A marinated steak is worth the wait....

.....Or something like that

 

            C'mon guys. I've heard too much whining and moaning about what's been going on here lately. Now with this stuff on Carter, it's time to step back and look at the big picture.

         For YEARS around here we've been begging for serious change to occur with this franchise and the way this've  team is built. Well, now we have a change, and we're STILL bitching about it? Think about the stuff we're complaining about:

 

FREE AGENCY - Ever since Snyder has been here, we've been the first team to shop the market, overspending on other teams' players, front loading our roster with big name veterans, then having no money to spend on quality, NFL caliber depth. Well, now we're taking a measured approach to free agency, addressing the depth first, NOT overpaying guys just because they're the best player available. Let the other teams sign the Julius Peppers, Chad Cliftons, Tony Pashos, Larry Foote, etc, etc. Were those guys REALLY gonna be cornerstones of our franchise? Nope. In the end, we really don't need them.

 

THE DRAFT -  I don't want a quarterback. Not in the first round, at least. I don't like any of the guys coming out, and as I've said before, there's a big difference between being the best quarterback in the draft, and being a top 10 quarterback. I think we should do all we can to trade down and acquire more picks. You build a FRANCHISE through the draft. Ideally, your starts come in the first 2-3 rounds, and your depth comes in the next 4. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you crap out. But the best FRANCHISE's are built, for the long haul, through the draft. Which is why I say a lower first rounder and an extra 2nd or 3rd is better to have than the #4 pick.

Now, all that said, I am ecstatic that my team has actual NFL minds running the war room, so I will gladly defer to their decisions. If Shanny thinks that (ugh) Jimmy Claussen is the best fit for this team with the #4 pick, then so be it. He has a lot more at stake than I do, and he knows what he's doing. If I'm jumping out of a plane with someone, I want it to be someone who's done it plenty of times before, and I want HIM packing my chute.

 

THE 3-4/ANDRE CARTER - I didn't think from the start that Carter would work in the 3-4. I knew he struggled in it in SanFran, and I knew that's one of the reasons he wanted to leave. So this does not shock me. What surprises me is the backlash. Again, Carter is a good guy, but is he really a cornerstone to the franchise? And, just to be clear, when I say FRANCHISE, I mean the team, as a whole, going forward for the next 5-10 years. Carter is probably past the midpoint of his prime. He's not gonna be here in 2-3 years regardless. So why the hell are we upset that he doesn't fit into this scheme? I say trade him now, while he's at peak value. Do we really think one 30+ year old player is worth holding up forward progress?

Now, I know that some people don't like the move to the 3-4. The overall sentiment is that we've had a top 10 defense, so why change it. I say SO WHAT?? Exactly WHERE has that top 10 defense gotten us? Is it really that important to keep ahold of a scheme that's exhibited no dominance over the rest of the league in the past 6 or 7 years? This isn't the turn of the century Ravens, the Steel Curtain, or even Darrell, Dexter, Wilbur, and Charles we're talking about. This is a unit that has consistently given up late, game winning drives, failed to produce turnovers and/or points and, until this year, failed to pressure the QB. Do we REALLY care if this scheme is scrapped?

 

       Look, we FINALLY have a REAL front office in place. We're back in the NFL now. Sure, there can be plenty of arguments made on whether Shanahan and Allen are the best guys for the job. Really, that just remains to be seen. But there can be NO argument made on the fact that this is the best front office we've had here in almost 20 years.We've taken the WIN NOW at ALL COSTS approach. All it's gotten us is laughed at. And we've been begging for a change to that philosophy. We even "staged a revolution" to effect that change. Well, now we have it. No more writing blank checks. No more devaluing the draft. No more rosters bloated with overpaid, used up veterans. No more operating under the mind-set of "We're one player away from contending". All that is in the past. This is what we've been clamoring for. Now we've got it. No, we may not see immediate results in the win/loss column. But we'll see it on the field in the form of players that are hungry, well prepared, and worth their contract. So what if it takes a little time to get the end results we want. Won't it be worth the wait to see sustained success?

 

Let the marinade soak through the steak. In the meantime, sit back, grab a beer, and ready your tastebuds for that delectable first bite and how good it's gonna taste once the final product hits the plate.