Interview with Cardinals Insider Kent Somers

  Transcribed 7/12 from Audible Podcast by Sigmund Bloom and Cecil Lammey

Cecil Lammey: Let's talk about the quarterback there in Arizona with the Cardinals. Of course, it's Matt Leinart. This guy was a rookie last year coming out of USC, looking really good. What do you expect from him in 2007?

Kent Somers: By all indications, I think he's going to have a pretty good season. Like you said, it was an impressive debut as a rookie. He played very well after taking over for Kurt Warner early in the season. Showed a lot of maturity, a lot of poise, fairly accurate throwing arm. The players like him a lot and he's definitely the big reason that they're optimistic about the future of this franchise. I think he'll blossom even more under this coaching staff and Ken Whisenhunt than he did under Dennis Green.

Sigmund Bloom: Kent, let's talk about that coaching staff. The new regime in Arizona, Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm. Let's talk about - I know it's early but - what kind of stamp have they been putting on the team with the way they've been running the minicamps and the OTAs, and so far, how you think they're doing as far as putting their stamp on the team, and getting their philosophy of football, setting the tone, across to the players?

KS: I think it's been pretty successful. There hasn't been a lot of fire and brimstone. Both of those guys are former players. Whisenhunt played for eight or nine years. Grimm's a hall of fame finalist. Both of those guys know that it's early, and you can't start beating on players and working them into the ground this early in the year. They promised them during the offseason workouts, if you get on the field and work hard, we're going to get you off, these aren't going to be marathon practices, and we're not going to go out and have a lot of physical contact in these practices, which a lot of teams do. I think a lot of first year coaches do to try to make an impression, and I think the players appreciated that. It's a very bright staff. They have a plan, and like Anquan Boldin told us a couple of weeks ago, if you ask three coaches the same question, you're going to get the same answer and that wasn't always true under Dennis Green and his staff.

CL: Now let's talk about that running game and of course, Edgerrin James, fantastic back coming over from the Colts - had pretty good success, seemed to kind of find his rhythm late in the season. This year, what do you expect from Edgerrin and the backups behind him, Shipp and Arrington. Does J.J. ever break out of his funk and become more than just a kick returner?

KS: Well, we'll see. That's a critical question for them right now. He's the one guy in backfield who's got speed and big play ability. The question with him is toughness. He's avoided hits a lot his first two years in the league. He doesn't want to pick up the tough yardage, or he hasn't shown that inclination. They want to run the ball here. This is going to be, offensive philosophy wise, Pittsburgh west. That's the number one thing, and they want to run the ball 550 times this season, and I don't think the Cardinals, as an organization, have ever gone over 500 since they moved to Arizona in 1988. Edgerrin James obviously can't carry that huge of a load. They would like to keep his carries in the high 300s. They like Marcel Shipp a lot. Right now, he's the #2 back. He's a pretty solid guy, doesn't have tremendous breakaway speed, but he's very, very tough and an excellent special teamer. James is still the featured running back in this offense. He's going to have to make some adjustments. About half the time he's going to be running behind a fullback, which he hasn't done much in his NFL career, so that's going to be some adjustments on his part, but this staff is pretty confident that he can do it.

SB: Kent, you mentioned the new commitment to the run for the Cardinals. Let's talk about the offensive line that will be paving the lanes for Edge and company to run 550 times this year if things go well. How's the line coming together - particularly first round draft pick Levi Brown? Have you noticed a change in philosophy on the line, the way they go about their business in this new sort of smashmouth football philosophy?

KS: Right now they have Levi Brown - he played the left side in college - right now they have him on the right side backing up Oliver Ross, a veteran that they signed from Pittsburgh a couple of years ago. He's been very disappointing in his first two seasons here. He's been nagged by injuries, and even when he's been healthy, he has not played well, and lost his job. His best NFL years were in Pittsburgh, under a lot of these same coaches. Russ Grimm got the best out of Oliver Ross, this staff thinks they can do the same this year, although I expect Levi Brown to be starting, if not by the opener, very soon into the season. You just don't pick a guy number five overall to sit on the bench, especially when he's playing behind a guy who's not an All-Pro or anything either. They've shuffled this line a lot, they've brought in free agent Mike Gandy to start at left tackle, Al Johnson, backup center in Dallas last year, he's going to start at center. Reggie Wells, the right tackle, they've moved him to left guard. They've got Deuce Lutui, who's really the only returning starter at the same position that he finished at last year at right guard. Wells is a real key to this. He played well at right tackle. They want athletic guards. They want guys who can run and pull and lead block and do a variety of things, so they can really run from any kind of blocking scheme that the situation may dictate. He's a real key to this. They're putting a lot, an awful lot of responsibility on Russ Grimm's shoulders. They brought him here as offensive line coach and assistant head coach. They're paying him close to a million and a half dollars a year, more than they've paid any other assistant ever, and it's not even close. They're expecting big things from him in developing this group.

