Everything about this regime feels right. With the departure of Brandon we have no more vestiges of the decade of fail. There is most definitely a method at play here. What I like the most is the lack of complacency. If someone doesn't measure up or buy in, they are gone. With the exception of Dareus, we have been skillful at turning old regime guys into assets. I suspect the handling of Dareus was done more for optics than for value. It wasn't that long ago that we extended players simply because they agreed to stay here - such was our operational MO. It's rather sad to think about how we viewed ourselves.
I am most surprised at the firing of Rick Dennison. Not because I think our offense was good but because he was part of the new regime and is gone after one year. Clearly every aspect of the team has targets for production and there is no sentiment if they aren't met. Still I wonder just what were the expectations for our offense? We certainly didn't open things up or get aggressive. We played not to lose. Did they really think we could win with TT?
It is going to be interesting going forward to see how personnel matters are handled with guys Beane has brought in. Will he dispense as easily with his acquisitions as he did with Doug Whaley's if things don't work out. Will he dump all veterans who are seeking a salary near the top of those at their position? I'm sure they have their answer. I can't think of one player on our roster who is paid near the top of league scale for his position. Maybe players aren't playing as many years as in eras past.
I like that we have hedged our bets at QB with Allen and McCarron. I am comfortable that we didn't overpay for moving up to get Allen. I like that we were aggressive in pursuing a franchise QB but not to the point of mortgaging the future.
The next delicate issue is how are we going to adjust to the fact that Shady is a high mileage RB on the downside of his prime. I'm sure our front office has the answer. Unlike the old regime we won't wait for confirmation that our playbook isn't working before acting and I'm going to enjoy watching it unfold.