Sustained Success

[Sgt Schultz]

10 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

We'd be in the hunt for a playoff berth with a legit franchise QB.

I would not bet on that, either.

A few people here have tried to talk up our OL by pointing to sacks.  The problem is that number is tainted by a quick-release offense.  Put a bigger-play QB back there, who will hold the ball a little longer in an effort to make the plays and he may be on IR behind this group.

The reason we are where we are is much deeper than just the QB.  And everybody should have known we were going to be on the short end of most talent comparisons coming into this year. 

[MHS831]

2 hours ago, NAS said:

Rams have had four straight winning seasons after not winning for 12 years (2004-2016).

They haven’t won the SB yet but they have the right coach and culture in place for sustained success. 

https://sports.yahoo.com/rams-4th-straight-winning-season-143449109.html

What is your confidence level that David Tepper and Matt Rhule can have this organization finally winning every year?

I am of the opinion that we can have our first winning season in 2021 and maybe sneak into the playoffs and become a perennial contender thereafter.  Of course a lot depends on the QB situation, the draft and how we manage free agency and our cap. 

All the signs (in my mind) are that we are going to draft a QB this year or next--I have to think this year's market is ideal if we have a low (top 10) pick.  The thing that encourages me the most?  Rhule's ability to get solid play out of roster bottom feeders.

[Khyber53]

I've got a good feeling about Matt Rhule and what kind of culture he can instill here and the winning ways it will bring.

That being said, what is going to matter the most is which of the NFCSouth teams finds their next franchise QB first. Brady, Brees and Ryan are nearing the ends of their careers and we already put Cam out to pasture. None of the teams have their guy yet, but we are probably in the running. Even if we don't get our guy this season, there's reason to believe that we can hold on with Bridgewater for one more year, be competitive and find our long term answer.

If, and it's a big if, Brees, Brady and Ryan all hold in for one more year. If one of them goes first and gets just the right QB, we're going to be behind the curve.

I still think we have the advantage because of cap issues that are coming down the road for NO, ATL and TB. The Saints may be as much as $90 million over the cap going into next season. Tampa has mortgaged their future for the Brady All-Stars reunion tour 2020. And the Falcons have an o-line made up purely of first round picks who will be getting markedly more expensive each year as Ryan rides out his last seasons. The Panthers, if we play it wisely, can move ahead with cap space and a young, solid base while trying to develop a new franchise QB and a modestly priced but steady O-line. 

We've got the next generation coach in place. We've got a young defense that can definitely improve. We've got weapons on offense. We've got cap space.

If we can't do it, and do it now, then it will be a mighty disappointment that will make the Fox and Rivera regimes look much better in hindsight. Both of those coaches inherited bigger disasters and managed to make it to Superb Owls on their own. I think Rhule is better than both of them, though, and looking down the road, we're positioned perfectly to run the NFCSouth sooner rather than later, and maybe for some time to come.