SB Nation - Reagan Maui'a

Arizona Cardinals Fight For 53: Examining the Bubble Players by Position

Hawkwind — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:52:26 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

3 months ago: Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson, right, picks up an eight-yard gain as Arizona Cardinals cornerback Ralph Brown pulls him down during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Friday, Aug. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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It's simply the nature of the NFL that 22 players who currently call themselves Arizona Cardinals, will be unemployed by the end of this coming weekend. The bad news will be given to hundreds of players across the NFL within the next week and many will be left hoping for a place on some team's practice squad or maybe the newly formed UFL. Before anyone has to worry about their new football home though, the bubble players will have one last shot to impress the coaching staff this Thursday when the Cardinals travel to Denver to take on the Broncos. Here's a quick list at the battles at various positions.

Kreider vs. Castille: With four running backs expected to make the final roster, thanks to LaRod Stephens-Howling's impressive play over the past month, the Cardinals are expected to carry just one fullback. That leaves three guys, Dan Kreider, Tim Castille and Reagan Maui'a, fighting for one spot, although truth be told it's really just a battle between Krieder and Castille. No one has really established themselves and each guy brings something different to the table. Krieder is hands down the better blocker and he's a "Whiz-guy" but Castille's versatility out of the backfield and prowess on special teams gives him a shot.

Long versus the Unknown: The only real question for the Cardinals to answer at wide receiver is how many they want to carry. Assuming that Early Doucet's recent rib injury won't effect his roster status, the teams top six wide outs are virtually set in stone (Fitz, Q, Breaston, Urban, Doucet and Morey). That leaves fan favorite Lance Long fighting for a spot that simply might not be there, but the team has carried seven wide receivers before. The injury risk of a couple of those guys and Long's ability to contribute on special teams leaves the door open. At this point Orea Jones, who's been impressive during the preseason, is simply showcasing himself to other teams or hoping for a practice squad job.

Brown vs. Ross: The offensive line is sort of the in the same predicament as the wide receiver spot considering that they've got quite a few semi-capable bodies but not enough roster spots for everyone. What we know is that Gandy, Wells, Sendlein, Lutui, Levi Brown, Keith and Johnson are all locks make the final 53. If you're counting that's seven bodies and most squads carry eight or nine (although the Cards have kept ten before). That leaves two or maybe three spots up for grabs. One of the spots will undoubtedly be filled by a center and that battle seems to have boiled down to Ben Claxton versus Melvin Fowler. Fowler has a huge edge in experience and would seem to be the front runner but don't count out Claxton's familiarity with the offense. Assuming that the backup center spot is filled by one of these two (but not both), that leaves eight guys with Elton Brown, Trevor Canfield, Carlton Medder and Oliver Ross on the outside looking with one or two spots to fill. Of these remaining four, I'd have to say the top two are Brown and Ross and they'd be battling for the final spot or could be the final two in, if the team decides to keep 10 offensive lineman.

Unknown at Tight End: As we stated yesterday the only thing we really know about the tight end spot is that we really don't know anything. The best bet right now is that Ben Patrick is essentially assured of the roster spot to start the season but that's only because he won't count against the 53 until his four game suspension is over. With that in mind, we'll set him aside and just look at the remainder. The Cardinals in the past have carried as few as two tight ends and as many as four so it's possible that Stephen Spach, Leonard Pope, Anthony Becht and Dominique Byrd could all make the opening day roster, but that's probably a stretch considering how little the tight end is used in the passing game. Our best bet is that three with make the opening day 53 (not counting Patrick remember) with either Pope or Byrd getting cut.

Branch vs. Dykes: This much we know on the defensive line, Darnell Dockett, Calais Campbell, Bryan Robinson, Kenny Iwebema and Gabe Watson are all locks, even though Watson looked terrible against the Packers. It's tough to look at the Caridnals historically to see how many defensive lineman they kept because the 3-4 defense requires less lineman and more linebackers, but we can be sure that Keilen Dykes, Alan Branch, Alex Field, Rodney Leisle are all at the very least on the bubble. I don't think there would be any debate to say that Dykes and Branch are the best of those four but it could come down to whether the Cardinals want to keep six or seven defensive lineman. If they chose to go with six DL, I think Branch would be the choice considering that Dykes has had serious problems stay healthy over the past two training camps. His inability to stay on the field probably means that the Cards could stash him on the practice squad for an eventful call up when someone gets hurt.

