Chuck 54
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A super bowl team?...Top 3 in the NFL?
Is it possible? yes
Is it likely? no way
I am happy with the FA moves, and I'm excited about the draft...however, as the end of the year wore on last season, we STUNK. Don't talk to me about the Carolina game...Talk to me about the NY Giants and the Commanders, followed by the Rams.
Our offense was pretty putrid, and our defense was not as stout as it was earlier.
What have we really done to go from a 9-7 team that consistantly underperformed to a team thought to be top 3 in the NFC and a SB favorite? Please...don't make me laugh. I'm not saying it can't happen, but let's be realistic.
Our OL was horrible...what did we do? Released our best lineman last year and let our depth at LT leave. We signed a OG whom many are unsure of and who wasn't supposed to start in Detroit, but did, to replace LA. We are counting on a full recovery by Adams, and hoping he isn't rusty, that he plays well enough to be a force without Allen by his side...he's really only had 1 really good year, imo. We still have the same train wreck at C with Johnson and Gurode...i guess we're all hoping they both improve dramatically. We're also hoping Rivera improves dramatically since he was not very good last year...we're blaming it on the injury and hoping for better with no backup in sight. And to fix the horror that was Pettitti at RT last season, we have brought in Fabini, who is really a LT, not known as much of a run blocker...let's face it...he's an 11 year vet who was available.
AT RB, we hope we have stars in waiting in JJ and Barber, but in reality, we're looking at a guy who can't stay healthy and a solid, but unspectacular sophomore.
At WR, we released our best blocker and a reliable receiver who moved the chains...we hope Owens is the stud we paid for and that he won't be rusty or frustrated by our OL blocking....we also hope like heck that he and Glenn stay healthy and that Crayton can at least look like a #3 receiver...again, we blame it on injury.
On defense, we released a probowl DT/NT, and we hope Ferguson plays better and stays healthy...we hope our LBs stay healthy and play well, so we're not watching Shanlee or Fowler again...oh yeah, we lost Fajita and DAT.
Don't get me wrong...I think we're headed in the right direction, and I hope Bledsoe can play as well as he did last year, though he was 2nd or 3rd from the league lead in INT's, right? (17) with an 83 QB rating...not bad, but not exactly looking like a super star to me.
I just don't believe Rome is built in a day....we may see teams go from losing records to the SB in a year every now and then, but I would argue it's much less frequent that many of you believe...I'd also argue that those teams who did it were much more talented than we were during the bad season. The Dallas Cowboys clearly had little to no talent just two seasons ago...I think we're headed in the right direction, but I also believe:
Those who think we are going to the SB are in for a huge disappointment.
I'll be happy with a long-awaited playoff appearance and possibly a first round victory. However, I don't think we are better or deeper on the DL from last year...the fact is we are currently less deep. I don't think our OL went from the botton to the top with the prospect of Adams, Kozier, Johnson, Rivera, Fabini and a train wreck for depth...slightly better, more due to the hope that Adams is okay than anything else.
We weren't a WR and a Kicker away from the SB last season, imo....but feel free to tell me how many games we'd have won with a kicker.
I won't pretend I can predict whether Parcells is really all about this year, but I certainly hope not...this team is trying to get by with the OL...what we truly need to go with the defensive draft we had last year is a young foundation on offense this April.
I know the glamourous talk is of LBs or DBs or even a backup NT, but I would never go that route. I'd spend my first pick on a WR (Jackson/Holmes) to compete for #3 this year and be a key guy in the future. I'd spend my 2nd and 3rd picks on an OT (perhaps McNeill) and an OG (I'd trade players or picks to get into round 2 and get one of the top 4 OGs).
I'd hope to trade down somewhere to get 4 picks on day 1, but even if I have to sit on the 3 I have, I've got to get out of day 1 with a top WR, an OT, and an OG...guys who can compete and be the cornerstones of our OL in a year or two when the Fabini's and Rivera's are gone. Our youth and talent on the DL changed the way we and other teams look at our defense. Now it's time to do the same thing on the Offensive side.
