(10-21-2024, 09:12 AM)Mikey Wrote: (10-21-2024, 02:07 AM)carp8dm Wrote: So why are the Steelers always in the playoff hunt? How do the Packers always seem to figure out how to be competitive. How is it that Sean Payton has taken a trash team and figured out how to make a competent team with a rookie QB, even with all their salary troubles? Why can the Chargers go from a finesse joke of a team to a hard nosed running team that are in the wild card hunt? How is it that the Commanders all of a sudden look really good, with a rookie QB when they were in shambles last year?
I mean there are so many obvious things that point to how it's not just players. It's the coaching and the development and the culture they are working within. I don't get how anyone can say "It's players not plays". Coaching is everything in the NFL. You don't have a good coaching staff that can develop the draft picks you get you just have a bunch of raw college players that won't ever figure out how to excel at the next level. This isn't high school or college ball. It's the NFL. Every player runs fast. Every player has the strength of the Hulk. Every player (besides the kicker and punter) a body made of steel. The teams that are consistently good are the ones that have a staff that can develop those 21 and 22 year olds into NFL players.
You don't just draft a player and they are a complete NFL star from the get go. That's not how it works. The players not plays mantra is so out dated.
Shad said it. This is the most talented Jaguars roster in our history. (By "our" I think he meant the history since he's been the owner. Everyone knows that the 97-99 and the 06-08 teams were more talented) The problem is that we have the same old mediocre coaching that can't get the best out of the players we have. It's just that simple.
The best team the Stillers have beat this year is probably the failcons.
But to better answer your question, the teams/coaches you pointed to have a clear identity. It allows the team to focus their attention to players that fit their mold, and keep building on a proven system. Doesn't hurt that sold out stadia reduce the pressure of casual or fair-weather fans calling for quick changes when anything starts to go south. In the face of disappointment, ownership stays with their coaches and systems because they trust it to work out even if a year or two is down (Hi there, Kenny Pickett!). They don't HAVE to swing for the fences. They can be patient. Look at GB, you have Favre, but Rodgers slides down the board, so grab him and give him a year or two to learn the ropes. Repeat the process with Love.
You don't see them making radical changes every time something doesn't come up roses.
I was going to save my response for the end of thread once I read all the responses, but I think a lot of fans are misguided, too, thinking that if we can GM and/or coach, that we'll immediately be punching our card for the postseason right out the gate. Truth is you aren't going to fire the current group just to bring guys in that are going to build on the foundation they've already established. You're going to change things up. To do that, you're going to modify philosophy. You're going to clean out the roster and build anew. That's gonna come with some wrinkles. In the long run, it could be good, it could undo progress you're seeing made. I have a feeling upheaval will come with growing pains.
We are capable of being a consistent playoff team today. We just have to look at those consistent playoff teams and mimic them - get your identity, and build on it. If we are building an offense that caters to a Tank, don't darft a scatback and wonder why he can't also get 7 YPC barreling into a crowded interior. If you're looking to build a deep passing game, get some monsters that are going to be able to hold a block longer than a finesse blocking system would allow. If we are a blitz-first D, find guys that can cover one-on-one and linemen that can eat blocks to free your speedy blitzers. RFC said it well, too often we haven't had our identity and just started assembling a mishmash of best available players without regard to how they fit into our plans. I get that we paid Trevor a king's ransom to be our future, but if our success comes by being a road-grading, clock-eating, run-first group of slobberknockers, let's do that and put our butts in the tournament every year. I don't know if the current coaches and GM are capable of getting us there, but I also doubt that a regime change will result in immediate fortunes, too.
The key to the teams you mentioned is the OWNER has the vision of what he wants. He hires a coach to execute that. You do not hire a coach and let him execute his vision.
I believe Kahn has begun to understand that.
At the end of the day football is a physical game. Anyone who tells you different is blowing smoke up your skirt. Facing someone like this I would put one hand on my wallet, keep my back to the wall and politely excuse myself. On 3rd and 1 whoever is the biggest, baddest and more physical wins.
A new broom always sweeps clean.