Linebackers Help: Outside of the starters at linebacker, Dansby, Hayes, Haggans and Okeafor, I'm not sure that anyone is assured of a roster spot. Bertrand Berry would seem like a lock but he's done a complete disappearing act so far during the preseason. Victor Hobson, Will Davis and perhaps even Reggie Walker would seem like the next closest thing to locks. Hobson has experience in a 3-4 and can play inside and out while Davis and Walker have been impressive over the past couple of games. There's also Ali Highsmith who's failed to produce the same kind of buzz that he did last year. Chase Bullock and David Holloway round out the rest of the roster but neither of them have done much to warrant a roster spot. If the Cards had to decide today, I'm thinking that they'd keep the starters plus Berry, Hobson, Davis and Walker although this could be one position that gets an upgrade once other teams make their cuts.

Ware vs. Adams: There will be some tough decisions made in the secondary where it would seem that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Bryant McFadden, Adrian Wilson, Antrel Rolle, Rashad Johnson and Ralph Brown are all locks to make the squad. Brown has struggled in the preseason but so has the depth behind him so it's highly doubtful that his spot is in jeopardy. With six locks that leaves Aaron Francisco, Greg Toler, Matt Ware, Michael Adams, Jameel Dowling and Wilrey Fontenot fighting for what will probably end up being eight or nine spots. Francisco and Toler are certainly the front-runners of the bubble group so the real battle comes down to Ware versus Adams. It's possible that the team could keep all ten members of the secondary, they've done it before, but nine is a more manageable number. Ware has much more experience with the regular defense and is probably the more talented player but Adams' standout performances on special teams give him a shot.

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Thoughts? Who wins these battles and who makes your final 53?

Arizona Cardinals versus the Pittsburgh Steelers: Examining the Initial Depth Chart

Hawkwind — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:41:06 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Arizona Cardinals' Bill Davis, left, talks with Darnell Dockett during morning practice at Cardinals training camp Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, in Flagstaff, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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The first preseason game of the year doesn't mean very much to the football world outside of a select few of crazed fans who have been salivating over the thought of real football for going on six months. One of the things that the first preseason game of the year does provide though is the first look at an 'official' depth chart and the Arizona Cardinals put out their first chart yesterday. Now word to the wise, Whisenhunt doesn't like to tweak the chart prior to the first game so he basically inserts each rookie's name at the bottom and leaves most of the rest unchanged. Thanks to a change in defensive philosophy though (or at least a continued shift towards a 3-4), there are some changes on the defensive side of the ball. With a quick look at how this current roster plays out on paper, here's a quick analysis of the depth chart.

Offense

QB -- Kurt Warner, Matt Leinart, Brian St. Pierre, Tyler Palko

RB -- Tim Hightower, Chris Wells, Jason Wright, LaRod Stephens-Howling, Chris Vincent

FB -- Dan Kreider, Tim Castille, Reagan Maui'a

WR -- Larry Fitzgerald, Jerheme Urban, Sean Morey, Onrea Jones, Ed Gant

WR -- Anquan Boldin. Steve Breaston, Early Doucet, Lance Long, Michael Ray Garvin

TE -- Leonard Pope, Ben Patrick, Stephen Spach, Anthony Becht, Dominique Byrd

LT -- Mike Gandy, Elliot Vallejo, Brandon Pearce

LG -- Reggie Wells, Elton Brown, Carlton Medder

C -- Lyle Sendlein, Ben Claxton, Melvin Fowler

RG -- Deuce Lutui, Brandon Keith, Trevor Canfield

RT -- Levi Brown, Oliver Ross, Herman Johnson

Overall there aren't really any surprises on the offensive side of the ball, unless you didn't think Pope would be listed atop the tight end spot. There has been some shake-up on the offensive line with the injury to Vallejo though with Oliver Ross swinging over to left tackle and Brandon Keith taking snaps at right tackle.

Defense

DE -- Calais Campbell, Kenny Iwebema, Alex Field

NT -- Bryan Robinson, Gabe Watson, Alan Branch

DT -- Darnell Dockett, Keilen Dykes, Rodney Leisle

ROLB -- Chike Okeafor, Bertrand Berry, Will Davis

ILB -- Karlos Dansby, Victor Hobson, Pago Togafau

ILB -- Gerald Hayes, Ali Highsmith, Reggie Walker

LOLB -- Clark Haggans, Cody Brown, Chase Bullock

RCB -- Bryant McFadden, Ralph Brown, Wilrey Fontenot, Jameel Dowling

LCB -- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Michael Adams, Greg Toler

