Originally posted by dj43:
Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
Originally posted by dj43:
Originally posted by DaleGribble:
Originally posted by CatchMaster80:the fact that players weren't as good is kinda the issue,do you think Walsh would've stood pat if the guys he drafted had been mediocre at best?
Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Not taking care of the Oline will be our demise.
Saying that Kyle has ignored the O line just isn't true. I went back and looked at the Walsh drafts and compared them to Kyles. They were nearly identical. Each drafted one O linemen in the 1st, une in the 2nd, one in the 3rd and none in the 4th rounds over a 7-8 year period. The guys Walsh drafted were genrally more successful but some of that was because of Bobb McKitrick. Unfortunately the guys Kyle drafted weren't as successful. McGlinchey was a starter and Puni looks to be solid. Burford and Banks were average at best.
The point is this constant mantra that Kyle ignores the line is BS. He drafted the same number of O linemen as Walsh but the players just weren't as good.
A factor worth considering is that the college game back in Walsh's time was more like the pro game than it is now. Hence, though the round selection may have been the same, the quality level was better when they arrived in the pros.
Of course, the other factor, and it was huge, was Bobb McKittrick. He was HOF worthy and he created a blocking style that allowed lesser players to control better players. IOW, he was ahead of the game in that regard. That style is now illegal so the raw talent level is more important.
Both good points. The fact that Walsh had more success doesn't change the bogus narrative that Kyle ignores the O line. You need a couple years to evaluate the O line picks since the pro game is a lot different than the college game. Some guys learn quickly and others never do.
The salary cap has had an impact as well. In Walsh's day, he could have kept Aaron Banks, a good, not great OG, rather than give him up because another team was able to pay him more. When Banks was fully healthy, he was decent. Mike McGlinchey is another example. His career in Denver is roughly the same as it was here but we had to let him go for cap reasons.
Of course, one has to play the hand they are dealt. In this case, KS has brought in players he thought would work in his scheme, like Richburg and Mack, but time and injuries ruined that. We were told the targeted a couple of OTs that went just before they had the pick, so they went with better value players rather than need.
Drafting is not rocket science. It is an art but sometimes the paint gets messy.
Every other team had this same advantage. walsh couldn't build his team through free agency the way teams can today so Walsh had to be almost perfect at drafting in order to win whereas todays teams can miss in the draft and then back fill with F/A the following year.
Walsh was better at drafting for his system than anyone I have ever seen do it.