*sigh*


I thought four years later we could have not had to do this again.  But it's time for the "Why Gene Smith was bad" rant.  Because some people still don't get it.

 

Every General Manager in the NFL from Gene Smith and Matt Millen to Bill Belichick and Ozzie Newsome has misses.  Not every player they sign, and not every player they draft is going to be good.  If they were, no NFL team could afford to keep them.

 

What made Gene Smith especially bad was two very specific things:

 

#1. The fact that he didn't consider how other teams valued players when picking them.  This is something Dave Caldwell has been very good at.  Gene Smith lacked patience.  He took Tyson Alualu in the first, because he valued him as a first round pick.  He couldn't handle missing out on a player like Alualu.  And this would have been fine if Alualu turned out to be a great top 10 level player.  But he didn't.  What makes this miss hurt so much is that Gene passed up on other talent for a guy who shouldn't have went anywhere near the Top 10.  Look at Dave Caldwell in comparison.  He's let players fall, instead of taking them early just so he doesn't miss out on them.  He considers how other GM's value players when making his selections.  This is something Gene Smith never did, and it's why he was so bad.

 

#2. The fact that he was always giving up future picks.  He traded a future 2nd round pick for a 3rd round pick early.  Basically we used our 2nd rounder in the third round so we could have a player a year early.  He fell in love with a player so much, he was willing to use a 2nd rounder on a 3rd round guy.  He was always trading up, and throwing picks away so he could get HIS guys.  Dave Caldwell also has NOT done this.  He sat, and let Myles Jack fall before trading up at the right moment.  He made sure he had the ammo to trade up for Allen Robinson, and gave up very little to move up.  

 

Dave Caldwell has put talent on this team.  Our coaching has not got enough out of it.  It's a coaching problem that goes much deeper than just Gus Bradley. It takes coaching to get the most out of these players--and if we had good coaching, we'd probably be 2-1 right now and nobody would even consider firing Dave Caldwell.  


"But the coaching hire is on him, isn't it?"


Yes--but at the same time, he deserves another coach because of the talent he has put on this team.  We're in a position to succeed--that's what makes everything so frustrating.  Yes, there's still some holes that need to be fixed.  Yes, some of his picks didn't work out.  But those picks were picks almost any GM would have made.  And he's made some good choices, we just need a better coach to see it all come together the way it should.

 

Caldwell has pretty much done what you want out of a GM.  Yes, he's had his misses here and there.  And he's had his hits.  These players need a coach to mold them into the players they can be.  Not just that, but a coach who knows how to get the most out of them.  


GM's should only go when they're making truly bad decisions--or when it's time to try something new.  It's not time to try something new just yet, and Caldwell hasn't made any truly bad decisions.  He's had misses in free agency and in the draft--and yes, they do pile up.  But they're not so egregious that it's time to fire him.

 

If Caldwell decides he wants to keep Gus another year, THEN maybe he should be fired.  

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