SS -- Adrian Wilson, Aaron Francisco, Keith Lewis

FS -- Antrel Rolle, Matt Ware, Dennis Keyes, Rashad Johnson

The interesting thing about the defensive chart is how they chose to describe their defensive line (yes that's not a typo). They've chosen to list only one defensive end, a nose tackle and a defensive tackle for some unknown reason. This is nothing more than a conspiracy theory on my part but if the organization cares at all about "NINE-O" (Dockett) making the Pro Bowl, it would make sense to list him as a tackle instead of an end. There aren't any major surprises at linebacker but it's interesting to see that Hobson is listed on the inside and Bullock is listed on the outside (after he worked primarily on the inside during OTA's). In the secondary, I wouldn't get worried about Toler and Rashad Johnson being listed at the bottom of the depth chart. As we said above, this is the "Whiz way" of handling rookies and we'll see how the chart get's tweaked as the preseason plays out.

Specialists

KR -- Steve Breaston, Michael Ray Garvin, LaRod Stephens-Howling

PR -- Steve Breaston, Antrel Rolle, Michael Ray Garvin

K -- Neil Rackers

P -- Ben Graham

LS -- Mike Leach

H -- Ben Graham, Sean Morey

There aren't really any suprises in the specialist department either. Garvin is clearly a return specialist and if he ends up on the final squad it'll be because he won the kick and/or punt return job.

Arizona Cardinals Sign Fullback Reagan Maui'a

Hawkwind — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:21:11 -0000

The Arizona Cardinals have filled their empty roster spot by signing former Dolphin and Bengal Reagan Maui'a. He's a stout (6-0, 260) fullback who certainly presents an intimidating presence at fullback while also being relatively young (25). As a former sixth round pick of the Dolphins, Maui'a played in all 16 games as a rookie (starting nine of them) but ended up with the Bengals for the 2008 season. He was inactive for the first two weeks of the season before starting weeks three and four and was inacative again for the fifth week. He was cut on October the 11th and then resigned by the Bengals just eleven days later before injurying his hamstring and being placed on IR.

The former Hawaii Warrior can be a devastating run blocker at times but he's not thought of as a very good pass protector and his biggest struggle is being consistent. If you're wondering what this guy looks like take a look at this video where he busts through a wall that's already pre-cut for a door frame.....

That insulation is gonna itch.....

Absolutely Ridiculous: Then there were 22.

Kirkendall — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:52:51 -0000

Absolutely ridiculous. There's several many aspects in which those two words are spoken freely; government interaction with our economy, my terrible Time Warner internet connection, my body's reaction to eating White Castle or Papa John's Pizza, some people's inability to ascertain the difference between a journalist and a columnist, alarm clocks, Cincinnati drivers during inclement weather, a badly tuned guitar, some people's inability to understand what a blog is, Bob Bratkowski, Busch Light, college football post-season, the broken "F" key on my laptop, the cost for XBOX 360 games, etc.

Poor Kirk Barton, signed off the team's practice squad on November 29, became the 22nd player placed on Injured Reserve on Friday. Exactly why there's 22 guys on the Bengals IR list, is another "absolutely ridiculous". It's been happening since training camp, and exponentially growing since. Yes, but injuries are apart of football. But find me a list where 22 guys are on a team's respective IR. While you're at it, find me the list that includes, almost, 10 starters on offense and defense, or high-level contributors on special teams. We're the only team in the National Football League with a starting linebacker forced to eat soup on Thanksgiving.

Is it strength and conditioning? Is it training? Is it the practices? Is there a critical point of a respective scouting report that we're missing (aka, history of durability)? On the other hand, Barton helps our projected IR starting lineup. It can move Kooistra to right tackle, putting Barton at left guard filling out our starting lineup. If Carson Palmer goes to IR (more on that later), then our starting lineup is complete.

QB: Carson Palmer (eventually, I'm sure)
RB: DeDe Dorsey
FB: Jeremi Johnson, Reagan Maui'a
WR: Antonio Chatman, Marcus Maxwell
TE: Matt Sherry
LT: Andrew Whitworth
LG: Scott Kooistra, Kirk Barton
C: Dan Santucci, Kyle Cook
RG: Justin Britt
RT:

DE: Frostee Rucker, Robert Geathers
DT:
LB: Keith Rivers, Abdul Hodge
CB: Johnathan Joseph, Ethan Kilmer
S: Dexter Jackson, Corey Lynch, Herana-Daze Jones, Marvin White

