Some Things Never Change (WP:RI Article)

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat

we needed WR's a hell of alot more than we needed a younger back. While our offensive line still needs help, our defensive line has been dramatically upgraded over the past two years (Haynesworth, Jackson, Jarmon, and Orakpo). Are you going to complain no matter what the front office does? I bet if they draft o-linemen this year, you'll complain they didnt address some other position.

I know alot of people dont like acknowledging this, but Joe Jackson Gibbs set this franchise back several years by trading draft picks and stockpiling on old veteran players in an attempt to reach the superbowl. Not only did he fail to win more than one playoff game, but didnt develop young talent and left this team with the oldest roster in the NFL. He essentially put all of our chips on the table, went "all in," and lost. There's absolutely nothing any GM could have done in the past 2 years to put us in a noteably better situation (personnel wise) than we are now.

I've been saying that same thing, that Gibbs 4 years set the franchise back 8 years. He tried to sprint and fell short and now we're trying to catch up.

As ready as I am to let Vinny go, I've also said that he probably had a 3 year plan based on the major roster deficiencies from the Gibbs era, pass catchers, DL/Pass rush, OL:

Year one - Pass catchers and special teams.. 3 2nd round picks on pass catchers, depth picks in Tryon, Jackson, Horton - guys who were athletic but weren't expected to make an impact based on draft slot and Durant Brooks. Colt was a flyer who if he turned into something then great but if not, he was just a 6th round pick anyways.

Year two defensive line/pass rush.. Haynesworth, Orakpo, Jarmon.. Barnes was depth/potential replacement for Rogers, the rest of the picks were special teams/depth picks

Year three OL/QB/RB. I don't think (I hope) that Vinny will get to the point to make the decisions this offseason but I have to think this was the plan.

Our OL wasn't a disaster after 2007 but was aging. It wasn't a disaster starting 2008 but clearly needed to be addressed. Vinny's biggest mistake was the inability to effectively adjust the plan when needed.