Quote:
Originally Posted by ethat001
I don't agree that it's one of the "worst talented", and I don't agree the "whole roster is in it's prime". The main difference now vs. three years ago is that Shanny's placed some youth in key positions for the future -- nucleus of our talent is now younger. Orakpo, TW, Kerrigan, etc -- all could get a lot better over the next few years.
Shanny's moves:
- Kerrigan - young, great so far
- TW - young, has shown flashes, still not consistent but overall good
- Bowen/Cofield - relatively young/in prime (27), have at least 4-5 years left, been good overall
- Carriker - young, in prime 27, good overall, gotten for rotating draft picks
- Atogwe - aging 30yo, ?hasn't shown much so far
- Promising youth: Helu, ?Jenkins
Others (non-shanny):
- Orakpo - young, great rusher, below average pass coverage
- F.Davis - young, good TE
- Landry - young, good at strong safety, liability when overpursues
- Aging old guard: S.Moss / Cooley - now average
- aging: J.Brown - 30yo
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I am saying that young and in-prime are two different things. If you are in your prime (Orakpo, Landry, Hall, Wilson, Carriker, Cofield, Bowen, McIntosh, Hightower, Armstrong, Davis) then a high level of performance is to be expected. Whereas if you are young (Kerrigan, Gano, Barnes, Jenkins, Trent Williams, Hank, Austin, Helu, Paul) then potential matters over substance.
What I'm not saying is: "you are either old, or youre young. And we're old."
If you look at that core and who is contributing compared to the youth, it's just not clear why this core will be better in future seasons. It's a mature core. Kerrigan looks great and has his best days ahead of him, but for every Kerrigan there's a Barnes.
Now, if the core of the roster is good, that's what is reflected in your record. So while we may have good, young players in their prime, what we don't have is a winning team propelled by that core. And so in a field of 32 teams, it looks pedestrian.
The way to turn that around quickly is to make that second list look like a who's who list of tomorrow's pro-bowlers. Right now it's Kerrigan, a kicker, an injured rookie, an injured second year player, and a bunch of guys who need to crack the roster soon to provide optimism. Still plenty of upside there, but each week you get no return out of it sets the franchise back. And it justifies the questions I am asking.