Earthquake Enyart
11-16-2004, 07:53 AM
It's just that I was starting to think the other night about HOW LONG it will be until we are legitamate contenders again. Going into this season, I believed that we could at least be in the hunt for a wild card and be around 8-8. Obviously, that was wishful thinking. Given the way the Pats spanked us, it looks like we are at least 2 years away from being wild card contenders.
How can I say this? Well, we have a rookie head coach again, who obviously will have to go through a learning curve. I don't know if I buy this TD super ego thing that people have written (although it may be true), but common sense tells you that the rookie HC defers to the judgement of the experienced boss. An example of this is the Willis / Travis saga. It took them, what? 6-7 games to figure out that Travis is better? An experienced HC like Coughlin, could have said "damn the torpedoes, I'm starting the best guy", but a rookie like MM, who is just happy to be here, meekly defers until it's so freaking obvious that TD relents. Same with Drew. Some say that the reason MM was hired was that he was the only one who said he could fix Drew. Well guess what? The other 6 candidates were right. Especially the 2 Pats guys who got rid of Drew in the first place three years ago.
Besides coach, we will now have to live through the JP experience. JP doesn't have as good a cast around him as Big Ben, so he will not be a Big Ben. JP will be under pressure to succeed with the players around him: crappy line, TE's who can't catch, and only one legit WR. His first limited play shows us that he doesn't have the greatest judgement in the world. My guess is that he will move the O better than Drew, but may prove to have more catistrophic, bonehead turnovers. There goes next year.
We are still short another legitimate pass rusher, a CB, and a FS. We have more holes to fill than draft picks next year, so let the rebuilding officially begin. Think 2006.
How can I say this? Well, we have a rookie head coach again, who obviously will have to go through a learning curve. I don't know if I buy this TD super ego thing that people have written (although it may be true), but common sense tells you that the rookie HC defers to the judgement of the experienced boss. An example of this is the Willis / Travis saga. It took them, what? 6-7 games to figure out that Travis is better? An experienced HC like Coughlin, could have said "damn the torpedoes, I'm starting the best guy", but a rookie like MM, who is just happy to be here, meekly defers until it's so freaking obvious that TD relents. Same with Drew. Some say that the reason MM was hired was that he was the only one who said he could fix Drew. Well guess what? The other 6 candidates were right. Especially the 2 Pats guys who got rid of Drew in the first place three years ago.
Besides coach, we will now have to live through the JP experience. JP doesn't have as good a cast around him as Big Ben, so he will not be a Big Ben. JP will be under pressure to succeed with the players around him: crappy line, TE's who can't catch, and only one legit WR. His first limited play shows us that he doesn't have the greatest judgement in the world. My guess is that he will move the O better than Drew, but may prove to have more catistrophic, bonehead turnovers. There goes next year.
We are still short another legitimate pass rusher, a CB, and a FS. We have more holes to fill than draft picks next year, so let the rebuilding officially begin. Think 2006.