When you build a good base of talent that can win its easier to attract free agents. MAc not drafting well in the mid rounds is a big reason he can't get free agents to come here. As many have said his record in the mid rounds of drafts is terrible. That is where you find inexpensive quality starters and depth. Our picks have been so bad that when we cut them they are not even able to catch on to other teams. He has one of the lowest rates of players staying on the team that draft him and one of the lowest rates of players in the NFL since he took over the Jets. Bowles is bad, but Mac is right there with him. They are both right about us needing culture change, but they are the start of really changing it. They need to go.
I vote for keeping Mac. His last 3 years have been consumed with landing a FQB. Some GMs work for 10-15 years and never land one. Heck, Cleveland had the top pic 20 years in a row and it took 4 GMs and all 20 years to finally land a QB. I imagine 90% of Macc's time was spent on getting a FQB. Meetings, thousands of hours of film review of every QB in the draft from HS through college, spending a week at the combine, going to numerous pro-days, bringing in prospects for 1/1 time, juggling the draft board over and over to see if we could draft one, on and on. But now that we have one, and 100% of Macc's time will be spent on team building. All those meetings and film studies will be on o-lineman, WRs, pass rushers, RBs, LBs, s-teams players, back-up players, etc. I'd give him another 3 years.
Yes, Macc has been bad with 2-3 round picks. But he's been good with first round picks and 5-7th round picks and UDFAs. I feel that puts Macc around average level for the league in drafting when you factor it all in. He's not nearly as bad as people are making him out to be. I wish there were stats related to FA success to compare him to others.
Its much easier to be good in the first when your consistantly getting top ten picks and you get consistant top ten picks by not building a winning roster. He has made some good late moves, but GMs earn thier living finding starters in the early rounds and he has been terrible at it. He's spending draft capital on guys that pan out to not even be fringe NFL guys. It once was painful when we would cut guys that went on to be successful elsewherer, but its embaressing that we are cutting guys that can't even get a job on another team.
Sure, but it's much harder to hit on 5-7th rounders and UDFAs, so if you penalize him for having "easy" top 10 picks (which GMs miss on every year), then you also have to credit him for getting starters out of the scrap heap. The bust rate for 3rd round picks varies from about 40-60% depending on where you pick, so Macc is below average here. When you get up to 5th - 7th round the bust rate is 75-90% and the chance of UDFA failing is even higher. He's above average there.
I believe your numbers are a little off. I think that Mayfield is 25 and Sam is 21, so that's a 4-year difference. Also, Sam first played QB his sophomore year in HS. He was a WR and LB, but when their starting QB was injured, Sam played one game at QB then went back to playing WR/LB, but Wikipedia makes it sound like he played QB some more his sophomore year. His Jr. year he switched to QB, but missed most of his Jr. season with a foot injury. So he played QB full time his Sr. year of HS, was redshirted his freshman year at USC started playing QB, then in his redshirt freshman year, he was the backup QB for the 1st 3 games, then became the starter, played the rest of that season, and his redshirt sophomore season. So he has been playing QB for 4 years full time, and parts of a couple more years. An interesting fact I found at Wikipedia is that Sam's freshman year, before he redshirted, the USC DC Justin Wilcox wanted Sam to play LB, but Sam refused!!! Good thing for us that he did. I also discovered that Sam was recruited by Duke. I wonder if he had gone to Duke if he would have been thought of as highly as he was. I do think that working with David Cutcliffe for 2-3 seasons, Sam would have been more polished and a better QB.
Even if Mac is fired, the new GM won't be able to make any changes to the Scouting Dept. Scouts' contracts usually run until after the draft. So, just like Mac, the new GM would have to work with his predecessor's Scouting Dept. until after the draft, and then he could begin making changes.
1. None of his first round picks have been busts 2. His FA contracts aren't cap crippling 3. He's had some success in the late rounds and UDFA's 4. He has made good trades That said, there are are two big reasons to fire him. 1. Too many misses in rounds 2-4 2. Too many holes on the roster after 4 years I think he's coming back, so I hope his 2018 draft is a sign of good things to come, but it's too early to say one way or the other.
To take it a step further: Rookie QB teams, rank in average DVOA of opponent defenses Jets: 1st (hardest) Bills: 3rd Cardinals: 16th Browns: 31st .
He hasnt ignored the oline as a lot of drama queens want you to believe. It just hasnt worked out as well as he/we have wanted but it isnt that far off. Beacham, Shell, Winters, Carpenter, Long Yes it still needs some work but its been getting better losing brick and manigold on an already weak Oline was and still is a hard road to recover from.
fully recognizing hindsight is 20-20, our draft guru GM passed on Mahomes and Watson, where in theory he could have traded back for one or the other and picked up a pick or two. (I love Adams but this gets to the point of Mac being on a quest for a FQB or having a good eye for talent. Safety greater value than QB???) If he had done so, this year wecould have had a quality player and retained three second round picks. Again he made the trade not even knowing who precisely would be there. It could have been the 3d QB if the Giants were bluffing about Barkley. Entirely plausible we could have Allen or Rosen Even if you think my criticism is extreme, you cannot build a team with first rounders. Careers are short. You miss on some. You need 22 starters. The guy not shitting the bed with picks in the top 6 is not worthy of keeping him. We should be saying what the hell are we doing with top of the draft picks year after year, and what's your plan for getting us to respectability and beyond. He had and has no plan. He put all the chips into the middle of the table to land a QB, any QB at this point, and hopefully buy himself a few more years of employment. Rest assured, t his will be his last GM gig in the NFL. for crying out loud the guy has a goatee -- he doesn't even know what decade he's in
Still think Mac should have the chance to hire his own coaching staff as blowing up the entire staff with Gm has yet to work for us.
So youre saying that Carpenter and Beachumweren'tt good peices for us? Youre saying winters as a late round pick hasnt worked out well for us? Long at guard isnt a much better fit? Shell again as a late round pick hasnt played at a starting OT level? This team lost all of its best players at the worst times and Mac in hind sight has done a decent job of peicing it back together and a lot of people ignore that due to the team not performing well and a coaching staff whos inept at putting a practical game plan together.
He pieced together one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. I just, kinda thought that was understood.
I disagree. If a HC does well, why would any GM candidate not want to come here? Of course it's hard to imagine a situation that would result in firing the GM is the HC has done well, but still, if they felt the HC was doing well, why would they fire him?
Carpenter fell off pretty bad this year but hes at that point Long under center was pretty bad but again that's what happens when you play out of position. It also doesn't help when your OC is prob the most predictable play caller int he NFL. Im confident our Oline will play better under better coaching. Long and Winters at guards (winters possibly moving to center) Shell has gotten better every year Beachum is still serviceable as a starter in this league. You pick up 2 decent pieces between draft and free agency and we are far better next year.
