Who do you want under center in 2011?

[Ax]

Pats Ax on the head, its ok Little buddy.

Well, since we're talking about my optimists side, you get to keep that arm, Skipper.

 

[Neophyte]

The optimist in me would like to think that, the coaching staff didn't want to rush the kid into playing until he was better prepared to have the best chance to succeed. Giving him a full season to really soak up the techniques they're trying to teach him, and with this offseason to get stronger, and even more comfortable with the system, he might well take over as a solid backup next season, if not a starter.

Same goes for Riley and Henson at LB.

Hope, the other white meat.

Henson spent the season on IR after a knee injury in the last preseason game. He had looked pretty good in the preseason actually and I was expecting him to get some playing time in real games.

 

[servumtuum]

The optimist in me would like to think that, the coaching staff didn't want to rush the kid into playing until he was better prepared to have the best chance to succeed. Giving him a full season to really soak up the techniques they're trying to teach him, and with this offseason to get stronger, and even more comfortable with the system, he might well take over as a solid backup next season, if not a starter.

Same goes for Riley and Henson at LB.

Hope, the other white meat.

Speaking of hope...I do hope Riley has worked on not blocking people in the back on kick/punt returns. :kick_can:

 

[Ax]

Henson spent the season on IR after a knee injury in the last preseason game. He had looked pretty good in the preseason actually and I was expecting him to get some playing time in real games.

Yeah, I know. That's the reason I'm optimistic about him. Since the knee injury happened so early, he should be back to to full speed soon, if not already.

Speaking of hope...I do hope Riley has worked on not blocking people in the back on kick/punt returns. :kick_can:

For sure. Since he's the only player in the history of the NFL to make such a mistake.

 

[Hog Fever]

I'm trying hard not to laugh at this seriously "burgundy and gold" tinted view of this year's draft. It has more issues than an airport magazine rack, starting with the fact that no trades can happen until after the start of the NFL's fiscal year and that won't happen until a new labor deal is done. I don't see that happening in time for the draft so in all likely hood, the picks we have today are the picks we will have on draft weekend.

Yeah, the facts never quite fall in line with reality on things like this but the IDEA is solid. The Patriots do it just about every year. If you're old or want too much money they trade you for draft picks or cut you outright. I hate the Pats as much as a typical Jet fan does but as an organization they do a lot of things right. The Steelers are in that same mold and I hate them more than the Pats. Gotta give credit where it's due though.

Year after year those teams are in the mix for the playoffs. In today's NFL that's about all you can ask for. The Pats went 11-5 but missed the playoff the year Brady was hurt (I'd kill for an 11-5 "off" season). The Steelers went 3-1 without Ben and 9-3 with him this season. I know that sample size is not as big but there seems to be a trend here. I don't want to take anything away from those guys but what that tells me is that both organizations are good without the guys considered to be irreplaceable superstars. That's no accident.

What's worse is what these teams do is not a secret. Every member of this board can understand it. We simply lack the strength of will as an organization to do what it takes to become elite. Our goal should be to get as many picks in the top 4 rounds as possible, this year and every year (especially the 2nd and 3rd rounds where a bulk of your starters will come from). Treat players well but keep a professional distance and don't overpay or get roped into bad contracts if at all possible. Oh, and never give up draft pick frivolously. I'm starting to get a headache here.

Don't get me wrong, neither of these clubs is perfect and there are other teams who are good, but few teams stay that way year in and year out. They rise up and fade away. The only exception I can think of off the top of my head is the Colts and I think most would agree that has mostly to do with the man behind center. We can't count on finding a guy like that.

 

[Elephant]

He was too weak, he really needs to imporve his upper body strength, he has great size decent feet but apparently is extremely weak in the upper body, this would not work well inside I think

Link? I am not saying you are wrong, I just have never heard that so I would like to know what source you have out in the wilderness that I don't have access to here in the DC area.

 

[Rymanofthenorth]

Link? I am not saying you are wrong, I just have never heard that so I would like to know what source you have out in the wilderness that I don't have access to here in the DC area.

No worries, I read some stuff in his combine and draft reports that he looked extremely physically weak in the upper body at the senior bowl parctices, to the point where it negated his solid feet and good size. He was able to hide it for the most part in college but in the pors lots of guys have good technique AND strength. There was also an article where our Oline coach said they thought if he could build up upper body strength he could become a solid player.

I will google when I get home.

He did fall from an early round pick (projected) to almost not being drafted, for a guy who was thought of as one of the better OT's there must have been something that raised flags. and lets be honest, with what we had at right tackle last season, he still didnt crack the playing roster.

 

[Rymanofthenorth]

Well, since we're talking about my optimists side, you get to keep that arm, Skipper.

LOL nice catch on gilligan.

 

[Bulldog]

Forget about Perry Riley.

He was a rookie.

How about focusing on the special teams penalties of 36 year old Mike Sellers who cost Banks a couple of returns this season?

Rookies take some time to learn how to play ST in the NFL as few did in college as stars of their college programs.

But veterans should know better.

And that's the odd thing about this team. In 2010 everytime you looked up a veteran player seemed to be doing something stupid.

Either whiffing completely on a block or failing to pick up a stunt or fumbling the ball or a costly penalty.

We had it all in 2010.

Which makes me far less satisfied to go into the offseason penciling many guys in as definite starters for 2011.