Position battles

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Curious thing about which yr of rebuild we are in, as noted above by NC. Actually it is yr 2, BUT...yr 1 we effectively had no HC, but one in name only. Amazing how an owner can manage to screw up his own team so badly. But the question about which yr of rebuild exists because wiht a complete lack of leadership at the top, did last yr really count as a yr toward rebuild, or not? It probably is best to do as NC has done, listing yr 2(or 1) of rebuild, with the unsaid part being that while officially in rebuild last yr, with last yr's one yr HC, absolutely nothing got done...nothing got rebuilt...nothing , and no one got coached...nothing was even considered. Basically we just "existed" thru last yr and it was a throw away yr for teaching, bringing new guys along, or if you wish, rebuilding. Most of last yr was a wasted yr for these guys, with a few getting some PT under their belts, but teaching? Nah, none of that , so was it really a yr of rebuild? I guess one could say in terms of time, yes. In terms of teaching , trying out new guys for those that have left, progessiing....nope. That never happened. From a rebuilding standpoint, this is actually yr 1. All those 53 guys wasted a yr last yr, and if they learned anything, it was pretty much on their own.

So in terms of yr of rebuild it is yr 2(or 1 if coaching, teaching, planning for the future is part of the rebuild process). Question is in the one and only yr of his HC, did Jed learn anything when it comes to picking a HC? I guess we'll find out but what a terrible price to pay for an owner's foolishness.

Exactly. I hesitate now to call last year the start of the rebuild b/c of the very low average of snap counts for young players and poor coaching and development. This year should have a better "feel" towards an ascending rebuild despite the tougher schedule, new coaches, new schemes, etc.

Meantime, it's yr 2(or 1) of rebuild.

My biggest frustration is that we have young players going into their 3rd year who we don't know enough about yet and that is when you want to start considering an extension. Some of that is on previous coaching staffs, some of it is due to injuries. I'm really hoping the coaches this year don't try and ride our 'veterans' like their predecessors. With that all said I have heavily tempered expectations as far as wins and losses go because this coaching staff has a tough job of figuring out that final 53 and developing the young guys at the same time. I would expect a lot of ups and downs this year as they figure that stuff out.

If I had to rank the most important/interesting position battles it would be QB, OLB, O-Line, WR, in that order. The QB one is obvious but won't get going until Kap is cleared so it's a wait and see. The OLB depends on Harold bulking up and Carradine slimming down but if either can improve our pass rush it's a major gain. Offense will go as the OLine goes so those battles will be key. I like that we added at least one veteran in Beadles who seems to be a good scheme fit for what Chip wants. We have no idea what Brandon Thomas might add, but Tiller, Garnett, Martin are all young and fighting for a starting spot and I'm much more confident about that position than at this point last season. I've heard it reported that Pears is competing with Brown for the RT spot but I have a hard time buying that. If Brown, a rookie still working himself into physical condition, could take Pears spot he (Pears) doesn't have a lot of hope for getting that gig. I'm hoping Theus or Cooper show well enough to give the coaches the confidence to let Pears go. The WRs are a total question aside from Torrey Smith. Any projections about that group this early in the off-season are total guesses.

Originally posted by Super9er81:
My biggest frustration is that we have young players going into their 3rd year who we don't know enough about yet and that is when you want to start considering an extension. Some of that is on previous coaching staffs, some of it is due to injuries. I'm really hoping the coaches this year don't try and ride our 'veterans' like their predecessors. With that all said I have heavily tempered expectations as far as wins and losses go because this coaching staff has a tough job of figuring out that final 53 and developing the young guys at the same time. I would expect a lot of ups and downs this year as they figure that stuff out.

