phinsforlife
Active Roster
This thread is not about the pro's and con's of the individual players they drafted. It is about the mosaic of what the team has done under Grier's stewardship.
This draft, they went with the fatties. I think people were generally pleased the team added some bulk in the trenches, disregarding the notion of whether or not they handled it in the most optimal fashion.
The bigger picture problems the draft illustrates are several things:
-The team has no identity and we flip flop all the time. The team was obviously too soft. Everyone knew it. But it was intentionally soft. These were the players they had built the team around. The prior years draft and FA was all quick, finesse players, for the most part. Chop, Jaylen Wright (fast), Malik, Tahj, Aaron Brewer, Jonnu Smith, etc. All in the smaller, quicker, finesse mode. WRs already on the team, Tyreek and Waddle, small and quick. Tua, small and quick to throw the ball. Achane, etc. Then this draft, we need to go to the other end of the guardrail, and do the exact opposite, because we went too much in one direction for too many years. The goal is to build a team, not just a collection of players. Grier seems to blame this on the notion that he accomodates what the head coach wants. Well, then why do you even have a job? Further, when the head coach changes all the time, there is no single strong vision the team is built around. If the head coach changes every 3 to 4 years, the type of team you want changes every 3 to 4 years, and you can never build anything, because all you are doing is tearing down what was there before and you end up with a jumbled mess.
-We never seem to build toward anything. We just drafted to replace what was here, and was let go two years ago, because we decided to put the money in other places, and those are all seemingly turning out to be poor decisions. It seems at best, we run in place to stand still. Always plugging holes and trying to cover for other mistakes, as opposed to adding to a solid foundation and growing. I think there is now a fair bit less talent on the team than we had two years ago. It appears we have gone backwards - the current NFL power rankings and Vegas odds are telling you that too. We seem to be viewed as team #20-#21 in the NFL.
-We were also drafting to cover mistakes from prior drafts. We needed Jonah, because we got Eichenberg wrong (and let Rob Hunt go). We had to trade up for both of those players too.
Wayne Gretzky said something akin to "don't skate to where the puck is, skate to where the puck is going to be." We seem to have little strategy, vision, or foresight with regard to the team we are building. There is no vision or identity. I have no idea what this team it, it seems like a mish mash of stuff. It is like the Island of Misfit Toys. Howie Roseman is a great GM because he is good at both the tactics (which players you pick for your team at the player level) and the strategy of the type of team he wants to build. The Eagles have an identity. That is clear. He was also smart, because he zigged when the rest of the league zagged. He saw the league getting too small and fast, and realized he could take advantage of that by building a team that could just run everyone else over.
In addition to doing better at a tactical level, we need more vision, and need to build a team with an identity. This draft showed the team has been all over the map, and also constantly puts themselves in a position where they spend too much in the way of resource trying to correct prior mistakes.
Also if anybody thinks this team has an identity, what exactly do you think it is? What can they hang their hat on every Sunday and say, this is what we will do to the opponent on each side of the ball, and this is how we are going to win the game?
This draft, they went with the fatties. I think people were generally pleased the team added some bulk in the trenches, disregarding the notion of whether or not they handled it in the most optimal fashion.
The bigger picture problems the draft illustrates are several things:
-The team has no identity and we flip flop all the time. The team was obviously too soft. Everyone knew it. But it was intentionally soft. These were the players they had built the team around. The prior years draft and FA was all quick, finesse players, for the most part. Chop, Jaylen Wright (fast), Malik, Tahj, Aaron Brewer, Jonnu Smith, etc. All in the smaller, quicker, finesse mode. WRs already on the team, Tyreek and Waddle, small and quick. Tua, small and quick to throw the ball. Achane, etc. Then this draft, we need to go to the other end of the guardrail, and do the exact opposite, because we went too much in one direction for too many years. The goal is to build a team, not just a collection of players. Grier seems to blame this on the notion that he accomodates what the head coach wants. Well, then why do you even have a job? Further, when the head coach changes all the time, there is no single strong vision the team is built around. If the head coach changes every 3 to 4 years, the type of team you want changes every 3 to 4 years, and you can never build anything, because all you are doing is tearing down what was there before and you end up with a jumbled mess.
-We never seem to build toward anything. We just drafted to replace what was here, and was let go two years ago, because we decided to put the money in other places, and those are all seemingly turning out to be poor decisions. It seems at best, we run in place to stand still. Always plugging holes and trying to cover for other mistakes, as opposed to adding to a solid foundation and growing. I think there is now a fair bit less talent on the team than we had two years ago. It appears we have gone backwards - the current NFL power rankings and Vegas odds are telling you that too. We seem to be viewed as team #20-#21 in the NFL.
-We were also drafting to cover mistakes from prior drafts. We needed Jonah, because we got Eichenberg wrong (and let Rob Hunt go). We had to trade up for both of those players too.
Wayne Gretzky said something akin to "don't skate to where the puck is, skate to where the puck is going to be." We seem to have little strategy, vision, or foresight with regard to the team we are building. There is no vision or identity. I have no idea what this team it, it seems like a mish mash of stuff. It is like the Island of Misfit Toys. Howie Roseman is a great GM because he is good at both the tactics (which players you pick for your team at the player level) and the strategy of the type of team he wants to build. The Eagles have an identity. That is clear. He was also smart, because he zigged when the rest of the league zagged. He saw the league getting too small and fast, and realized he could take advantage of that by building a team that could just run everyone else over.
In addition to doing better at a tactical level, we need more vision, and need to build a team with an identity. This draft showed the team has been all over the map, and also constantly puts themselves in a position where they spend too much in the way of resource trying to correct prior mistakes.
Also if anybody thinks this team has an identity, what exactly do you think it is? What can they hang their hat on every Sunday and say, this is what we will do to the opponent on each side of the ball, and this is how we are going to win the game?
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