Mudflap1
12-26-2005, 06:15 PM
A lot has happened this season, and we still have one game left. It's not going to change much, but here is a checklist of some pluses and minuses of where I see how this team has gotten to where it's at:
Positives
1. Jason Peters has emerged as a solid right tackle.
2. Duke Preston has emerged as a suitable G/C possibility.
3. Terrence McGee, Rian Lindell, Brian Moorman, and the special teams have been pretty solid again this year.
4. Angelo Crowell has emerged as a solid linebacker. When Spikes comes back, there could be the possiblity of playing some 3-4, or starting Crowell outright over Posey.
5. Kelly Holcomb has been very solid. Few mistakes, doesn't hold the ball long, accurate, starts out games pretty quickly, has two best passing games for the team this season, and the most wins between him and Losman. Also has the respect of the team.
6. Have gotten off to decent starts in the first quarter most games all season.
Negatives
1. leaving Pat Williams go and not getting a suitable replacement (last in the league in run defense from 2nd overall last two years). Pass defense has also suffered tremendously.
2. Neglecting the offensive line not only the past 5 years, but particularly the past two offseasons. QB's have been hit hard all season long, sustained some injuries, can't have deep-developing pass plays downfield, and the running game has had a lot of trouble establishing itself.
3. Mike Williams is horrible, and is being paid a lot of money.
4. Nate Clements isn't worth being paid as one of the top 5 cornerbacks (at least this season).
5. J.P. Losman hasn't progressed as fast as some would like. (note: controversial point because of limited starts). Also has had some reports of him not being in the favor of the veterans. Not sure what the truth is there, time will tell.
6. Chris Villarial hasn't lived up to his billing.
7. Mike Gandy is servicable at best.
8. Bennie Anderson is horrible.
9. Trey Teague is mediocre at best.
10. The defensive tackles are pretty bad overall. The only one that is worth anything is Sam Adams, and he needs to be properly motivated, of which he's not been this season.
11. Partially because of the tendencies of the team and the bad offensive line, Willis McGahee has not had very good games the last several weeks.
12. Playcalling has been questionable at best all season.
13. Bad second half team.
What should be done?
Well, I'm in favor of firing Tom Donahoe the day after the season. I've been consistent with this for some time. He has simply not gotten the job done. 31-48 in five seasons with no playoffs is unacceptable. He has consistenly neglected two simple aspects of the football team: the offensive line and the defensive line. Without those, you won't go far. You need to be able to run the ball and stop the run. If you can do those two fundamental things, good things happen. If you can run the ball, that means your quarterback doesn't have as much pressure. Play-action pass becomes a weapon, and passing as a whole will keep the defense off-guard, as they will have to put 8 men in the box to stop an effective running game. The offense will more often than not control time of possession. On defensive, stopping the run makes the opposing offense one-dimensional. One-dimensional offenses pass, so you can key on this. Third and long plays become common, along with shorter amounts of time the defense has to stay on the field (remember, the offense is running the ball effectively). Tom Donahoe has continually ignored this, so he should be fired. However, I believe the worst-case scenario is that if he stays, he will be told by Ralph Wilson to get aggressive in the free agent market, and the draft. Now, this is a crap shoot in of itself, as we have all seen some of Tom Donahoe's aggressive moves (Drew Bledsoe, Willis McGahee, J.P. Losman -- jury is still out on two of them). However, maybe he will finally be motivated to spend some money on the offensive and defensive lines. If so, and some real talent is brought in here, it doesn't matter WHO starts at quarterback. That's right, it doesn't matter. Good things will start to happen, and a lot of big problems will start to go away.
As for Mularkey, I don't think he's done a very good job either. However, Donahoe has put him in a particularly bad position by giving him bad offensive and defensive lines to work with. I believe if the personnel is brought in, this team WITH Mularkey could become playoff-competitive again. It isn't going to take a whole lot. Bring in some beefeaters on offense so the team can start to grind the ball again, and the quarterbacks have time to pass, and bring in some big uglies on defense to stop the run and take the pressure off the secondary and linebackers. It's not rocket science.
Honestly, for skill players on offense, I think we are okay. Moulds should restructure, but he and Evans have the talent, along with Roscoe. Josh Reed is serviceable as a 4th wide receiver. Willis is ok at running back. Perhaps a good receiving tight end would be a nice pickup.
On defense, I think we are good at linebacker. I think we are good in the secondary. The only problem is Nate Clements. If he wants to re-sign for something reasonable, I think that's alright. He has been historically a good corner, even though he's had a down year. If he wants top CB money, sign him and trade him.
Offensive line: New left tackle (free agent or draft), new left guard (free agent or draft), Preston at C, Villarial at RG (unless a better player can be brought in without breaking the bank), and Peters at RT. I think if we simply let Teague go and bring in a new LT and LG (not cheapos, real linemen with talent), this offensive line could turn it around. Keep Gandy around for depth, and maybe Anderson, but I wouldn't start them. We need better.
Again, it's an illusion. We're not as great as most thought at the end of last season and before this season, but we're not quite has horrific has some have said in recent weeks either. Some new guys on the front lines will change all of that. I don't think our GM can do it to the degree that needs to be done, that's why he needs to go. I think our coach could probably work with the talent if we can re-tool a little bit. I think there are better coaches out there we could bring in, but if I had to have a choice, I would vote Donahoe out over Mularkey. With Donahoe here, no coach has a chance. With Donahoe gone, at least Mularkey would have SOME chance.
