponent. I like what they bring to NFL West competition.

This latest signing does push them up against the cap. Although, I'd say they are among those teams that are ahead of schedule for 2016.

They're obviously all in this season. Hopefully our team derails that attempt.

DavidSeven":fmc3z2yc said:

They are making a lot of common sense deals that look awfully good to me. Sometimes the obvious moves are good ones, too, and Steve Keim has done a good job of building up that roster with exactly this approach.

I think some teams out-think themselves sometimes. Arizona has done well at avoiding this and has boosted and supplemented their roster nicely.

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Could not agree more.

The thing that interests me is they are making moves to get stronger, instead of moves out of desperation.

Look at the league last year, check the teams that made moves out of desperation and see how many worked out.

Usually these kinds of FA deals work because they overlap. Cards didn't have a horrible OL last year, now they are better. They didn't need help with the pass rush but now they are stronger.

Contrast it to moves like Dallas did at RB last year or other teams did to fix glaring holes in their rosters.

The kind of moves that Arizona is making usually pay off.

The cardinals dont beat themselves. Seattle is a better team, but more prone to trip over their own shoelaces at times. Its frustrating that one of the most talented teams in nfl history could fail to win the division twice in four years. If az had seattles talent i think their hold on the division would be almost unbreakable. It might be the only critique i have left for pcjs.

TwistedHusky":3b4512qc said:

The thing that interests me is they are making moves to get stronger, instead of moves out of desperation.

Look at the league last year, check the teams that made moves out of desperation and see how many worked out.

Usually these kinds of FA deals work because they overlap. Cards didn't have a horrible OL last year, now they are better. They didn't need help with the pass rush but now they are stronger.

Contrast it to moves like Dallas did at RB last year or other teams did to fix glaring holes in their rosters.

The kind of moves that Arizona is making usually pay off.

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They absolutely needed help with pass rush.

I admire their moves. They are making consistent, smart moves.

There is a world of difference between being the hunter and the hunted. Let's see how Arizona fares with that burden this year before anointing them.

They are a legitimate contender. But so are the Hawks. The matchups were close last year (we should throw out the finale as one team didn't have anything really to play for). We did thump them. But I think it was obvious we didn't get their full effort.

They are a tough rival and I'd consider them pretty much equal to us. I could see division titles flip flopping over the next few seasons. Their fortunes rely on Palmer not succumbing to age related decline. This year could really be their last real strong run at a title.

I prefer it when there is another power in the NFCW.

The Hawks were at their best when the 49ers were the 2nd best team in the NFL.

FlyHawksFly":3k7l42au said:

Hard to fault them when their timeline falls among two other immensely talented teams (though SF has obviously fallen off). Winning the division is hard, especially when you have legit contenders coinciding.

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A surprising fact is that many past dynasty teams also came out of brutal divisions. The 90s Cowboys began their dynasty run immediately after two other teams in the their division had just won the SB. And during the Cowboys 5 straight division title streak, their 2nd place competitor had double digit wins all five years. The Montana/Young 49ers also had some tough competition in the division but still won roughly three quarters of their division titles.

The difference between Seattle and a historical dynasty is not talent. Seattle has dynasty caliber talent. The difference is, dynasty teams didn't outsmart themselves, and unfortunately the Seahawks are prone to doing exactly that from time to time.

On the flipside, Arians and Keim never outsmart themselves and seemingly over-perform their statistical projections. Their success with obvious moves further compounds the frustration we feel from our own team when they pass on Joel Bitonio for an undersized, fragile WR, draft a 5th round project OL in the 2nd round or trade the farm for Percy Harvin, etc.

So all the questions I got asked on why I was against the Kearse signing initially this is why. Mathis would of been a nice piece to add to the line in its complete reshuffle. The two guys we just signed were graded deadlast by PFF. I hope they see something glaring that is easily remedied.

austinslater25":2x6dfals said:

So all the questions I got asked on why I was against the Kearse signing initially this is why. Mathis would of been a nice piece to add to the line in its complete reshuffle. The two guys we just signed were graded deadlast by PFF. I hope they see something glaring that is easily remedied.

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When Mathis was available last Summer, Seattle's interest in him was such that they couldn't beat Denver's meager $2.5 million offer. And that was when Mathis was a year younger than he is right now.

It's not a bad signing by Arizona but they definitely paid good money. $6 million is a generous offer for a 35 year old ZBS guard.

And even if Seattle did want Mathis for $6 million, they had enough room to sign him for that much and still stay in the hunt for Russell Okung. It's not like signing Kearse cost them Mathis.

Mathis is a solid addition for Arizona, but the evidence leads me to conclude that he wasn't really on Seattle's radar.

As for Kearse, he's statistically a very good value on his new contract. He's a better WR than Marvin Jones and is making about half as much money. Until Graham recovers or Richardson proves durability, Kearse will remain one of the team's top three receivers in an offense that runs a ton of three WR sets. Kearse might be expendable in 2017, but he's still needed right now. And if he does become expendable in the future, his contract is easy to get out of and easy to trade.

Seattle didn't break the bank to keep Kearse. Rather, they brought him back on a series of team friendly one year options to help hedge their bets in a receiving corps where he might be the only guy you can count all that much to stay healthy.