Justin Britt (G)
Antonio Chatman (WR)
Kyle Cook (C)
DeDe Dorsey (RB)
Robert Geathers (DE)
Abdul Hodge (LB)
Dexter Jackson (S)
Jeremi Johnson (FB)
Johnathan Joseph (CB)
Corey Lynch (S)
Reagan Maui'a (FB)
Keith Rivers (LB)
Frostee Rucker (DE)
Dan Santucci (C)
Matt Sherry (TE)
Ethan Kilmer (S/CB)
Marcus Maxwell (WR)
Herana-Daze Jones (S)
Scott Kooistra (T/G)
Andrew Whitworth (G)
Marvin White (S)
Kirk Barton (G/T)

With Whitworth and Kooistra going on IR, Bengals nearly have starting lineup of injured players

Kirkendall — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:27:41 -0000

As per the oddball Bengals mindset, the team finally put Andrew Whitworth and Scott Kooistra on Injured Reserve for the season, while allowing franchise quarterback, god of the golden arms, Carson Palmer unrealistically set a date to play this season because, well, he's bored. Good reason. Keep it going. Whitworth moved to left tackle during the Eagles game, and Scott Kooistra played left guard; because Levi Jones was "struggling" on a leg that eventually forced him out against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Whitworth left the game later, after giving up two sacks, because of an injury and now he's done for the season.

It became known, reported, that Kooistra was hurt after the game. Even though Jones "struggled" on his leg, he returned to fill in Whitworth's vacancy at left tackle. These series of events introduced Anthony Collins and Nate Livings to the starting lineup for the first time in their careers several days later, playing admirably and surprisingly well against a league-dominate Steelers front seven.

The Bengals signed Geoffrey Pope off the practice squad (oh god), possibly starting with Johnathan Joseph down for the season and David Jones nursing a knee injury (he didn't practice Friday). Remember tackle Kirk Barton? The Bengals signed him off the Dolphins' practice squad.

We're very close to having a starting lineup of players on IR

DE: Frostee Rucker, Robert Geathers
DT:
LB: Keith Rivers, Abdul Hodge
CB: Johnathan Joseph, Ethan Kilmer
S: Dexter Jackson, Corey Lynch, Herana-Daze Jones

Justin Britt (G)
Antonio Chatman (WR)
Kyle Cook (C)
DeDe Dorsey (RB)
Robert Geathers (DE)
Abdul Hodge (LB)
Dexter Jackson (S)
Jeremi Johnson (FB)
Johnathan Joseph (CB)
Corey Lynch (S)
Reagan Maui'a (FB)
Keith Rivers (LB)
Frostee Rucker (DE)
Dan Santucci (C)
Matt Sherry (TE)
Ethan Kilmer (S/CB)
Marcus Maxwell (WR)
Herana-Daze Jones (S)
Scott Kooistra (T/G)
Andrew Whitworth (G)

We don't need fullbacks, we have tight ends!

Kirkendall — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:38:08 -0000

Pfft, we don't need fullbacks, we have tight ends. The Cincinnati Bengals are likely the only 1-9-1 team that refuses to use a pure fullback within their 3.4 yards-per-rush offense, collecting and reprogramming tight ends instead. Not that Jeremi Johnson or Reagan Maui'a was of much use this year; both went on IR early and, save for a YouTube video of Maui'a crashing threw a precut hole in a sheet of drywall, he wasn't very impressive. The Bengals released both off Injured Reserve on Wednesday. Happy Thanksgiving. Now, find a job, while you're hurt, in this terribly depressing economy.

In truth, we can't blame the Bengals all that much. As we've brought up several times on this site, Maui'a will be in the NFL until other undrafted fullbacks make their rounds after the draft, forcing older journey players out of the league. Jeremi Johnson has been a source of many frustrations, coming to camp severely overweight that even made Willie Anderson step aback, forcing the strength and conditioning coaches to get his weight down.

But we can blame the Bengals for not keeping a pure, natural fullback on the roster to help open holes for Cedric Benson and (cough) Chris Perry. Daniel Coats isn't bad, but he's not an experienced fullback. Will the Bengals now use a draft pick for a full back?

Terrible Heinz Field takes two Bengals defensive ends for the season

Kirkendall — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:45:31 -0000

Bengals signed this crazy looking Josh Mallard at DE.

Even though the beat writers point out that the Bengals have 14 players (it's actually 15, as per the roster) on Injured Reserve, it's somewhat diluted, in that it's not just 14 players they've sent to IR; those are the players still under contract. If you include Ethan Kilmer, Herana-Daze Jones and Marcus Maxwell, the Bengals have sent 18 players to IR since training camp due to injury, whether new or ongoing.

Robert Geathers and Frostee Rucker were the newest additions after slipping on the terrible turf at Heinz field. Listing the players on IR, including those the team waived.

