I love Russ and can see him absolutely killing it....in a different offense. I don't know why we pay him so much just to manage and/or run poorly designed plays that do not adjust to what the defense is showing us.
It was mentioned that Pete is the problem and if we did manage to trade Russ, Russ has to approve ofc, then we'd likely see the same thing as long as Pete's here. 100% agree with this.
I don't want to see Russ go. Ever. It's very evident, even referenced in the post-game presser, that he's being handcuffed.
I'm not getting back on the "Let Russ Cook" train. But I do want to see an offense designed around our strengths and not this overarching belief that 3-0 is a great game. Or, 20-19, or 7-6, or...A win is the most important thing. That's obvious. But when you actually PLAN to bring that to fruition during the regular season, it manifests into getting your ass whooped in the playoffs.
Our performance in the playoffs since the last SB has been disgraceful. Without Blair Walsh, we'd have 1 playoff win in that time-frame. Let that sink in.
Signing busted up players for $10M a season doesnt help either.
If the philosophy doesnt change, it doesn't matter what we do. The Rams will be as strong, if not stronger, next year. The Niners, who I believe will take our division, will be healthy.
AZ is coming on strong and should be returning key players. It's not a great outlook.
But...let's say the realization hits home that we need adjustments. Draft wise, and in no particular order, I'd go after o-linemen, an Edge as we have no idea with Taylor looks like and although I love Dunlap, he's getting up there. I'd grab a corner as I suspect Shaq will demand more than what I'd pay him which is anything north of $7M. As crazy as this sounds, I'd keep BWagz and KJ. Both are slowing down but they're both still very damn good. Besides the bonehead play he made that took Blair out, I enjoyed his energy this season. I'm keeping Neal. He had a bad game today but, everyone does once in awhile. Carson...if hes willing to accept a slightly below average for a RB salary, I bring him back. I love this dude but the injury thing...its always something. Fumbles, reliability,...something. There's only so many picks so, I'm likely not taking a RB unless there's a steal. I'm expecting Carson and Hyde back. Collins was looking good. Dallas needs more reps to evaluate. I'm totally anxious to see what a full healthy offseason does for Penny. Hope's not lost...this guy may be our #1 next year.
Flowers would walk. Those bign's that need to get paid follow Jamal Adam's on this list.. lock JA down.
This same team next year gets drilled without changing their playcalling.