Originally posted by JaggedJ:
Getting hung up on terminology really wasn't the point of the OP and I would even question your terminology when you say a core player is someone you "build a team around". How can you build around 15+ players? Who's the one being built around and who are the blocks being built around him?
Not to mention that who is and isn't considered a core player can change very quickly in this league. All it takes is for a rookie to unexpectedly excel and the core guy in front of him is suddenly surplus to requirements in the effort to strengthen the roster elsewhere and free up cap space.
TLDR - The point of OTC's post was obvious. We should focus on that rather than getting hung up on his choice of terminology.
Good point Jagged...and I completely agree. It might have been more clear to differentiate between "core" players and "good role" players, or put another way, players that are already on the roster that are good enough to be part of a playoff team. That is how I always think of players on a team that is rebuilding. (I hope I'm correct in this assessment of your intention OTC....please correct me if I'm wrong).
Back to the point....it appears now that for whatever reason....lack of talent, poor coaching in some areas, injuries...that the team has far more holes than was originally thought. Now, is it because of a lack of talent? Or, is the team simply under-performing? (in other words, not playing up to its talent level or the talent is not being developed by the coaching staff? To me, those are the main questions... The team does have players that are performing regardless of the circumstances and those were mentioned already.
I'm starting to ramble so I'll just say this....if you take the starting QB, top RB, and top WR off of any NFL team, in all likelihood, that team will suck....unless it has a veteran defense full of studs. Even then, in this era of great offenses, the team that loses those guys will be lucky to be a .500 team. This is where we are right now. It's OK...it's a lost season and the team should look at every young player on the roster to see if he is part of the future. By the second half of the season, the team will probably have a pretty good idea of what they have...and what they need. Thanks for the great post, OTC...
Cheers!