How do you want to attack the rebuild?

[panther4life]

I know Rhule and his staff are busy evaluating the entire roster and seeing who they think is worth investing in for the future. 

Step 1, trim the fat.

Poe is 100% gone. That’s 10 million we can save right there. Mike Davis who we claimed off waivers is also certainly a goner. That’s another 3 million right there. 

Wright is more questionable and could make it to camp since he’s only 3.6 million for a veteran WR. That’s about as cheap as you can get that kind of help. 

I think it needs to start with our  unrestricted free agents first. 

Bradberry, Cockrell Boston and Greg Van rotten are the only ones under 30 years old who can contribute to the team long term and still be valuable pieces in 2-3 years imo. 

Retaining those guys at reasonable rates seems worth it as Bradberry is a quality starter, Boston is a capable starter and GVR is good depth that shouldn’t cost too much.

Next up is do we roll with Cam for another year or try and salvage some value out of him? This is an incredibly tough question. If he can return to his past potential then he’s as good as QB as we can ask for to lead us for the next 5 years or so. If he has another injury plagued season or does not return to form, then we are stuck trying to make an even harder decision next season of potentially letting him walk for nothing and investing 19 Million of cap space we’d otherwise free up if we can get a decent trade value out of him. Either way you go it’s a major gamble. We don’t have a replacement waiting in the wings and would have to absolutely have to invest heavy draft capital in 1 of the next 2 years to find out next QB if we don’t retain him and get the old Cam back.

If the decision is to trade him then we damn sure better have a plan to get our next franchise QB. If we decide to keep him, then we have to insulate him with talent on the line and some skill player talent to pair with him. 

If we do move on from Cam, and do indeed make a move in the draft to select another QB early, then we should heavily focus on surrounding them protection and talent as well. Which then to me even strengthens the argument to retain Bradberry, because we won’t have the spare draft capital to replace him. 
 

We have so many different directions we can go it appears, aside from the obvious of getting younger and clearing cap space. The tough part for us as fans, we can’t really identify a solid plan until we know the fate of Cam. The 2nd thing that needs to be determined or at least communicated to us as fans are what type of base defense we plan to role with in the years ahead. 

For those of you have put some thought into it what would be your plan to get us back on track?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snake]

I think you let Bradbury walk. It's not like we need a good CB in a total rebuilding. Not to mention our lack of talent on this team is about as bad as I've seen ever. The 2010 team had more talent than this one. I would start by getting a LT, DT, or CB in the first and building out from there. Those are the key spots on a football team including DE/Rush end who we already have. 

[Mr. Scot]

With somebody other than Hurney in charge of it.

[Waldo]

4 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

With somebody other than Hurney in charge of it.

[Ivan The Awesome]

1. Make a decision about Cam. 

2. Draft trenches early. 

3. Bring in FA that fit the team. 

4. Draft more for the lines. Fix them don't care who's back there, it will literally not matter if they are running for their lives all the time. 

[hepcat]

32 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

With somebody other than Hurney in charge of it.

Do you think oscar the grouch could do a better job

[LinvilleGorge]

Roll with Cam and put every effort into fixing the trenches.

It sounds like Bradberry wants elite CB money. I think I'd let him test the market. If someone is willing to pay him elite money, wish him the best of luck. I'd be willing to pay him borderline top 10 CB type money, but if he's shooting for top 5 thanks but no thanks.

[Cpt slay a ho]

Start by leaning heavy towards offense. Free agency and the draft should be used to build a high powered offense.

defense should either Be a bend don’t break type or one that creates turnovers, the days of having a 2000 ravens type defense are over given today’s rules. As far as bradberry I’d either tag him or let him walk, a corner like Jackson would fit more than bradberry if we go the route of offense heavy team. 

[SmokinwithWilly]

If it's me, I attack the front office first. Bring in top notch guys that specialize in contract negotiations, player evaluation (veteran and college), cap management, analytics, medical evaluations, rehab, organization and operations. I set the foundation there for what the rest of the team building process is going to be. 

Then I decide what the image of the franchise is to be and I work to create that image. Not just a single player but an ideology and concept that players and fans alike can both grab hold of as their own. Personally, I think it should be a mindset of always finishing the play. Never take your foot off the gas. Good teams beat good teams. Good teams crush bad teams. No more letting off in the 4th quarter. 60 minutes, all you've got. Finish it. Win the psychological game before you ever step foot on the field. Guys who don't want to put in that amount of effort won't come here, the ones that want to win it all will. 

