Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaka
And by the way, what players is Ballard playing "clearly before they are ready"? It appears to me that the areas of greatest concern are those that are manned largely by players that have been in the league for several years: CB and WR. Most of the rookies have performed admirably, .........
|
You list CB as an obvious issue and I agree. However I don’t agree that it’s manned by vets. 67% of the snaps taken so far have been by 2nd year players. The two current snap leaders are 2nd year players. Desir is 3rd as a 5th year player. He meets the “been in the league several years” description you used. He accounts for 29% of the teams CB snaps. Milton accounts for the remaining 4%. He’s a 3 year vet. I’d say CB is a pretty young, inexperienced position and one that could have been upgraded.
You also mentioned WR. It’s another position that could have been upgraded, but it appears as if Ballard is holding it open for a draft pick. Grant on a 1 yr contract was the solution along with a bunch of young guys and the holdover Rogers.
LB is manned by a potential star in Leonard, an old journeyman in Goode, and several unspectacular young players. It was also an upgradeable position.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaka
...a review of the stats reveals that our defense is actually far better statistically than it was with all of the old guard you argued so strongly that we should have kept (Hankins, etc.). Despite our 2-5 record, we've actually scored more points (189) than we've given up (185).
|
A review of the standings reveals the team is 2-5. The same record as last year. This is after getting its franchise QB back, improving its coaching, improving the O-line, improving the defense (apparently quite a bit), and improving the roster as a whole. My argument hasn’t been that Ballard hasn’t added talent, it’s that he was assembling a roster that wouldn’t win as much as it should. Too much forced youth, too much reliance on 1st and 2nd year players, too many holes left unfilled. Everything supposedly better, but same record - I’d say the facts back up my argument pretty well.