Jersey DolFan
☠️ Banned ☠️
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2004
- Messages
- 2,667
- Reaction score
- 13
I am feeling like this regime could have been successful, but that they outdid themselves and tried to "micro-manage" way too much as Ricky Williams put it. I also feel like had no true vision for many players.
1 - Defense : in 08 our defense was kind of a bend but don't break for much of the season. We had a decent secondary and a decent group up front. It was fine to upgrade through the draft with smith and davis, but did they need to step in so soon? Coming out of 08 we had the likes of Roth, Holliday, Renaldo Hill, and Andre Goodman, and Crowder. Now i am sure these guys were not GREAT and 1 or 2 of them were prob. UFA that could have walked - but in hindsight is misi much better than Roth? what about our FS and our corners? This offseason we outright CUT crowder and gave Burnett the starting position with really 0 competition and it has taken at least something out of the D for sure. They "didnt like" roth or something etc. i think from too much meddling the FO took steps back here.
2 - Offensive Line: i know this is not a revelation to anyone here, and we can all share in the frustration. We were serviceable in 08, esp. with the wildcat. BUT my issue was 09. We go out and get Grove, we start Donald Thomas, and we have smiley, Garner is a great backup who plugs a ton of holes - we are one of THE BEST RUSHING TEAMS IN FOOTBALL. this was a SOLID unit. all we should have done here was draft some depth and develop them. Smiley and Grove were often injured - SO WHAT? thats why you keep them and bring in solid back-ups! but ireland is always trying to "get the value" and "bargain buys" and decided to cut "injury prone" guys loose! BIG MISTAKE! tony fooled around with the o-line in '10, getting rid of 3 previous starters and in essence completely gutting our entire offensive line. there was no need for that at all. and we paid, and no continue to pay for that - this season bringing in columbo and shifting carey was another blunder.
3 - Special Teams/Bottom of the roster: I still do not understand cutting Ted Ginn loose. The guy was not elite by any stretch - but just because he WAS a first rounder does not mean he has to be a star or be cut. Ginn is one of teh better kick returners in our league - this is something we continue to lack every week. Thats first. Second, Ginn was a BURNER. marshall as the 1 and ginn as the 2 or even a more experienced gates would be a good thing for this football team. IM not saying trading Ginn was one of our bigger blunders but it was not really needed imo. i dont know whey these guys ever made Ginn a number 1 in the first place, and why they didnt have the brain to shift him to 2 instead of getting rid of him once marshall came on. Just dont get this. what continues to irk me is this stupid "shuffling bottom end of the roster" crap. They bring in this guy Trusnick who continues to get holding calls and cost us feild position. our special teams has also been much less than stellar over teh past few years and i believe never sticking with a solid core of "your own guys" to run special teams is the reason - its probably why our depth sucks too! STOP MICRO-MANAGING every darn aspect down to the special teamers/4th stringers Jeff!
4 - QB : on a much , much less intrusive level these guys micro-managed qb as well. They bring back Penny in '10 to let him "compete" yet they start Henne anyway, even though Penny won in training camp - only to turn around and bench Henne for penny mid-season, then again try friggen Thigpen, only to turn around and stick with Henne in '11 without any shot at Young, McNabb, Hasselbeck, etc etc. I am a Henne beleiver this year and wish him luck if he leaves with the regime this spring (was not always) but, either keep the guy in during '10 and develop the kid, or get rid of him this season. . . micro-managing like that only stunted his growth.
i know these are things most of us already agree on, but i was still a niave beleiver that these guys must know what they are doing and be doing things for a reason - now i am convinced they just had to feel "busy" and meddle with everything even when it was working fine. just to leave their "stamp" on the team. I think we had a decent squad in 08 - i think in 09 we really took a step forward even though the record didnt reflect it (08 was a miracle season) but since 09 we have taken step after step backward and i beleive it is due to micro-managing.
I thank this regime for putting pieces in place like Bess, Long, Wake, D-Line, S. Smith, Pouncey, Fasano, Marshall, Bush, even D. Thomas, Hartline, and whoever else you want to include or not include is up for debate - BUT i think its time to bring in a regime that truely understands how to harness this talent and use it the right way without screwing up the chemistry and momentum going forward. its either that or a complete "rebuild" I just hope whoever comes in does not want to leave such a "stamp" and just wants to put the best men out there and WIN.
