(04-04-2022, 08:35 PM)Bullseye Wrote:

(04-04-2022, 09:10 AM)Mikey Wrote: I'm not as worried about starts. I'm more concerned with performance. Guys taken earlier in the darft or signed to big contracts should be able to win out any competition for a starting spot, and also produce when the snaps starts counting. If they aren't starting or producing because we found someone later in the darft or as a cheaper FA pick, I ain't gonna complain if we're doing what it takes to be competitive. Period.

For 5, unless Doug2.0 says "I have the conn", or someone above him asserts the same, I don't see how any of us can even allege the level of sway he has. My only hope is that if he has a type, he makes that known to Baalke and the scouts, and they don't send him a bunch of mis-fit players that force him out of his comfort zone. Again, I don't care who is ultimately making the choices, so long as we're not compromising the foundation we've already begun building and the team shows promise.

6 is a good Q. Thusfar in 2022, I can't say Baalke has been the nightmare some clamor him to be. Coach and GM appear to be playing nicely together, the team is working to address need, and we're not mortgaging the future to build in the present. Would it be much different if we brought in Spielman? I don't think so. A lot of the spending we've done was likely at the direction of the owner, or with his approval to open the coffers, so all Spielman would have done was relay the message and oversee the strategy we deployed. I don't think an EVP changes that strategy or the targets, honestly.

Now if we rolled with Lefty and Wilson? First, would there have been an EVP in the mix too, or would that have been a further dealbreaker? I dunno. But just with the two of them working in conjuction, I think it would have taken a little more time to build the scouting and evaluation teams. Had we acted in early Jan, though, that's plenty of time for the coach and GM to review prior footage to evaluate the present roster, understand who does or does not fit in the future plans, and shape their plan. FA may have been different, and would Khan have been so open to release the checkbook with a new GM that was essentially foisted upon him by his HC hire? I suspect not, although the wiser move is to spend now and allow the team to begin setting aside future cap for the big hits that should come if our recent picks are deemed long-term fixtures.

7 will probably be Center. I don't see Linderbaum falling, and I think the remaining prospects fit better from 4 or later. WR might be the dark horse answer. If we're not moving around, I think a lot of the WR that will be available when we pick are similar to guys we already have on the roster and would be redundant. That, and I see a lot of the runs will likely leave a lot of value picks at other positions, so the patient or not desperate drafters will come away with steals this year, but maybe not at the flashiest position.

Apologies for the textwall

(emphasis added)

Thanks to you and everyone else for your replies.

As for #6, the portion in bold is interesting.  Considering how excited Khan was about the UM hire, why wouldn't he spend more last year like he did this year?  I guess it was a blessing in disguise he didn't given how big of a melt down UM had.

Certainly no need to apologize for any text wall.

Although he obviously had to approve it, I personally don't see too much evidence to suggest that the change in spending this year was driven by Khan.  I think it would have happened if Meyer had returned.  Maybe they would have targeted some different players, but I thought they would be more aggressive in free agency this year.  General Managers often take a different approach in year one of a rebuild versus year two.  I think Baalke/Meyer knew that they needed more than one off season and one draft to turn this team around.  They were also going to be using a rookie quarterback in 2021 and knew that weren't going to be competitive until at least 2022.  As such, they made the strategic long term decision to roll over a significant portion of the available cap space and conduct the major free agency spending in 2022.

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