Geez, even my thread title was tl;dr. Anyway, here goes. All comments welcome; some appreciated. Defense: Secondary - We hugely upgraded to probably the best in football with Cro, Pool, and Wilson (and Warren - have you seen my baseball?!) Linebackers - We didn't lose any starters, but we added a true rush linebacker in JT, something we lacked opposite Pace last year (even if JT is no spring chicken). Defensive Line - We've lost Marques Douglas (or at least haven't resigned him, he might still come back), but Jenkins should be 100% and Rex likes Gholston as a DE (I‘m just waiting for the post that attacks this as proof we had a horrible offseason). This is basically a lateral offseason for the D-line, but Rex has repeatedly said DEs are not hard to find that can fulfill the role needed by his defense. We also added former All-American Rodrique Wright, who has battled injuries but is talented. So, we had the #1 unit in the league. We GREATLY improved one aspect. We moderately improved another, and the final area stayed the same. Offense: O-Line - returns 4 starters and ditches the weakest and oldest one. This is TBD, but I'll call this neutral for 2010. This will be a much better OL in 2011+ than it would have been as of 4 days ago, though. RB - let's call TJ for LT a wash, even though I personally think LT is a better fit as a #2 (better receiving option and better as a change of pace back). McKnight is at least a wash with (ahem) Washington, and I expect him to be [at least] slightly better pin 2010] since Leon is banged up and getting older. Very slight improvement here. WR - from the beginning of last season, we've added Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes. HUGE improvement, wow. TE - SOS FB - TRich is back, and he gets a beast of a prospect to groom for 2011 in John Conner. Special teams: Someone else can feel free to give a more expert opinion here. I know we lost a few key guys, but I'm pretty excited by the ones we added in Kyle Wilson, Joe McKnight, and John Conner plus Lance Laury. The return men we now have allows us to move Brad Smith back to a blocking position, which is key. Our PR should be much improved, and our KR could be better this year. Nick Folk is more talented than Feely, and now that he's healthy again, I expect him to outperform Jay. I dunno what's up with the punter position. Overall, I think our special teams should at least be similar, and it has the chance to improve a good bit. Overall Overall: First of all, we have only given up a single draft pick for 2011, a conditional 3rd which could escalate to a 2nd. We also have not guaranteed very much new money to potential liabilities down the road. JT's contract is basically for one year, and we get to reevaluate Edwards, Holmes, and Pool as well. I don't think any of our units got weaker. If Slausen/Ducasse totally bomb this year, then the O-Line will be somewhat weaker, but Faneca was not very good at this point, anyway. The special teams will be at least decent, #1 defense improved a good bit, and the offense improved a lot personnel-wise. Obviously Sanchez' maturity will be key, but I see this team being a good chunk better than it was in 2010. And to boot, we’ve gotten younger with more upside than we had 72 hours or 8 months ago. If I had to give us a grade from the Braylon Edwards acquisition until now, I don't see how we don't get at least a B+. And we are now better than the 9-7 AFCC team we were at the end of last year.
Good Write-Up...I find it funny how going into this draft we had the #1 Pass D and #1 Rush O. We got a CB, a RB, a FB, and a mauling OL. Our Pass D and Rush O just got better...and it was already the best.
To play Devil's Advocate: But we also got rid of a top-5 rusher in terms of yardage in the NFL, and the LG who sprang him on most of those runs.
You put it exactly how it is. Here's what I have to say about this: We lost Lito and Strickland for half the year (the other half, they would have been injured anyways). We upgraded with Cromartie and Kyle Wilson. Huge upgrades who will most likely play full seasons. We lost Kerry, but added Poole to the equation, someone who doesn't chicken out. This one is probably an even move, although I have not seen much of Poole (sp?), just a few articles and user posts. We lost Faneca, who was the weakest link in the passing game, something we'll see much more of in 2010. He was a beast in the run game. From what I've read, Ducasse is a road grader and could be a similar player to Faneca. He is tall, athletic, and strong. He may not be as good as Faneca in 2010, but should be a much better option next year so we sure did upgrade that position for the long run. Douglas was not a huge lost, if we lose him. Losing an aging TJ (who couldn't stay full strength in the games that mattered the most) and an injured Leon is not a big deal. We have Shonn, who showed he's ready to step in as a starter in his rookie season. LT is a decent change of pace option. I believe McKnight may even take over LT later on in the season as his backup and can be an excellent backup incase LT or Greene go down with injury. We didn't lose anyone else, but added Santonio Holmes for 12+ games, a huge huge upgrade. Overall, our offseason was an upgrade.
