The build
Thru six games I see hope in several areas on this team. First we are set with the most important and hardest piece to get-quarterback. To me the offensive line looks like they have the players to jell into a dominant force (with what we have invested in this line it needs to become dominant in the next 1-2 years and I think they are on the way) given time and health. Marlon Mack, if he can stay healthy, may be the answer at running back. The second half Sunday was the first time in ages our running game looked like a real running game. Tight ends seem to be good enough for us to compete. The defensive line has some talent. I really think its a good start for the line. Need a stud to elevate everyone's game in my opinion. Hopefully our #1 will be that. We have one linebacker that we can run with, need more. One safety is set, the other (Geathers) I love but injuries. And thankfully corner back is supposed to be a good position in the next draft. The challenge for the coaching staff is to not lose the culture amidst all this losing. Judging the early season as a rebuild, not by wins and losses, I'm pretty satisfied. I'm not saying we are going to make it to the promised land (and after all not knowing is what makes rooting so much fun) but if you look at where we are I don't know how you could honestly say we are on the wrong track. I'm trying to enjoy the rebuild. Honestly cannot do it on Sundays, but later in the week it doesn't look so horrible to me.
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I think the two biggest areas of need still are secondary and WR.
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In 2019 and beyond:
QB - Luck/Brissett. Set and no changes needed. In an era where there are not enough solid QBs to go around, we have both a solid backup and an good/extra good/elite starter, we are in good shape. RB - Mack/Hines/Wilkins. Not highly drafted and not flashy but could end up being a pretty good committee if the O-line gels. TE - Doyle/Ebron. A great #1/#2 punch if both can stay heathly. Good at very different things but reminds me a lot of the Kenny Dilger/Marcus Pollard years at TE. Depth needs to develop below them. WR - Hilton. Perhaps Cain and Fountain. Ugh, T.Y. and then no one for certain. One of two weakest position groups on the roster. Yeah, I know Rogers is going to be back in 2019 as cheap depth as an RFA but he has had ample opportunity to step up and he has failed to do so time and again. Stop gap for next year but need to move on afterwards. Grant? See ya. O-Line - Castonzo/Nelson/Kelly/???/Smith/Clark/Haeg/Good. OTs are harder to find than OGs so if Smith can fulfill ROT in 2018 and grow into the role in the future, then that needs to be the position he fills. We can draft a new starting OG in 2019 in the 3rd or 4th round to challenge Clark/Haeg/Good for the spot. The team will have to decide if they are re-signing Good in 2019 but his potential as a starter would lead me to offer him a journeymen contract even if he only ever ends up being depth for us going forward. With a 2019 draft pick, this is a good 8 man group to go into 2019 and beyond with. D-Line - Hunt/Sheard/Steward/Autry/Turay/Lewis/Ridgeway/Ward/Muhammad. Lots of guys who, at times, have played well. Ward with 3.0 sacks on the year. Muhammad with 10 tackles in 5 games. Turay with 3.0 sacks. Hunt with his monster first couple of games. Autry with a couple of good games. Woods will be 32 and I don't expect him to be re-signed. Sure, we could use a top end stud to put greater pressure on opposing O-lines and make everyone else around them better but there are a lot of nice pieces to the D-Line right now. LBs- Leonard/Walker/Adams/Franklin. I am very happy with the play of Leonard and Walker as starters and especially Franklin as depth. Adams has had his moments as a 7th round pick as well. A very nice young core of players to build the LBs corps around. Could use another stud but what a find in Leonard? S - Hooker/Farley. Solid pairing going forward but we need more quality bodies. Perhaps Geathers is one of those but Ballard will have to decide if paying for his trending health is worth re-signing him. CB - Moore/Hairston/Wilson. Not enough talent there for a core. Need to add a HUGE influx of talent if we are going to play more man coverage. Postions Groups Upgrades Needed (in priority order): #1 = Cornerback #2 = Wide Receiver #3 = Safety #4 = Linebacker #5 = Defensive Line #6 = Offensive Line #7 = Running Back #8 = Tight End #9 = Quarterback If we don't touch #7/#8/#9 in 2019, add one quality body to each #4/#5/#6 and flood bodies into groups #1/#2/#3, then I think we will be on the right track. Walk Worthy, |
This dline needs more help than I think people realize.