1 - Defense : in 08 our defense was kind of a bend but don't break for much of the season. We had a decent secondary and a decent group up front. It was fine to upgrade through the draft with smith and davis, but did they need to step in so soon? Coming out of 08 we had the likes of Roth, Holliday, Renaldo Hill, and Andre Goodman, and Crowder. Now i am sure these guys were not GREAT and 1 or 2 of them were prob. UFA that could have walked - but in hindsight is misi much better than Roth? what about our FS and our corners? This offseason we outright CUT crowder and gave Burnett the starting position with really 0 competition and it has taken at least something out of the D for sure. They "didnt like" roth or something etc. i think from too much meddling the FO took steps back here.
2 - Offensive Line: i know this is not a revelation to anyone here, and we can all share in the frustration. We were serviceable in 08, esp. with the wildcat. BUT my issue was 09. We go out and get Grove, we start Donald Thomas, and we have smiley, Garner is a great backup who plugs a ton of holes - we are one of THE BEST RUSHING TEAMS IN FOOTBALL. this was a SOLID unit. all we should have done here was draft some depth and develop them. Smiley and Grove were often injured - SO WHAT? thats why you keep them and bring in solid back-ups! but ireland is always trying to "get the value" and "bargain buys" and decided to cut "injury prone" guys loose! BIG MISTAKE! tony fooled around with the o-line in '10, getting rid of 3 previous starters and in essence completely gutting our entire offensive line. there was no need for that at all. and we paid, and no continue to pay for that - this season bringing in columbo and shifting carey was another blunder.
3 - Special Teams/Bottom of the roster: I still do not understand cutting Ted Ginn loose. The guy was not elite by any stretch - but just because he WAS a first rounder does not mean he has to be a star or be cut. Ginn is one of teh better kick returners in our league - this is something we continue to lack every week. Thats first. Second, Ginn was a BURNER. marshall as the 1 and ginn as the 2 or even a more experienced gates would be a good thing for this football team. IM not saying trading Ginn was one of our bigger blunders but it was not really needed imo. i dont know whey these guys ever made Ginn a number 1 in the first place, and why they didnt have the brain to shift him to 2 instead of getting rid of him once marshall came on. Just dont get this. what continues to irk me is this stupid "shuffling bottom end of the roster" crap. They bring in this guy Trusnick who continues to get holding calls and cost us feild position. our special teams has also been much less than stellar over teh past few years and i believe never sticking with a solid core of "your own guys" to run special teams is the reason - its probably why our depth sucks too! STOP MICRO-MANAGING every darn aspect down to the special teamers/4th stringers Jeff!
4 - QB : on a much , much less intrusive level these guys micro-managed qb as well. They bring back Penny in '10 to let him "compete" yet they start Henne anyway, even though Penny won in training camp - only to turn around and bench Henne for penny mid-season, then again try friggen Thigpen, only to turn around and stick with Henne in '11 without any shot at Young, McNabb, Hasselbeck, etc etc. I am a Henne beleiver this year and wish him luck if he leaves with the regime this spring (was not always) but, either keep the guy in during '10 and develop the kid, or get rid of him this season. . . micro-managing like that only stunted his growth.
i know these are things most of us already agree on, but i was still a niave beleiver that these guys must know what they are doing and be doing things for a reason - now i am convinced they just had to feel "busy" and meddle with everything even when it was working fine. just to leave their "stamp" on the team. I think we had a decent squad in 08 - i think in 09 we really took a step forward even though the record didnt reflect it (08 was a miracle season) but since 09 we have taken step after step backward and i beleive it is due to micro-managing.
I thank this regime for putting pieces in place like Bess, Long, Wake, D-Line, S. Smith, Pouncey, Fasano, Marshall, Bush, even D. Thomas, Hartline, and whoever else you want to include or not include is up for debate - BUT i think its time to bring in a regime that truely understands how to harness this talent and use it the right way without screwing up the chemistry and momentum going forward. its either that or a complete "rebuild" I just hope whoever comes in does not want to leave such a "stamp" and just wants to put the best men out there and WIN.
