Hartwig Released

I don't have a problem with the changes. I thought our line play was pretty bad - it needed an overhaul.

So - they're overhauling. Here's hoping their plan works.

 

I hope it works out too but right now i'm just not that thrilled with it. At this point I can't see where they've made an improvement in what we had. I do know they've made Colclough happy since he's getting nice $$$ instead of wondering which arena league team he should sign with...

 

Well - everybody complained about Wahle and Hartwig last year, and now they're gone. So that's good.

Both of our tackles are retained, and that was a concern. Granted, nobody was thrilled with their play, but there wasn't much to find in UFA that would be a real upgrade.

We've committed to improving center and guard - even if it's by subtraction at this point. They acknowledged what had been there was poor, and got rid of it. Now they have to fix it. I'll wait to judge on how the fixing has been until after the draft and even until camp gets rolling. The bottom line is we'll have at least 3, and maybe 5 of our own picks starting, and they'll all be young.

Gross / Wharton / Kalil / Hang / Draft pick.

So - they're focusing on rebuilding, and to rebuild, you have to tear down. So far, I'm good with it. They've cut 2 ineffective vets, signed a young guy long term and tagged another, penciled in a 2nd year center, signed an effective vet to compete with or provide depth for RG, and appear poised to draft a tackle high. That's about as good as I can expect, as I would not be happy with an $8 million per guy like Faneca.

Plus, we've positioned ourselves to be OK in the event of injuries or poor draft picks expected to start by keeping Wharton and Gross and signing Vincent.

What else could we have done at this point, this year?

 

I am cool with it. We still need another player but the neat thing is we are flexible enough to make it work whether that player is a guard or tackle. What we had inside was not working so change is good.

 

I;d put my money on them obtaining a quard who can start before the draft. Everyone wan't to discuss who the starters would be at any given moment after each individual move. I don't see the relevance of that.

 

We have 4:

Wharton, Keydrick, Hangartner, Bridges.

Are there better ones available in FA?

 

available can mean several things....and yes from the list posted by somebody yesterday there are some available

I don't think it's too hard to find better options than Hangartner or Bridges.

 

Me too, because we still have needs at DL.

 

Bridges maybe not, but I think the staff is pretty high on Hangartner.

I think they're close to done on the oline. I think Barry Sims' visit would have led to Bridges leaving, so they're looking.

I think they've pondered the Wahle and Hartwig signings and have decided to goto the draft for their 'core' guys. I think anyone we sign in FA will be like Vincent - nothing more sexy than that.

 

Im glad youre dropping some perspective on this, though. Its good to read both sides of the coin.

We've done ok. It's debatable that we could've done better, but overall, we've...done ok.

I tell ya...the sense of urgency as far as the draft and OL goes for me, stems from the lack of moves on the DL, particularly at DT, although anyone could argue Brayton plays both....

If it didnt look so dreadfully thin with depth players starting over there, I would be content with loading up on OL on the first day.

Honestly, at this point, I hope we trade down. If we trade up to get Clady, then we great. But if were able to trade down, we might get more bang for the buck. There will be guys like the Miami DL, goddamn I cant think of his name to save my life right now, probably available later in the first, and also WIlliams from VT, and we love the VT guys. And Williams was a captain, hes smart a team leader, and a fierce pass blocker. There will be decent guys to look at on the OL later in the second and even third, too, IMO. Cousin could be had there, and he might be a steal....shit...Im just thinking out loud, and our lines just dont look so good, man.