Draft, FAs, etc

I definitely agree, 8 sacks down the stretch, countless tipped passes, and it's no coincidence his sacks came once Griffin and Salave'a were healthy and back in the lineup.

Still, while I don't think DE is a glaring need, it would be nice to get someone young in here to develop. Daniels and Wynn aren't exactly spring chickens. I did like what I saw from Evans at times, perhaps he could get worked into the mix more next year.
so he got 8 sacks down the stretch against some very so so lineman... who else that is a starter and their # in the 90's showed pressure? wynn needs to leave, i love the guy, but not even 2 sacks in an entire season is horrid, and his cap isnt worth what we are getting. joe and phillip are doing great with the hands up and joe was never brought here for qb preasures, but wynn and daniels with griffin were supposed to do it. DE is just a glaring need, wynn didnt do all that great with the run giving some big yards this season and if he cant get sacks either, its time to go IMO

yeah,

oline, wr is a priority
de is second priority

look, after thomas was injured our offense (esp running game) suffered
it is very clear

Yes, big time. We had no way to replace Thomas's athleticism. That was a huge asset that doesn't get nearly enough attention. All of those Portis sweeps to the outside of the tackles just went "poof", gone from the playbook when Thomas went down. He's athletic and big enough to get out on the edge, pulling into space. We couldn't replace that, and those were our bread and butter running plays while we were winning the 5 games to close the season.

Ray Brown was a fine stopgap in pass protection. And he could run block in the interior a little bit. But he couldn't get out into space. Dockery couldn't do it going the other way, either. We missed Randy desperately. What's worse, we don't have Ray Brown next year, even as a stopgap to provide pass protection and mediocre run-blocking. We have Molinaro, who is totally unknown. OL depth is a major priority.

Depth on the offensive and defensive lines. I felt our defensive front played much better down the stretch, but we do need to have a good dominating front line on both offensive and defensive lines.

We also need another deep threat Wide Out. Maybe Patten will bounce back and be that guy, but I believe we need to look for another receiver to help Moss.

The Draft. I might be the only one that thinks this way, but here goes. I devote the entire draft to the offensive and defensive lines. Our o-line backups, i.e. Cory Raymer, are horrible. We really really need to upgrade our backups on the o-line and get some depth. We also need to upgrade the D-line as well. When Griffin was out, our defense really suffered. We need someone who can play in the middle of that line and stuff the run. Id be happy if we used all of our picks on lineman.

Free Agency: No. 2 receiver. I know alot of you will say Patten still has football in him, maybe he does. Maybe Patten would get open, and Brunell just couldn't get him the ball. Often when I watch the game again on TiVo, I will see the receivers being open way way before Brunnell gets them the ball, so maybe Patten was getting open and Brunnell just doesn't have the arm to get the ball there fast enough. Irregardless, FRAYGEELAY (aka Jacobs) is gone and we need to upgrade the WR corp (AGAIN). I think we have 2 glaring needs in free agency: Upgrade WRs, and sign a pass rushing DE.

Thoughts?

HELL YEAH! Could not have said it better myself (actually I could have, "irregardless" isn't a word) :)

I think you are 100% right on with the draft. I am a firm believer in Madden's old saying that "it all starts with the line." Fans seem SO inclined to go after the next WR with a shitty attitude or the next superstar player. Maybe it's watching too many Sportscenter highlights or playing too much fantasy football where the line doesn't matter, but all those highlights and all those amazing stats, catches, runs and players only happen be cause the line got it done first. On a VERY few occasions will a player do something incredible when the line breaks down, but that is the major exception, NOT the rule. Clinton Portis is nothing if he's got no hole to hit. Mark Brunell or even Peyton Manning are just big targets if they've got no protection. I say we spend almost every pick we have on the offensive line and maybe some on the defensive line. I'm a little more concerned about the offense than the defense so I lean more toward the O-line than the D-line, but it wouldn't hurt to have a pass-rush specialist.

Again I think you're right on with the Patten thing. I think we should ALL temper our enthusiasm over the #2 wideout problem. I would agree that we absolutely need at LEAST one other good WR, especially since we have no depth whatsoever at this position. However, as I said in a previous post, a star #2 WR is NOT the solution.

