Fan Relations Summed Up in 20 Seconds

[THE PISTONS]

(09-18-2019, 08:34 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: I don't hate the front office at all.  People ***** and moan about draft picks (which they have largely been very good at) and FA (or lack thereof), but have no plan themselves for how they would do it.

In a salary cap era, there have to be decisions made.  I was crucified for saying to get all you could for AJ Green (and it would have to be a lot for me to pull the trigger) to free up money to use on FA LBs.

I have been very vocal about needing offensive line help through the draft.  WIlliams and Price were consensus first rounders.  Cordy Glenn was a solid veteran LT that the Bengals were able to acquire, along with Price, essentially for one pick (trade).  John Miller was at the very least a solid Guard, and say what you will about Hart, but he is a young guy with some upside.  They didn't sit pat with Westerman to replace Boling when that became an issue, they brought in Jordan via the draft and Jerry via FA to compete for that spot.  Andre Smith was brought in basically for depth at the OT position.

So, now that they are down two tackles, a guard, and a center (Price is still injured, but playing through it), everyone blames the front office for no rushing attack.  Ced and Fish were the two biggest whiffs in recent history and instead of having a couple young studs that are in the prime of their career, those two are gone.  Huge whiffs.  And it has cost them dearly.  However, it wasn't like they didn't try to address the position.

You could argue that they haven't done enough at LB, which is 100% accurate, but look at the investment on the back end:  3 first round picks at CB, as 2nd rounder at FS, and a 3rd rounder at SS.  It seems like the jeckyl and hyde defensive line is as responsible as any unit on the defense for their struggles in week 2.  Pressure covers the deficiency at LB and plays to the strengths of being able to play man on the back end.

Right now, I see a complete lack of execution on the defensive side.  

Looking forward, I would hope the franchise would not draft a single position group outside of offensive line, defensive line, and LB. (in no particular order).  The so-called skill positions won't do shit without improvements there.

Nice post. And hidden in that all is the: Do we just draft bad players that teams can't develop (or) Are our coaches not developing them.

Like Price - As you mentioned, he was good in college. Did he just forget how to play here? Is it the wrong scheme? His pass blocking grade by PFF last game, was something like 7.1. That's not a typo. I've never saw one that low.