04-25-2021, 02:39 PM
(04-25-2021, 01:33 PM)Murdock2420 Wrote: The last two years have shown the team can not function without a good coaching staff. There has been a substandard line for 4 or 5 years now and there has been a lack of a real X for 2 years (2018 AJ was looking good and went down and started the injury train).
We need more then one draft can fix. It isn't like take OL and we are a playoff team or take Chase and we are a playoff team or even take Pitts. I'd rather draft the OL guy, let him develop under Pollack and look like a Pro Bowl player in 2022 while taking the top WR in the 2022 draft.
There will be a Chase in 2022 and there will be a Sewell in 2022. Just like there was another Burrow this season.
It's do or die for Taylor and company this year, imo. I can kind of give them a pass in year one, because frankly Tobin did them no favors. I can kind of give them a pass for last year just due to the insane amount of injuries. But excuses are like assholes. Everybody has one. Setbacks or not, you've gotta deliver at some point. The win over the Titans was impressive and the MNF win over the Steelers was amazing, but a lot of other winnable games slipped through their grasp.
I'm not into counting moral victories, but there's a lot of games last year that we probably win if we had an in his prime AJ instead of the shadow of his former self we got. The 3 point loss to the Chargers in the opener. 5 and 3 point losses to the Browns. The tie with the Eagles. The 4 point loss to the Colts. The two point loss to the Giants. I mean, you look at the '18 season and we're 5-3 and in playoff contention. AJ goes down and we go 1-7 the second half of the season. I think it's overlooked just how much of a difference maker AJ was.
We do have too many holes to fill unless we get extremely lucky, snap up some post draft cuts, and some young guys step up. That said, most playoff teams also have holes. I personally think we have a much better chance of making the playoffs this year if we go with Chase simply because elite WR's can be such huge difference makers and he is more likely to be elite at his position as a rookie than Sewell. If Sewell is the pick, I get it and will support him, too. I think he will be an elite T in a few years. Personally, with Joe on his rookie contract, I would like to be more aggressive in getting back to the playoffs.