Mfinsrule
Practice Squad
Rick Spielman is not the horrible GM that everyone seems to think he was. I relent to the fact that he did need to go based solely on the fact that he was a Wannstedt staffer and needed to be purged from the system for a new start for everyone. I firmly believe that he will land on his feet somewhere and make some team very happy. Lets look at the moves he made that people are chastising him for.................
Everyone points to the AJ Feeley trade, I point out that if Dan the man were running that system last year with that coaching staff we would have won no more than 6 games. A 2nd rounder was steep but who else was out there?! Brunnell, Garcia, and some other clowns were no better than Fiedler (scary isn't it?). He got us the best quarterback with NFL playing experience that was available, time will tell if the 2nd rounder was worth it but with what was available at the time he did ok in my view.
Lamar Gordon-After Ricky Dopesmoker left us for parts unknown we had nothing behind him, he got us a potential 1,000 yard rusher for a 3rd round pick. Not Spielmans fault that the guy got injured, Wanny's fault for putting him out there with less than 1 weeks experience in the offense.
David Boston-The roids suspension and a crappy attitude not withstanding the guy was a superstar and it cost us a 6th round pick. A low risk gamble that unfortunately didn't pan out. Hopefully his head is on straight and he is off the juice this year for us.
Adewale Ogunleye-With the money tied up in Jason Taylor there was no way we could afford 2 pro bowl DE's with the needs we had on offense. He needed to go and Spielman got the best offer available. As I remember it he spent most of the year injured anyways.
Vernon Carey-Losing a 4th to move up one spot because Meathead Tice conned him into thinking someone else was trying to move up. Can anyone name me an OL that did well picked after Carey? To assure yourself of getting at least the last best OL available it seemed to be worth it with the glaring needs we had at OL.
Reggie Howard-I have no clue why we got this guy and gave him the money we did. The only acquisition I could not figure out. I do remember at the time we had a real need for a 3rd DB and he fit the bill. I believe even Spielman was surprised at how well Will Poole looked and played and in hindsight would not have made the move for Howard.
The O-line-anyone who was impressed by any member ot the 2003 OL was wearing aqua colored sunglasses. Ricky made those holes himself. An upgrade was needed and with the limited funding we had available got us some adequate guys. Drafting Rex Hadnot with a late pick turned out well and signing John St. Clair actually turned out to be our best signing based on performance. Damian Mcintosh might even be an adequate player under Houck this year and he was not vastly overpriced anyways. Jeno James should be an adequate player and worth what he is making but not a penny more until he improves. Consistency is the key with any OL and none of these guys had ever played together before last year. Lets see what coaching will do to this group.
The last thing I need to point is that while there are better GM's out there, Spielman did the best he could amongst all the turmoil that followed this team last year. Having to fill huge holes on the roster due to injuries and walkaways on the spur of the moment would be a test to any GM's abilities. This was supposed to be a potential SuperBowl team last year and now we all know just how far we actually were. I hope he does well at his next gig unlike Dave whom I could care less what happens to.
Everyone points to the AJ Feeley trade, I point out that if Dan the man were running that system last year with that coaching staff we would have won no more than 6 games. A 2nd rounder was steep but who else was out there?! Brunnell, Garcia, and some other clowns were no better than Fiedler (scary isn't it?). He got us the best quarterback with NFL playing experience that was available, time will tell if the 2nd rounder was worth it but with what was available at the time he did ok in my view.
Lamar Gordon-After Ricky Dopesmoker left us for parts unknown we had nothing behind him, he got us a potential 1,000 yard rusher for a 3rd round pick. Not Spielmans fault that the guy got injured, Wanny's fault for putting him out there with less than 1 weeks experience in the offense.
David Boston-The roids suspension and a crappy attitude not withstanding the guy was a superstar and it cost us a 6th round pick. A low risk gamble that unfortunately didn't pan out. Hopefully his head is on straight and he is off the juice this year for us.
Adewale Ogunleye-With the money tied up in Jason Taylor there was no way we could afford 2 pro bowl DE's with the needs we had on offense. He needed to go and Spielman got the best offer available. As I remember it he spent most of the year injured anyways.
Vernon Carey-Losing a 4th to move up one spot because Meathead Tice conned him into thinking someone else was trying to move up. Can anyone name me an OL that did well picked after Carey? To assure yourself of getting at least the last best OL available it seemed to be worth it with the glaring needs we had at OL.
Reggie Howard-I have no clue why we got this guy and gave him the money we did. The only acquisition I could not figure out. I do remember at the time we had a real need for a 3rd DB and he fit the bill. I believe even Spielman was surprised at how well Will Poole looked and played and in hindsight would not have made the move for Howard.
The O-line-anyone who was impressed by any member ot the 2003 OL was wearing aqua colored sunglasses. Ricky made those holes himself. An upgrade was needed and with the limited funding we had available got us some adequate guys. Drafting Rex Hadnot with a late pick turned out well and signing John St. Clair actually turned out to be our best signing based on performance. Damian Mcintosh might even be an adequate player under Houck this year and he was not vastly overpriced anyways. Jeno James should be an adequate player and worth what he is making but not a penny more until he improves. Consistency is the key with any OL and none of these guys had ever played together before last year. Lets see what coaching will do to this group.
The last thing I need to point is that while there are better GM's out there, Spielman did the best he could amongst all the turmoil that followed this team last year. Having to fill huge holes on the roster due to injuries and walkaways on the spur of the moment would be a test to any GM's abilities. This was supposed to be a potential SuperBowl team last year and now we all know just how far we actually were. I hope he does well at his next gig unlike Dave whom I could care less what happens to.
. There are people that think Spielman was the worst GM ever, which is wrong, his predecessor was! Then there is the faction that think he got a raw deal. I fall in the middle, I think he made some good moves, and then he got absolutely used on a few deals. Speilman tried to do the best he could with the hand he was dealt, the Eagles hosed him for Feeley. Then he got a good price for Ogun, I think a very good WR and eventually a solid RB for Ogun was a good deal. The draft trade was the kind of deals that movies are made about, he got abused by Mike "The Meathead Ticket Scalper" Tice. All in all he was no better than average, at worst bad.
