Things holding us back (not in order):
1-lack of inside pass rush.
2-lack of coaches to gameplan for best use of our talent available
3-Offensive line lack of experience
4-lack of OL coaching to simplify for the lack of experience
5-very thin at cornerback especially
6-lack of depth overall, can't deal with injuries that all NFL teams have
7-not getting separation, partially due to overly simple route trees as standard
8-our defense allowing way too many short passes in the middle of the field, allowing marches up the field
9-still young, but veterans getting older
10-lack of cap space to get help where needed due to big contracts.
11-Not drafting very well. Talent evaluation seems to have dropped off in the last 4 years.
Some of these are inevitable, and are difficult to fix like 3 (due to cap space), 8 (as we have a bend don't break philosophy, putting the focus on stopping explosive plays over the top), 9&10 as you have to pay guys to keep the core intact if draft picks take a long time to develop.
Things that are still in our favor:
1-Pete, John and Paul, as far as we know, are still working as a team and not infighting creating more issues (ahem..9ers)
2-John's mastery of cap management have allowed us to still function pretty well whille having so many highly paid players
3-A ton of high level talent at the key positions, probowlers all over the place
4-An overall good philosophy to create a strong team atmosphere
5-because of 4, players want to play here
6-great quarterback
7-Even with obvious shortcomings, still are able to grind it out to make the playoffs for 5 years, winning attitude
8-great fans that make home games a big advantage to the team
9-Defense still at a top 5 level
10-When hot, the offense can be amazing. Lot's of playmakers keep us in almost any game.
Lot's of pro's and cons, so both sides of the argument have valid points. I think the biggest argument for concern is that we have been regressing since our superbowl win. The arrow is pointing in the wrong direction.
The biggest argument for no concern is even when it looks like trash, we still make the playoffs and have a chance.
My biggest concern is that we don't seem to be addressing our weakest points. The OL was atrocious last year, and was again this year. Statistically a coin flip. That and I think Pete needs to look at the coaching like he does the players. If next year continues to get worse than this year, everything should be on the table, even the replacement of some of his coaching staff to correct it.
I can understand the OP's frustration. We all watched this season. We all had very high hopes when Pete stated this was the most talented roster this team has had. If you don't change anything, you can't expect anything to change. As far as injuries, there were several games where we were very healthy compared to the rest of the league and still crapped the bed, so that excuse is on thin ice. If the team is honest about the problems it has, identifies them specifically and works to rectify them, then I am incredibly optomistic. If I see them recruiting foosball and hockey players to fill out our OL, then not so much. Time will tell, atleast we didn't throw an interception to lose the superbowl this year, that was friggin brutal....
