- Joined
- Apr 3, 2006
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Just look at last year. We were wondering if we'd carry seven receivers since they were all "so good"- we ended up cutting Tate and Price. Nobody else was even decent after Branch, so we played with a two-deep WR core all ear. Nobody thought it would make any sense to draft a wide receiver last year, and when we got Ocho, we wondered why it was even necessary.
We were convinced that our secondary was primed and ready to go with a solid safety combination in Chung and Merriweather, elite corners in McCourty and Bodden, and some decent depth. Well, how did that work out? By the time the season started, Meriweather and Sanders were gone, Dowling was injured, Bodden was useless/injured, and it turned out McCourty can't play man coverage.
Yet, last year, we all thought we should address the front 7 at draft time. The front 7 was actually pretty darn good last year, especially with Carter. But even without him, we saw several of our d-linemen step up, the emergence of Ninkovich, and vast improvement from Spikes. Cunningham was the only major disappointment.
My point?
We have $20M in cap space to sign some key players for next season at positions of need. For the draft, these are the types of players we'll need to build the rest of the team around. Draft the best player available, with the exception of quarterback. Who the heck knows where the strengths and weaknesses will be next season.
We were convinced that our secondary was primed and ready to go with a solid safety combination in Chung and Merriweather, elite corners in McCourty and Bodden, and some decent depth. Well, how did that work out? By the time the season started, Meriweather and Sanders were gone, Dowling was injured, Bodden was useless/injured, and it turned out McCourty can't play man coverage.
Yet, last year, we all thought we should address the front 7 at draft time. The front 7 was actually pretty darn good last year, especially with Carter. But even without him, we saw several of our d-linemen step up, the emergence of Ninkovich, and vast improvement from Spikes. Cunningham was the only major disappointment.
My point?
We have $20M in cap space to sign some key players for next season at positions of need. For the draft, these are the types of players we'll need to build the rest of the team around. Draft the best player available, with the exception of quarterback. Who the heck knows where the strengths and weaknesses will be next season.