Bear

So Vick sucks because he doesn't have pocket presence, and Manning sucks because he didn't win the playoff game last week. So...everyone sucks. I'll try to follow along better next time.

You mean like Manning? Where's he at by the way?

Unfortunatly we can be used as the perfect example of that. Look at the RJ and Drew trades. Another thing I keep hearing that bugs me is that backs like Alexander, Edge and Johnson could be let go, therefore flooding the market. The thing they don't seem to realize is that if they are let go, Seattle, Cinci and Indy are then in the hunt for a RB. With all the RB's that are being let go, it is for salary purposes. Henry can be had for peanuts! I would not be surprised at all if someone gave up a second for Henry, and I EXPECT a third.

And since he wrote it....it must be ture. So, it' a 5th now is it?

Now he just has to take the meat out of your mouth....

Why? Was Pitt going to start their 4th stringers this time?

Damn right. Kickers is the most undervalued position in football. I can't understand how people don't think the best kicking prospect to come out of college in as long as I can remember is not worth a second round pick.

I gotta say, there has been some really bad play calling by the Jets in this game. That last drive in the 4th was just stupid, and these calls so far in overtime have been off as well. They have no one to blame if they lose this game but themselves.

I wonder which category that one fell into? Harassing, annoying or 'bad guy'-identifying?

As much as I would hate to see the Jets win a SuperBowl, I really hate the steelers. The only game I would be rooting for Pitt to win would be against NE. Not to mention I don't think there is a chance in hell the Jets could win a SB even if they do win this one.

I thought it was Alaska Darin. AD for "short".

So just because someone has done some time in the military at one point or another in their life means they are right about everything? Christ...people go a little far with the love fest sometimes.

They still fly them, and they are still the biggest cargo plane (by far) in the US fleet. The Russians have bigger ones, but they are designed like sh--. Of course, now that the C5 is getting older, it spends most of it's time in maintnance. Just too damn big to keep running well.

That's kind of the point isn't it? 5 years ago Favre didn't need a RB to prop him up. If you don't think he has seriously lost a lot of his talent, you haven't watched enough GB games. I kept hearing people yesterday saying that he is the king of the comeback drive. The last few years, Favre's version of a comeback drive is throwing the ball 40 yards downfield, straight up in the air, and hoping his recievers can come up with it. Then, when they do make a great effort and grab the ball, it's the amazing Brett Favre that is responsible. Favre is one of the best to ever play, but he's only slightly over mediocre right now.

For starters, look at the examples he gave. He's not talking about run first, throw second quarterbacks, he's talking QB's that move around very well in the pocket and can run out of the pocket and make good throws when needed. Hasselback, Pennington, Brees, Bulger, Brady, Culpepper, and McNabb all do this. Plus you have a run first, throw second QB in Vick. All of these guys are in the playoffs. Unless GB and Indy end up in the Super Bowl, one of these guys will be playing there too. And Drew sure as hell aint no Favre or Manning.

I agree with you on the O-line. With a low 20 pick in the second round we will not find an Olineman that can come in and make this line better from the start. There are usually Guards floating around FA every year that can make an impact. The only problem is, the same is not normally true with tackles. Every year there are a list of good tackles that will be FA's, and every year they are taken off the board before free agency starts by signing with their own teams. The safest bet is to re-sign Jennings, and hopefully his asking price isn't TOO high. As far as trading up for a tight end, I disagree. I haven't heard of any TE's coming out this year that are projected to have a big impact. Cambell was starting to play very well before he got hurt. He was making the catches that earlier in the season he was dropping, and he was becoming a weapon in the red zone. Maybe someone who pays more attention to college can throw out a name or two, but I don't think there are any TE's this year that will be an upgrade over what we already have. If we are somehow able to trade up into the 1st round, that pick should be used on the O-line or maybe even CB. I think TE would be a wasted pick.

I'm the same way. I think it's the best show on network TV, and I avoid the hell out if it all season waiting for DVD's to come out. Doesn't make a lot of sense...but oh well.

