(12-26-2023, 08:06 AM)Caldrac Wrote: If we lose to the Panthers? I will hit the panic button and quietly check out for a little while. LOL.
Bittersweet, but, it feels good as a fan to say that, it's taken me until week 16 to worry about hitting a panic button for the 2nd year in a row after seeing our seasons end before mid October for the past 15 years with the exception of, what? Two, three seasons?
So, it's not perfect, it's not pretty. It probably never will be. But, they're still hanging on so I'll keep hanging on.
That is pretty much my philosophy right now. This season is pretty much 180 degrees different than last. Everything possible went right after mid-season; very few injuries and one dramatic come from behind victory after another. I doubt we'll ever have another season like that. Of course, the problem with that is that our expectations were way too high for this season based on the weaknesses at offensive line and pass rush. Watching Ridley in training camp look like a combination of Jerry Rice and Jimmy Smith only raised the expectations. Cap it off with a weak early schedule leading to an 8-3 record and we were all set up for a massive disappointment.
The reactions on this Board are not surprising. We want to find a scapegoat responsible for our frustration! The logical choices are Baalke, the offensive line, bad play-calling and the decline of Trevor Lawrence. Most of the criticisms voiced are at least somewhat accurate and well-intentioned sentiment by die-hard fans, myself included.
So, where should we be right now on the panic-meter? Personally, I am very low because I try to look at the big picture. As you said, at least we are far better off than all those seasons which ended in mid-October. I also believe we do have our franchise quarterback who is capable of eventually leading this team to the Super Bowl. Whether or not that will happen will depend on the success of upcoming drafts. They cannot afford high-priced free agents as in the past due to the necessity of paying Lawrence and Josh Allen following this season. Is Baalke capable of finding interior offensive linemen capable of improving the pathetic running game we have been subjected to witnessing over the past several weeks? Based on his "performance" in the 2023 draft, I'd have to say the answer is an unequivocal "NO."! Is Shad Khan capable of firing him despite his obvious affinity for the current general manager? That remains to be seen. I do believe this team has enough talent at key positions to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders next season IF they can find the mauling offensive linemen in the draft which this team has lacked. Fortunately, it is much easier to find very good interior linemen as late as the 3rd or 4th rounds and this team needs to take at least three ( 1 center and 2 guards ). This is quite do-able as evidenced by the mock draft I did yesterday. Adding 3 players like Fuaga, Frazier and Mahogany would totally change the identity of the team so opponents would have to respect the running attack.
As far as the short-term goes, it is impossible to predict how this team does the next 2 weeks. It is possible they still make the playoffs as Cam Robinson should help if he is able to play and Carolina is a bad team, despite playing better as of late. Regardless of how the regular season ends, the future for this team will still be bright if Shad Khan begins making better decisions regarding his administrative staff- primarily the general manager.