But please, just fix the offensive and defensive lines!
Jon
Positives
1. Jason Peters has emerged as a solid right tackle.
2. Duke Preston has emerged as a suitable G/C possibility.
3. Terrence McGee, Rian Lindell, Brian Moorman, and the special teams have been pretty solid again this year.
4. Angelo Crowell has emerged as a solid linebacker. When Spikes comes back, there could be the possiblity of playing some 3-4, or starting Crowell outright over Posey.
5. Kelly Holcomb has been very solid. Few mistakes, doesn't hold the ball long, accurate, starts out games pretty quickly, has two best passing games for the team this season, and the most wins between him and Losman. Also has the respect of the team.
6. Have gotten off to decent starts in the first quarter most games all season.
Negatives
1. leaving Pat Williams go and not getting a suitable replacement (last in the league in run defense from 2nd overall last two years). Pass defense has also suffered tremendously.
2. Neglecting the offensive line not only the past 5 years, but particularly the past two offseasons. QB's have been hit hard all season long, sustained some injuries, can't have deep-developing pass plays downfield, and the running game has had a lot of trouble establishing itself.
3. Mike Williams is horrible, and is being paid a lot of money.
4. Nate Clements isn't worth being paid as one of the top 5 cornerbacks (at least this season).
5. J.P. Losman hasn't progressed as fast as some would like. (note: controversial point because of limited starts). Also has had some reports of him not being in the favor of the veterans. Not sure what the truth is there, time will tell.
6. Chris Villarial hasn't lived up to his billing.
7. Mike Gandy is servicable at best.
8. Bennie Anderson is horrible.
9. Trey Teague is mediocre at best.
10. The defensive tackles are pretty bad overall. The only one that is worth anything is Sam Adams, and he needs to be properly motivated, of which he's not been this season.
11. Partially because of the tendencies of the team and the bad offensive line, Willis McGahee has not had very good games the last several weeks.
12. Playcalling has been questionable at best all season.
13. Bad second half team.
What should be done?
Well, I'm in favor of firing Tom Donahoe the day after the season. I've been consistent with this for some time. He has simply not gotten the job done. 31-48 in five seasons with no playoffs is unacceptable. He has consistenly neglected two simple aspects of the football team: the offensive line and the defensive line. Without those, you won't go far. You need to be able to run the ball and stop the run. If you can do those two fundamental things, good things happen. If you can run the ball, that means your quarterback doesn't have as much pressure. Play-action pass becomes a weapon, and passing as a whole will keep the defense off-guard, as they will have to put 8 men in the box to stop an effective running game. The offense will more often than not control time of possession. On defensive, stopping the run makes the opposing offense one-dimensional. One-dimensional offenses pass, so you can key on this. Third and long plays become common, along with shorter amounts of time the defense has to stay on the field (remember, the offense is running the ball effectively). Tom Donahoe has continually ignored this, so he should be fired. However, I believe the worst-case scenario is that if he stays, he will be told by Ralph Wilson to get aggressive in the free agent market, and the draft. Now, this is a crap shoot in of itself, as we have all seen some of Tom Donahoe's aggressive moves (Drew Bledsoe, Willis McGahee, J.P. Losman -- jury is still out on two of them). However, maybe he will finally be motivated to spend some money on the offensive and defensive lines. If so, and some real talent is brought in here, it doesn't matter WHO starts at quarterback. That's right, it doesn't matter. Good things will start to happen, and a lot of big problems will start to go away.
As for Mularkey, I don't think he's done a very good job either. However, Donahoe has put him in a particularly bad position by giving him bad offensive and defensive lines to work with. I believe if the personnel is brought in, this team WITH Mularkey could become playoff-competitive again. It isn't going to take a whole lot. Bring in some beefeaters on offense so the team can start to grind the ball again, and the quarterbacks have time to pass, and bring in some big uglies on defense to stop the run and take the pressure off the secondary and linebackers. It's not rocket science.
Honestly, for skill players on offense, I think we are okay. Moulds should restructure, but he and Evans have the talent, along with Roscoe. Josh Reed is serviceable as a 4th wide receiver. Willis is ok at running back. Perhaps a good receiving tight end would be a nice pickup.
On defense, I think we are good at linebacker. I think we are good in the secondary. The only problem is Nate Clements. If he wants to re-sign for something reasonable, I think that's alright. He has been historically a good corner, even though he's had a down year. If he wants top CB money, sign him and trade him.
Offensive line: New left tackle (free agent or draft), new left guard (free agent or draft), Preston at C, Villarial at RG (unless a better player can be brought in without breaking the bank), and Peters at RT. I think if we simply let Teague go and bring in a new LT and LG (not cheapos, real linemen with talent), this offensive line could turn it around. Keep Gandy around for depth, and maybe Anderson, but I wouldn't start them. We need better.
Again, it's an illusion. We're not as great as most thought at the end of last season and before this season, but we're not quite has horrific has some have said in recent weeks either. Some new guys on the front lines will change all of that. I don't think our GM can do it to the degree that needs to be done, that's why he needs to go. I think our coach could probably work with the talent if we can re-tool a little bit. I think there are better coaches out there we could bring in, but if I had to have a choice, I would vote Donahoe out over Mularkey. With Donahoe here, no coach has a chance. With Donahoe gone, at least Mularkey would have SOME chance.
But please, just fix the offensive and defensive lines!
Jon