KurtGodel77

Agreed. We are two DEs, an OLB, a shutdown corner, and a defensive coordinator away from having an elite defense. Jerry Gray is a good coordinator, but to be elite he'd have to hold his own against Charlie Weis.

Yes. I still remember that 15 minute drive the Giants had against us in our first Super Bowl. Even though that drive resulted in a field goal only, it won them the game.

Those two examples underscore a lack of depth at some defensive positions. If you have the depth to keep rotating players, the defense shouldn't get tired no matter how little the offense does. Again, this shows a lack of depth in the secondary. Things are better now because of the emergence of McGee and Baker. But it's still a weakness. Practically the whole Patriots secondary went down to injury, and you didn't see them being walked on, did you? Yeah, but an elite defense generally doesn't let stuff like that happen in must-win games. That was just one game. Over the course of the year, the Raiders seemed like they were more than just a QB away from being a good offense. Look at the way Jerry Rice failed to contribute. Other than Porter, what receiving threats do they really have? There were games when the offense bailed out the defense, like the Miami game. The defense allowed 21 points in the first quarter to a team without an offense. I'd also argue that Pittsburgh's nine minute drive hurt us more than a quick TD would have done.

There is NO excuse for the defense to give up a nine minute drive. None. That drive hurt us more than the INT for the TD; and FAR more than the missed field goal. I've heard that the field goal caused the team to become disspirited; to lose hope. What a joke! If those guys don't have the mental toughness to keep playing after a missed FG, imagine how they'd respond to being down 35-3 after your QB threw an INT for a TD to start the second half!

An elite defense can carry the team to a Super Bowl win; as Baltimore proved in 2000. Our defense is good enough to dominate against flawed offenses, and to carry us to a 9-7 record. You have to have some aspect of your team be elite to win the Super Bowl. Unless we make serious upgrades to our defense, our eliteness will have to come from some other area.

That all depends on which teams our defense is putting those numbers up against. When our defense plays a bad offense, the defense makes them look really bad. But when the defense plays a good offense; said offense will still look like a good offense. Take the Cincinnati game, where they kept putting yards up against us. A few big plays by our guys/mistakes by Kitna and co. really helped bail us out of what would otherwise have been a dismal defensive effort. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single case where our defense shut down a top-ten offense. Even the Jacksonville game is a good example of this, because Jacksonville's offense wasn't all that good.

Our defense put up pretty numbers against lousy offenses hampered by bad conditions. Any time you play the likes of Cleveland and San Francisco, your defensive stats will look good. But look at the way the defense performed in our losses: - Against Jacksonville and the Jets, the defense allowed a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter - The defense allowed New England to score 24 points in our first meeting, and suffered a complete collapse the second time the two teams played. - The defense allowed a back-breaking nine minute drive to Pittsburgh. Prior to that drive, the time of possession for both teams was about equal. The defense gets 100% of the blame for that drive. That leaves just two losses--Baltimore and Oakland--in which the defense wasn't part of the problem. Neither of those teams are exactly known for having a great offense. This defense is good enough to get by with. But it's not good enough to carry the team.

Great post! This was a total team loss, from coaching, to offense, to defense (the nine minute drive), to special teams (missed FG, fumbled punt).

I think that if your goal is a Super Bowl win, we really do need the best. Our defense is good, but it's a long way from being elite. Elite defenses don't allow nine minute drive to other teams' backups in must-win games. SOMETHING has to carry this team, and our defense just can't seem to go from good to great. The run-blocking is not good enough for us to be an elite running team, no matter who we have as our RB. That leaves our passing game. Pass protection has gotten pretty good, and Evans is a young star. McGahee is a better receiver than Henry. Moulds still has a little left in the tank, and Euhus played well for a rookie. Put Manning behind center, and watch what happens!

Now THIS is a good post.

Zero. But how many playoff games have we won since Kelly retired?

I couldn't agree more.

The problem with Testaverde is he offers a little too much experience. He's too old, and he can't play anymore. I'd rather take a guy who was a few years younger to be the backup: a younger Jim Harbaugh if we could find him.

Maybe we should trade Travis and use the resulting pick on Nugent. If we could keep Jennings and Williams, and add just four quality players through the draft, we'd be a team to reckon with next year.

I saw Oceans 12. It wasn't a bomb, but if I had to do it over I wouldn't see it.

You do.

Peyton Manning is the best QB in the game. I'd consider McGahee to be a top 10 back based on this year, with next year possibly bringing him top 5 status. Spikes is a really good outside linebacker. I'd say that a QB makes more of a difference to the outcome of the game than a OLB plus a RB, and I'd say that Peyton is better for his position than Spikes and McGahee are for theirs. So this is a trade worth making, though it would really hurt to lose those two guys.

Dude, I specifically took the Drew Brees option off the table by saying we should assume San Diego will not allow him to become a free agent.

Philadelphia couldn't have beaten an AFC team in the Super Bowl with or without Terrell Owens. Look what Pittsburgh did to Philly. Look what Pittsburgh's backups did to US!

hopefully not Buffalo.

I knew I was forgetting something. Just vote for other.

Obviously the above would change if San Diego let Drew Brees become a free agent. But assuming that doesn't happen, which option would you take?

I have the feeling I know which GM is MOST likely to take a chance on a Hurricane RB with a messed-up knee. I know what you're thinking: said GM already has a proven starter at RB. Seems to me I've heard that before . . .

I remember that show. It's been a while.

When Willis walked off the field and Shaud Williams came on, did you feel, "oh my gosh, there goes our running game."? I didn't. Did you say, "Gee, I'm counting the days until Travis comes back and upgrades our backup RB position."? It didn't seem like that big a deal to me when Travis came back, because Shaud was doing just fine as backup RB.