So, here's my take on the offense. The offense needs changes. We have a good core group players, but upgrades need to come, and they most likely won't be cheap. Unfortunalty, I don't know how much cap room we will have available this year, so it makes it kind of hard to decide which type of players to bring in at which position, but I'll do my best to sort it out. For arguements sake, I will assume that Moulds restructures his deal a bit to open a couple of million dollars up for this year. This should at least allow us one extra player. As with my last post, I am going off the assumption that we can't bring in superstars at every position. (example: no way can we sign Burress or Porter to be our third WR..just isn't going to happen) OFFENSE WR Moulds: Okay, anyone who says we need to let Moulds go and move Evans up to the number one spot is just as blind as the Atlanta GM who signed Price to be their number one guy! Why don't people understand that Moulds makes other WR's look better? Is it that hard to believe? Now on to him as a player. Moulds ended with another 1000 yard season, and that is with Bledsoe having some very bad games and spending the first 5 or 6 games of the season locking onto him as soon as the ball was snapped. He CERTAINLY had is share of bad play (dropped balls), but he also made some big catches and overall had a very solid year. The offense as a whole sputtered, and Moulds was did a good job with what he was given. Even without a restructure, Moulds NEEDS to stay. With a restructure, he is one of my favorite players on the offense! Don't agree? Don't care. Evans: WOW! This kid can really play the position. The way he runs and catches the ball are all outstanding! But, as stated above, I do NOT think he is ready to be thrown into the number one postion. He doesn't have enough experience or help around him to be good at in that spot. If the rest of the team does their part, Moulds and Evans have the potential to be the best duo in the league. At very least, they will very hard to stop and open up the run game. Reed: Well, it's now time for me to change my opinion of Reed. I stuck up for him all off-season and all year, but he just isn't getting the job done. Hell, even if he caught the ball and fell down every time I would be able to stick up for him a little, but he just drops too many damn balls. A WR's job is to catch the ball, and he just isn't doing it with any amount of consistency. Sorry Josh, I thought you were going to be one of the better slot guys in the league, but you are just not performing. Aiken: I think the 4 spot is the perfect place for Aiken. He can come in and play very well against a dime defense, and hold his own in the 3 spot against a nickel package. I would like to upgrade the 3 spot and leave Aiken at 4, but they can't find an upgrade out there I think Aiken is the better choice to be upgraded. Grade: B+ Like I said above, Mouds and Evans as the 1 and 2 are an A. With a guy who can come in and CATCH THE BALL for our 3 man, this group is an A. Off-season moves: Upgrade the slot WR. I don't know what's going to happen with T.J. Houshmanwhatzit from Cinci, but my guess is he will be asking a bit to much for us, and will desire a starting role. If not, he would be great. Corey Bradford, Tai Streets, Bill Shroeder, and James Thrash are a few more guys who have underachieved in their starting roles, but should be pretty good in slot roles. RB WM: This one is easy! WM is flat out looking GREAT! That stiff arm is simply a thing of beauty! Just give this guy the ball. Shaud: I think Shaud is a perfectly suitable backup. He may be better off as the 3rd RB, but if not, he can play 2nd without too much of a problem. He really impressed me the few times we saw him this year. Henry: Henry needs to be traded. I disagree with people who say if we don't get good value, keep him. He is disgruntled, and even if WM were to get hurt, he just wouldn't play hard. His heart isn't in it. I'm not making judgements right now, it's just the truth. I think we ca get a 3rd, but I don't care if it's a 4th or 5th. Lets get something for