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Sabans haunting choices

downfield

downfield

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I think Saban might be haunted by some of his choices and evaluations. The more I watch our Phins, the more I become concerned. I still support Saban, but he has taken some big chances that could really delay, or even destroy, his chances at success. They are:

1. Choosing Ronnie Brown- Ronnie is a good back, but he needs obvious holes to run through, which is dependent upon having a dominant interior line. He generally can't create on his own. If he had holes, I think he would be fine. But, in hindsight how can you miss a talent like S. Merriman.

2. Not selecting an O-lineman last year, and then selecting an injury prone O-lineman this year- We need a better offensive line and Saban has failed miserably to address this situation. This is critical considering that Brown needs obvious holes to run through.

3. Trading for Dante- Should have signed Drew Brees and then traded for Harrington. It pains me to watch the Saints. And don't give me "Brees would be destroyed behind our line too", because Harrington was fine behidn our line against NE.

4. Signing Mularkey- Why not just promote Jason Garrett? Mularkey is waste.

At the end of the day I loved it when we hired Saban, but now I am getting the sinking feeling that he is going to fail. I simply don't see us getting any younger and stronger? I question his ability to evaluate talent that will be successful in the NFL.

What do you think?
 
I think two big ones are getting Matt Roth instead of Khalif Barnes, and drafting Jason Allen instead of Manny Lawson. I have a gut feeling that if Saban keeps drafting players that he wanted to get in college that he will shoot himself in the foot more times than he strikes it rich. JMHO though.
 
Great point about not getting Kalif Barnes. I live near Seattle and would choose Barnes over Toledo any day of the week. I liked Lawson too, although I could see the choice going either way. I am just getting worried because I don't see us getting younger and I don't see any "glimpse" of the future here. I hope I am wrong though.
 
1. Choosing Ronnie Brown- Ronnie is a good back, but he needs obvious holes to run through, which is dependent upon having a dominant interior line. He generally can't create on his own. If he had holes, I think he would be fine. But, in hindsight how can you miss a talent like S. Merriman.
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No one had Merriman graded as the #2 overall pick. A lot of people had Brown. It wasnt a great draft for sure fire talent at the top, we picked a bad draft to have a top 5 pick in. But look at the other backs taken after Brown and you cant say we clearly made the wrong choice. Using Merriman though is a cheap argument because you and everyone else would have been crying about reaching on a player like that.
 
downfield said:
Great point about not getting Kalif Barnes. I live near Seattle and would choose Barnes over Toledo any day of the week. I liked Lawson too, although I could see the choice going either way. I am just getting worried because I don't see us getting younger and I don't see any "glimpse" of the future here. I hope I am wrong though.
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One was taken in the 2nd round, one the fourth. I bet Saban would rather have the 2nd round talent also, but Barnes wasnt available in the fourth round when we were picking.
 
this thread is a joke. I am sorry but Merriman?

Do you not remember the draft. The only possible arguments you could make would be Derrick Johnson, Cadillac, Benson, or Edwards, even Rodgers. I am glad we got Ronnie out of that.

Ray Lewis went 23rd. Do you think that it was stupid by 22 other teams not to pick him. Sometimes you get lucky and find gems.
 
PhinsPhan said:
this thread is a joke. I am sorry but Merriman?

Do you not remember the draft. The only possible arguments you could make would be Derrick Johnson, Cadillac, Benson, or Edwards, even Rodgers. I am glad we got Ronnie out of that.

Ray Lewis went 23rd. Do you think that it was stupid by 22 other teams not to pick him. Sometimes you get lucky and find gems.
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I don't know if you have seen "Lights Out" Merriman play but he will make people here in San Diego forget Seau pretty quick.
 
PhinsPhan said:
this thread is a joke. I am sorry but Merriman?

Do you not remember the draft. The only possible arguments you could make would be Derrick Johnson, Cadillac, Benson, or Edwards, even Rodgers. I am glad we got Ronnie out of that.

Ray Lewis went 23rd. Do you think that it was stupid by 22 other teams not to pick him. Sometimes you get lucky and find gems.
Click to expand...
If the thread is a joke why did you post?
 
Shula dude, I was making the point that we could have taken Barnes instead of Roth, which were both taken in the 2nd round of the same year. THe comparison is valid.

With respect to Merriman, I liked him. There was mention of Ware and Merriman. If Saban is a defensive guru, how could he miss such an amazing player. Merriman is incredible and would have single handidly changed our defense. I would rather have Merriman than J. Taylor.

My point is that there are many decisions that appear more and more likely they will come back to haunt Saban. His LJ Shelton signing is another one.
 
With respect to Merriman, I liked him. There was mention of Ware and Merriman. If Saban is a defensive guru, how could he miss such an amazing player. Merriman is incredible and would have single handidly changed our defense. I would rather have Merriman than J. Taylor.
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There was no mention of Merriman or Ware in the top 5. It's easy to say after the fact, but at the time it would have been seen a big stretch to take either of those players at #2. And gotcha on the Barnes thing now.
 
I think his only regrets are the horrible o-line play.

I think Roth and Allen will end up being great players down the road, but at the time I was screaming for us to take Khalif Barnes and Manny Lawson.
 
I have to agree that Saban has made some extremely unfortunate and questionable personell decisions. Everyone was high on Ronnie Brown---in hindsight, it was a mistake, but one a lot of coaches would have made.
But Jason Allen was a poor choice, as were his choices on the offensive line. He needs a GM that will come in and be in charge.
 
The only real problem I see in the draft is that Saban has made no successful effort to move around on draft day. A smart team can pick up a good bit more talent by taking advantage of trading up and down when good deals are available. I seem to recall hearing that the Steelers were eager to trade up this year, but Saban chose to sit pat.

I agree that Brown doesn't look like the typical #2 pick success. He certainly isn't a bust, and the problem has been correctly explained -- it was a poor draft, and Brown was the best choice available. If anyone actually believes that Merriman was even in the conversation, they must also be wondering why Wale wasn't taken on the first day of the draft because he obviously also panned out.

I think those who are critical of Roth forget that the team looked weak at DL at that time. Other players panned out better than expected, so it suddenly looks like a strength for the team. It could have easily gone the other way. People might have been bemoaning the Barnes pick saying that Roth was available if it went that way. It's just crap luck that the DL acquisitions have mostly panned out while the OL ones have mostly busted. I'll note that Saban did take a lineman in that draft -- ever heard of Alabi?

Finally, I'd just love to hear somebody check and see how many 1st rounders from this past draft are starting. It sucks that the Bills picked someone at the same position who has worked out faster, but that doesn't make Allen a bust. Again, if that had been an OL pick, people would probably be lamenting the lack of a defensive back.
 
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