NFL Network Announces That Cardinals Will Allow Leonard Davis to be an UFA

[Buck]

Good News for all you Chiefs Fans, I hear you need a Tackle (or two).

[jspchief]

Great news.
We can pick up an O-lineman from the worst offensive line in the league. That should help get LJ's ypc numbers down even lower so that it will take 50 carries a game to get 100 yards rushing.

[chagrin]

Great news.
We can pick up an O-lineman from the worst offensive line in the league. That should help get LJ's ypc numbers down even lower so that it will take 50 carries a game to get 100 yards rushing.


I agree, this is great news!

[dirk digler]

I think the Chiefs should go for it. It would be a huge upgrade over anyone we currently have.

The man is huge. He stands at 6'6" and weighs 365 lbs

[Eleazar]

Didn't he play guard in college?

[Mile High Mania]

Well, just b/c the entire line sucked doesn't mean this guy sucks... weird logic.

[brent102fire]

I think the Chiefs should go for it. It would be a huge upgrade over anyone we currently have.

The man is huge. He stands at 6'6" and weighs 365 lbs

Even though he's twice as big as Turley and probably better than Black, just because he's big, doesn't mean he's a good tackle...

[jspchief]

Well, just b/c the entire line sucked doesn't mean this guy sucks... weird logic.No surprise coming from a Denver Browns fan. :)

Why is he supposed to be good then? Because he's really big? Or because he was taken 2nd overall in the draft?

IMO a good left tackle can make an entire line better. If your line sucks as bad as theirs did, then Davis must not have been that good.

Besides, if he's so great why is the team with the worst O-line in the league allowing him to walk? Left Tackle is probably second only to QB in terms of difficulty finding quality. You don't just let the good ones walk away.

[Brock]

Somebody is going to overpay for the guy, I doubt it's going to be the chiefs.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

No surprise coming from a Denver Browns fan. :)

Why is he supposed to be good then? Because he's really big? Or because he was taken 2nd overall in the draft?

IMO a good left tackle can make an entire line better. If your line sucks as bad as theirs did, then Davis must not have been that good.

Besides, if he's so great why is the team with the worst O-line in the league allowing him to walk? Left Tackle is probably second only to QB in terms of difficulty finding quality. You don't just let the good ones walk away.


You do realize you are referring to the CARDINALS don't you ?

[KC Jones]

I'd take him for average starting LOT money. He's no Roaf but he's a hell of a lot better than Black, Turley, etc.

[Skip Towne]

No surprise coming from a Denver Browns fan. :)

Why is he supposed to be good then? Because he's really big? Or because he was taken 2nd overall in the draft?

IMO a good left tackle can make an entire line better. If your line sucks as bad as theirs did, then Davis must not have been that good.

Besides, if he's so great why is the team with the worst O-line in the league allowing him to walk? Left Tackle is probably second only to QB in terms of difficulty finding quality. You don't just let the good ones walk away.
So how did we get Willie Roaf?

[Brock]

So how did we get Willie Roaf?

"We" traded.

[dirk digler]

Even though he's twice as big as Turley and probably better than Black, just because he's big, doesn't mean he's a good tackle...

True. What I would like to see is how many sacks he gave up last year. The Cardinals gave up 5 sacks to the Chiefs last year and Allen and Hali each had 1.

[jspchief]

You do realize you are referring to the CARDINALS don't you ?Yes. And I realize they are the worst run team in the league (although Millen is making a push for that title).

And even knowing all that, I refuse to believe they would let the lone bright spot on the weakest part of their team just walk away.

That offense has all the pieces in place including a young QB that looks to be the real thing. The idea that they would let a good LT go is to absurd for me to entertain.

Who's actually seen him play? He spent his first 3 years in the league playing guard (thats right, 2nd pick overall playing guard) before they finally moved him to tackle. And now after seeing him at tackle for 3 years they are letting him go.

I'd just like to hear why he's good besides "he's big" or "he was taken 2nd overall".

[Pushead2]

Do we want what happened to James to happen to Johnson???

[dirk digler]

Team Report: Inside Slant

The Cardinals are going to be in the market for a starting left tackle after informing underperforming Leonard Davis on Thursday that he will not be tagged and will be allowed to become an unrestricted free agent.

That leaves the door only barely open for the possibility that the team would make an attempt to sign him back at what it believes his market value to be.

