bitter pill

If Clausen, or less likely Pike, becomes the guy long term, then regardless of how awful this year was, there'll be the statement that this year set the table. Same for WRs, and honestly with our past non-Moose/Steve, just getting a Gettis out of this is good. That's without LaFell or Edwards contributing,

There's always that high pick, too.
Listen, I think Luck is a fantastic player, but I don't see it happening. The guy who made the picks this year, the ones that were supposed to fix the O long term, is the same guy who's going to hire the guy who fixes the O. The O is young enough, save linemen, save maybe a TE if our top two don't get retained (and at this point, I'm OK with seeing King being someone else's backup and seeing Rosario be someone else's inconsistent but occasionally highlight reel starter).

So, hopefully that pick is that lights-out defender that makes our D dominant. That'll be nice, having a proper DT again, or if we're unlucky enough to be a 3-4 team, we can use that to get the tweener we need.


And I've alawys said that this year wasn't about showing the league JR can be cheap, or that he's putting the CBA ahead of us (you could say he hired Morrison, and to a point forced his kids out, for the CBA, but that's not with respect to his own team).

When it became an uncapped year, it was a choice - can we keep it together? He felt, after Peppers wouldn't sign record deals in 2009, that he wasn't going to keep him. Seeing the late season 09 resurgence, all the youth, that's what grew what we have. So you cut salaries - you give the young guys room.

I don't necessarily agree with that - Moose's presence isn't why Jarrett never played well. Moose would've made a fantastic tutor to LaFell (though we wouldn't have picked Gettis), and a locker room leader. A vet would've helped any number of QBs, and so on. But the LBs, the young defenders around Beason, didn't have to have that.


At any rate, we had the chance to dump some huge salaries. Some weren't as huge, but most made sense. Now 2011, that's a fresh start. Hopefully, we get some extensions, a good coaching staff, and spend on a guy or two that can help out.

 

Gettis looks great, and I don't see LaFell being all that far behind him. WR looks good for next year.

I just can't help feeling uneasy about Clausen - or Pike for that matter. Is that unease just a reaction to this horrible season, or is there really a decent chance that they're both busts?

I still don't get the Moose situation...the JR/Fox haters all seem to think that he was forced into retirement against his will, but does anybody think that maybe Moose just decided to retire on his own? I would have liked to see him on the team to serve as that sort of leader...I don't claim to know him all that well, and I've never asked him, but I get the feeling that it was his decision. The scoreboard PSA's he does with his family, and his featured role in the Taste of the Panthers fundraiser make it look as if he's still on good terms with the organization.

 

Gettis working out so well so far works out best of any - he's the most prototypical, size speed and so on. The others have their more obvious roles but he's been that surprise.





I think Moose wanted to stay. It made sense to let him go in that he was going to be more than twice as expensive as the next guy - but we just cut too much leadership. If he wasn't fast, and could only abuse the falcons, fair enough. I don't know. I know I miss him out there a lot more than I could possibly care about having overpaid the Ravens' 4th best receiver.

Either way, his contract expired and that was that.

So, Clausen. I dunno what to say. I don't think we've seen his best, or given him time, or veteran WRs. Playing a young guy is an unintended casualty of most of the same problems Moore had. We need a vet there, regardless of whether we give a rookie QB $50 million to not immediately play.

 

if we get, and keep, the 1st overall, then it almost certainly won't be a dt. last dt was wilkinson way back in 1994. absolutely there are unknown variables there. maybe clausen is the guy. maybe we don't get the top selection. maybe we trade it, or the player picked for something else. but we'd really be bucking the trend otherwise. mixed results at best for those 2 de selections at the top as well.

2010 Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma St. Louis Rams
2009 Matthew Stafford QB Georgia Detroit Lions
2008 Jake Long OT Michigan Miami Dolphins
2007 JaMarcus Russell QB LSU Oakland Raiders
2006 Mario Williams DE N. Carolina State Houston Texans
2005 Alex Smith QB Utah San Francisco 49ers
2004 Eli Manning QB Mississippi San Diego Chargers
2003 Carson Palmer QB Southern Cal. Cincinnati Bengals
2002 David Carr QB Fresno State Houston Texans
2001 Michael Vick QB Virginia Tech Atlanta Falcons
2000 Courtney Brown DE Penn State Cleveland Browns
1999 Tim Couch QB Kentucky Cleveland Browns
1998 Peyton Manning QB Tennessee Indianapolis Colts
1997 Orlando Pace OT Ohio State St. Louis Rams
1996 Keyshawn Johnson WR Southern Cal. New York Jets
1995 Ki-Jana Carter RB Penn State Cincinnati Bengals
1994 Dan Wilkinson DT Ohio State Cincinnati Bengals

 

Wilkinson, Emtman, there are some busts in that top overall.

But, no, with our lack of 2nd I wouldn't expect keeping it.

 

A trade down would suit me fine, especially if we lose out.

 

ya...trade downs always seem to be popular vehicles to get out of the financial burden and risk of that top pick. the unfortunate thing is that it always requires a team hungry/desperate/enthralled/stupid enough to make the deal. perhaps ditka will get back into coaching this next season and trade away everything again. off the top of my head, the pats will have the capital to make such a trade, but, their bread and butter has been fleecing idiot teams of their picks, not the other way around.

 

Marty would probably screw the trade up anyhow.

 

eh. probably. it just seems like it's a situation where it's easy to theorize and wish for it than it actually happening. i mean, say the pats would be somewhat open to a trade, well, for what? brady replacement? maybe a start would be looking at teams that might realistically be in the running for a qb, but would be too far down the board to have a shot at one from the top group.

 

I think Luck is something most would trade up for. For 2-3 spots, a 2 and 5 isn't a terrible price.

There, that's done. But you're right, most trades are either too mundane to count on, or too crazy to have believed they'd happen. Hurney's a Bethard guy, he is likely to trade, and you can't get into the 2nd from the 3rd. You certainly don't have anything much worth giving up (other than a DW franchise-trade, which I doubt) that I'd part with, that would give us a 2nd. I said it last year and have no problem again - any young QB won't magically get better without our backs or Smith.





Or, hell, we could take Luck, trade Clausen for almost nothing, and reboot the whole thing. Start over, be younger again, but with a little more promise. It'd hurt, though.