In Scot we trust?

A few pieces away, but expensive pieces. That's my ONLY reservation with McCloughan: if you're going with the best player available strategy in the draft, and I agree that's the best strategy for the draft, then you have to be willing to fill needs via other means. My only concern with him is he's too reluctant to be aggressive in free agency when needed.

We are in such dire need of a safety and an interior defensive lineman. He has to come up with both this offseason or it's dereliction of duty.

A few pieces away, but expensive pieces. That's my ONLY reservation with McCloughan: if you're going with the best player available strategy in the draft, and I agree that's the best strategy for the draft, then you have to be willing to fill needs via other means. My only concern with him is he's too reluctant to be aggressive in free agency when needed.

We are in such dire need of a safety and an interior defensive lineman. He has to come up with both this offseason or it's dereliction of duty.

Exactly! With the cap space available I do hope he'll be able to see what we all see...

Exactly! With the cap space available I do hope he'll be able to see what we all see...

Draft D-lineman

And sign a free agent safety.... maybe:

Bradley McDougald Contract Details, Salary Cap Charges, Bonus Money | Over The Cap (http://overthecap.com/player/bradley-mcdougald/2516/)

It depends how much you want to pin on coaching vs how much you want to put on McCloughan. On the defensive side, I saw us basically trot out all the same players but with Norman added. We can definitely put that on McCloughan - he didn't do enough. But Barry had basically the same talent from 2015 plus a very good CB, and yet the defense got so much worse. Our third down conversion rate was among the worst in league history.

I pin that on Barry.

McCloughan needs to come up with more defensive help, but Barry added no value this year. We could make improvements with a change at DC and be back in the playoffs. McCloughan can't rest on that, but Barry is the guy that deserves the most criticism.

I think McCloughan was hoping for a healthy Junior Galette, who could've been a difference maker. And of course, Cravens not getting hurt like he did. With those guys in addition to adding Norman, McCloughan probably felt the defense couldn't be any worse than it was a year ago. But then, Galette misses the entire season (again), Cravens misses time, and Norman is about the only upgrade of talent. It was one of those things where I think McCloughan kind of gambled on hoping he could do just enough for the defense this season so that the team had a legit shot at the playoffs again this year, and he would look into solidifying the defense next year.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out like that. Partly blame injuries to key guys, but I put most of the blame on Barry. I think he's gone (I hope so), but I think McCloughan has his work cut out for him on the defense this coming season.

I think McCloughan was hoping for a healthy Junior Galette, who could've been a difference maker. And of course, Cravens not getting hurt like he did. With those guys in addition to adding Norman, McCloughan probably felt the defense couldn't be any worse than it was a year ago. But then, Galette misses the entire season (again), Cravens misses time, and Norman is about the only upgrade of talent. It was one of those things where I think McCloughan kind of gambled on hoping he could do just enough for the defense this season so that the team had a legit shot at the playoffs again this year, and he would look into solidifying the defense next year.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out like that. Partly blame injuries to key guys, but I put most of the blame on Barry. I think he's gone (I hope so), but I think McCloughan has his work cut out for him on the defense this coming season.

Pretty much how I see it, too.

Just heard Gruden on the radio... he said... " We've had two first round picks since I've been here, one is a guard and the other was hurt and didn't play"..ouch. I guess he doesn't think much of drafting guards real high... lol.

Just heard Gruden on the radio... he said... " We've had two first round picks since I've been here, one is a guard and the other was hurt and didn't play"..ouch. I guess he doesn't think much of drafting guards real high... lol.

That quote jumped out at me too - I watched him in the press conference yesterday when he said this. You know how sometimes you hear a snippet on the radio, or read a quote in an article, and without the context it can seem like the media's making a big deal out of nothing.

With this one I thought it was a clear shot at McCloughan. I think they probably have a good enough working relationship but it's clear Jay would rather see need enter the equation a bit on the 1st rounders. Makes sense, the coach's time horizon is always shorter than the GM's.

Like I've said before I just hope McCloughan does the right thing and gets aggressive with a couple of these big needs.

Just heard Gruden on the radio... he said... " We've had two first round picks since I've been here, one is a guard and the other was hurt and didn't play"..ouch. I guess he doesn't think much of drafting guards real high... lol.

I kind of got the same vibe from that interview as well. Of course, I'm sure Jay knows that a lot of your success comes from building a strong front line, on both offense and defense. And Brandon Scherff is a Pro Bowler this year, so he can't be too disappointed with that pick. But I can say, in past interviews, Jay has been very disappointed with the progress that Josh has made with his injuries. It's almost as if you hear a little underlining tone in Jay's voice that he's questioning Josh Doctson's intestinal fortitude and will to want to compete at this level. It's kind of like your boss announcing that you called in sick as if he doesn't believe you're really that sick enough to miss work.

A few pieces away, but expensive pieces. That's my ONLY reservation with McCloughan: if you're going with the best player available strategy in the draft, and I agree that's the best strategy for the draft, then you have to be willing to fill needs via other means. My only concern with him is he's too reluctant to be aggressive in free agency when needed.

We are in such dire need of a safety and an interior defensive lineman. He has to come up with both this offseason or it's dereliction of duty.

I agree. He needs to be shopping on Rodeo Drive this time around. I'd like him to come home with Calais Campbell and Eric Berry in his shopping bag.

That quote jumped out at me too - I watched him in the press conference yesterday when he said this. You know how sometimes you hear a snippet on the radio, or read a quote in an article, and without the context it can seem like the media's making a big deal out of nothing.

With this one I thought it was a clear shot at McCloughan. I think they probably have a good enough working relationship but it's clear Jay would rather see need enter the equation a bit on the 1st rounders. Makes sense, the coach's time horizon is always shorter than the GM's.

Like I've said before I just hope McCloughan does the right thing and gets aggressive with a couple of these big needs.

This. We need some more playmakers on d. Last year he just kinda sat back and hoped something good fell into his lap. This year he needs to fill some lesser needs in FA and leave the long term needs (like playmaker) for the draft. If he signed a couple d-linemen in FA I wouldn't be upset. And there's always trades that could be had.