Just my opinion.
Is it possible? yes
Is it likely? no way
I am happy with the FA moves, and I'm excited about the draft...however, as the end of the year wore on last season, we STUNK. Don't talk to me about the Carolina game...Talk to me about the NY Giants and the Commanders, followed by the Rams.
Our offense was pretty putrid, and our defense was not as stout as it was earlier.
What have we really done to go from a 9-7 team that consistantly underperformed to a team thought to be top 3 in the NFC and a SB favorite? Please...don't make me laugh. I'm not saying it can't happen, but let's be realistic.
Our OL was horrible...what did we do? Released our best lineman last year and let our depth at LT leave. We signed a OG whom many are unsure of and who wasn't supposed to start in Detroit, but did, to replace LA. We are counting on a full recovery by Adams, and hoping he isn't rusty, that he plays well enough to be a force without Allen by his side...he's really only had 1 really good year, imo. We still have the same train wreck at C with Johnson and Gurode...i guess we're all hoping they both improve dramatically. We're also hoping Rivera improves dramatically since he was not very good last year...we're blaming it on the injury and hoping for better with no backup in sight. And to fix the horror that was Pettitti at RT last season, we have brought in Fabini, who is really a LT, not known as much of a run blocker...let's face it...he's an 11 year vet who was available.
AT RB, we hope we have stars in waiting in JJ and Barber, but in reality, we're looking at a guy who can't stay healthy and a solid, but unspectacular sophomore.
At WR, we released our best blocker and a reliable receiver who moved the chains...we hope Owens is the stud we paid for and that he won't be rusty or frustrated by our OL blocking....we also hope like heck that he and Glenn stay healthy and that Crayton can at least look like a #3 receiver...again, we blame it on injury.
On defense, we released a probowl DT/NT, and we hope Ferguson plays better and stays healthy...we hope our LBs stay healthy and play well, so we're not watching Shanlee or Fowler again...oh yeah, we lost Fajita and DAT.
Don't get me wrong...I think we're headed in the right direction, and I hope Bledsoe can play as well as he did last year, though he was 2nd or 3rd from the league lead in INT's, right? (17) with an 83 QB rating...not bad, but not exactly looking like a super star to me.
I just don't believe Rome is built in a day....we may see teams go from losing records to the SB in a year every now and then, but I would argue it's much less frequent that many of you believe...I'd also argue that those teams who did it were much more talented than we were during the bad season. The Dallas Cowboys clearly had little to no talent just two seasons ago...I think we're headed in the right direction, but I also believe:
Those who think we are going to the SB are in for a huge disappointment.
I'll be happy with a long-awaited playoff appearance and possibly a first round victory. However, I don't think we are better or deeper on the DL from last year...the fact is we are currently less deep. I don't think our OL went from the botton to the top with the prospect of Adams, Kozier, Johnson, Rivera, Fabini and a train wreck for depth...slightly better, more due to the hope that Adams is okay than anything else.
We weren't a WR and a Kicker away from the SB last season, imo....but feel free to tell me how many games we'd have won with a kicker.
I won't pretend I can predict whether Parcells is really all about this year, but I certainly hope not...this team is trying to get by with the OL...what we truly need to go with the defensive draft we had last year is a young foundation on offense this April.
I know the glamourous talk is of LBs or DBs or even a backup NT, but I would never go that route. I'd spend my first pick on a WR (Jackson/Holmes) to compete for #3 this year and be a key guy in the future. I'd spend my 2nd and 3rd picks on an OT (perhaps McNeill) and an OG (I'd trade players or picks to get into round 2 and get one of the top 4 OGs).
I'd hope to trade down somewhere to get 4 picks on day 1, but even if I have to sit on the 3 I have, I've got to get out of day 1 with a top WR, an OT, and an OG...guys who can compete and be the cornerstones of our OL in a year or two when the Fabini's and Rivera's are gone. Our youth and talent on the DL changed the way we and other teams look at our defense. Now it's time to do the same thing on the Offensive side.
Just my opinion.
