DrugBust wrote:Thompson has whiffed on supplying the defense with a high talent base
Not sure what you want in a GM. You've pointed out the problems, now give me solutions. What would you have done? Who did you want to draft?
First of all before i go any further, one peeve of mine is when some like to say or imply that before critisizing any GM in pro sports, a solution should have first been supplied. Any pro GM is supposed to be vastly smarter about the game than average fans and they have both vastly more time and information at their disposal than fans do. I don't get coaches tape, have multiple scouts had my disposal, or have 10-12 hours a day to sit in a room watching tons of film of any player that i please. That's why i have absolutely no problem with say criticizing a GM for drafting a player i also liked, but that then turns out to be a bust. He's supposed to know a hell of a lot more than i do and has access to tons more info/video than i do. I don't get to watch every snap of a draft choice i like or say watch every snap of guys soon to be a free agent, Ted Thompson does so in the end, he's fully responsible when the units he's put together perform like crap and deserves credit when the offense he put together performs well.
Keep Williams and give him a massive contract?
I've stated my position on Williams many times. Thompson blew it by not locking up Williams during the same offseason he signed Jenkins to a very reasonable contract. I can't prove this and maybe am wrong, but my guess is the Harrell draft choice played a sizable role in not really trying to lock up Williams when the time was there to get him much cheaper. By the time arrived that there must have been the first concerns Harrell wasn't as good as they hoped, Williams was having another good year and thus his price tag doubled. One mistake, drafting Harrell, compounded itself into another by losing the chance to get Williams and his badly needed pass rush ability locked up at a reasonable price.
Whiffed
Yep. The defense sucked this year and it wasn't just coaching and injury related, the front seven wasn't very talented and the depth behind our starting safeties got exposed badly, to the point the teamed moved their All-Pro corner to safety in hopes to get someone back there that they could trust.
Whiffed, like getting a DPOY type corner in Charles Woodson and an All-Pro at safety in Collins? Bringing in an good DT in Pickett? Kampman, Barnett, KGB and Harris obviously weren't going anywhere when Thompson came in. Cullen Jenkins was there to replace KGB as his production and effectiveness dropped. That's seven of the eleven positions. Going into this season, don't you think you could say that Bigby and Jolly were legit starters to rely on? Jolly was fantastic last season and Bigby won an award for defensive player of the month in December. He was the best defensive player on the field in our playoff game against the Seahawks. Is there any reason to think those two needed to be replaced, given their age and experience?
Obviously Woodson, Pickett, and Collins were good additions to the defense by Ted. Jolly i wasn't anywhere near sold that he was ready to be the starting DT. Prior to the year starting, i said numerous times that DT was easily my biggest worry on the defense. I saw a group of mainly just run pluggers and nobody with pass rushing ability, which could lead to big trouble given we had a coordinator who hates to blitz. Not only would it hurt by not getting interior rush/push from that area, it would allow offenses to slide protection to our ends given they had zero to fear when passing that our DT's would get any pressure. That's exactly what ended up happening. The lack of any quality depth at DE is also on Ted, he hadn't drafted a single pass rusher since becoming GM. Even say a younger mid-round guy they hoped could develop. You can't just assume perfect health at any position when it's the NFL, to violent of a sport. As for Bigby, i was cautiously optimistic about his future. No question he had a great second half to last year, but that was it on his resume. We'll find out next year just how much we should be able to count on him as a fixture of the defense going forward, but like Jenkins, the defense was hurt by crap being behind Bigby. Instead of our second year 3rd round pick in Rouse stepping up to be at least solid, he was so unreliable, the coaches dreaded playing him unless there was no other option.
That comes to nine of the eleven starting positions. Lastly you have Hawk and Poppinga. Hawk hadn't been Brian Urlacher or Derrick Brooks, but he's been far from a liability. Poppinga is mostly just a guy but he plays the most insignificant position on the field, too. When the defensive line has been healthy those two, like any linebacker in the NFL, have looked significantly better
Hawk was the fifth pick in the draft and so far in his career, has played more like a 4th round pick. He had a miserable one tackle for a loss this year and is below average in coverage. I've heard many try to use the excuse, well Veron Davis hasn't been good either, as if that matters at all. Ted is paid to evaluate the talent of players and whiffed badly on how good Hawk would be. If TT had evaluated Hawk properly, he'd have passed on Hawk and either taken someone else or traded down, we certainly know that trading down isn't something he fears doing. Costly mistake, whiffing on top five picks hurt a lot. Poppinga is what he is, just a guy. If we had more playmakers on the front seven, having a spare part like Poppinga starting would be no big deal. I'd rather see Chillar in there because even though you seem to feel linebackers shouldn't ever have to cover backs or tight ends, i've yet to see a NFL defense where they don't. When offenses passed on early downs/potential running downs and both AJ/Poppinga were in there, that's an area i'd certainly target if running an offense. Getting so little from the 5th and 16th overall picks, Hawk/Harrell, is a sizable reason our front seven lacks playmakers. One or two playmakers can really help in transforming any unit.
I'm not saying the defense is completely bereft of talent and there should be hope a new coordinator that is more skilled and creative helps some. The age of Woodson/Harris is a concern, but they don't seem to be in any obvious decline. If Bigby can stay healthy and show there was no fluke to his late play in 2007 and also a safety who is at least reasonably reliable can be added as depth, the secondary should be good next year. Hopefully Lee makes a jump to where he deserves play in the nickle/dime. It goes without saying Jenkins/Kampman need to to be healthy. Even if they are, someone with at least reasonably decent pass rush ability has to be added as depth. If we stay a 4-3, DT badly needs to be addressed, it's the weakest unit on the roster and vital to the success/failure of any 4-3 defense. Lastly, we badly need some playmaking at LB. Hopefully Barnett can bring some of that, but we can't have the other two spots invisible except for when chasing some back or TE that scorched them in coverage. We've seen often in the NFL that a few bright moves and say improvement from a young player or two can turn around quickly a unit that struggled the year prior. My sincere hope is that TT and the new coordinator is up to the task.
