fisher "Not going anywhere"

And Baltimore was able to pick them up because they had the cap room that we didn't have.

Until now.

So, those who hated our Head Coach and GM when veteran players left because we had cap problems. Look at other teams who have "cap problems." Maybe we can pick up a veteran or two when they're relased for financial reasons.

Now that we have some extra money to spend again.

 

No GM has perfect drafts. But he had some pretty damned good ones in putting together the last contender. And his recent picks have looked pretty good: VY, LenDale (my prediction), Pacman, Roos, Brandon Jones, David Stewart, Bo Scaife, Finnegan, and Tulloch are looking pretty damned good for the last 2 years...

As for running the team into the ground, again, he knew that cap hell would come from trying to stay in contention that much longer. I guarantee he did it at Bud's behest. After all, Bud wants to win while he's still around and kicking...

 

Well...

The BIG difference is that Reese cut them in their prime when they had a lot of value....not when they were over the hill!!!

We could have had another draft of first day picks if he had traded them. Yes we wouldn't have had the exact same talent level, but our talent would have only dropped a little and we would have stayed in contention the last few years WHILE getting out of cap hell. Look at the Pats, they've been letting people go left and right and they're STILL in contention. Where have we been the last 3 years?

Gut

 

How the hell do you expect he could have traded them? That would have made getting under the cap impossible. You can't trade a player until after the new year's cap takes effect. Reese had to cut them before the new league year to save the cap room. There was no other choice.

You might as well be complaining that Reese couldn't trade our 7th round pick for the 1st pick in the draft...

Or should we consider trading Vince Young this offseason in order to get us more draft picks now while he's still tradeable? We can do it now while we have lots of cap room!

 

Of course...

But here are our drafts since 2000.....5 years of drafting since we were at our prime...

2000
1 Keith Bulluck OLB
3 Erron Kinney TE
3 Byron Frisch DE
4 Bobby Myers FS
4 Peter Sirmon OLB
5 Aric Morris SS
5 Frank Chamberlin MLB
6 Robaire Smith DE
7 Mike Green FB
7 Wes Shivers G

On current roster...Bulluck, Kinney, Sirmon, Smith. Benefit = 4 starters. 1 Pro Bowler.

2001
2 60 Andre Dyson CB
3 90 Shad Meier TE
4 124 Justin McCareins WR
5 159 Eddie Berlin WR
6 192 Dan Alexander RB
6 199 Adam Haayer T
7 232 Keith Adams OLB

On current roster...no players. benefit = 2 starters (Dyson and McCareins). Got 2nd rnd pick for McCareins.

2002
1 15 Albert Haynesworth DT
2 45 Tank Williams SS
3 77 Rocky Calmus MLB
4 110 Mike Echols CB
4 115 Tony Beckham CB
4 133 Rocky Boiman OLB
5 151 Jake Schifino WR
6 187 Justin Hartwig C
7 225 Darrell Hill WR
7 240 Carlos Hall DE

On current roster...Haynesworth. Benefit = 2 starters (Haynesworth and Tank). Potential stars...Haynesworth.

2003
1 28 Andre Woolfolk CB
2 60 Tyrone Calico WR
3 93 Chris Brown RB
4 126 Rien Long DT
5 154 Donnie Nickey SS
7 225 Todd Williams T

On current roster...Woolfolk, Brown, Nickey. Benefit=1 starter (Brown). Potential stars...none.

2004
2 40 Ben Troupe TE
2 42 Travis LaBoy DE
2 57 Antwan Odom DE
3 71 Randy Starks DT
3 92 Rich Gardner CB
4 103 Bo Schobel DE
4 124 Michael Waddell CB
5 138 Jacob Bell T
5 165 Robert Reynolds MLB
6 191 Troy Fleming FB
7 230 Jared Clauss DT
7 239 Eugene Amano C
7 241 Sean McHugh TE

On current roster...most. Benefit=2 starters (Bell and Starks). Potential starters...Troupe. Backups (LaBoy, Odom). Potential stars...Troupe.

