(11-01-2021, 11:19 AM)rfc17 Wrote:

(11-01-2021, 09:11 AM)Mikey Wrote: You know, I was going to reply to the OP about this, but you make the point perfectly well....the most depressing part of Bullseye's post wasn't the futility on the field, the delated performance after a bye, it was the Rookie Watch.

I get that Etienne is not available. We came into this offseason with keys to unlock so much, and we have one guy to show for it that is doing anything worth mentioning. Show me any other team that went into a draft with the picks that we did and have as little performance from it. That is a problem that will have grave implications for years if it doesn't get better soon.

Yea I agree, this is the one area that has been a big disappointment for me this entire time.  Up until yesterday I hadn’t been all that disappointed with the season.  I knew our record would be lousy.  And there would be a big learning curve for Lawrence as well as Meyer.  I had pretty low expectations.  I was a little surprised by how bad we looked the first couple games but after that you could see improvement on a game by game basis.  And it felt like we were beginning to turn a corner.  Yesterday was a huge step backward though.  I know our talent isn’t good but the coaches need to turn the ship quickly or it’ll be full disaster.  Even if the wins aren't always there, this needs to be a competitive team and you need to see improvement.

The draft class however has been a constant disappointment for me from the beginning.  This team is not very talented.  And we had 5 really high draft picks.  To have any semblance of a good team that could at least be playing competitive football games that mattered in December, you needed major production from most of those 5.  I know a lot of people hated the Etienne pick because of his position.  I’ve made the point a few times that I think offensive skill positions are too fluid these days to matter.  We desperately need his playmaking ability on this team.  Aside from Lawrence, he was the one player we really needed to stay healthy.  No big play potential from anyone.  Such a blow that he got hurt.  Injuries happen, bad luck.  Campbell has been a terrible pick so far.  Not only does he not turn his head in coverage, he just gets flat out beat far too often.  And if the coaches misjudged his ability and cleared out the secondary room thinking Campbell could handle things, they made a terrible calculation.  Henderson and Jones don’t seem to be world beaters with their new teams but Campbell isn’t ready.  And then Little and Cisco.  Those are luxury picks for teams that have depth and a core group of great players.  Maybe in a couple years those will be great picks.  But for a team that needs an influx of talent that is ready to play, I don’t think it was worth the long term gamble.  Part of me can make the argument you bench Taylor (or slide him inside) to give Little experience.  Fully expecting him to be a starter next year.  If not, wasted draft pick.  As long as he isn't getting Lawrence killed, play him.  As far as Cisco, again put him in and get him experience.  I think the Winguard hate on this board is stupid and irrational.  He is a fine player in his role and has done little to cause our defensive woes.  But he isn’t a playmaker and he doesn’t create turnovers (aside from the rare INT).  That is apparently what Cisco does and why he was so highly regarded in college before his injury.  If the guy is healthy, we need to play him.  If he is awful and starts getting beat over the top, put Winguard back in.  But if he isn’t a huge liability back there, we need to see if he can start generating some big plays on defense because nobody else can.