Bring in a GM capable of realizing there are people smarter than him in the building, but one who isn't afraid of it. Some guys are just good at one thing, Norv was a good OC, not so good a coach. Del Rio, the list goes on. Our next GM needs to be able to manage and lead with a plan, not just say yes. Make smart draft picks that build the core of the team, stay away from gut project picks, and bring in FA to fill in the pieces that are needed to round out the team in order to contend. 

We've hired a coach who appears to be good at developing players and building a team. That's something that's been sorely missed since the franchise's inception. In turn, he's hired guys who are hungry to prove themselves, are innovative, and can possibly take this team to something it's never been, a true contender in the NFL.

[ickmule]

With a real staff? I’m not sure we have the right coaches in place for a rebuild. Time will tell and I’m being cautiously optimistic about it.  

[kungfoodude]

I think we have to bring Cam back(JMO, obviously). If we do, I agree on trimming the obvious fat. Then you need to identify the players that are reasonable to bring back without hamstringing the team long term(Bradberry, Cockrell, Addison, etc). If they cost an insane amount of money, just pass. Then you start building through free agency/draft to plug obvious holes(OL, DL). 

If we don't bring Cam back? Well, I don't really think it matters. At that point you are just hoping you can draft a QB in the next 5-10 years that is a franchise guy or that you find a guy in free agency to start your rebuild around. Neither of those options is likely to succeed, so you build a strong overall team and hope that eventually you get that part right. 

[stbugs]

If you’re serious about the rebuild and Cam is gone, then you do the following:

1. Don’t resign our FAs. I’ve posted it before, but you’re looking at a bevy of 2021 comp picks from 3rd to 7th for Bradberry, McCoy, Butler, Boston, Irvin, Addison, Van Roten, Hogan, Cockrell, Williams and maybe Wright and Poe (not sure about declined club options). I’d say we’d probably get a 3rd, two 4th/5th, two 5ths and possibly two 6th/7ths. It could really be that many.

2. Trade Cam and get a 2nd and free up cap space.

3. Decline club options on Poe and Wright to free up cap space.

4. Release Short and Mike Davis to free up cap space. Trade or release Gano.

5. Look at FAs available after the comp pick deadline.

6. Draft BPA. No reaching, just BPA with a slight leaning towards the line since T is pretty deep. I wouldn’t mind a WR and CB as well based on how deep they seem.

7. Make sure that Marty isn’t making final decisions on rounds 2-7 and replace him as soon as possible.

8. Hope we get the top pick in 2021 and get to the SB and win it in 2024.

[Jon Snow]

24 minutes ago, stbugs said:

If you’re serious about the rebuild and Cam is gone, then you do the following:

1. Don’t resign our FAs. I’ve posted it before, but you’re looking at a bevy of 2021 comp picks from 3rd to 7th for Bradberry, McCoy, Butler, Boston, Irvin, Addison, Van Roten, Hogan, Cockrell, Williams and maybe Wright and Poe (not sure about declined club options). I’d say we’d probably get a 3rd, two 4th/5th, two 5ths and possibly two 6th/7ths. It could really be that many.

2. Trade Cam and get a 2nd and free up cap space.

3. Decline club options on Poe and Wright to free up cap space.

4. Release Short and Mike Davis to free up cap space. Trade or release Gano.

5. Look at FAs available after the comp pick deadline.

6. Draft BPA. No reaching, just BPA with a slight leaning towards the line since T is pretty deep. I wouldn’t mind a WR and CB as well based on how deep they seem.

7. Make sure that Marty isn’t making final decisions on rounds 2-7 and replace him as soon as possible.

8. Hope we get the top pick in 2021 and get to the SB and win it in 2024.

This is almost exactly what I would do if it were my money given what appears to be the current direction of the owner.  Although you may be forced to hold onto KK for one more year because you left Hurney in control too long.  I would have fired his ass as soon as I signed the papers to purchase the team.  But other than those minor details I'm with you.

[MMA]

I want to attack the rebuild with Joe Burrow or Tua Tagovailoa.