Justin Britt
Antonio Chatman
Kyle Cook
DeDe Dorsey
Robert Geathers
Abdul Hodge
Dexter Jackson
Jeremi Johnson
Johnathan Joseph
Corey Lynch
Reagan Maui'a
Keith Rivers
Frostee Rucker
Dan Santucci
Matt Sherry
Ethan Kilmer
Marcus Maxwell
Herana-Daze Jones

If you want, you could include the release of Kenny Irons after failing his physical, though he wasn't placed on IR.

Eric Henderson and Antwan Odom have been limited recently with their own injuries, unable to go against the Steelers. Jonathan Fanene and John Thornton had a majority of the team's reps at defensive end late against the Steelers. The Bengals signed Josh Mallard, who has 8.5 career sacks in four seasons dating back to 2002 and guard Evan Mathis. They signed a second defensive end, Victor Degrate to the practice squad -- they still have one spot open.

What is it with hamstring injuries?

Kirkendall — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:48:58 -0000

After the news that Dexter Jackson went on Injured Reserve because of a hamstring injury, I realized that Jackson's injury is becoming a trend. In fact, along with Jackson, Herana-Daze Jones, Reagan Maui'a, Dede Dorsey, have all been lost for the season because of a hamstring. That's four of 11 (13 if you're counting the injury-waived players). Admittedly, I don't know the overall rate for hamstring injuries across the league, but I'm sure it's not as high. I understand the difference between a sore hamstring and a truly injured hamstring and it seems like our team has the most injured (not just sore) hamstrings.

Jamar Fletcher and Kenny Watson have missed time because of a hamstring problem and Brandon Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Perry, and Johnathan Joseph has showed up on injury reports because of a hamstring; though they've played through it.

On the latest injury report, Jonathan Fanene was added as the latest hamstring injury. That's nearly a fifth of the team that's dealt with some hamstring problem through eight games this season.

Injury Report--Cincinnati v. Houston

Tim — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:29:21 -0000

Looking at the list of the Bengals' walking wounded this morning, I began to wish that I'd started drafting this post last Wednesday. Coming up with fourteen (14) unique medical afflictions would cut into valuable pre-game screwing around time, and I'm not willing to do that on a day as beautiful today. So forgive me for mailing this one in:

HOUSTON
D. Barber--out (hamstring)
A. Davis--out (finger)
M. Williams--probable (shoulder)

CINCINNATI
A. Caldwell--out
R. Maui'a--out
C. Palmer--out
J. Fletcher--doubtful
C. Mays--doubtful
J. Simpson--doubtful
B. Utecht--doubtful
N. Lawrie--questionable
A. Chatman--probable
S. Graham--probable
K. Hebert--probable
T.J. Houshmandzadeh--probable
D. Jones--probable
F. Rucker--probable

The fourteen (14) aforementioned Bengals are all suffering, to varying degrees, from Cushing's Syndrome.

Friday morning links and notes -- Pat Sims will be the next Warren Sapp

Kirkendall — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:25:02 -0000

Bengals receiving T.J. Houshmandzadeh doesn't care about the numbers -- 46 receptions (2nd in the NFL), 458 yards receiving (18th), and 28 receptions for first down (3rd).

You'll probably notice that an addition was made to the injury report -- Reagan Maui'a was added with a hamstring issue that limited his practice. Maui'a was signed back with the team earlier this week.

With the Bengals heading into Houston, Kevin Walter is excited about an old reunion.

Pat Sims: "One of these days I'm going to be too comfortable and I'll be a beast out there." Sims wants to be the next Warren Sapp.

T.J. didn't think Ward should have been fined; Chinedum Ndukwe thought he would have. Different perspectives, obviously. Houshmandzadeh, a receiver, would like to lay on a block like that while Ndukwe lost one of his defensive-mates for the season.

Houshmandzadeh thought that the Steelers ran up the score on them -- I agreed. “The final score does look bad, but I don’t think guys flat out quit. It was just a matter of Pittsburgh almost Steve Spurrier-ing us and running up the score, you know?"

Former Bengals prospering in the NFL.

Flashback: "Dick LeBeau predicted a win. Chad Johnson went ahead and guaranteed it. Remarkably, both turned out to be right. The last time the Cincinnati Bengals went to Houston, they were 0-7 and awfully chatty for a winless team. Even the odds makers expected them to lose that 2002 game against the Texans, an expansion team that had never before been favored."

Marvin Lewis is NOT on Don Banks' list of coaches on the hot seat.

The Lions are more likely to go winless than the Bengals.

Bengals have been 0-8 four times in their franchise.