If I had to rank the most important/interesting position battles it would be QB, OLB, O-Line, WR, in that order. The QB one is obvious but won't get going until Kap is cleared so it's a wait and see. The OLB depends on Harold bulking up and Carradine slimming down but if either can improve our pass rush it's a major gain. Offense will go as the OLine goes so those battles will be key. I like that we added at least one veteran in Beadles who seems to be a good scheme fit for what Chip wants. We have no idea what Brandon Thomas might add, but Tiller, Garnett, Martin are all young and fighting for a starting spot and I'm much more confident about that position than at this point last season. I've heard it reported that Pears is competing with Brown for the RT spot but I have a hard time buying that. If Brown, a rookie still working himself into physical condition, could take Pears spot he (Pears) doesn't have a lot of hope for getting that gig. I'm hoping Theus or Cooper show well enough to give the coaches the confidence to let Pears go. The WRs are a total question aside from Torrey Smith. Any projections about that group this early in the off-season are total guesses.

Well, the good news is that we only have 2 veterans left in Staley and Bowman so you don't need to worry too much about that...sad players like Devey & Pears eating up 1,500 snaps.

PS: Great post

I'm just curious about the QB, WR, and DB battles.
I'm ok with OL and DL
I'm resigned to the LB's

Just let everyone play like YMCA soccer.

If I had to pick one it would be OL because so much rides on it. I believe there is some good talent available and the net result will be dramatically better than last season.

QB is the sexy battle but it is over before it begins, IMO. Gabbert's superior fundamentals make him the leader in the clubhouse.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Well, the good news is that we only have 2 veterans left in Staley and Bowman so you don't need to worry too much about that...sad players like Devey & Pears eating up 1,500 snaps.

PS: Great post

Lol yeah. After typing that I kinda asked myself if there were any veterans left. Brooks or Bethea maybe? Either way it's nice to have a couple on the roster to mentor the younger guys or just be an example of how to work and prepare. I hope they have the guts to cut the vets who aren't performing, there is no reason to keep them around anymore.

Looking forward to watching all the eventual 53 play this year because there is an actual clean slate.
There should be talent rising from each group that will make fans of this team proud THIS SEASON.

Last year began as a continuation year that ostensibly was designed to have our in-house guy put a "new set" of laser focused eyes on the existing core, such as it eventually remained, and tighten up the fringes through diagnosis of its failings. Bill of Goods, that.

The last thing I care about for this season is the 2017 Draft.

Originally posted by theninermaniac:
Nothing about this team intrigues me anymore, other than Chip Kelly. If I was forced to vote, I guess I would say D line just because of AA and DeFo. At least there is something to hope for there. The rest of the positions on the team just look awful. I'm hoping Kelly will work a miracle with the offense, and it would take just that to see this team do much better than the 14 points per game they averaged last season. I think the offensive talent actually got worse this offseason, despite being ranked 32nd in the NFL last season. We've lost Boldin who was the best WR on the team the last several years, along with Boone, and we only added a rookie OG and a fringe vet. This whole roster is in shambles. Chip will need to be everything Philly hoped he would be in order to turn this thing around. So yea, without a doubt, Chip Kelly is the only intriguing thing on the team.

Could not have said that any better. It's kind of hard to be optimistic or excited. What a bang-up job the FO has done

Originally posted by mayo49:
QB battle is the most intriguing. Is it Kap or is it Gabs? Nobody knows how this is going to turn out.

Agree

Almost every pundit says Kap is a perfect fit for Chip's offense.

We'll see.

I'm not counting Gabby out. He played much better than I ever thought he could last year. Nothing great - but better.

Maybe he'll play even better under Kelly AND a revamped OLine.

Most excited about the WR battle. We know Torrey is a lock, but 2 other WRs will have big roles in this offense. Anxious to see what Smelter and Rogers can do.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Meantime, it's yr 2(or 1) of rebuild.

id say year 2

Which WR scrub will shine brightest

Originally posted by Super9er81:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Well, the good news is that we only have 2 veterans left in Staley and Bowman so you don't need to worry too much about that...sad players like Devey & Pears eating up 1,500 snaps.

PS: Great post

Lol yeah. After typing that I kinda asked myself if there were any veterans left. Brooks or Bethea maybe? Either way it's nice to have a couple on the roster to mentor the younger guys or just be an example of how to work and prepare. I hope they have the guts to cut the vets who aren't performing, there is no reason to keep them around anymore.

For sure!