I think
@Bruno2 and
@Chadstroma have the right takes here. This team deserves criticism for falling apart -- that's on the coaching staff and the entire team for not fully committing to excellence on every play of every game -- but the main culprit here is our D and I fully believe we would be in the playoffs with a D that could play credibly.
Our 53 man squad included the following guys I'd consider average or above average NFL starters:
- Maxx Crosby -- our best player on D coming into the season, and the only guy who gives us any semblance of a pass rush
- Clelin Ferrell -- a guy who clearly developed YoY. He's not the rush force we need off the edge but we plays two-way well and opens up opportunity. He's not an pro-bowler, but still has room to develop, and even if his third year is only marginally better, he's an above average starter.
- Nick Kwiatkowski -- a smart, capable, defensive quarterback who is right now the keystone to our D.
- Trayvon Mullen -- prone to mistakes but largely improved this year and developing into a dependable, if not high quality, starter
As far as the others:
- Carl Nassib -- FA signing that was a complete bust. Never lived up to his billing, not worth the money we paid him.
- Arden Key -- a guy who has been on the verge of breaking out for a while but never has clearly progressed. May still have it in him, but at this time, looks like he isn't a consistent contributer
- Maliek Collins -- also never lived up to the level of play he had for the Cowboys.
- Jonathan Hankins -- middling tackle whose best year was his first with the Giants -- we haven't seen his ability to be a run stuffer or the 7 sack/6 QB hits/21 hurries type of player he was in 2014.
- Maurice Hurst -- a guy I expected to develop a lot more this year, his third in the NFL. Still time, but looking more like a lifetime rotational player who doesn't bring the juice his 6'1, 291 frame should
- Kendall Vickers - journeyman CFL/NFL player who is simply depth for injury, as opposed to a quality rotational end
- Daniel Ross -- journeyman CFL/NFL player who didn't impact the team whatsoever.
- Cory Littleton -- a bust of a FA signing -- provides a warm body and the occasional tackle.
- Raekwon MacMillan -- looked better when playing with Kiko Alonso and Jerome Baker, but shows some flashes late this year and may still contribute.
- Nicholas Morrow -- more a liability in coverage than a help, and not talented enough to be a starter.
- Tanner Muse -- jury still out, we really haven't seen what he can bring with his toe surgery hampering a large part of a critical learning rookie year.
- Damon Arnette -- raw skill is there, but needs to clean up his tackling to protect himself, and still has a large learning curve as he is inconsistent
- Lamarcus Joyner -- a square peg in a round hole operating as nickle back when he has traditionally been better at safety, I think he's lost a step and is below average as either.
- Isaiah Johnson -- too early to tell
- Amik Robertson -- also too early to tell.
- Keisean Nixon -- an utter liability in coverage, and not even the best ST returner.
- Jonathan Abram -- huge talent and heart, but needs to learn to play the game and develop more as a player in coverage. Guy absolutely needs to mature fast and put defense above big hitting if he wants to develop into any shadow of the players who wore his number previously for the Raiders
- Erik Harris -- good nose for the ball as a rover, but a below-average safety
- Jeff Heath -- brings some experience but not the level of play you would expect from an 8 year vet, and is a below-average starter. At least he can kick the ball in an emergency.
- Dallin Leavitt - warm body for depth is about the best thing I can say about Leavitt's game.
That's the talent level we had to work with. 2 guys who are above average talents (Crosby, Kaptain K), 2 average guys with potential trajectory (Ferrell, Mullen), and out of the rest, maybe 4 guys who look talented but need to develop quickly (Hurst, MacMillan, Arnette, Abram).
The remaining players we had on D were either FAs who were busts or never played as average starters (Nassib, Littleton, Joyner), or guys who were more liabilities in their play than not.
We brought in Vic Beasley and David Irving who may or may not be busts or blessings -- to early to tell. We signed no-ones for depth in McKinley, Eligwe, Wilber, DJ Killins, and even had to resign Daryl Worley.
You simply can't have a playoff team with only 4 average to above average starters. You can't have a playoff team without a DC with a proven track record of developing young talent (is Wade Philips that guy? I don't know -- I do know expecting guys like Littleton and Joyner to suddenly be better reunited with their old coach is a pipedream).
Here is who we passed up in getting in FA:
- Justin Houston
- Shaq Barrett
- Ndamukong Suh
- JPP
- Leonard Floyd
- Yannick Ngakoue
- Carlos Dunlap
- Za'Darius Smith
- Jadeveon Clowney
I like that our FO is looking for the right value, but with inordinately thin defensive talent, we should have been more aggressive in getting guys who looked like they could contribute, and did for the teams who went and got them. We need to be less penny-wise/pound foolish when it was clear we did not have the talent up front to help.
TL;DR: You will never be successful with only 4 average/above average starters on D, and so much youth yet to develop.
To turn it around next year, we need to 1) hire the right DC who not only comes with the right game plan but can actually develop the amount of young talent we have on the roster; and 2) make bolder FA signings and not be afraid to bring in one high priced ticket FA that can shore up a huge position of need (like inside rush) that can lift the rest of the D around them by creating opportunity.
We do this, we can be a 10+ win playoff team. We have a lot of youth on our team which is good -- if it develops the right way. Will be interesting to see what happens in the offseason through next year, because Gruden's seat needs to be very hot next year if we have another disappointing season.