him and move on. Grade: A+ WM is just damn good. I can't wait to watch him next year! Off-season moves: I would like to bring in another solid backup. If WM were to get hurt for an extended period, I don't think Shauds frame can hold up. In this case, we need to have another guy that we can rotate in. I'm not looking for a stud, just a solid runner who can share the time. Fullback Pretty simple. Shelton had a great year. Needs to stick around. Grade: A Off-season Moves: None TE There were a lot of posts popping up about needing a game breaking TE. As good as that sounds, I don't think it's neccessary. Before Cambell got hurt his game was really coming on. He was becoming a consistent target and a good weapon in the endzone. I think between him and Euhas, we have a pretty decent tight end duo. Grade: C+ Because of a very slow start and all the injuries, this grade is low. If I could isolate those two or 3 games before Cambell got hurt, I would grade them a B+. Off-season moves: Bubba Franks is a FA. If there is a possiblitly of bringing him in without killing our cap, I say do it. If not, stick with what we got. O-line This one is tough because they started to get better at the end of the season. RT: Mike Williams was starting to become a force, and with some more training will get better. Keep him at RT and we are set there. RG: Chris V is a solid RT. This spot is good C: I would really like to keep Teauge at center. Before the season started I hated this guy and wanted him gone, but he really changed his game and became a strength. With him at Center, this spot is good. LG: Unfortunalty I don't know much about this spot. I know L. Smith wasn't the answer, and Tucker upgraded the position when he came in. If there is one spot on the line that needs to be upgraded over last year, this is it. LT: I would like to have Jenning back. Besides the fact that he knows the system and keeping as many players has possible is alway a plus, he improved his play has the season went on, and became a strength instead of a weakness. IMO, he is probably gone. Either way, this positon needs to be filled. OLine Grade: B- This could be a C+, but I think they really started playing better at the end, so I'm going with a B-. If the left sign of the line gets better, this unit can jump to a B+/A next season. Off season Moves: The bulk of our money needs to be used on the line. Either re-sign Jennings or try and lure another top LT in here. Find a good replacement for Tucker. a pretty good LG can probably be had in the second round...no? QB Saved this one for last for obvious reasons. Here is my take...Bledsoe will NOT win us a Super Bowl...plain and simple. That's IS the goal, right? Whatever you think about Drew...his fault/not his fault, blame the line, the WR, the coaches, the defense...whatever. I don't care about the arguements because it all comes back to the same thing...he won't win us a Super Bowl. Ever. Grade: C- If it weren't for the defense and ST giving the O GREAT field position, this grade would in the D's somewhere. Off-season moves: So, What to do? Well, we have two choices. As far as FA goes, Kitna is the only one worth a look. Can he go back to last years form? I say probably not, but if he did, he could take us deep into the playoffs. My guess is, he plays mediocre and can't get it done. Second choice: JP. Duh. Why did we draft this guy anyway? To let him sit for two or three year? I don't think so. Everyone seems to be making opinions on him based on mop up duty. Totally wrong. I'm not going to make a bunch of arguments, but it seems pretty simple. We brought this kid in to play. He has a year of coaching and film watching...now he needs game time. Lets put this kid on the field and see what he can do. Overall Grade of Offense: C As I said in the beginning I think the offense has a good core of players, but the upgrades need to happen. Overall off-season moves: Trade Travins Henry Restructure Moulds Fill Left tackle with either Jennings or a FA Upgrade LG Upgrade Slot WR Find another Backup RB Make a push for Bubba Franks only if it doesn't hurt above actions.

