Cautiously Optomistic

If you guys want to buy into the win now mentality, fine. I suggest you look at where it's gotten the franchise since day one. Great in '96, nothing to write home about since. Sure the team has won two games, how many more do you expect to win this year? The predicition thread shows alot of unmeetable expectations. We simply don't have that much talent on the offensive side of the ball right now. Most of you guys saying you trust Fox were trusting Capers and Seifert at one time also. HeadCase, if you want to twist my words fine. Be my guest. It was Fox who proclaimed Weinke the QB of the future, not me. Now Peete's the permanent starter. Seems like Fox was trying to cover his ass in the press for making the move now in case it backfired. Credibility, remember that word. Capers had it and lost it, so did Seifert, I hope Fox isn't going to do the same thing. Fox is still unproven at this point and yes I want to see him prove himself against some of the big boys before I buy into the hype.
Look closely at last year's team. Did we have 1-15 talent, no. We were in all but maybe three games going into halftime and the team folded. The record could have been better, but most of you want to continue blaming Weinke for the debacle when in fact the defense folded in a majority of the losses. If the Defense had simply done the things it did in the first two games this year, you'd have been looking at at least 6 more wins last year.

 

and your plan is?

 

>>we'd lose several more of our players to FA cuz they tired of being the league's laughing stock. at some point ya gotta learn how to win. it's easier against the lions than the packers

That's a good point.

Kind of hard to build a team when nobody wants to play for you.

 

Excellent post Headcase. I don't think I could agree with you more. Well said.

 

Are you actually suggesting we should loose so we can get more high draft picks?

I'm sorry, but the NFL is a "Win Now" environment. Its not like they went out and spent a fortune on free agents and bet it all on this year.

 

Be happy. We're 2-0. Relish it.

Wins aren't losses, and we didn't get lucky. We beat the opponents. We earned the wins.

They ran some NFL films footage of the 80's redskins last night. Both Henning and Breaux coached them. Henning made some mediocre qb's play great.

Right now, I'm not thinking about next year. We're 2-0. If we play as disciplined as we have the last 2 games, we will win.

That's huge.

 

I've got no problem with the coaching, just the philosophy. If we're back in 'win now' - would we have been anyway after 2001? Was rebuilding accomplished in two offseasons? I don't believe so. I'm not sure we're totally ready to just start damning the torpedoes, and if we end up 6-10 from it we've gotten nothing much I didn't figure we'd get anyway.

 

Who said we're back in 'win now'? No one has changed philosophies.

Just b/c we benched an ineffective 30 year old qb for a Free Agent qb that makes vet minimum does not mean we've gone back to the plan from 1999.

We've won 2 games.

 

It will be easier to build at 6 and 10 than 1 and 15. Easier on the cap, easier to convince FA that we are building a winner. Winning helps building, it doesn’t hurt. Cleveland has a good amount of talent, but that team finds ways to lose. Last year, we found ways to lose. Let’s figure out how we can win, and then get better.

 

HeadCase here you go

Phase oneotential FA's

top to bottom roster review-who fits into long term plans and who doesn't. Instead of waiting until after the year to deal with potential FA's, be proactive like we were with Rucker's new deal. I'd look at the guys who are going to be FA's the next two years at a minimum, longer term at guys like Jenkins and even Buckner. Use what the Cleveland Indians did in baseball as an example. They looked at their talent and signed them to long term deals that were salary friendly early on and as the talent developed, those players were basically playing at under market salaries. This would help us in the long run capwise.

