Who's back? Who's not?

Very nice article and to the point, I especially hope that people read the comment about the receiver position. I have been stressing the same point and have been getting blasted and basically got thrown off of extremeskins for making the same comments. For some reason people think that we are loaded at that position when actually it is one of our weakest.

The comments about Campbell was also on point although he may improve over the off-season he is definitely in need of some work.The Portis/Betts combination is going to win us some games but a passing game to go along with the running game will get us to the playoffs even if the defense is not totally fixed over the off-season because sustained drives willl keep them off the field.

I agree w/the article's assessment of Loyd, but ARE has played well. JC has missed him on a no. of occassions.
Whether they're playing well or not, the fact is we have too much $ & cap space tied up in wr's. Someone on here even said that we would take a sizable cap hit if we cut Patten. Patten could still contribute & James Thrash has outplayed Loyd when given the chance. Bottom line, I don't see any way that we sign another wr. Maybe Mike Espy can crack the roster though.

wide receiver is the least of the worries on this team

Clements, Rogers, Springs, and Taylor starts to look like a little more respectable secondary...

Couple that with Prioleou, Vincent, and Wright as the primary backups and I think we should have a good, interchangable secondary.

We need to upgrade MLB. I loved the way Lamar played at the end of last year, but he has dropped off. We need a vocal leader at MLB who plays smart, tackles well, and covers short crossing patterns.

Griffith has said he is playing at a weaker size because of injury problems in camp and it has hurt him. We also need to get a big, fearsome DT that can hold his ground on double teams so that Griffith can be more of an impact. If that happens, our DE's should magically get better because of blocking breakdowns.

In short, we need to re-sign Dockery, pick up Clements, upgrade MLB (through free agency), and draft a big DT with our first rounder.

Couple that with Prioleou, Vincent, and Wright as the primary backups and I think we should have a good, interchangable secondary.

We need to upgrade MLB. I loved the way Lamar played at the end of last year, but he has dropped off. We need a vocal leader at MLB who plays smart, tackles well, and covers short crossing patterns.

Griffith has said he is playing at a weaker size because of injury problems in camp and it has hurt him. We also need to get a big, fearsome DT that can hold his ground on double teams so that Griffith can be more of an impact. If that happens, our DE's should magically get better because of blocking breakdowns.

In short, we need to re-sign Dockery, pick up Clements, upgrade MLB (through free agency), and draft a big DT with our first rounder.
I agree with you for the most part, but I think we should try to get another middle line backer through the draft and not free agency. As you said before, Marshall had injury problems this season. I think he should get another chance to prove himself when he's healthy before we go spending money on another line backer, I think we owe it to him after the way he played for us last year.

I agree w/the article's assessment of Loyd, but ARE has played well. JC has missed him on a no. of occassions.
Whether they're playing well or not, the fact is we have too much $ & cap space tied up in wr's. Someone on here even said that we would take a sizable cap hit if we cut Patten. Patten could still contribute & James Thrash has outplayed Loyd when given the chance. Bottom line, I don't see any way that we sign another wr. Maybe Mike Espy can crack the roster though.

ARE has not played up to the level of a #2 receiver. The Steelers did not even have him as there #2. I think that we brought him in to be a 3 and a punt returner but with Lloyd playing the way that he has played we had to promote him to 2.

The way that the NFL wheels and deals I am sure that there is a way to get another WR and get rid of a couple.The article stated that there will probably be a change there and Mike Espy certainly is not the answer. Sometimes you just have to eat some losses and this is probably one of those times. The front office made a HUGE mistake in their thinking last year and ESPN was talking about from day one of that deal. ARE is not a pure receiver and neither him nor Lloyd never put up the numbers to warrant those contracts.

I agree w/ much of the article w/ the exception of B Lloyd. I guess I'm one of the one's defending him much of the time but I believe given the chance Lloyd could be a great #2. When thrown to, he makes the catch 99% of the time. When thrown to, good things happen like pass int. calls. How many times has he made some great downfield blocks? Alot.

Yea, he kind of blew up a little bit, but hey, he's pissed b/c we're losing and he can't do anything about it. We've barely threw the ball to him all year.

So to look at the #'s and say it's his fault is not looking at the full picture. Let's face it, right now and all season we haven't been able to spread the ball b/n the WR's. That's not bashing JC b/c he is learning, but it's the truth.

I'm torn on Lloyd. He has playmaking abilities, but he seems to have run himself into the coaches' doghouse and that's not good. The question is how will he respond this offseason? Will he be motivated to bounce back or will he sulk his way outta D.C.? Or has a decision already been made on him?

We shall see.

I pretty much give the team a pass on this year. Just as has been stated numerous times, this just wasn't the year. Injuries, new system, moves that should have been made earlier at QB and LB just weren't done. The defense just doesn't go to hell that quick after being top ten for two years. Let's look at who is producing and who isn't after about four games into next year, then we'll talk about who belongs.

The problem is that we now have a D unit that's getting up their in age and only have 4 picks in the draft. As much as i like Daniels & Wynn, i think they are backups at best. So we need at least 2 lineman (starters), lb help (imo), at least 1 starter DB and a qualified nickelback all while losing a couple and restructuring a couple. That's alot to do in one offseason.

Can they do it? I guess. It would just be alot easier if we didn't throw around...waste draft picks. We only have 1 top pick, so that means one starter, you would think.

Guess it depends on who's available, but a trade down for more picks could be a nice way to go.