Re: My evaluation of Shanahan starts now
 

I think the term "worst roster ever" is being used as a strawman at this point, to gloss over how bad the roster was after 2009. That practically nobody cut from that roster has made it anywhere else really does speak volumes. Some folks like Tryon had flashes in the pan with other teams, before being dumped by said team. Landry isn't going to get healthier with the Jets than he was with us. The showings of the 2009 roster on other teams really seems pathetic to me.

The 2009 roster wasn't the worst ever. But it was terrible. The lineup was old and not built for any future when Gibbs left in 2007, and Cerrato did practically nothing to rebuild it. Our 2008 draft is Fred Davis who only had a great half season in 2009 and a drug suspension since. And a lot of draft/FA mistakes like Devin Thomas and Jason Taylor. Our 2009 draft/FA is only Orakpo, and more mistakes like Kevin Barnes and Albert Haynesworth. The old OL retired, and Vinny neglected to reload with any quality picks or good FA signings.

So that was the status of the team when Shanny took over. An old "win now" Gibbs team left to wither on the vine for two full seasons. We can fault Shanny for not believing in "rebuilding" by cleaning house. But the 2009 roster was very bad.