Offseason Strategy?

[WG]

TD should get involved much sooner in the FA market than he did last year and not allow several very reasonably priced players pass us by as one poster already pointed out. I'd cite the poster but forgot who posted it.

In any case, this talk of trading Bledsoe for a 1st rounder isn't realistic, nor do I think that any team would give us a 1st rounder anymore. The big question was whether he would play as he has in N.E. or not. Well, he has, and possibly even worse. So that diminishes his value, especially given his $5.5M figure next year and $6M in '04.

We need to actively pursue an OLB. We'll have Spoon back and with Fletcher, who's improved, Newman, and Spoon, we should be set.

We also need a big, physical DT and a name DE. Hopefully Jones will pan out too but I wouldn't want to rely on that.

After that, a backup OL-man to bolster our OL. We were fortunate this season w/ OL injuries, but we can't count on that next year. It would really suck to have Bledsoe behind any semblance of the OL we had last year w/ RJ and VP. It would also be a disaster. We need to make sure we have adequate backups in place.

IMO we can't afford to go after any pricey offensive skill position players since our defensive needs are too great. Besides, we have all that we need to put an explosive offense on the field from day one next season, even w/o Price.

Coaches: I'd like to see Gilbride gone, but I know I'm in the minority there and likely he'll stay. Danny Smith is the only other coach besides possibly Kragthorpe, especially if Kelly would be a good coach. He was a great player but I have my reservations whether or not he'd be a good QB coach and whether or not he'd be a distraction for the coaching staff.

Thoughts?

[ArcticWildMan]

Didn't Kragthorpe take a college coaching job?

[WG]

Oh yeah, forgot about that. Oops.

Thanks!

[The_Philster]

Yep. Head coach at Tulsa

[WG]

So what's our strategy?

[Novacane]

First things first.........can Danny Smith and Vinlarak(or whatever the O-line coach's name is) I wanted Gray to get canned but I think his job is safe with the recent improvement of the D.

Players to get rid of.........Reimersma, Robinson, Watson, Rogers,

Let Price sign elsewhere. Other than that I pretty much go with your assesments Wys. We need an OLB(Takeo Spykes would be my dream choice) We need a run stuffing DT and a DE who can get to the passer. WIll need to sign a reasonalbly priced 3rd WR if we let Price go.

[HenryRules]

If we let Price go, I think we need to get 2 LBs (Spikes and Colvin), otherwise, we've simply gone from having potentially the best offense (like we had at the beginning of the season) to possibly an average offense and improving the defense to probably middle-of-the-road quality.
Super Bowl teams need to have a personality and we've built a team that could potentially have the best offense in the league (there's holes on offense as well, but we're much closer there than defense). If we start shelving the offense to build up the defense, we're gonna end up with a team that's above average on offense, above average on defense and goes 10-6 and loses in the first round of the playoffs. I don't want that situation at all.

[Novacane]

Reed will put up similar #'s to price. Re-signing Peerless is not a priority. If he floats around out there like Ruben Brown did a few years ago and no one makes a big offer to him than yea, we should resign him. If he gets a big offer than let em go. WR is the easiest posistion to fill

[Butch]

I think we need to be active in FA and really improve our DL, we need an impact player immediately, not another young DL to rotate in with our other young DL.

Draft the best LB avaiable with our first pick. Eddie Robinson is prehistoric and Newman has really disappointed me this year.

Franchise Price and let some other team sign him, we have the cap room just in case no one does sign him, but I think it is likely another team will sign him and we can get a 1st round pick for him.

Release Watson and Riemersma.

[ArcticWildMan]

Peerless will get a hard look from the Eagles, Texans, and probably the Falcons (among other teams).

He's a goner. Reed is our #2 guy next year.

[WG]

I think we'll all see the depth of WRing talent that will be available for cheap as our #3/4 WRs.

As to cutting Rogers, don't forget, while he's not been as good as in the past, we sucked last year and I'm not so sure all the return woes are his fault. Besides, we can cut him, but let's make sure we find a replacement first. We don't want to be like Clinton and get caught w/ our pants down.

JR goes, Robinson no doubt, Watson stays as a #5 or goes.

[ArcticWildMan]

I wish we still had Avion Black. He's done quite well for the Texans and he would have been a good #3 speed receiver. !&@#$ expansion draft :mad:

[HenryRules]

Originally posted by BledsoeTOreedfor6
Reed will put up similar #'s to price. Re-signing Peerless is not a priority. If he floats around out there like Ruben Brown did a few years ago and no one makes a big offer to him than yea, we should resign him. If he gets a big offer than let em go. WR is the easiest posistion to fill

You really think that Reed will step up and get 1200+ yards and 10+ TDs?? I think he'd be luck to do 850 and 8. He will be a great underneath receiver for most of his career, but for the near future, I really don't see him capable of making the number of big plays that Price did this year.

Look back on all the games we played this year and almost every single one of them turned on one or two really big plays (whether its getting stopped on 3rd and short, a quick score after a turnover, a 35 yard pass, whatever). Is it really a good idea to lose the type of player who makes those plays to get a couple of guys who are solid at their positions (DT, LB) but really aren't big playmakers?

[Novacane]

As to cutting Rogers................. I'm not so sure all the return woes are his fault

Either am I. That's why I said get Danny Smith outta here. Rogers has been a disapointment though. He looks like he is running in mud! There is a good reason Seattle left him in the expansion draft and then Houston was quick to trade him after they got him.


Watson stays as a #5 or goes. We could pay a rookie min. salary to be a #5 and he would have potential to improve. Watson ain't getting any better. I we don't keep him as a punt catcher there is no sense keeping him at all.:evil:

[Novacane]

Originally posted by HenryRules


You really think that Reed will step up and get 1200+ yards and 10+ TDs??



Yes I think he can. Go back and look at college. He put up huge #'s . Lack of speed did not seem to hurt him there. He had better college #'s than PP. SPeed is not everything. Jerry Rice is not a speedburner and I think he has had a decent career.

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by ArcticWildMan
I wish we still had Avion Black. He's done quite well for the Texans and he would have been a good #3 speed receiver. !&@#$ expansion draft :mad:


At the same time, you have to wonder what kind of chance he would have even gotten here. He didn't show much last season or anything and it's not like we had CJ playing that much here as it was. Who's to say Avion would have gotten any playing time...or even made the squad?