Santana Moss managed to become the #2 WR in the NFL this year even without the compliment of a true #2 threat. He had 80 less yards than Steve Smith. If people really think that the root of al our problems is the lack of a #2 threat to open up more for Moss, than they must also think that a team has to have a reciever with close to 2000 yards in order to be a real contender.

Let's definitely get some depth at WR and get some good posession guys, but let's not trade every pick, decent player and spend every last dime to reel in a T.O., Randy Moss or some other distaster waiting to happen.

I don't think there's any doubt about it -- we desperately need to address defensive end. Renaldo Wynn simply isn't a pass rusher. While Philip Daniels finally found his light switch, saying that all is well at that position would be a huge mistake.

It's all going to depend on who the best player is when our pick comes up in the 2nd round. DE, reserve O-linemen, WR and nickel CB are the priorities in my mind.

Well, that is a lot of priorities you list there.

I agree, I think there are upgrades to be made over Reynaldo Wynn. But I think he's better than he gets credit for. Not much in the way of pass rushing, but he's huge at stopping the run. Plus the leadership and locker room presence should not be ignored.

It's just that we might not be able to address all 4 of the priorities you listed with quality players. I think we all agree that a WR is desperately needed. The ability to grab a big-time starting DE who can rush the passer will depend largely on our salary cap space. Remember, DEs like that are expensive.

Wynn's arm fracture could help decide his fate, who knows. But if we're faced with salary cap constraints, my priorities go in this order:

1) WR
2) O-Line depth
3) Nickel CB
4) DE

so he got 8 sacks down the stretch against some very so so lineman... who else that is a starter and their # in the 90's showed pressure? wynn needs to leave, i love the guy, but not even 2 sacks in an entire season is horrid, and his cap isnt worth what we are getting. joe and phillip are doing great with the hands up and joe was never brought here for qb preasures, but wynn and daniels with griffin were supposed to do it. DE is just a glaring need, wynn didnt do all that great with the run giving some big yards this season and if he cant get sacks either, its time to go IMO

I'm all for signing a good DE if we can find one, but I think it's a 2nd or 3rd priority behind the O-line and depth at WR.

I think we have the fewest problems on defense. IF we needed to improve anything on D it would definitely be the DE position, but I'd spend picks and money on the O-line long before that.

Has the D let us down a few times this year? Sure, but any D will. It's the offense that his really be the most inconsistent element.

Sign Strong Safety Adam Archuleta to go along with Sean Taylor in the backfield

Oline I'd rather have quality Vets who are used to the speed of the NFL. Dline I'd go through the draft

Well, that is a lot of priorities you list there.

I agree, I think there are upgrades to be made over Reynaldo Wynn. But I think he's better than he gets credit for. Not much in the way of pass rushing, but he's huge at stopping the run. Plus the leadership and locker room presence should not be ignored.

It's just that we might not be able to address all 4 of the priorities you listed with quality players. I think we all agree that a WR is desperately needed. The ability to grab a big-time starting DE who can rush the passer will depend largely on our salary cap space. Remember, DEs like that are expensive.

Wynn's arm fracture could help decide his fate, who knows. But if we're faced with salary cap constraints, my priorities go in this order:

1) WR
2) O-Line depth
3) Nickel CB
4) DE

I like your analysis. I'd still argue that O-line is more important than WR, but I understand that's highly debateable.

I like your analysis. I'd still argue that O-line is more important than WR, but I understand that's highly debateable.

Yeah I wouldn't say the line needs help before the WRs. Keep in mind we have 5 starters in place along the line who have played together and turned in a solid year this year when they were all healthy. Remember Portis's 5 straight 100-yard games? Credit goes to the O-line on that one, especially Randy Thomas. Once he got hurt, Portis struggled. And so did the entire offense.

I think we need depth along the line. But we are in desperate need of another threat down the field. He doesn't need to be a TO or Randy Moss. But he needs to be better than James Thrash or Taylor Jacobs.

Reggie Wayne would be ideal, because he runs TREMENDOUS routes and gets separation with quick cuts. But he's expensive. We at least need somebody to come in and take attention off Moss. Patten was taking attention away from Moss, and I think he'll have a better year next year. But we need a 3rd guy. If Wayne can't be obtained, David Givens is a good target, he's another good route-runner.

I'd add that a bulldozer at TE would help us too. Someone who can really lay the lumber in run blocking.