- Joined
- Nov 24, 2015
- Messages
- 13,527
You are kidding, right? As if those are the only guys we would pay NIL to.
---We missed on Jeremiah. Yes, and we signed 3 top WRs and are going after a few in the Portal. Doesn't mean you can just flip money around between position groups. The Collective was willing to overspend to keep Jeremiah home, but not to sign every Portal player we missed in prior years.
---Ward (or someone like Ward) is still under pursuit. You don't give away your QB money to a DL and then expect to get another QB for free.
So here’s the thing.I read the first line so I will respond to that.
As of December 19th did we have significant funds allocated for both Ward and JJ? If so, who received those funds once they elected to go elsewhere? Keep it short.
I don’t have a problem with the lack of reckless spending in the aftermath of the QB debacle, especially towards players that aren’t “worth it” - no matter the position. My problem is the general process both he and the BOT are taking in terms of constructing this roster to succeed in the present.
This philosophy of building pretty much 90% of this team through HS isn’t going to work in the short-term. Heck, it might not even work out in the long-term. Still way too early to tell for sure…but thus, he keeps creating excuses for when the lack of success on the field rears its ugly head. “Oh just wait til 2024” turned into “oh wait til 2025 when his first class is all juniors” will turn into “wait til 2026 when his first two classes are all upperclassmen”.
The portal is not some scary place that will run your freshmen off if they go out and grab someone that improves the roster. If Mario is actually true to his words regarding talent acquisition, he should use every resource and possibility imaginable to upgrade his team and win games immediately, not in two years. It’s almost like he knows he has 7 years to win and is operating at that pace.
This team needs a lot of help that unfortunately, is going to have to come from the young guys (unless we attack the Spring Portal). There’s going to be an immense amount of pressure put on the ‘23 and ‘24 class to contribute immediately. This is not how big-boy programs operate: they bring in talent wherever necessary, and the cream always rises to the top.
So in the end, who is to blame for not attacking the portal harder: Mario, or the BOT for not wanting to spend money on certain positions? Both are issues, just separate ones.
In my eyes (and again, this is through the lenses of someone that wants/expects to challenge for a 9-10 win season), we still need:
A WR1, like badly: especially if our current QB situation does not improve.
A LB2
At least 1 lockdown DB, particularly in the slot.
A starting-caliber safety
Another Pass Rusher on the edge
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