Using Wp 28's website as a guide, here's who we're looking at as potential FA's the next two years

2002 (final year of contract)
QB-Rodney Peete, at this point yes, do it while it's cheap to do so
P-Todd Sauerbrun,yes, no brainer
CB-Reggie Howard, should be cheap even if he ends up the nickel
ST-Michael Bates, age/injury, vet minimum or pass on him
RB-Joe Montgomery. hasn't shown enough, no to a new deal
S-Deke Cooper, cheaper alternative to Richardson, yes
LB-Hannibal Navies, if Witherspoon develops no, staff likes him
LB-Lester Towns, no longer starting, Allen has more speed, see ya
T-Chris Terry, if an alterative is available, no
G-Jeno James,versatility a plus, yes
WR-Isaac Byrd, good #3, yes but at market value only

2003
RB-Dee Brown, make or break this year, might not stick no
S-Deon Grant, get it done now while still cheap
RB-Nick Goings,worth developing at FB/H Back, yes
S-Jarrod Cooper, 2nd best STer behind Sauerbrun, yes
T-Melvin Tuten, staff likes him, at vet minimum yes, otherwise no
TE-Kris Mangum, never really liked him, we can upgrade, no
WR-Steve Smith, another no brainer
DT-Brenston Buckner. extend him two more years max

Recap

Sign-Peete. Sauerbrun, Howard, D. Cooper, James, Grant, Goings,
J. Cooper, Smith, Buckner, Byrd

Let walk-Montgomery, Bates, Navies, Towns, Brown, Tuten, Mangum

Fields, Jenkins, and Moose-get the ball rolling on extentions with them now. We could possibly have the entire defense signed through 2005 taking this route, beyond that with select guys.

Phase Two:Thinning the deadwood

We've done a fairly good job the last two years of unloading big contracts for cap space and we should continue doing so. We have over 10 million in dead cap space right now that comes off the books next year. Most of it will be eaten up in salary, but we won't be fighting it as much next year. Gilbert definately has to go, no way to justify that salary for a part time player. Burton is probably gone as well. Donnalley, Richardson, Tuten, Anderson, and Weinke are likely cap casualties. That should garner us a few bucks Two more years and we're out of cap hell completely.

Phase Three:Scouting

Our scouting has gotten better the past couple of years resulting in better drafts. I think I read we have only three scouts, that's not nearly enough. We need to continue to upgrade the scouting department hiring a few more guys that can help us not be spread so thin while looking at new talent. I'd hire at least six more guys to help us in this area. Two for scouting colleges, one for NFLE only, one for the CFL only, one to compile the scouting info and film packages on prospects, and one to scout potential FA's. Cover all the bases thoroughly. Let Hurney compile the info with Buchovsky (sp?) and have it ready after the season is over in order to present it to Fox and his staff. We'll know who's out there from the jump.

Phase Four: Free Agency

Fox will have been through the season with the talent now on the roster and will have a better idea of what the problems are. The Scouting Department will be able to give him a detailed report covering every nook and cranny of the FA market and the draft. Fox will know what his options are. Which position is best addressed in Fa and which position is best addressed in the draft. My preference is to go after guys earlier than we did last year. We passed on some better talent that signed elsewhere for about what we could offer. The 1-15 mark more than likely had something to do with it, but that's water under the bridge. We have to do a better sales job on guys we really covet. We must be able to close the deal. Iin the past some teams have come to agreement with FA's and held off making the signings official until later. I do not know if the NFL has addressed this and made it illegal to do so, if not we can buy time doing this. We all know already Gilbert probably isn't getting cut until June 1 to spread out the cap hit. So we can use this to hold on to some money for the later cuts from other teams.

Phase Five: Cap Management

We have to be more careful capwise with the FA signings and restructures. The Agents will be a pain in the ass here. I do not want anymore Gilbert situations again. No more stupidass way above market signings and compounding them by restructuring the deal to take a cap hit that will make it an impossible task to rid ourselves of the contract. At this point there's light at the end of the tunnel, let's be sure that it isn't and oncomming train.

Phase Six: The Draft

With the new scouting department in place and an earlier entry into the FA market, we can shore up some holes prior to the draft.
This gives us more options come draft time. We have plenty of holes to fill, namely QB, CB, WR, DT, OL, and quality depth nearly everywhere. The FB and TE slots may still need addressing also.