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Sherck,
You list RB at #7 and say we shouldn't touch that position, I definitely disagree. Mack hasn't shown to be able to stay healthy. With him out, the running game is non-existant. You definitely take a flier on a RB somewhere in this next draft, or pick up a vet in free agency. With a high pick, you have to get a elite pass rusher if you can. They are too rare to find otherwise. Then after that: CB, WR, LB, Safety, RB. OL, DL I actually expect Ballard to get more agressive with free agency this offseason, because with a few key free agents and another solid draft, we should be a pretty good team. |
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It doesn't have to be a DE, it could be Ed Oliver playing an Aaron Donald-type role. I also think NT could use an upgrade since Woods is getting older and Stewart seems like a depth player. |
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A dominate 3-tech would do wonders for the line. We saw what one could do with Hunt kicking butt out there. |
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Dont forget we have Lewis so I think 3 tech is not as important as a pass rusher. Oline, WR and Cb's are the next 2 must haves.round out the list of must haves |
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I do think this team will make a second half run though and I suspect we will be looking at a pick around 10. I don't like the idea of spending a 1st on WR, too many busts, and this is a deep group. I think a 2nd on one will help us just fine, and maybe another later round pick. Greedy Williams of LSU is the top rated corner. He should be a shut down corner. But the cover 2 doesn't really need shut down man corners, you can get decent corners to fill the job in later rounds. The cover-2 does need high picks spent on dline because you only rush with 4 men 90% of the time. As for oline, there should be several good LT's this year. |
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Freeney and Mathis went so wide in their pass rush they created huge gaps in the line. A stunt would mean Freeney is going inside and the DT is looping outside. The same gaps are being attacked, they are just switching jobs. If the DT moved over to fill the gap the DE's created in their rush, then they would just create a new gap in the middle of the line. Same problem again just in a different place. The cover 2 is predicated on rushing four guys only. I think MJD is still running on that defense and gaining yards. |
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The 3rd and long is an example of a draw working consistently when it shouldn't. Maybe a few times, not almost all the time. |
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TY practiced today for the first time and per Kevin Bowen is likely to play Sunday. Doyle did not and likely not back til after the bye week. |
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My biggest case in point would be Rawb replacing Gilbert Gardner. Rawb didn't have to be great...hell, I'm not sure that he even had to be good. But, Gardner was so bad, that anything was going to be an improvement. Yet, Dungy stuck with him as a starter, for what...12 weeks? |
I would like to get opinions on how the rebuild is going in your mind. When we hoist that freaking trophy, what players/positions on this team do you think will be on that team that are on this one? I, for one, think the rebuild is going very well. The appear to have done the one thing all of us were screaming for, fix the offensive line so Luck doesn't get killed. Maybe, just maybe, they are learning the art of run blocking to. One half is enough to get me pumped to see more. Mack looks like he may be either the answer or part of the answer. Hilton is the only receiver that will be on that team (hopefully). Our tight ends are fine. I'm not so sure about the defense. The line has some players and we have one linebacker and maybe our starting safeties. When I look at it I think we are in the process of building in the correct way (quarterback and lines first). I've got high hopes.
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But yes, they should be in the playoffs at least next year. Otherwise Ballard should probably be shown the door |
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Do you have a HOF jacket? No, just talking about what other people do. |
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He doesn't know what happened in the room, he only got to see the game. If he does have all knowning all seeing powers, I would like to know about where the stock market is going to be in 3 months. |
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Now, he hasn’t been perfect – the WR corps hasn’t played very well, though again I’m not sure what better options he had. I’m guessing that heading into the season he thought it would be adequate, but sometimes you don’t know that your boat leaks until you put it in the water. I don’t think that signing Grant was a bad decision at the time, even though it hasn’t turned out that well yet. I don’t see that there were a lot of great free agents WRs that he could have signed (maybe Allan Robinson as GBB pointed out, but who else?). I get your point that our CB corps is bad, and it’s undeniably true. It’s easy to complain about this six games into the season, but if you’re going to do so you should at least explain what specifically you think he should have done instead. Who do you think he should he have signed? And did you say this before the season, or are you just using hindsight that wasn’t available to Ballard? I’m looking at the 2018 free agent list for CBs and it’s relatively uninspiring (Malcolm Butler was the top free agent CB, and now the Titans are complaining about him). Let’s also not forget what Ballard said before free agency began – that we wanted to build a culture before adding high priced free agents. I think this has been particularly true on the defense. The complaints about his cap usage are a bit short-sighted in my view as well. The money hasn’t gone anywhere and he hasn’t wasted cap space – what he didn’t use this offseason will be used later. It HAS to be under the rules (or paid to the player’s association). What’s so hard for everyone to understand about this? That’s how the system works. By focusing on establishing his culture this year, he’s simultaneously saved cap space for use over then next few years to further improve the roster – it’s a clear strategy that could and should pay big dividends. As far as the playoffs are concerned, I think next year is certainly a realistic possibility. I haven’t quite given up on this year yet, though, as we’re thankfully in a weak division and I expect our team to improve gradually over the course of the season. I’ll admit I expected to do better than 1-5, but despite the record I think we’ve seen lots of promising signs on the field and they’ve been much more fun to watch than last year’s squad. Sorry for the long rant, but I do get frustrated with some of the pessimism here – I think Ballard was a great hire and we’re on a very promising course. |
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