Oops, you're right. My bad.

I gave myself a few days before looking back on this season and deciding what I think. Here are the end of season grades how I see them. Also, what I feel needs to be done in the off-season at each position. I'll do Coaching and Defense in this post, and Defense and Special teams in another. *Note that unlike many posters around here, I do understand the fact that you CAN'T have superstars at every position! My off-season plan may be a bit more realistic if not exciting. COACHING I feel from top to bottom we have a great coaching staff. Yes, mistakes were made, but overall these guys really impressed me. Grey: Our defense once again finished second in the league, and this time they did it with 39 turnovers instead of 18. Pretty amazing when you see that we went from last in the league to first in one season! Bobby April: The difference in special teams is obvious. April has done some amazing things with that unit, and it should only get better with more time under his belt next season. Clements: The offense looked poor at times, but the play calling for the most part seemed okay. The fact that you have a QB that skips passes off the ground, WR's that drop the well thrown balls, and a RB (for the first 4 games) that just couldn't take the ball and run with it doesn't do a lot for your game plan. Execution was the key weakness in our offense, and while coaching can be partly responsible for this, I think the players are a bit more to blame. Wyche: Basically this all comes down to one thing...the line got better every game! It really think Wyche is doing his thing, and with another off-season can have these guys ready to play. MM: I think he did a really good job for his first year. He got better at controlling the game as the season wore on, and he seemed to actually learn from his mistakes!!! How refreshing is that! I bet we see a great coach next season. Grade: B+ My normal grade would be a "B", but one I raise it to a plus for one thing....2nd half gameplan changes. These guys seemed to be able to tear apart opposing teams gameplans and really come out big time in the second half. I love that! DEFENSE SAFETY With the addition of Vincent at safety I think we will have one of the best safety duos in the league. Vincent played well after moving to safety, but I think next year his play will improve drastically. With an off-season and training camp/Pre-season to prepare, he will be 100% ready to step into that spot. Milloy is Milloy. He's a great safety and a difference maker on the field. He is going to be a top notch safety for a few more years! Safety Grade: A Off-season moves: NoneI think we have enough depth at this position. These guys are not game changers, but they know the position and the scheme. As with every position, we hope that our starters don't get hurt, but if they do it shouldn't shatter the defense while they heal. CB Nate Clements is turning out to be a damn good CB. He makes some mistakes, and at the CB position one mistake could cost you a game, but he is getting better and the mistakes are getting few and far between. With a bit more focus, he is a top 10 CB. McGee is bit tougher. IMO, he spent much of the season as a below average #2 CB, and finsihed at about average. QB's took advantage of him at times, and he is often out of position. One thing I noticed was that when Vincent came back, his play stepped up. I hope that with time he can become a "good" number 2 corner. I don't expect greatness out of him, but I think he can be solid. Thomas is a very good Dime corner, and a servicable Nickel. Grade: B- I would give Nate an A andMcGee a C+ The lack of a good Nickel corner drops the grade a bit. Off-season moves: I would like to see another "McGee type CB" brought in. Obviously it would be great to bring in a great 2nd CB, but considering the way this defense played all year we can't afford to be spending a bunch of money to fix what aint broke! I just want someone to come in and push McGee for his job, and let the loser take the Nickel spot. LB We have two of the best LB's in the league with Spikes and Fletcher, and an okay LB in Posey. Yes, there is a lot of talk about Posey getting beat, but there is never any talk about his good plays. I spent a lot of time in the chat room during the games, and it I used to laugh to myself at that fact. Posey would be make some nice plays, not a word. He would miss a tackle, and he sucked. No, he's not a GREAT LB, but he is IMO, good enough. Grade: A Off-season moves: None/depth I hear a lot of people saying we NEED depth because if one of our LB's goes down we have NOTHING behind them. My question: How do you know? These guys don't get hurt much. We have backups on the team, and I'm sure they are just fine as backups go. Whats the point of bringing in more backups with about the same talent level as our current ones, just because we haven't seen the current ones play yet? D-Line Tackles SIGN PAT! With Sam Adams and Pat williams we have the best DT combo in the league. Yes, better than an old Ted Washington and over rated Sapp. We need to sign Pat again. Grade: A Off-season moves: ummm...SIGN PAT! We drafted Anderson last year for depth, and Edwards is doing just fine. I think Anderson starts playing more next season, and we can count on him to relieve the starters when needed. SIGN PAT! DE This is a bit harder. Personally, I like what we got. Schoebel had a decent season, and Kelsay looked better as time went on. Everyone said we needed a pass rushing DE, then the combination of Aaron, Kelsay, and Adams took care of that. Now I see posts saying we need a run stopping Defensive end! We had the 7th ranked rushing defense in the league. HELLO...we can't have stars everywhere! Grade: B- Off-season moves: None/Depth ]Defensive Line Grade: B+ DEFENSIVE GRADE: A Hey, second ranked D in the league...can't ask for much more. Comments: If there was a problem with the defense it was that they seemed to come up short when it was all on the line. They let New England run all over them, and obvioulsy screwed the pooch against backups in Pitt. This really doesn't worry me so much. Most of the changes that need to happen are on offense, and with a better offense we won't expect our defense to be so damn perfect. I have total faith in this defense, and they will be fighting for the number one spot again next year! OFFENSE Coming soon

Terrell Owens Randy Moss Marvin Harrison Steve Smith Chad Johnson Moulds would be in my top 10

Out before half to give backup reps with the starters. Other starters to start coming off the field after half.

I can't believe I'm saying it, but I agree. If Jennings can be brought back for a decent price, I think he should be. Chances our they couldn't get a replacement for the same talent to cost. Bubba Franks would be huge. BTW, Charles Woodson is an UFA. I know he is too expensive, but could you imagine our defense with him! My god, we would be the scariest defense in years!

Martz has totally lost it. I seriously think the guy has gone insane. That team is a mess. If they can beat the Jets, it will be by sheer will of the players. Martz needs some time in a nice white room.

Philly opened their game against Dallas a couple of years ago with an onside kick (first game of the season), and it worked. They went on to KILL Dallas in that game.