Win Now or Developing Which one are we doing ?

[mecha]

But there really isn't an imbalance

All afc teams have 9 home games
All nfc teams have 8 home games

oh no shit, they divided it by conference. ok.. well that's a step.

 

[FozzyBear]

Youre always trying to win, even if that means tanking to win a pick slot and you are always developing. So both?

 

[jive]

Defense is win now, while offense is developing.

Defense has talent, but is aging. Almost half of our starting lineup is 30 or over. I doubt that they can all be replaced through the draft or free agency in the next couple of seasons, since we're up against the cap and don't have much draft capital. We would need to get a CB2, ILB, DE, 2 OLBs, and a SS in the next few seasons that can start and play at a high to all pro level to maintain this defense. Tall order if you ask me.

Offense is young, but developing. On the OL, outside of Cody Whitehair, everyone is 26 or younger. Jury is still out on most folks on the OL, espeically with 2 rookies potentially starting. A few of them show some promise, and it's a matter of whether they develop. The skill position players are also pretty young and lacking experience as well. A majority of them are 27 or under, and there's lots with 3 seasons or less under their belts. And of course, we're going to be starting a rookie QB soon. The development of this young offense is crucial to allow cap and draft resources to be used to address the defense in the near future. If the QB position is finally solved, a couple of linemen develop into quality starters, and receiver steps up to take the slot position, this side of the football would be complete.

 

[Britbuffguy]

I'm not of the mindset that every QB needs to sit and learn for x amount of time. I feel like Fields is going to be ready, and already better than Andy Dalton by week 1.

If our OL is decent, put him out there. That's my only concern. Don't get your rookie killed and shellshocked like David Carr.

That's my thinking. I saw Dalton play a lot last year. It was Foles level bad. And most of us would agree Mitch was better than Foles...so Fields, with all the National hype he's getting, SHOULD be able to beat out Dalton.

Just playing Dalton for a few games just for the hell of it is wasteful and will only get the D to start mailing it in. Why lose just to make sure Fields is ready. If he looks like the best QB thru camp and PreSeason, play him week 1.

I see too many Sallys worried about Aaron Donald, but what if Fields goes out there and hangs 35 points on Donald and company? You know that would do for the team's confidence?

Dalton was always only a back up plan if no one better was gotten. He's getting paid 10 million. He's not gonna care holding a clipboard. It's exactly like Bortles in Green Bay. They're just there for a JUST IN CASE need, not to actually start.