Quote:
Originally Posted by WaynesWorld87
I agree. What you're pointing out just further highlights how frustratingly painful Andrew Luck's decision to retire was.
We have a lot in place of what's needed to be a truly elite team. We have the elite head coach. We have a really good GM. We have an elite offensive line. Our offensive playmakers are good but could use a few upgrades. Our defense is still bad (although last night indicates otherwise), but we have an uber-elite defensive stud in tow who's only in his second season.
We're just missing the QB. Luck is/was good enough to cover up some of the other flaws that are still pretty glaring. Brissett, as good of a locker room guy and leader he is, isn't good enough to consistently cover up those weaknesses.
This is going to be a season of extreme highs and extreme lows because it's so heavily dependent on our so-so/mediocre QB. But I am excited about the franchise's future with Reich and Ballard leading the way. We really are just an upgrade at QB away from being back into contender status. Unfortunately, upgrading at QB is no small feat, especially if the expectation is to find someone of Luck's caliber or at least 90% of Luck's caliber.
|
Disagree. New York Giants under Parcells- that's what a friend characterized us as in this new version, and it fits perfectly. They had Phil Simms at QB, he was never asked to be Dan Marino, he was asked to play good football and make great decisions and to rely on the strength of the team around him, call it game manager if you need, but he constantly put the team in a position to win. They were a constant SB threat behind a brilliant coach, a great running game and a tremendous D. You can't name a WR from that era, they had a great TE in Bavaro but never had a standout WR for Simms to throw to but time and time again their coach proved he was better than the others in the league. I think that's exactly what we have in Frank.
I fully believe a tandem of Ballard and Reich are the perfect guys to construct a team that is contrarian to the current cheat code offenses proliferating the landscape, a team that just imposes their will. Without the massive investment at the QB position you can build up a lot of skill in different areas. I loved the arcade level excitement of the Manning years throwing the ball all over the field, but all that top end offensive expense, it got us one title.