"When we evaluated Leonard, we certainly see ability and improvement, especially as last season went on," said Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt. "But when you look at the situation on the whole and take everything into account, we don't feel that the investment that would be required to keep him is equal to the performance."

"We have needs at multiple positions, as well as for depth, and we want to be in the best position for us to address those needs."

It would have cost the Cardinals $11 million in salary in 2007 had they franchised Davis.

"It's not about cap room or trying to make it fit, but it's about paying the right value for Leonard Davis," said Rod Graves, Cardinals Vice President of Operations.

Davis was the second pick overall in the 2001 draft behind Michael Vick and had his best seasons early in his career, when he was the starting right guard for former coach Dave McGinnis. Davis has yet to make the Pro Bowl.

Davis is best remembered as a dominating rookie playing inside, giving hints at a wonderful future as he learned the pro game. In one monster game his rookie year against Chicago, Davis pancaked Brian Urlacher and picked up -- literally picked up -- a blitzing Mike Brown and essentially shot put him.

But his reputation grew in the wrong direction thereafter. He was forced into emergency duty as the starting right tackle because of injuries to Anthony Clement and was serviceable but not great as the replacement.

And then, when Dennis Green replaced McGinnis, Davis was moved to left tackle, the position he was expected all along to play, just as he had while earning All-America status at Texas and vaulting nearly to the top of the draft.

It just didn't work for the 6-foot-6-inch, 365-pound behemoth, and it's not clear exactly why.

Davis' name, however, continues to appear at the top of most lists as the best available left tackle in free agency.

"In fairness to Leonard, we wanted to let him know what our position is so he can move forward and make plans," Graves said. "Our coaching staff has had an opportunity to evaluate Leonard and how he fits in with our team and we feel this is the option that makes the most sense from a football standpoint."

[Skip Towne]

"We" traded.
What did NO get in the trade?

[Chiefnj]

What did NO get in the trade?
3rd round pick.

[boogblaster]

A decent OL coach could help him with foot-work, probably the only thing wrong with a human-wall like that, hell at least take a look ...

[JBucc]

Here's a post I stole from the footballsfuture board. I think he's moved some and hasn't played just LT but he's not as bad as some say. I'm not sure if we should sign him but we should at least consider it if these stats are right.
I have done a little comparison of 5 left tackles over their careers. Walter Jones, Leonard Davis, Orlando Pace, Willie Anderson, and Bryant Mckinnie. These stats are career averages. All these tackles have been in the league between 5 and 11 years. Compared in 4 categories averaged out over there careers. The averages are Games Played. False starts. Holding Penalties. Sacks Allowed per season.

Lets see if you can guess who the players are.

Player 1)

Games 15.82 FS 1.64 Holding 1.09 Sacks Allowed 4.05

Player 2)

Games 14.30 FS 5.7 Holding 0.80 Sacks Allowed 5.50

Player 3)

Games 15.30 FS 1.7 Holding .90 Sacks Allowed 4.78

Player 4)

Games 15.17 FS 5.5 Holding 1.5 Sacks Allowed 5.79

Player 5)

Games 14.40 FS 2.4 Holding 2 Sacks Allowed 7.8

Based on these stats pick which of these 5 tackles you would want in order or preference. You might surprise yourself.


Take the test before you look at the answer you might surprise yourself................................................











And the players are:




Player 1) Willie Anderson

Player 2) Orlando Pace

Player 3) Walter Jones

Player 4) Leonard Davis

Player 5) Bryant Mckinie

Davis is not as bad as people say he is. He is very durable. I think he will get better with good coaching (Grimm) and consistency on the line. If I was GM I would resign him and move him to guard. I would even pay him Steve Hutchinson money, he would be worth evey penny, and will be a relative bargain as the salary cap continues to increase. Yes his false starts have been bad, but those can be corrected. He is a rare talent, and if you move him inside he will destroy people. I know other teams will be all over him. I will be disappointed if we let him walk away. If we can draft Thomas and then move Davis inside our line will be significantly better.

MuDaChainS
CARDS FAN/BUD MAN

[banyon]

A decent OL coach could help him with foot-work, probably the only thing wrong with a human-wall like that, hell at least take a look ...

This is what I thought. Surely our O-Line coaches are better than the Cards?

[jspchief]

Here's a post I stole from the footballsfuture board. I think he's moved some and hasn't played just LT but he's not as bad as some say. I'm not sure if we should sign him but we should at least consider it if these stats are right.That doesn't really take into account that Davis played at the guard position for 3 of his 6 years in the league.

