Offseason to do list

Well Where in the hell do we start????????????? With what's probally going to be little room to work under the cap (I heard on one of the pre game shows that they are really close to extending the CBA)

1. RB- If we are going to be a run based offense we need a really good RB. I just don't know how excited I will be to see A Foster, Goins, Shelton backfield next season...... To me that's just asking for problems

2. WR- We have to get a compotent #2..... Keary was invisible all season and I just don't think Drew Carter is ready for prime time as far as being an every down starter in the league.... I think he would excel in the same role he played this season assuming we use him from week 1 instead of week 11 or so..... I think Proehl will be back so that will help...

3. LB'ers- Will Witherspoon- Will we keep him, if not who takes his place???? Can Thomas Davis put on some weight and fill Will's shioes.... Will Mark Fields return??? If not I'd like to see an upgrade from Short...

4. Center- Mitchell??? will he return and does he have anything left in the tank???

5. TE- we need a playmaker at that position to take some pressure off and give Jake a safety valve.

6. Back Up QB--- Weinke will probally sign elsewhere so what do we do there??? LeFors- I don't think will be ready to be a #2.

7. Punt returner... I would love to get somebody that's capable off being a threat back there so we can ease the burden on SS.

8. Nickle--- I believe RM Jr is a fa and will want to go somewhere that he has a chance to start, so we will need a nickle...

9. Marlon McCree... Will he resign???? We should be ok even if he doesn't but, i really like the guy and hope he's back...

Anything else or comments/ suggestions...........

 

I think we need to get back to our identity - a run oriented offense. That means the two top priorities are improving the RB position and the O-line. We need either a stud back that can make a solid o-line look good, or a stud line that can make a solid RB look good.

With an improved running game and a solid draft, we'll be sucessful next year.

 

RB- I don't see us retaining Foster. He showed enough that someone is going to offer more than he is worth. RB is going to wind up being a first day MUST. Len Dale White would be in our range in the first or I like what Taurean Henderson showed in the Shrine bowl, he looked comfortable in an I formation. There really isn't another big back other than White and he might be a little over rated. Might need to alter our offensive philosophy a little to accomodate for a RB's talent. Goings fits, but needs excellent blocking in front of him and Shelton needs to learn to be a power runner.
Here's to hoping Shelton has sat back and learned.

WR - A #2 is essential, Carter could be it...but I still would rather have him as a #3 to get the mismatches.

LB - Getting Spoon back is huge, Short has been solid and should be kept on if not as a starter as ou primary back-up.

C - Just assume see Mitchell gone. Hopefully he'll retire. He's nothing without roids.

TE - A playmaker at TE would be a waste of money in this offense without a change in philosophy.

QB - Le Fors probably isn't ready to be #2 and Weinke would be wise to move on and shoot for a starting job. We need a vet presence holding a clipboard.

Return Specialist - I'd like to see someone who can contribute on offense as well. Either a #4 WR or Robertson.

Nickle - Wesley is likely gone as well so this could become a serious need.

SS - I could deal with retaining McCree or getting a true FS and moving Minter back.

O-line - Need to make some changes, don't know that Whale at LT is the answer, but I am willing to see it happen. Wharton had his moments, but he got handled by the more athletic speed rushers and Gross has struggled as much at RT as he did at LT.

 

The #2 wideout would be nice, but I'm not sure we'll find much better than what we already have. But overall, we have to do a better job of distributing the ball. All of the Smitty talk just about made me sick this week, and I don't want to see us turning into the Carolina Steve Smith's. I want us to recapture the team concept that we had in '03.

I honestly have no clue about our running back situation heading into next season. Foster might not be so hard to sign now, and I'd love to have him back at a reasonable salary. But I have a lingering feeling that he'll ask for more than he's worth, and end up elsewhere. Which leaves us with Davis, Goings, Shelton. Davis can stil help us, IMO, but he should restructure if he wants to keep playing. Shelton? Who knows. He better stop exposing his midsection and start running lower.

It is certainly the biggest question mark, in my opinion. We do need to settle on a starter, because our offense is not meant to be multiple back. I don't feel comfortable drafting another one. And if we can retain DeShaun, bringing in someone like Jonathan Wells might not be a bad idea.

 

The fact that this offense eats up backs, it should be redesigned to be a multiple back system. This type of offense needs a Thunder/Lightning combo like we had in '03 with a little more balance towards Lightning.
We might be able to patch something like that together with Goings or Shelton and Robertson behind a solidified O-line, but we could do better than that...I hope.

 

Manning will be a restricted free agent. He should be back.

 

We did a better job of it early on, when Stephen was starting. The strange part is that when we made the change to Foster, we seemed to revert back to the "starter gets 30 carries" mode, even while Davis was still healthy and capable.

 

Yep.

It would be nice to draft a young guy to be able to sit for a year, and then move into the role, in middle rounds.

 

I'm of the opinion that it's better to ride one guy than to constantly switch back and forth between several. Moreover, I don't think it's at all unreasonable to think that one running back could carry the full load for us. We just haven't had someone with a track record of durability.

 

One back could carry the load, yes. Curtis Martin is a good example and also unique in that he was able to do so and have some career longevity. Martin is an exception though. I can't see a back being able to have a long career in this offense.
Coming to an offense like this a guy has to consider how long he wants to play or how long he'll be able to play getting 30-35 touches a game. If you look at what we have paid guys (granted we're in year 4 of the Fox era) it doesn't seem to be on par with what you would expect. You'd think a back in this offense should be among the top 5 in salary just based on the load they would be expected to carry.
That said, '03 was a tad more unbalanced than what we have seen in '04 and '05. In '03 we nursed Jake along early before balancing out. Since then, I think they have created more balance and the load it would appear a back would carry has decreased slightly. It's still a power running attack, which does require a versatile and durable back or a combo of solid backs to maintain sucesss.