keep an open mind, actually view the roster and coaching staff without a preset hatred. That would be a start. A lot of people see sparano as coach and henne as the quarterback and go "oh well, this team will suck and won't win more than 5 games." ok, but what about the fact that we have a top 6(likely top 5 this year) defense? One of the best receivers in the game(one of the top receiving corps in the league overall), new offensive coordinator and scheme(our biggest weakness in 2010), improved interior line and a revamped running game(bush can be electrifying). The team lacked speed last year, enter bush and gates.
This team as of today is indeed better than the one that took the field in 2010. That is not "homer speak" or being overly optimistic, that is a fact! If the team won 7 games last year, and beat some of the leagues elite teams, why can't they improve on last year? Saying "well they still have sparano and henne" is an blind uneducated response. There is so much more that goes into a team. "well the team quit on sparano at the end of the year." true, they did quit in that patriots game, but what team wouldn't? If the patriots were in the same spot, i bet they quit on belichick in week 17. The players love sparano, they support him and some even went to twitter in january and displayed their opinion on how much they wanted him to return. Sure they quit in week 17 after the season was already mathematically over, but they are back in his corner now.
You also say "minimal changes". Ok, what were the biggest problems last year?
Offensive coordinator - dan henning out, and they bring in a smart young, and well respected(despite what the "he coached in cleveland and sucks" crowd thinks) in daboll. Check.
More speed on offense - they draft one of the fastest players in the entire draft in clyde gates. Plus they go out and trade for the speedy reggie bush. Check.
Interior offensive line - they spend their first draft pick on the best interior lineman in the draft. They move vernon carey over to guard and suddenly the interior line has been greatly boosted. Check.
Running game - interior of the line has been improved and they didn't bring back ronnie or ricky who both were extremely sub par. The spend a second round pick on the big 12 rushing champion and bring in reggie bush. Check
losing key defensive players in free agency - people feared that paul soliai would not be back and most assumed tony mcdaniel wouldn't be. Both will be back. They also replaced possibly the defenses biggest weakness in channing crowder with kevin burnett. Check.
Is this team a super bowl contender? Probably not. Are they a playoff contender? Absolutely.
I advise to keep an open mind yourself and realize that none of my opinions are based on preset hatred. They're based on previous actions and signs that nothing has changed in the staff's mindset (such as continued contentment with mediocrity and below at the QB position).
First, there's nothing "uneducated" about thinking Sparano and Henne have a negative impact on this team. It's an opinion. I'm not entirely sure you know what that word means. Where does one pick up such an education? Being a fan through over a decade of mediocrity? I think we all meet that criteria.
The major disagreement I have with your argument is that you are counting unknown quantities, with serious reasons for concern, as improvements. Yes, it's awesome that Henning is finally gone, but Daboll is an unknown. The only body of work we have is a bad run in Cleveland and the only defenses of him that I've seen are excuses (no talent to work with, etc.). Can he be good? Certainly, but it is an unknown factor and cannot be considered an improvement based solely on the fact that Henning is gone, because it doesn't also consider the fact that Sparano had an impact on the offence as well, and he's still very much here. I have concerns about these, and I am keeping an open mind about Daboll, but I'm not counting it as an improvement. We simply don't have enough of a body of work to base it on and we are about to find out just how much of an impact Sparano had on the offensive philosophy. I'm of the opinion that it wasn't all Henning.
I'll agree on the speed on offence, to an extent. Gates, again, is an unknown quantity. Granted, all rookies are and it would be unfair to say the same about all (as I'll point out regarding Thomas later), but he is a pretty raw prospect. We know he's fast, that's it. It takes a bit more to be a successful WR in this league, just ask Ginn Jr. All we have is video of him running past lower competition at a small university. I love the draft pick, but I'm not going to add wins to my expectations based on him. As for Bush, I absolutely love the signing because it adds another dimension the defences have to account for. To me, this is one of only two improvements on offence, and it's an injury-prone 3rd down back (I watch a ton of Saints games, he is not a feature back).
Which leads to the 2nd improvement I see, the offensive line, barely and FINALLY. Part of the problem here is that you seem to disregard the past four years when assessing Sparano. It's all about this year. Sorry, but I don't take that approach. This, in my opinion, is one of his big failures. It's taken 4 years and we finally MAY have solidified the interior line. I say MAY for several reasons. One, the unknown (as are all rookies) but very promising addition of Pouncey. First, let me say that I am okay with the pick. If we were actually set at QB, I would love the pick. But why has it taken four years to get here when it's been very clear that the O-line is a high priority for Sparano? Further, it's still not settled! Who is going to play RT? Are we ever going to have a full line that plays 2 years in a row together? Hell, half a line? So the interior line can be considered improved (though I'm not sold on Pouncey at center), but the fact that the unit as a whole is still in upheaval doesn't bode well. I can't consider it enough of an improvement to add wins.
On to the running game, we're counting on a rookie and an injury-prone 3rd down back. I like Thomas, but unless they add another veteran RB, we don't have enough depth. The one ground and pound RB is a product of a 80's/90's era football mindset and doesn't work in today's game except in rare occasions (Hillis and C. Johnson, maybe?). I like the pick, but I don't see it as a major improvement over Ricky and Ronnie outside of the improved (hopefully) interior line and playcalling (again, hopefully).
I love the pick up of Burnett. He adds to an already stout defence that should get us a mediocre record on their own, as they almost did last year before Henne and Co. **** the bed in the final stretch against garbage teams (NE excluded).
Which brings me to my next point, Henne. He sucks. I've seen enough to not buy into the excuses (Henning, no line, etc.). That's something we may just have to disagree on. Further, their continued ineptitude at the position. As of now, we're going in with Henne/Matt Moore/Devlin (or Brandts3%er). Really? The defence will get us wins, but that lineup assures us continued mediocrity. If you were a fan of a different team and looked at that, could you honestly say that team is a playoff team? No way. Not with any credibility. And if this staff is around next year, how much you want to bet that the excuses for not picking up a QB in the draft continue a la Wanny (so-and-so is a reach, we need more linemen to protect the future QB we eventually plan to draft in several years, etc.)?
I'll be cheering this year and attending more games in one year than I've ever done before (student budget), but my expectations are kept in reality. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.
A discussion with out name-calling and belittling each other for having differing opinions about the state of our favorite team! Whodathunkit?