I know this is probably too soon but lets face it the fact we got into the playoffs was a minor miracle within itself. So here is my plan for what to do to improve this team for next year.
1. Hire a new strength and conditioning staff with an emphasis on player longevity. We can rip the Doctors all we want but they treat the players after the injury. All of these muscle issue, ankle issues etc. just point to better strength and conditioning.
2. Add to the medical staff. The Jordan Howard, Nelson Agholor, DeSean Jackson injuries all point to bad medical care after the injuries. Either they are not giving enough information to the front office or they are simply not guiding the players well enough. All three players should have been placed on IR, in Jackson case if he gets the surgery earlier in the year he is back and playing 100% healthy at the end of the year.
3. Add to the front office staff under Howie. Howie had a so so year this year adding players. None of his free agents panned out. The draft got us Sanders, got us Dillard (who should have been playing at the end of the year over Peters who is cooked). Other than that not much. He has to draft more than 5 players this year. However we have to credit Howie with getting the Boston Scotts, Greg Wards, even Burnett and Davis late in the year.
4. Move on from some of the older guys who just are not the same players they were. Peters, Curry,Jenkins (he played well yesterday but was non existent most of the year). DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffrey both should go as well as Agholor (who is a FA). I know there are caps hits for both Jackson and Jeffrey but neither player is the type of player I want on this team going forward. Both are selfish. DeSean for not agreeing to the Surgery earlier in the season, Alshon for his ripping of the QB and really bad body language on the field. Do not bring back Mills or Darby. I would also move on from Bradham
5. No more signing of ex cowboy, ex giant and ex redskins players. NONE OF THEM EVER work out here.
6. The coaching staff needs a refresh. I think Groh saved his job down the stretch, but Carson Walch probably still should go. If Jim Schwartz stays and I don't think he should, he should be made to change out his Dline, LB and DB coaches. Nobody is getting better on this defense. Poor technique by the corners, bad angles by the linebackers. Not enough pressure from the D line. Its not like they don't have talent there, they just are not being developed. I would also look at the special teams coaching. The return game has been a mess for a for years. Too many times I see this team fair catching when they shouldn't, letting balls go over their head instead of lining up a little farther back and coming up and catching it.
7. We have 10 draft picks this year. Use all of them. We need to bring in some more hungry young players. We saw how that worked out towards the end of the game. Imagine if we brought in guys with that energy and hunger that actually had some high level talent. (I will do a mock draft later on).
8. I love Zach Ertz, however with Goderts emergence we should consider trading Ertz for a nice haul of picks and or picks and players. Now I am not giving him away, I want at least a 1st round pick and a starting caliber player for him.
9. As far as free agents go its hard to know who is going to be truly available. Names I like
1. Justin Simmons S Den - 26yrs old and can really play. Would be a nice upgrade from the Jenkins we got this year.
2. Logan Ryan CB Ten - 29yrs old so a little older but we need a veteran presence at the CB spot. I like the way Ryan plays and he instantly makes us better in the secondary.
3. A'Shawn Robinson DT Det - 25yrs old Jackson will be back but we need another hammer in there. Jackson, Cox, Robinson and Rush is an excellent DT rotation.
4. Joe Schobert ILB CLe -26yrs old We need help at linebacker, Shobert can flat out play.
5. Blake Martinez ILB GB -27yrs old Another ILB I really like
6. Corey Littleton ILB LAR -26yrs old Yet another ILB
7. Artie Burns CB Pit - 25yrs old never really cracked the lineup for Pitts should be a low cost high reward type player.
8. Eric Murray CB Cle 26yrs old - Another CB who I think comes in and really upgrades us.
I would also resign McCloud, Kruger-Hil and Big V (as a backup)
Finally I would lobby the league for a few rules changes.
1. Anytime the independent neurologist pulls a player from the game for any reason, the play in which player was hit on should be reviewed by the league to determine if the play was illegal or not (Flag on the field aside). If it is an illegal hit, the player should be ejected from the rest of the game. That will take the late hits, officials don't see it crap out of the game. Its pretty simple premise.
