Long overdue but Covid restrictions have changed everything for me.
Here is what I think we already know:
Tomlin is staying through this nightmare.
Our schedule is so brutal next year that IF there is miraculously no salary cap at all (fantasyland), we would lose enough to keep us out of the playoffs WITH everyone back we had THIS year.
We won't have everyone back and that is the reality.
Our YBC (yards before contact) is at an all league low. That is either scheme/proficiency or scheme and proficiency along with predictability. THAT we must fix or NO RB will survive.
We need a better offensive scheme and a new coordinator at the very least. AND, depending on which local reporter you believe, we need to get Tomlin's hands off the "Dadgum" defense or get a new D coordinator that has more control and the aptitude to actually scheme against the offensive TEAM we play each week...not play the same scheme, tendencies and sub-packages regardless of who the opponent is.
Aside from the list of players that we shouldn't chase, (BB, Pouncey, JuJu, Hilton, Villy, and Bud), we should reload along the OL as any new QB will benefit from a dependable running game. We MUST bring in an offensive line savant to teach run blocking vs pass blocking as this year's OL played too upright in both and didn't have knee bend in either for the most part. This is why we had no push in the run game and got pushed back into the QB in the passing game.
After looking at who is out there, MY first choice would be Philly's OL coach Jeff Stoutland. Why? He has a resume going back to 1993 as an OL coach/run game coordinator AND he worked a miracle in Philly this year with a rag-tag replacement OL and still managed to get good blocking and his YBC averaged a full yard more than ours. My second choice would be Hank Fraley from the Lions. Different resume but similar results. IF we get one of these two guys to take over the OL, we are moving in the right direction. Stoutland has some nice Youtube interviews on the "art of run blocking" worth watching.
Second, I give the offense to Canada. He has worked in a myriad of offensive schemes and styles (many of which he tailored himself to suit the talent he had). He would be familiar with the offense we currently run and could add by subtraction/substitution and create a scheme to help whomever is in our backfield next year. Fichtner's mojo was in small college programs where the depth of knowledge, preparation, and sophistication was weaker at that level and at the time. The plays aren't all bad but BB calling the plays was the only times we were dependable and less predictable (THIS has been going on for years, with multiple coordinators and BB has hidden their collective warts, IMO).
On D, we need to find out WHO our players will be next year and assuming we won't have the talent we had this year, WE MUST learn to formulate a game plan for EACH opponent, each week. We will need to cover our weaknesses with more individual game planning. This has not been a strength of MT's. He likes to go to the game with the same plan regardless of who we are playing and just execute better. A good coach finds the weaknesses AHEAD of the game and PLANS to exploit those weaknesses. We aren't doing this. I don't know if Butler is dadgum stupid, (to the contrary, I've heard from coaches and players that he remembers all kinds of things and scheme variations) but something has to give here. You cannot play great for stretches and poorly for stretches without blaming the coaches...we have had the same players in both situations. As much as I hate him, "Hairball" is a good coach and he EXPOSED our weaknesses and EXPLOITED them with lesser talent. He changed his identity to maximize the skill players use and downplay their weaknesses. Also, he exposed us to the rest of the league who were watching.
Now, we have a new OC and a new OL coach. Regardless of whether BB is back or Rudy is in there, we need to pound the rock. I go to Baltimore and make my opponent weaker by taking a reliable if not severely under-rated RB off of their roster. I make an off to Gus Edwards. He is their most dependable running back and at 28 has never had a season under 5 YPC (I doubt anyone can say that). He is not as "splashy" as Dobbins but will run downhill and can break tackles and run. He has an NFL resume, so you know what you are getting. He is also a FA who has never been paid over 800k/yr and may feel underappreciated. They may do it to him again.
IF he is not available, I make a "play" for Damien Williams of the Chiefs who sat out this year due to Covid. Technically, his last year will still "toll" into 2021 but he had a better YPC than any of ther replacements this year including Clyde Edwards-Hellaire. He might cost us a pick or trade but he may be there and "a bird in the hand...".
I go into the draft thinking "trenches" all the way in the beginning. If I can land a road-grader with the athletic talent to be taught to be a good pass-protector, I go get him. I would go after a good T like Darrisaw, Little or Leatherwood in the 1st and get a guy like Dickerson/Cleveland later.
I throw in McGrone as a OLB/ILB earlier or hit a guy like Werner later. We need help in the middle and on the outside and a player like McGrone is from Michigan (Bush has a partner) and he could be a player like Timmons, who started at OLB and moved to ILB. He has played both spots already. Fill the gaps in the draft with guys like Zaven Collins DE/OLB, Dynami Brown WR, and Bobby Brown DT and may get a shot at an under-rated QB like Ridder, Mond or Ehlinger (who would make a nice COP QB to run the RPO or even switch to TE).
Where this still leaves us weak is at TE but I think Rader might be ready to play the Jessie James role and can block some. We really need another Heath or a dynamic TE like Kittle or Kelce to help with our transition offense. Kittle went in round 5 because he was not used much but had speed and COD to go with 42 career catches in school. We need to find that guy if possible because Ebron is not a "Steeler" IMO. Steelers are tough, but not flashy. We won our most recent SBs with tough not flashy players and we can do it again. Our coach is not going to squash the BS celebrating ME doing my job players so we need someone in the locker room who will. Let's go get those guys and play a brand of smashmouth we haven't seen for awhile...regardless of our record. That's got my vote!