So is anyone elsee concerned about basically throwing Vlad out there to start right away? Why did we cut Faneca in an uncapped year?
He only got the yards because our line was great and we had the most rushing attempts in the entire league.
Yup, agreed 100%. We also added Santonio to our passing game, which was a huge need. Our Run D was great as well last year so yeah, this offseason is a huge success 'on paper'.
I think the move was as much as a football decision as it was a financial one, Faneca was complete shit in the passing game and solid, but overrated in the running game.
I love how after we acquire Santonio Holmes people start saying that wide receiver was a big need for us. Before we got him the consensus was that slot receiver isn't a big need for a run heavy offense. That's why I never side with the consensus.
Most people said that WR wasn't a 1st round need for us (Golden Tate, Thomas). But a lot of us said they supported picking up a slot guy in rounds 4-7, and we happened to get Santonio for a 5th.
Faneca was degressing EVERY year he was here and the organization didn't feel too comfortable starting a LG who allowed 7 sacks last year and was only going to get worse. 7 sacks equate to about one solid hit at the QB in every other game in an offense that ran the ball the most in the NFL. In comparison, I think Mangold and D'Brick allowed 4 sacks combined. Im a little concerned about Ducasse starting, but I was going to be concerned with Faneca starting as well. Might aswell stick Ducasse between the two starters and let them help him out and groom him to be our LG for the next 10+ years.
Cutting Faneca reminds me of when Mawae got cut back in 2005 and Mangold was able to step in right away. The only difference I see is that Vlad is considered a project and who the hell knows if he'll even be able to step in right away. Mangold was considered a complete center and was able to get more reps with the first team when Trey Teague got hurt. I really hope this team knows something about our O-line depth that the fans don't. It's really hard to say whether or not Slauson would be ready to fill in as our starter. At this point they have to trust our backups more then they do Vlad to step in and fill the void Faneca left behind. It really could spell disaster for our offensive next season if we have another Pete Kendall type situation and the guy that fills is turns out to be another human turnstile like Anthony Clark was. Don't take this post the wrong way, I'm not bashing the front office for making the decision to cut Faneca, but at the same time you have to wonder if we have anyone on the roster thats really ready to replace him.
Anthony Clark did not have two pro bowlers around him at the time and with Pete Kendall gone, our OL wasn't as strong as it was in 09. We have a much stable OL now and can afford losing a pass liability between two pro bowlers. Ducasse should be able to fit right in and can keep the sacks allowed to what Faneca allowed last year. He's played football for only 8 years, unlike other players who may have played for many more years than that. That shows he has the talent and can improve his play much more than where he stands right now. Bill Calahan coaching should bring out the best of him.
I feel Bill Callahan handpicked Ducasse because Charles Brown was on the board when we drafted him. Longterm isn't a concern for me. This season is, based on his lack of experience against elite competition. If he does turn out to be as good as I think he will be, I'd put him at RT because Damien Woody could be let go next season. It's easier to find good guards than it is to find good tackles. Vlad the Impaler reminds me of Jeff Otah of the Panthers.
I like the write-up, good analysis. The only part I disagree with is our kicking game. A kicker can have all the talent in the world but if he's not right mentally - he'll be the worse kicker in the world. I.e. Doug Brien had loads of talent but did not have the mental resilience. So when we look at a kicker the head stuff is just as important if not more so as talent. I don't think Nick Folk is right mentally yet. He's blaming his poor performance last year on injuries so we'll see. Hopefully we'll get this one sorted out in training camp.
He just mixed Terminator with Lost --- damn... it's edited now... I shouldn't open multiple threads at the same time...