2. No more scheduling of 3 games in a row during the season where a team is on the road. That stretch really killed this team this year.
1. Hire a new strength and conditioning staff with an emphasis on player longevity. We can rip the Doctors all we want but they treat the players after the injury. All of these muscle issue, ankle issues etc. just point to better strength and conditioning.
2. Add to the medical staff. The Jordan Howard, Nelson Agholor, DeSean Jackson injuries all point to bad medical care after the injuries. Either they are not giving enough information to the front office or they are simply not guiding the players well enough. All three players should have been placed on IR, in Jackson case if he gets the surgery earlier in the year he is back and playing 100% healthy at the end of the year.
3. Add to the front office staff under Howie. Howie had a so so year this year adding players. None of his free agents panned out. The draft got us Sanders, got us Dillard (who should have been playing at the end of the year over Peters who is cooked). Other than that not much. He has to draft more than 5 players this year. However we have to credit Howie with getting the Boston Scotts, Greg Wards, even Burnett and Davis late in the year.
4. Move on from some of the older guys who just are not the same players they were. Peters, Curry,Jenkins (he played well yesterday but was non existent most of the year). DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffrey both should go as well as Agholor (who is a FA). I know there are caps hits for both Jackson and Jeffrey but neither player is the type of player I want on this team going forward. Both are selfish. DeSean for not agreeing to the Surgery earlier in the season, Alshon for his ripping of the QB and really bad body language on the field. Do not bring back Mills or Darby. I would also move on from Bradham
5. No more signing of ex cowboy, ex giant and ex redskins players. NONE OF THEM EVER work out here.
6. The coaching staff needs a refresh. I think Groh saved his job down the stretch, but Carson Walch probably still should go. If Jim Schwartz stays and I don't think he should, he should be made to change out his Dline, LB and DB coaches. Nobody is getting better on this defense. Poor technique by the corners, bad angles by the linebackers. Not enough pressure from the D line. Its not like they don't have talent there, they just are not being developed. I would also look at the special teams coaching. The return game has been a mess for a for years. Too many times I see this team fair catching when they shouldn't, letting balls go over their head instead of lining up a little farther back and coming up and catching it.
7. We have 10 draft picks this year. Use all of them. We need to bring in some more hungry young players. We saw how that worked out towards the end of the game. Imagine if we brought in guys with that energy and hunger that actually had some high level talent. (I will do a mock draft later on).
8. I love Zach Ertz, however with Goderts emergence we should consider trading Ertz for a nice haul of picks and or picks and players. Now I am not giving him away, I want at least a 1st round pick and a starting caliber player for him.
9. As far as free agents go its hard to know who is going to be truly available. Names I like
1. Justin Simmons S Den - 26yrs old and can really play. Would be a nice upgrade from the Jenkins we got this year.
2. Logan Ryan CB Ten - 29yrs old so a little older but we need a veteran presence at the CB spot. I like the way Ryan plays and he instantly makes us better in the secondary.
3. A'Shawn Robinson DT Det - 25yrs old Jackson will be back but we need another hammer in there. Jackson, Cox, Robinson and Rush is an excellent DT rotation.
4. Joe Schobert ILB CLe -26yrs old We need help at linebacker, Shobert can flat out play.
5. Blake Martinez ILB GB -27yrs old Another ILB I really like
6. Corey Littleton ILB LAR -26yrs old Yet another ILB
7. Artie Burns CB Pit - 25yrs old never really cracked the lineup for Pitts should be a low cost high reward type player.
8. Eric Murray CB Cle 26yrs old - Another CB who I think comes in and really upgrades us.
I would also resign McCloud, Kruger-Hil and Big V (as a backup)
Finally I would lobby the league for a few rules changes.
1. Anytime the independent neurologist pulls a player from the game for any reason, the play in which player was hit on should be reviewed by the league to determine if the play was illegal or not (Flag on the field aside). If it is an illegal hit, the player should be ejected from the rest of the game. That will take the late hits, officials don't see it crap out of the game. Its pretty simple premise.
2. No more scheduling of 3 games in a row during the season where a team is on the road. That stretch really killed this team this year.
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