i honestly cant stand when anyone points out draft picks and who we "could have drafed instead" its such utter and complete nonsense.
for any guy who is a star, you can look up where he got drafted, and then go down the line and find probably at least half the league "missing" on the pick. its so annoying.
I think guys stopped liking him really for no reason at all.
I think it is all about one person - CHAD HENNE. this was a parcells pick, and it did not work out, and when your QB is not a franchise QB, you sink.
Parcells catches a ton of CRAP around here because we only had one division title and one playoff appearance with his regime so far, but people forget he changed the culture here to an extent.
I dont think Ireland was ever bad at all - there is ONE REASON FOR THIS - JUST ONE, and it goes like this:
Look at the 2009 Offensive line. It was SOLID, we were leading the league in rushing. Then all the sudden, sparano decided to constantly shuffle the line every damn down, and i have no idea why. Several of those guys that were on that line are now starting elsewhere in the league, it makes no sense. Couple that with Henne, and that is why we could never get over the hump PERIOD. Ireland brought in Reggie Bush, Brandon Marshall, Cam Wake, OV, Hartline, Clay etc.
Philbin didnt want some of those guys and they are now gone, and really ireland was just building what parcells and sporano wanted - and they sucked in this day and age to an extent, but ONE YEAR after philbin wanted a diff breed of player, this man has brought in the right guys, and more importantly, Philbin has gotten production out of Irelands "groceries" .
Another thing to add - If we lose Ireland after this season its a str8 up SIN. That is b/c - watch this team, the reason we are strong in December is mostly due to DEPTH. we have FINALLY after years of anquish built DEPTH on this team, that allows us to compete all season. Ireland has had a huge hand in building up this depth. I'm sick of this "what have you done lately" mentality in the NFL. look around the league - the best, perennial contenders stick with the same management and usually the same coaches for years at a time. Trying to strike gold every 3 years is just dumb, it rarely works.
That is also why everyone with the "clean house you get everyone" mentality is also dead wrong. Ross had it right. its showing. keep ireland.