Quote:
Originally Posted by mooby
Chief, I feel like you've probably been a fan as long as I've been alive, but for me I don't get excited after seasons like last year because that tends to have been amongst our greatest seasons for the past 30 years.
Since I became a fan, we've literally never had a top-to-bottom, front-to-back, start-to-finish great season. I'm talking 11-5 or better. Tough from the first minute of the first game to the last minute of the last one.
However I have witnessed Mark Brunell jump-start the season with 2 td's to Santana Moss in the last 5 minutes of a game against the Cowboys to eventually close out the season making the playoffs after winning 5 in a row. I have seen this team rally after Sean Taylor died to win 4? in a row to make the playoffs at 9-7. I have witnessed RG3 do the same shit, win a bunch in a row to make the playoffs after a mediocre start. And now I've witnessed Ron Rivera's squad do the same with a limited Alex Smith at qb.
Inspiring? Sure. Made for tv? Most def. Reasons to inspire confidence for next season? Nahhh. We got the heart. We still need the talent. And Ron is in a competitive race with half the league to find our qb for the foreseeable future and if he screws it up it most likely means the next 2+ seasons are wasted. So yeah I don't blame jamf for how he feels. If Ron truly is a great coach and team builder, he has to prove it this offseason.
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Mooby, I've been a fan since I moved to N VA in 1982, and played youth football for BYRC - on the fields next to where John Riggins' son played baseball. I've seen those teams you are talking about, "tough from the first minute of the first game to the last minute of the last one," and unfortunately they have been gone for a long time. There can't be too many professional franchises that has made it tougher on their fans, than this one for the last ~30 years.
I agree there's work to be done. There always is, and if the organization isn't constantly working long hard hours trying to improve every aspect of the team, then they are destined to fail. It appears, at least on the surface, that this is exactly what they are doing.
But RR and his "cronies" have their work cut out for them this offseason. Last year, despite all RR went through and the Alex Smith story, was as close to a "gimme" as you can get. If this team hadn't successfully drafted a D-lineman in the first round over the past four years the results would likely have been much different. However, the results were the results, and I am excited about them.
Confidence is one thing. This new front office & coaching staff has to earn my confidence. Benefit of the doubt is another thing though. I refuse to look at every success this team manages to achieve with pessimism. I am inspired, even excited, that they were the team to ultimately win the division, rather than finish 2-4. It's something to build on. There's plenty of talent on this team, young talent, and I believe there's more on the way. Hopefully that starts with a QB that can help this team take another step forward.
There have been many reasons to not root for this team over the years, plenty of reasons to not even become a fan of this team for many years going now. This offseason seems like an odd time to make that decision - as a fan.