Great discussion about the choices they had to make.
In 15 Offensive like was was doing okay and looked promising. In 16 with a bunch of really 2nd year players they changed the blocking scheme (how stupid can you be) and the Offensive Line really struggled. Are all of those promising guys of 15 duds now or are they salvageable? I think they made the judgement that they could coach up a few of the existing youngsters.
They took care of the biggest needs on the offensive line in LT and C. Safford is already a decent at Guard or Tackle. Haverstien played great as a rookie and maybe GRob will be better at an easier position. If not we have other young guys who can step up. They added 2 starters to the group I would say they really addressed the line. The draft was really weak on OL so it made sense to go the FA route versus the draft.
The draft was really strong at WR, TE, RB, and DB and with the exception of RB the strength of the draft matched our needs. McSnead seemed to be on the same page and the got the guys they wanted for the most part. Picking a TE over a WR probably is due to the Woods signing.
I feel really good about the potential of our offense.
We have a great offensive mind as Head Coach, an offensive coordinator from the top offensive and the position coaches are all top notch. YIPPEE
The offensive line has an anchor at LT finally. If you had added those to guys to the 15 line we would all think it was great. I am trusting the coaches and another year of experience for the youngsters to see huge improvement in this area.
Play Makers: Gurley, Austin, Woods, Everett, Kupp, Cooper, Spruce, Reynolds, Higbee, Hemmingway, Thomas. We have 3 guys that have done some damage at the pro level and a bunch of young guns some of who should emerge as key cogs in this offense. All we really need is for 2 of the young guys to step up so the odds are pretty good.
QB: Last year the entire offense was mishandled to an absurd degree and our rookie QB had to learn a pro style offense without a full off season. You have to admit that last year was the year to go and get a QB because the class was loaded. Goff had a higher risk level than Wentz but they really liked his upside. Well we will see what we have this year. All the pieces are in place for Goff to be successful this year. The scheme, the coaching, the weapons and the blocking are all there for a good and maybe dynamic offense. The entire organization is focused on making Goff a success unlike last year where they tried but did not have a clue from a coaching and scheme perspective.
I know a lot of our are probably down on Goff and think it was a mistake to pick him and that may be accurate. He is still very young and still needs to develop physically and he still needs more experience. Still I think we will know what we have this year either good or bad. It may not be the finished product but we will have a good idea if we have a rising star or whether we all need to turn to the Lord and start praying for Mannion.
Either way I like what McSnead did this off season and I am pumped to see this offensive in action.
