Last year we gave wallace the same amt jake long and greg jennings got paid elsewhere. Fail. We dumped 2 starting LBers and brought in ellerbe and wheeler. Fail. We kept jmart and incognito even tho the team knew there were issues with both players.ail. we traded up and lost a 2 nd rd pick for a guy who wd be out of ideal position, backing up pur best player. Fail. I dont know how things play out, but imho this offseason has been better so far wirhout knowing how the draft plays out yet.
All of these changes point to Philbin and Coyle. We're still in transition and the team is suffering for it. They needed money to sign Wallace, they needed to get more speed on the team and move away from smashmouth football and running/stopping the run, toward blitzing and pressuring the QB, and throwing the football.
Ireland upgraded from Ayodele, Porter and Crowder,... to Dansby and Burnett. They were solid players, and the defense was tough against the run and tough in the red zone. That went out the door because of the new coaches.
This is the year their program HAS to work. And maybe it will. Moving Ellerbe they say, may help. We can draft a linebacker. We added Mitchell, he fits the 4-3 scheme. We signed Delmas. Coyle has Dion Jordan from last year, and he will have a greater impact. On offense, we're fitting in more players for Philbin's zone blocking. We picked up a back who can block and catch. We're going to draft some linemen. We'll likely pick up a running back and maybe add a receiver in the later rounds.
Hickey I think, has done a good job of not being heavy-handed and give Philbin's offense and Coyle's defense the best chance of succeeding. He signed or re-signed some cornerstones (Albert, Starks, Grimes) and matched some other players to the coach's scheme. Now, onto the draft.
