(07-08-2024, 11:36 PM)Jag149 Wrote:

(07-08-2024, 08:57 AM)Mikey Wrote: You can't make the statement you make before the bolded and then make the bolded. If you've seen em and are calling them on the carpet, go ahead and call them out.

With 32 franchises and recently expanded PS/eligibility, there's a lot more room for stagnation on a roster. I am not excusing things, but there is some merit to keeping 'serviceable' on the roster and ready in case you need to call someone in a hurry. You know what they bring to the table, for better or for worse. The guy you signed two weeks ago? No idea of his durability, or how well he knows the playbook, or how he handles pressure. You have 31 other teams that are also digging around trying to find guys to push starters and depth off the rosters.

Which backups were proving that the drop off from them to the starter wasn't very much? Which PS call-ups made us more confident if a starter went down? The backend of a roster is where a LOT of settling will happen - you either have guys that you know are going to put in the work, they do the things that don't show up on a stat sheet, or they do the job for less than another guy who similarly isn't going to see the field in an ideal season.

Sure I can. We all watched last year and saw the results, at times it was comical, other times just sad. Can you name one backup that was actually average in relief? At the end of the season I was hoping in the off season they would just keep our 3 tackles and find seven more linemen to give a chance. (we kept 10 last year) There are many posts about our depth on the line and I can't remember any that were complimentary of our depth guys. Maybe there was as I have been wrong before.  I really do not have anything against these guys and hope they can perform. Just tired of seeing the same backups come in and miss the same blocks the same way over and over while our running backs get hit 2 yards behind the line.

This was a symptom of the starters. We were at "full health" in the last game of the season, which included getting stuffed multiple times in goal-to-go situations.

I guess my criticism is more what you expect to change if we flush everyone and bring in a whole heap of unproven guys. Keep in mind that 31 other teams have already had their pick from the talent pool as well. Do you figure that our hit rate of finding promising prospects is going to be 100%? 75? 50? Once you get to that stage, you're back in the same dilemma, you got a steaming pile of dook on the bench if your starting guy gets hurt.

"serviceable" is the norm for the backups. We replaced one starter (which sounds more like the one you and everybody else had problems with) and drafted or signed 4 other guys this offseason. Assuming we keep 9 OL and even 2 of those backups make the week 1 roster, we've effectively replaced 50% of the allegedly problematic backups. It's early in the offseason. Give it time, I have a feeling we'll see some new faces on the depth chart.

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