by RiverDog » Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:37 pm
I'm not sure about the trade scenario. So many of our older players, the ones most likely to get tossed on the block, are damaged goods and with fat contracts, specifically Sherman, Bennett, and Chancellor. Earl is the only one that's healthy and that performed up to par in 2017. But I do expect our team to look different, more different than at any other point during Pete's tenure.
Unlike CBob, I don't think that we are just a player or two away. We haven't crashed and burned like the Broncos did, but IMO this team has been on a steady decline since SB48. If it hadn't been for Russell, we probably would have crashed and burned our way to a 6-10 or 5-11 season. We're obviously weaker on the offensive line, weaker on defense, weaker on special teams than we were from 2012-14. We had set an all time NFL record for the most consecutive games of not losing by 9+ points that had stretched some 70 regular season games, or over 4 years. That ended two seasons ago.
But I don't think we need to blow it up, at least not this season. Hope springs eternal.