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Overall we had a pretty good season. Looking at all the games, I don't think there's a single game we couldn't have won, warts and all. And that's the most disappointing part of it all. We just didn't seem to have the makeup of a winner. Something was always missing.
Kudos for competing. Kudos for working through a number of key injuries. And Kudos for improving as the season went on.
The things I'm most hopeful about are the young guys taking the next step forward. The Oline was amazing. Gilbert played better than I thought he ever could. DD is a perennial all pro. And Alejandro was simply unbelievable taking on the LT position with such ease. Not perfect by any means, but way higher performance than anyone could have ever expected. Coming into next season with a healthy Pouncey and TBD what will happen at LG, I think the expectations are pointing upward for this unit. I fully expect this unit to dominate everyone.
Offensively, the sky is the limit. A healthy Bell, Williams, and Fitz are going to be able to run like mad. And especially Bell is going to open up the passing game. Teams will have to commit 8 in the box to stop Bell and that's going to leave AB, Bryant, Wheaton/Coates with one on one matchups all over the field. If we can get the next stud TE to replace Miller, this offense should be poised to put up 30-40 pts per game for the foreseeable future. We're on the verge of being unstoppable.
Defensively, things are looking up between Heyward, Tuitt, Shazier, Timmons, and Bud. Jarvis is the weak link and I think we can get another solid year out of Deebo until we replace him. I do think it's time to get a premiere NT to keep Shazier clean to make plays. It's clear Ryan is the stud in this defense. It needs to be completely designed to support his unique talent. And the best way to do it is put a personal protector in front of him so no one can block him.
The DBs are a big question mark still. We need corners and safeties. I think we might have the 2 best slot guys in the league in Gay and Boykin. But the rest are mediocre at best. It was nice to see Mitchell improve. I think we got some solid up and down performances out of Allen. Cockrell and Golden impressed in some situations and I'd say both of those guys may have some upside. I'll give Blake another chance and assume he was injured this year. I still hold out some hope for Cortez and do think he has #1 CB capabilities. I'll continue to hold out some hope for Golson at this point as well.
On top of it all, I think Boswell was the best signing of the season. Now we're built for hanging in close games without worries about our kicker. I'd still be on the lookout for another punter to bring into camp next season. And we definitely need to get better in coverage and we can use a reliable returned not named AB.
Overall, good season. It's a shame that we didn't advance. This team is good enough to move on. In fact, I think we're better than Denver and would have a better chance to compete with the remaining teams - NE, Carolina, and AZ. And if we'd have gotten a few obvious PI calls yesterday in the endzone, I do think this outcome would be different.
Oh well. It is what it is. Hope for next year. If we can bring in and draft the right CB, NT, S, TE, and ROLB this offseason, there's no reason next year isn't going to be our year. We're on the verge of a new SuperBowl or Bust kind of season. It's in the cards for this team. We're right there now. As good as anyone. We have the right mix of youth and experience with some young guys on the upswing.
Our time is right around the corner. Bummer we couldn't go on and compete right now. I really think we could have pulled it out against anyone. This is a solid football team. That's a night and day difference from where we started the season imho.
Kudos for competing. Kudos for working through a number of key injuries. And Kudos for improving as the season went on.
The things I'm most hopeful about are the young guys taking the next step forward. The Oline was amazing. Gilbert played better than I thought he ever could. DD is a perennial all pro. And Alejandro was simply unbelievable taking on the LT position with such ease. Not perfect by any means, but way higher performance than anyone could have ever expected. Coming into next season with a healthy Pouncey and TBD what will happen at LG, I think the expectations are pointing upward for this unit. I fully expect this unit to dominate everyone.
Offensively, the sky is the limit. A healthy Bell, Williams, and Fitz are going to be able to run like mad. And especially Bell is going to open up the passing game. Teams will have to commit 8 in the box to stop Bell and that's going to leave AB, Bryant, Wheaton/Coates with one on one matchups all over the field. If we can get the next stud TE to replace Miller, this offense should be poised to put up 30-40 pts per game for the foreseeable future. We're on the verge of being unstoppable.
Defensively, things are looking up between Heyward, Tuitt, Shazier, Timmons, and Bud. Jarvis is the weak link and I think we can get another solid year out of Deebo until we replace him. I do think it's time to get a premiere NT to keep Shazier clean to make plays. It's clear Ryan is the stud in this defense. It needs to be completely designed to support his unique talent. And the best way to do it is put a personal protector in front of him so no one can block him.
The DBs are a big question mark still. We need corners and safeties. I think we might have the 2 best slot guys in the league in Gay and Boykin. But the rest are mediocre at best. It was nice to see Mitchell improve. I think we got some solid up and down performances out of Allen. Cockrell and Golden impressed in some situations and I'd say both of those guys may have some upside. I'll give Blake another chance and assume he was injured this year. I still hold out some hope for Cortez and do think he has #1 CB capabilities. I'll continue to hold out some hope for Golson at this point as well.
On top of it all, I think Boswell was the best signing of the season. Now we're built for hanging in close games without worries about our kicker. I'd still be on the lookout for another punter to bring into camp next season. And we definitely need to get better in coverage and we can use a reliable returned not named AB.
Overall, good season. It's a shame that we didn't advance. This team is good enough to move on. In fact, I think we're better than Denver and would have a better chance to compete with the remaining teams - NE, Carolina, and AZ. And if we'd have gotten a few obvious PI calls yesterday in the endzone, I do think this outcome would be different.
Oh well. It is what it is. Hope for next year. If we can bring in and draft the right CB, NT, S, TE, and ROLB this offseason, there's no reason next year isn't going to be our year. We're on the verge of a new SuperBowl or Bust kind of season. It's in the cards for this team. We're right there now. As good as anyone. We have the right mix of youth and experience with some young guys on the upswing.
Our time is right around the corner. Bummer we couldn't go on and compete right now. I really think we could have pulled it out against anyone. This is a solid football team. That's a night and day difference from where we started the season imho.
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