CL: Now let's move on to the tight end position, and talk about Leonard Pope, who was drafted by them with high hopes. He should develop into a solid pro, but Ben Patrick was a guy, seventh round pick, who Bloom and I got to see up close at not only the Shrine Game practices, but the Senior Bowl practices this year. Kind of shocking that he fell to the seventh, now a little bit banged up. What do you expect out of Pope, and does Patrick hang on to a roster spot?

KS: Well, it's wide open. If you can't make this team as a tight end as a rookie, you probably don't deserve to be in the league. Leonard Pope is the only experienced guy they've got. They signed a guy named Tim Euhus, who had gotten cups of coffee at various places including Pittsburgh last year, but really Pope's the guy with the experience, and he was just a rookie last year. It's wide open, very wide open. They're a little disappointed in Patrick. He showed up at workouts with a bad hamstring did not practice once in the 14 organized team activities. They're not giving up on him. They're not labeling him a bust or questioning his dedication yet, but he's got to get healthy, he's got to make an impact. This is a team that is going to be looking for a tight end through camp, and probably, through the season. They would love to get a veteran in here who can tutor some of these young guys. They tried to get Reggie Kelly from the Bengals, who was a free agent, but he ended up going back to Cincinnati for big money, which was quite a loss for the Cardinals. That's probably the weakest position on the team.

SB: Kent, let's go over to the defensive side of the ball. Much like the offensive side of the ball, there's some upheaval, some change to a new philosophy, a new scheme. With the institution of the 3-4 scheme, so far all signs pointing to that in minicamp and OTAs. How extensive do you expect 3-4 sets to be? Is this something where they are going to be dabbling in it this year, or is it really laying the groundwork for a full transition to the 3-4 in the future?

KS: Well, I think it's going to be their base defense this year. Through the early offseason, they've been saying, well 4-3 is still our base, but practically everything they've done this offseason was based on the 3-4. They've made some significant position changes, and you just don't do that unless you're going to commit to it totally. They've moved Darnell Dockett from tackle to left end, and moved outside linebacker Karlos Dansby to one of the inside backers. They've got defensive end Chike Okeafor, last year, they did a lot of things with him last year, but this year he's going to be dropping into coverage. Bertrand Berry, their best pass rusher, they're moving him to outside linebacker, although he'll rush a lot. There's just too much time invested to make this a part time defense. I think you'll see a lot of elements of the 4-3, I think especially in nickel situations, they're going to try to get their best pass rushers on the field, but there's little question after watching summer practices that this is a 3-4 team.

CL: Kent, my last question for you has to do with that wide receiver corps. Now, we all know Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin are superstars in this league. Let's go down the depth chart a little bit to another guy Bloom and I were able to see in Houston. It's Steve Breaston from Michigan. Here's a guy who has a ton of explosiveness, but never seemed to be able to put it together in college now going to be a kick returner/punt returner, and he did look good in the Shrine Game practices. How's he looking in the minicamps, and how do you think he'll fit in on this team?

KS: Well like you said, all kinds of speed and athletic ability. They key for him is how does he develop as a receiver, because he showed in minicamp that he's a little rough. There were some balls he should have caught that he dropped. He didn't look real sure of himself running routes. How much of that is learning a new offense, how much of that is he really needs to develop as a receiver remains to be seen. He has a role immediately as kick returner and punt returner, and that alone will probably get him the fifth wide receiver spot on this team, but he's got a ways to go as a receiver, no doubt about it.

SB: Kent, my final question is just about the fate of the team in general. You've got through some false starts in Arizona, some very lofty expectations, at least for Arizona, coming into the last few years, but continuing the double digit loss, almost tradition now in Arizona. With this new regime, definitely dedicated to success, dedicated to turning that franchise around, do you see it happening sooner than later? Do you see the team approaching .500 over getting over .500? Or will this strictly be a year to lay the groundwork for the future?

KS: Well I'm usually as pessimistic as anybody about this team. They've been the darling pick of a lot of people, really the last three years, all three years under Dennis Green, and I never really saw it in training camp, not that I'm the world's greatest football guru, but anyone that watched practice and watched this team thought, this team is going to have a hard time getting to 8-8. I feel kind of the opposite this year. I've been impressed by Ken Whisenhunt, and his coaching staff, they've got a plan. You look around at each position working and they seem to be well-coached, very detail oriented, I think they're going to win a couple more games because they are better coached. I think this is definitely a team that is going to hover around .500. Can they go 9-7, 10-6? Yeah, if everything breaks right, and they can stay healthy, win a couple of close games, that they've been noted for losing the last several years. Yeah, definitely, I think they're going to make strides this year. I don't know about predicting the playoffs, but I think 8-8 is feasible.

CL: The Cardinals are an up and coming team, and if you want to know everything about the Arizona Cardinals, of course, you read whatever Kent Somers writes in the Arizona Republic. Kent, thank you very much for joining the show.

KS: Great, thanks for having me guys.