(05-31-2022, 10:06 PM)NYC4jags Wrote:

(05-31-2022, 09:50 PM)Upper Wrote: The reports I read (and Mark Long went in depth in on the bold take pod) was that Urban started out with final say on everything, but he realized he was in over his head almost immediately and by FA it was already the Baalke show.

"Final say"

Seems that folks interpret this several different ways.

To me it implies a collaboration with one collaborator having veto power when a disagreement occurs. 

Secondly -  I never read anything about personnel becoming the Baalke show by the time free agency began. 

Lastly, do you agree that the Oliver dispatch/ Tebow add, the Farrell pick,  the Etienne pick, and the subsequent attempts to find free agents to fill Etienne's spot after injury were Baalke moves? All of that seemed very "Meyer show" to me.

I think it is misleading to imply that they traded Oliver specifically so they could sign Tebow.  The decision to sign Tebow to a 90 man roster spot didn't occur until a couple month's after the Oliver trade was already a done deal.    

Actually, I recall Meyer being asked about the Oliver trade at the time and thought it was very telling of their setup.  He said that Baalke came to him asking if it was alright to trade Oliver.  Meyer also said something along the lines of "I was told that the tight end had a lot of injuries..."  Again, very telling.  It was clear that Meyer had final say.  However, it was also clear Meyer wasn't micromanaging the personnel side of things.  He seemed to have pretty minimal knowledge of Josh Oliver and was largely relying on Baalke's opinion.    

I think many people want it to be clear cut.  Either Meyer or Baalke was 100% to blame while the other guy went fishing during the off-season.  The reality is much more blurred.  It was a collaboration.  My best guess is that Baalke coordinated the scouting and made recommendations.  He and Meyer then discussed and debated players and mostly came to a consensus.  Meyer had the authority to over-rule Baalke, but how often did he do it?  We don't know.  I'm sure there were certain players Meyer wanted, but there was likely also many times when he just fell back on or was influenced by Baalke's recommendations.  Both deserve partial blame for that off-season.

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