2005
1 6 Adam Jones CB
2 41 Michael Roos T
3 68 Courtney Roby WR
3 96 Brandon Jones WR
4 108 Vincent Fuller FS
4 113 David Stewart G
4 136 Roydell Williams WR
5 142 Damien Nash RB
5 150 Daniel Loper T
6 179 Bo Scaife TE
7 218 Reynaldo Hill CB

On roster...most. Benefit = 2 starters (Pacman, Roos). Potential backups (BJones, Fuller, Stewart, Loper and Hill). Potential stars...Pacman.

2006
1 3 Young, Vince QB
2 45 White, LenDale RB
4 102 Lowry, Calvin SS
4 116 Tulloch, Stephen ILB
5 137 Nande, Terna OLB
5 169 Mahelona, Jesse DT
6 172 Orr, Jonathan WR
7 215 Finnegan, Cortland FS
7 245 Toone, Spencer OLB
7 246 Ganther, Quinton RB

On roster...most. Benefit...2 starters (Young, Finnegan). Potential stars...White, Young.

In 5 years of drafting, he's drafted 15 starters. You could claim a few more but I think the jury's still out on a few of them and I did count Robaire as a starter even though we got him again as a free agent. 15. That wouldn't even cover your needs on offense!

Still wondering why we needed to not kill our cap (not matter what Bud thinks)?

THIS is running a team into the ground. And the point is not whether he picked the 'good' players, but whether an avg GM would have done better.

I think they would have given these draft classes. I also bash him for not having a good backup plan if he couldn't restructure Mase and Rolle...cut that cost us at least a first rnd pick in not franchising Kearse! And that's not to mention the 5/6 starters he simply cut. And letting Runyan walk.

Ugh!

And then there's the debacle of locking out McNair....dumb AND embarassing!!! That also cost us a better draft pick while humiliating the franchise!!! Not to mention NOT bringing in KC when Fisher wanted him here created a big controversy costing us Volek and a decent chance for a nice start. In effect, that may have cost us the playoffs.

Is this what you call a 'superior' GM???

Gut

 

Reese hit on Myers, too, he just tore his ACL and never played again.

Keith Adams ended up being a good player, just elsewhere. And Drew Bennett was another addition from this class. Traded the 1st rounder for Kevin Carter in a move that was hailed at the time as a coup.

Hartwig was a great pick and a starter. Tank was good in the defense they played back then. Calmus was good and a starter, just couldn't stay healthy. They had a number of contributors from day 2 of that draft that you didn't mention, including Hall starting.

Long is still around and played a lot, just got hurt this year. Calico also got hurt and never recovered from the ACL.

Odom and LaBoy are co-starters, if you will. Amano is a potential starter as well.

BJones, Stewart, Scaife, and Hill are also starters. Fuller could be next year. Roos has a lot of upside, though perhaps not a star...

Tulloch will be starting next year. Lowry may as well (probably him or Fuller). Traded 3rd round pick for Henry, current starting RB.

Robaire was a starter even before his rookie contract ran out. And I counted 24 past and current starters, not counting guys we got for traded picks.

Huh?

He could have done better, sure, but he hardly ran the team into the ground. He tried to win, he sacrificied the future to do it, and now he has built the makings of another contender based on recent weeks.

The salary cap doesn't let you have your cake and eat it too. I've already shown why they couldn't have traded Rolle or Mason. Kearse was let go because those 2 guys blackmailed the Titans to try to get a new deal for Eddie George and Reese did what he had to do in letting Jevon go in order to escape Eddie's contract.

So then fire Bud. Reese wasn't the guy behind locking out McNair...

We don't know what happened with Collins before they signed him. And what cost us Volek was a problem between Volek and the coaches. Reese wasn't involved.

It's what I call a GM who has a proven, winning track record. But hey, I hear Charley Casserly is available if you'd prefer...

 

Matt McMillen might be available too. He has done a nice job in Detroit.

 

... in busting draftpicks.

 

Gut, to get the complete picture I suggest you pick a couple of completly random teams and go through their drafts in the same years and compare to ours.

I have no idea what it will look like, but it's the only way to tell if Reese on par or not.