Fox/Hurney

Well, nobody is gonna hit on every draft pick or FA, but I would like to know if Fox and Hurney are trusting their scouts and getting burned at times, or if they're overriding the scouting department on some of these moves. There's alot we don't know about the details of these personel decisions.


We do have a new Head of Scouting that was just hired before the season, so maybe that will make a difference. Personally, I think it takes just as much luck, as it does skill, to draft well. Look at how lucky the Pats got when they drafted Tom Brady in the 7th round...I can't help but wonder how many Super Bowl rings Belichick would have right now, if it weren't for that one draft pick. There's not a chance in hell he would have beat us in the Super Bowl with Bledsoe.

 

I guess what bothers me is that we're 6 years (?) into the Fox/Hurney regime and we're "understood weak team"

 

apparently you should be content with mediocrity, though that may be a compliment to this years team

 

Drafted Julius Peppers over Harrington - Only a dumbass would have taken Harrington
Drafted Jordan Gross - Who has been a bust for an 8th overall pick
Drafted Deshon Foster - Never had a thousand yard season, while continuing to fumble and get injured.
Drafted Will Witherspoon - Solid pick, and they made the right move in not paying him.
Drafted Ricky Manning Jr. - He had a huge game against Philly and that alone makes him one of their better moves?
Drafted Thomas Davis - He's been solid, but at 14th overall you expect a dominator.
Drafted Jon Beason - He looks like a very strong pick right now.
Drafted Travelle Wharton - I doubted Wharton's ability to play left tackle, but they were right.


Free Agents
Jake Delhomme - I still think we grossly overpaid to keep him instead of just finding the next Delhomme.
Stephen Davis - Good move.
Daimone Lewis - He's been solid, but not exactly a game changer.
Mike Wahle - Dramatically overpaid.
Ken Lucas - Pretty solid, but also vastly overpaid.

Trades
Jason Baker - Solid trade.
Al Wallace - Nothing more than a replacement level player.
Chris Harris - Coverage liability after doing nothing to address safety in the off-season.


When trading for a punter ends up being one of your better moves, I don't think you're doing a very good job.

 

You expect a dominator with a number 14 pick? A solid guy who start right away is probably better than average at that spot.

Gross has not been a bust for a number 8 overall. He has played more like a late first rounder or second rounder but he has not been a bust in the sense that he has not contributed. He has saved our ass by being able to switch between LT and RT when injuries hit us in 2004 and 2006. Not a super great pick but a solid one.

 

He was so bad at LT that they felt compelled to move him back to RT, so let's not pretend that he was adequate in that respect. He has not played anything like a first round offensive tackle. He gives nothing in the run game, gives up too much ground as a pass protector, and has been getting a lot of penalties lately as well. He has not remotely lived up to being the 8th overall pick.

 

He was decent at LT last year. How many guys can play both positions and not kill his team?

 

So decent is good enough for the 8th overall pick in a draft? And actually lots of teams have guys who are capable of playing LT or RT. The ones who aren't are generally the 350+ run mauler types. Wharton has clearly been better and I wouldn't call him much above average.

 

13 players still here from the Superbowl team, only 5 of them were originally brought in by Fox/Hurney.

Goings 01
Smith 01
Hoover 00
Jenkins 01
Rucker 99
Morgan 01
Kasay 95
Kyle 01

Moorehead 03
Foster 02
Gross 03
Peppers 02
Delhomme 03

 

when it comes to drafting, we not only take bad players we leave good ones on the board

2002
DeShawn Foster over Clinton Portis
Dante Wesley over David Garrard and Randy McMichael
Randy Fasani and Kyle Johnson over Scott Fujita, Rocky Bernard, and Aaron Kampman
Keith Heinrich over Justin Hartwig
Pete Campion over Raheem Brock and David Givens

2003
Jordan Gross over Terrell Suggs, Marcus Trufant, Troy Polumalu, and Dallas Clark
Bruce Nelson over Anquan Boldin, Osi Umenyiora, Lance Briggs, and Jason Witten
Mike Seidman over Chris Simms
Colin Branch over Asante Samuel and Ovie Mughelli
Kendall Moorehead over Dan Koppen and Tony Pashos

2004
Keary Colbert over Chris Cooley
Sean Tufts over Patrick Crayton
Michael Gaines over Derrick Ward

2005
Thomas Davis over Derrick Johnson and Jason Campbell
Eric Shelton over Roscoe Parrish, Darrent Williams, and Frank Gore
Evan Mathis and Atiyyah Ellison over Nick Kaczur and Marion Barber
Stephan LeFors over Brady Poppinga and Darren Sproles
Joe Berger over Derrick Anderson

2006
DeAngelo Williams over Joseph Addai and DeMeco Ryans
James Anderson and Rashad Butler over Ko Simpson
Nate Salley over Elvis Dumervil
Will Montgomery over Marques Colston

2007
Dwayne Jarrett and Ryan Kalil over David Harris, Tim Crowder, and Yamon Figurs
Charles Johnson over Trent Edwards
Ryne Robinson over Fred Bennett and Scott Chandler
CJ Wilson over DeShawn Wynn and Brandon Siler

Hmm,
QB-Delhomme, Anderson, and Edwards
RB-Addai, Barber, Ward, and Goings
FB-Hoover
WR- Smith, Colston, Crayton, Parrish (KR), and Carter
TE-Cooley, King, and Rosario
OT-Wharton, Kaczur, Pashos, and a FA
OG-Wahle, Bridges, Hangartner, and a FA
C-Hartwig and Kalil

DE-Peppers, Umenyiora, Crowder and Dumervil
DT-Jenkins, Kemoeatu, Lewis, and Bernard
OLB-Johnson, Poppinga, Briggs*, and Diggs
MLB-Beason, Morgan, and Seward
CB-Samuel, Gamble, Marshall, Lucas, and Bennett
S-Polamalu, Simpson, Cooper, and Harris

P-Baker
K-Kasay
LS-Kyle

*traded Portis (taken over Foster in 2002 Draft) and a 3rd in 2008 to Bears for Briggs at the start of his holdout