[Direckshun]

We pretty much need Davis.

He's big, and that's reasons 1 through 100 why we need the guy.

Herm wants to run up the gut over and over, and you can't do that without size up front. Davis would give LJ a wide lane to run through.

I'm all aboard the Leonard Davis express.

[Chiefnj]

Over the past 2 years at LT Davis has 21 false start penalties. That's tough on an offense, especially a conservative offense like Herms.

[StcChief]

Worth a look....I'm sure the Chiefs will at least talk to him.

Have to wonder why the Cardinals couldn't get him to work right??? Oh it was their great mgmt, coaches.

[C-Mac]

This is what I thought. Surely our O-Line coaches are better than the Cards?

I bet joining a organization that even sniffs winning will have a strong impact on him.

[Mile High Mania]

I'd take a shot at him for the right contract. Everyone knows how a change of scenery helps players and I wouldn't be surprised to see the same happen here. There's no lock that it will happen, but there are more than enough examples of 'underperforming' guys doing well with new teams.

[Eleazar]

If he's no good at left tackle, but he can play as well at guard as he did during the first years of his career, he'd be worth it. We are likely going to need a guard too, lest we forget...

[jspchief]

If he's no good at left tackle, but he can play as well at guard as he did during the first years of his career, he'd be worth it. We are likely going to need a guard too, lest we forget...I might entertain using him at guard. Problem is that he'll be asking for tackle money, likely left tackle money.

The guy has never shown he has the feet to play tackle in the NFL. It's not about scenery. It's about a guy that got by on size in college but doesn't have the athleticism to be a great NFL tackle.

[Chiefnj]

A guard that wants tackle money = bad investment.

It's a very thin free agent year, someone will overpay him.

[Pushead2]

It's a very thin free agent year, someone will overpay him.

I sort of agree with this , I mean when he was a Guard he was really good, it just seems like Tackle isn't his thing? :rolleyes:

[The Rick]

Instead of playing tackle, maybe we could move him to right guard to replace Shields. Sounds like his best years were when he was playing guard instead of playing tackle.

Of course, he probably wants tackle money and not guard money. Some team will give him tackle money too...

[Sully]

Whenever I see the argument that a player was a part of the "worst_____," therefore he is one of the worst, I always think back to the offseason when we signed James Hasty and Brian Washington from a horrible Jets defensive backfield. There's something to be said for better coaching and a change of scenery. Those guys were GREAT players for the Chiefs.

That said, I honestly don't know a ot about Davis... but if most NFL analysts are calling him one of the best LT FAs, then I'll tend to believe them.

[jspchief]

It's a very thin free agent year, someone will overpay him.When it comes to tackles, every year is a thin year. No one lets good tackles get away because they are so scarce.

That's why I have little interest in Davis. If he was worth a shit the Cards wouldn't be letting him walk.

[Mr. Laz]

hasn't Davis pretty much been considered a bust for most his career .... they almost cut him iirc.

the last year or 2 he finally was able to sneak into the starting lineup ...... barely.


why would we want him?



unless he suddenly improved when i wasn't looking :shrug:

[Mecca]

This is what I thought. Surely our O-Line coaches are better than the Cards?

Take into account the Cards hired the Steelers OC and Oline coach.....they must think he sucks also.

[Direckshun]

We're not going to use him at guard because we already have two guys we can put in for Shields, Welbourne and Jordan Black, both who are more comfortable there than at tackle.

Let's do it. We need the size. We need Leonard Davis.

[Archie Bunker]

Take into account the Cards hired the Steelers OC and Oline coach.....they must think he sucks also.

Exactly. Grimm seems to have a good eye for OLine talent. If he thinks Davis is expendable he probably is.

[vailpass]

Word on sports radion here in PHX is that Davis is a true and natural Guard.

The Nutty Professor (aka Denny Green) insisted on playing him out of position, at Tackle, where got walked through like the back door at a whorehouse.

FWIW The NFL guy here says Davis would be a very good pick up for someone if they put him back at Guard.

[Hydrae]

I agree that bringing him in to take over Will's spot at RG sounds like a good fit all around. Is the difference in money that great between a LT and what Shields has been earning? We could probably still get this to work.

Also, I pretty much guarantee that moving him inside would take care of a lot of those false starts. He will not be having to worry about the end so can concentrate more plus will be closer to the ball. I am sure both of those things contributed to all those false starts.