What does Gettleman need to do to make you optimistic for 2013?

[O-Ther]

Gettleman can impress me by getting vets to re-structure their deals. Hurney was a player's wet dream as a GM, handing out those contracts to positions you shouldn't overpay for (S, RB, LB). I'd be even more impressed if he was able to trade some of that high-priced talent out of town for more than a 4th rounder. I'm sure Beason wouldn't mind going to Chicago or Baltimore to take over for Urlacher or Lewis...

[rayzor]

Gettleman can impress me by getting vets to re-structure their deals. Hurney was a player's wet dream as a GM, handing out those contracts to positions you shouldn't overpay for (S, RB, LB). I'd be even more impressed if he was able to trade some of that high-priced talent out of town for more than a 4th rounder. I'm sure Beason wouldn't mind going to Chicago or Baltimore to take over for Urlacher or Lewis...

true about hurney. other teams had a lot of trouble with agents like rosenhaus, but not us. why? because we overpay for our own guys. we were easy marks.

[CRA]

Gamble not participating in our run at the end of the season doesn't mean we're better without him. I would consider losing him to be major loss. Nakamura is terrible and it's no big deal to lose him. Edwards is decent but aging, so again not too big of a deal losing him.

We don't at this point know who will be cut (of course), but we're going to lose talent off of a team that really doesn't have much to spare.

Winning a lot with backups and no names? I mean the run we went on was due in large part because we played several terrible teams close together. Cam Newton can drag this team past the lesser teams in the NFL, but having a winning season is a different matter. Of course I want guys who play big in big situations, but I'm really worried about the overall taent level of this team. And when the cuts come the talet level with drop even lower. Now I certainly hope our newer players can step up and toe the line, but I'm very concerned.

Gamble is one of our most inconsistent players if you look at his career....season to season he is almost a different guy. We did just fine without him.

The Atl Falcons played a lot of terrible teams....it is the NFL....you normally make the postseason if you beat all the "bad" teams on your schedule and find a way to win 2 against good teams

[pantherj]

Gamble is one of our most inconsistent players if you look at his career....season to season he is almost a different guy. We did just fine without him.

The Atl Falcons played a lot of terrible teams....it is the NFL....you normally make the postseason if you beat all the "bad" teams on your schedule and find a way to win 2 against good teams

The only stretch of time I thought Gamble played poorly was when he went through that period where he was playing with a neck injury. But let's say he's an inconsistant player, even so, he's a valuable and talented player who I'd rather not lose. Now I'm favor of cutting him because we're way over the cap, and cutting him would be a huge help to our cap situation. I think our secondary will do fine without him so long as CJ and Hardy continue to dominate.

Let's say we have a decent draft. If you had to make a prediction do you think we're going to make the postseason?

[pantherj]

Can't say I agree on most fronts with your post. Our secondary got better when Gamble and Norman went out. We played a more aggressive press man coverage which Gamble has never been that good at doing. He was always a cover 2 guy most of his time here. We will lose some talent and will gain some as well. Plus guys like Silatolu, Adams, and a number of other rookie or young guys will have a year in the system and most players make their biggest jump between year 1 and year 2. So experience wise, we will be better not worse even if we lose a few guys.

And we played both New Orleans and Atlanta during that stretch who are bitter division rivals and who are not terrible teams. The one team that was terrible, KC, we actually lost to them. Anytime you can win on the road is a good win.

When you look at how the backups and practice squad guys came together, you realize that on paper the guys were less talented but more motivated and that is the key. We will have guys who are playing for their football lives next year and need to win, they will do more even if they have less because it isn't just how talented the players are, but how well they complement each other and as a unit perform at a high level. After watching Philly for the past 2 years it is easy to see that talent alone doesn't win games either.

Oakland was terrible imo. SD had all kinds of problems. Yes road wins are good.

By all means I hope the motivatonal factor comes through for us in spades. We'll be losing some talented and experienced players, and gaining inexperienced players who are fighting to stay in the league. Kind of reminds me of this quote "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog" - Mark Twain. Not to mention that RR will probably be fired if we have another losing season, along with most, if not all of the coaching staff. It's all on the line. Should be fun.