This season’s a bust, yesterday was embarrassing, and the entire coaching and front office staff should be cleared out, and they will be. Let’s start there.
But i’ve seen people saying this is the most despondent they’ve felt about this team as a fan. Really? I’ve only been a fan for about 10 years now (damn) and even in that time frame this season is like the 3rd worst. This team is clearly underachieving, but it has talent in certain important positions, and more importantly it has clear flaws where there isn’t enough talent. On the offensive side, it’s the offensive line, and on the defensive side it’s the linebackers. I don’t see why, with a draft where we have 5 of the 1st 100 picks and FA where we have top-5 cap space, if we draft a stud O-lineman, sign a couple of more, and get a good LB in FA, we shouldn’t be expecting 10 wins at minimum next year assuming Howell is as good as we all think and we get a good coach / FO staff. I don’t think he’s a star QB but he’s for sure a QB to build around, and that’s all we need.
Maybe I’m just positive because of our new ownership but I just don’t think this team is as far away as we think. I didn’t expect much from this season because I was unsure on Howell, so having him be as good as he’s been is enough of a positive from this season for me. Let’s get a top-5 pick and come back next year to dark-horse the NFC.
See, I get this mindset, and I’m not denying this at all, I completely get it from that standpoint. But even under this framework this season should not be the back-breaking, all hope is lost one. And this is coming from someone who has literally never seen this team win a playoff game. There’s way more here than in prior years. Even in the last 5 years, the first Dwayne Haskins season immediately strikes me as a much worse season in terms of our on-the-field play and the talent on the team. You can’t compare this team, with one All-Pro caliber lineman, another Pro-Bowl caliber lineman, one Pro-Bowl caliber WR, a borderline Pro-Bowl safety, and decent depth everywhere but linebacker and safety, as just as hopeless.