Originally posted by excelsior:
Years ago, Bill Walsh explained that to be a Super Bowl caliber team, one needed a minimum of six exceptional, game-changing players. The rest of the team did not have to be exceptional, but there could be no glaring weak link in the line-up.
There is no doubt that McLoughan is much better than Donahue (who I think went down to the local magazine store and bought a Pro Football Weekly draft magazine to help him decide who to pick).
However, McL has presided over five drafts, and with extra picks in most rounds, he has had the equivalent of six drafts. Many of our first round picks were top ten, so they should have been exceptional, game-changers. Yet, in all honesty, too many of these elite picks have not produced as well as their position suggested. For this reason, I am afraid that McL has been a bit of a disappointment. He is probably good, but is not good enough to put together a team that will compete with the elite teams in the league.
For those who contend that Nolan had some say in the first four drafts, remember that McL was the talent evaluator. I am sure Nolan's decisions were based on what McL told him about a player. Nolan had to rely on these assessments. He had too much else going on to do his own independant study of game film etc.
Great Post. And Walsh's standards are still true today. We need 6 standouts. We have 2.