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Davis_Mike
You can never have too many knives.
Brought in to be the everydown starter along side the two-down Minter, he cannot sniff the field.
With a serious history of injuries, the Cardinals paid him $3.8 mil for a year of his services. Bothered by a nagging hamstring injury, he misses most of the preseason. Thus opening the door for a rebuilt Minter.
Once thought of as an underachieving run-stuffing ILB, Minter dropped 20 lbs in the offseason & gained some much needed quickness. With Weatherspoon sidelined during the preseason, Minter 2.0 showed the Cardinals that he is no longer an afterthought & deserves to be the every-down starter.
Enter Deone Bucannon.
With a promising freshman season in which he played a hybrid SS/ILB, in his review mirror, "The Cannon" came into 2015 with high expectations. The Cardinals, stacked with 3 other very good safeties, had to find a way to maximize Bucannon. Weatherspoon missing the preseason gave the Cardinals a chance to to see what "The Cannon" can do.
The evolution of the Cardinals 3-3-5 defense.
With Weatherspoon out, Minter 2.0 looking good, Bucannon needing to be on the field, & the Cardinals installing a new defensive coordinator, the preaseason served as an experiment. Last season, the Cardinals primarily ran 3-4 on early down & replaced Minter 1.0 with Bucannon in passing situations. During the 2015 preseason, Betcher installs Bucannon along side Minter 2.0 in the base defense. Effectively making the the defense a 3-3-5. Both Minter 2.0 & Bucannon played well & thrived off playing with each other during the preseason.
Weatherspoon returns.
Weatherspoon plays & starts in the week 4 preseason game. With Weatherspoon back, the team wanting to slowly work into the defense, they decide to keep the 3-3-5 defense as the base defense. Weatherspoon is used as a backup to start the season.
Weatherspoon disappears.
The season starts out with Minter 2.0 & Bucannon playing well, making plays all over the field, & the defense as a unit playing at a high level. Weatherspoon sees 18 defensive snaps in the first few games. Then he disappears. He is a healthy scratch in weeks 4 & 5. He doesn't the field in weeks 6 & 7.
So what is the deal & going forward, what should the Cardinals do?
-Is he just a backup now due to the play of Minter 2.0?
-Should the team trade him before next week's trade deadline?
-Should they just hold on to him as a backup since he is already a sunk cost?
What are your thoughts on this situation?
With a serious history of injuries, the Cardinals paid him $3.8 mil for a year of his services. Bothered by a nagging hamstring injury, he misses most of the preseason. Thus opening the door for a rebuilt Minter.
Once thought of as an underachieving run-stuffing ILB, Minter dropped 20 lbs in the offseason & gained some much needed quickness. With Weatherspoon sidelined during the preseason, Minter 2.0 showed the Cardinals that he is no longer an afterthought & deserves to be the every-down starter.
Enter Deone Bucannon.
With a promising freshman season in which he played a hybrid SS/ILB, in his review mirror, "The Cannon" came into 2015 with high expectations. The Cardinals, stacked with 3 other very good safeties, had to find a way to maximize Bucannon. Weatherspoon missing the preseason gave the Cardinals a chance to to see what "The Cannon" can do.
The evolution of the Cardinals 3-3-5 defense.
With Weatherspoon out, Minter 2.0 looking good, Bucannon needing to be on the field, & the Cardinals installing a new defensive coordinator, the preaseason served as an experiment. Last season, the Cardinals primarily ran 3-4 on early down & replaced Minter 1.0 with Bucannon in passing situations. During the 2015 preseason, Betcher installs Bucannon along side Minter 2.0 in the base defense. Effectively making the the defense a 3-3-5. Both Minter 2.0 & Bucannon played well & thrived off playing with each other during the preseason.
Weatherspoon returns.
Weatherspoon plays & starts in the week 4 preseason game. With Weatherspoon back, the team wanting to slowly work into the defense, they decide to keep the 3-3-5 defense as the base defense. Weatherspoon is used as a backup to start the season.
Weatherspoon disappears.
The season starts out with Minter 2.0 & Bucannon playing well, making plays all over the field, & the defense as a unit playing at a high level. Weatherspoon sees 18 defensive snaps in the first few games. Then he disappears. He is a healthy scratch in weeks 4 & 5. He doesn't the field in weeks 6 & 7.
So what is the deal & going forward, what should the Cardinals do?
-Is he just a backup now due to the play of Minter 2.0?
-Should the team trade him before next week's trade deadline?
-Should they just hold on to him as a backup since he is already a sunk cost?
What are your thoughts on this situation?