Don't Panic
01-17-2009, 08:14 AM
Disclaimer: I base this on what is reasonable to expect and with what fits our current philosophy, both cap-wise and personnel-wise. Ideally, we'd be stocking up for an aggressive 3-4 D and a much fortified O, but we all know that isn't going to happen.
The way I see it, these are the most vital needs for this team at this point:
1. DE - Without a pass rush, the Cover 2 simply will not work. Kelsay/Denney aren't cutting it. Schoebel can be effective so long as he's not the only DE providing pressure. Solve this and the D becomes instantly more effective in every way.
2. TE - Trent needs another option, and I just don't see it coming through another receiver. Parrish and Evans are locked up $$-wsie, and Reed's role is understood and valued. We have Hardy, Johnson and Jenkins to develop as well, so I see the only chance of upgrading the passing game coming through the TE position.
3. C - Not much needs to be said to justify this. Having a high end center would make this line one of the top 10 in the league (assuming we don't have to contend with any holdouts this year).
4. OLB - The last obvious/glaring weakness on our D.
This assumes that we get the Peters situation resolved. If we don't, slot LT in at #1. That being said, I think we have to do what needs to be done to get Peters resigned and content.
With FA coming first, I think we need to look at filling the DE position on day one. Assuming Suggs comes free, I would love to make him our big $$ acquisition of the offseason and take care of priority #1. Had Gresham stayed in the draft, I would have been willing to go TE with our #11, but since he's out, I think grabbing a pass catching TE in FA makes the most sense. Eric Johnson would be a reasonable pickup there and should complememnt Royal (if we keep him) and co. pretty well. Not a huge upgrade, but a decent one, and about as much as we can expect. I would guess any other FA pickups would be depth signings, although admittedly I'd like to see Greer back (assuming he isn't offered top $$ by someone else).
For the draft, we can now focus on the C position, which I would like to see us trade down and get (Alex Mack). If we can swing our #11 for a #20 something, we could pick up another high pick, which would allow us to go LB in round 2 and shore up other weak spots (of which there are still many).
So that's it for now. I know it doesn't solve everything, but I think it puts us in the top half of the league and competitive for a playoff spot, assuming typical development from Edwards. Bash away...
The way I see it, these are the most vital needs for this team at this point:
1. DE - Without a pass rush, the Cover 2 simply will not work. Kelsay/Denney aren't cutting it. Schoebel can be effective so long as he's not the only DE providing pressure. Solve this and the D becomes instantly more effective in every way.
2. TE - Trent needs another option, and I just don't see it coming through another receiver. Parrish and Evans are locked up $$-wsie, and Reed's role is understood and valued. We have Hardy, Johnson and Jenkins to develop as well, so I see the only chance of upgrading the passing game coming through the TE position.
3. C - Not much needs to be said to justify this. Having a high end center would make this line one of the top 10 in the league (assuming we don't have to contend with any holdouts this year).
4. OLB - The last obvious/glaring weakness on our D.
This assumes that we get the Peters situation resolved. If we don't, slot LT in at #1. That being said, I think we have to do what needs to be done to get Peters resigned and content.
With FA coming first, I think we need to look at filling the DE position on day one. Assuming Suggs comes free, I would love to make him our big $$ acquisition of the offseason and take care of priority #1. Had Gresham stayed in the draft, I would have been willing to go TE with our #11, but since he's out, I think grabbing a pass catching TE in FA makes the most sense. Eric Johnson would be a reasonable pickup there and should complememnt Royal (if we keep him) and co. pretty well. Not a huge upgrade, but a decent one, and about as much as we can expect. I would guess any other FA pickups would be depth signings, although admittedly I'd like to see Greer back (assuming he isn't offered top $$ by someone else).
For the draft, we can now focus on the C position, which I would like to see us trade down and get (Alex Mack). If we can swing our #11 for a #20 something, we could pick up another high pick, which would allow us to go LB in round 2 and shore up other weak spots (of which there are still many).
So that's it for now. I know it doesn't solve everything, but I think it puts us in the top half of the league and competitive for a playoff spot, assuming typical development from Edwards. Bash away...