Palm Beach Pats Fan
Pro Bowl Player
2019 Weekly Picks Winner
2020 Weekly Picks Winner
2021 Weekly Picks Winner
2022 Weekly Picks Winner
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2008
- Messages
- 10,626
- Reaction score
- 20,363
When you jettison players like Seymour and Vrabel, when you have 7 new defensive starters (8 when you consider Adalius being inactive frequently), when you depend upon so many new guys learnng a system, when you are counting on non-star-level rookies (who generally take a few years to make an impact), when special teams was also drastically overhauled, I reach the obvious conclusion that this year was a rebuilding year from the beginning.
Granted, the offense hasn't seen that level of overhaul (yet?)
Where is the bottom, and do we need to tear things apart even more to eventually rise back up? Is that model even relevant?
Stepping back a bit (hard to do!), it would be remarkable if the low point of a rebuilding job was a 10-7 season, frankly. Is it even necessary to expect we will dip lower before it gets better, or does the offense need an overhaul which sets the calander back another year before we are a factor?
I know, the popular thing to say (before yesterday) is that we don't rebuild, you reload. But young guys need to learn by making mistakes, and that costs wins in the short term. 2-4 year vets need to learn to become leaders, and that doesn't happen automatically.
With the amount of roster turnover we had this year, I think we have gotten younger, faster, more physically skilled at the expense of know-how. Yet with the emphasis on getting guys who have the attitude that "football is important to them" I think that the know-how will come.
I think we are partly there and this is encouraging, actually.
Are we on the right track?
Granted, the offense hasn't seen that level of overhaul (yet?)
Where is the bottom, and do we need to tear things apart even more to eventually rise back up? Is that model even relevant?
Stepping back a bit (hard to do!), it would be remarkable if the low point of a rebuilding job was a 10-7 season, frankly. Is it even necessary to expect we will dip lower before it gets better, or does the offense need an overhaul which sets the calander back another year before we are a factor?
I know, the popular thing to say (before yesterday) is that we don't rebuild, you reload. But young guys need to learn by making mistakes, and that costs wins in the short term. 2-4 year vets need to learn to become leaders, and that doesn't happen automatically.
With the amount of roster turnover we had this year, I think we have gotten younger, faster, more physically skilled at the expense of know-how. Yet with the emphasis on getting guys who have the attitude that "football is important to them" I think that the know-how will come.
I think we are partly there and this is encouraging, actually.
Are we on the right track?