Gene never rebuilt.  He repaired, and did a terrible job of it.  And it was a mistake to try to do a repair job, rather than tear the whole thing down.  


In the 2009 draft, Gene Smith traded away a 2010 2nd rounder for a 2009 3rd rounder.  He wanted Derek Cox.  People here argued that it was worth it, because we got him a year earlier.  But we were not at a point where having a player a year earlier would have put us in playoff contention.  He essentially said "There's not going to be anybody worth picking in round 2 in 2010".  

 

Come 2010 -- rather than trade down and risk on missing out on Tyson Alualu, he made the pick.  The value was simply not there for Alualu.  

 

Gene always felt we were closer than we were.  He thought we were a few pieces away from being a contender.  That's why he took Brian Anger in the 3rd round.  He felt if we just had a punter, we'd be competitive.  He never realized just how much we lacked talent.

 

That's something Dave Caldwell is not guilty of.  Caldwell came in, and did not overrate the players we have. 

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