The lines need to be upgraded. On both sides of the ball. If Whitworth retires, the o-line in particular looks ugly. We seem to have found some young lineman that can be part of the solution going forward, but it is anyone's guess if they will be able to take the steps necessary to let this team be a contender next year.
The run game will rise and fall with the o-line, as it will for most teams. I am not convinced that Gurley is finished. To my eye, he looked as good or better than he did in his sophomore season, when the o-line and play calls sucked. The reality is that Gurley is a bigger RB who runs very upright and takes very long galloping strides. Therefore, he never *looks* like he is running very fast or like he has much burst. Fans will see this and think he is washed up when the holes are not there. But those traits are actually his biggest advantages. Defenders think that Gurley is moving slower than he actually is, take bad angles, and miss. His highlight tapes confirm this, going all the way back to his rookie season. Gurley actually looked pretty good to me this year when he was given the carries and there was a crease for him. He isn't and wasn't the type of RB that excels at creating things for himself. He needs a hole, and then he can be a home run hitter. His pass protection is also elite, and he is good around the goal-line. Having said all that, his lower snaps count and quasi-removal as a receiving threat this season are concerning. Nobody knows if those things were due to the more unfavorable game scripts the Rams faced this year, poor play calling from McVay, a bum knee, or some other reason. But if he will not or cannot be a bell-cow, we need to hope that Gurley restructures, or else we are stuck with him until we can afford to cut him. He makes too much money to not be a bell-cow. Period. And if our o-line experiences another spurt of bottom 5 run blocking, with no creativity from McVay to scheme out of it, Gurley probably isn't the style of runner we need anyway. Draft a stout, slippery jitterbug in the middle to low rounds and be done with the RB question. Move on to other team needs. Seattle has employed this tactic to their significant advantage.
The defensive line and LBers need help. This will range from smaller scale tweaking to large scale overhauls, depending on what happens with Dante Fowler and Corey Littleton (both of whom might not even be retained due to financial reasons).
Donald is amazing. Fowler and Littleton are both very good - and Littleton is absolutely elite in coverage for a LB - but again, both might be gone soon. If that happens, this D will be a dumpster fire, in which case you have to imagine it would command most of our available draft and free agent capital.
Brockers is decent, but nothing special, which is a problem when you consider: (1) his cap hit is notable and (2) he is aging and could experience a sharp decline soon. Yet, without Brockers' big body, the run D becomes even more porous. Which leads us to this glaring weakness - we badly need a big NT to occupy space in the middle so that teams cannot gash us on the ground. Particularly if we refuse to get a thumper of a LB to help shore up the run defence. Joseph-Day is largely ineffective, although he makes some good plays now and again. He's good for depth. Otherwise, he is a player that needs to be upgraded. Reeder ought to be nothing more than depth as well - he's too slow and stiff, although I do like his motor. I hope that Greg Gaines can help shore things up in the middle. Sadly, my initial impression is that he is too slow, small, and short-armed to be more than a JAG. Think Aaron Donald.... but stripped of his exceptional speed and strength. Not enticing. Time will tell. He is but a rookie and some of the coaches seem high on him. Hopefully, he provides a solution in-house.
The pass rush actually appears to be in okay shape. If Fowler returns, he and Donald see it in good hands. If Fowler is gone, we have decent in house options. Obo looked great at rushing the passer in his limited snaps. Clay Matthews is still quite effective as a pass rusher, as well. However, I would move on from Matthews unless he takes a cheap deal to be used exclusively as a pass rush specialist. He is aging and appears incapable or unwilling to tackle. All he does is use one hand to strip the ball away - never successfully - as RBs blow past him. Obo and Ebukam both offer more than Matthews at this point, in my opinion. Particularly Ebukam in terms of run defence. Both need Clay's snaps to develop. The the time to transition is now.
WR is set. Move on from Cooks if possible due to cap reasons. If we cannot, he is still a very useful player. I am optimistic he bounces back. Goff, the run game, and the o-line were all awful for most of the time that he was healthy. Cooks' main role is to stretch the field and be a deep target. And people are surprised he had a rough year? None of the other WRs have his speed / can stretch a defence like him. He usually shows up in big games. We need the cap room more than we need the luxury of Cooks at WR. But I don't get why some are so down on him.
Goff is going nowhere so there is no use in debating his utility. The jury is still out on him, anyway. He can make all the throws, is young, and has delivered some huge drives in pressure-cooker situations. He has also struggled mightily at times. With a better run game, o-line, and offensive game plan - all of which were awful for large parts of this year - I remain optimistic we have a top 10 QB on our hands. It isn't realistic to give Goff perfect conditions all the time. But we need to do bette than bottom 5 run game and pass protection in 2020-21.
TE is set. The only problem with Higbee and Everett is how can we find a way to maximize both of these excellent young players.
McVay needs significant improvement. I am optimistic he will deliver, given his body of work. But he isn't the only coach to have had a poor o-line this season. It's up to McVay to scheme up a solution. He seemed unable to do that this year and, in fact, kept repeating the same errors. Long developing pass plays despite awful pass protection. Abandoned the run even when it was working. Running Gurley up the middle repeatedly when it was obvious the defense took that away. He did appear to find solutions at times - more two TE sets, attacking the middle of the field with intermediate throws, jet sweeps and fake jet sweeps, etc. But then, inexplicably, he reverted back to what *wasn't* working. I trust McVay to bounce back. But his performance might have been the most disappointing one this season. We badly need an offensive coordinator, even if the role is mostly ceremonial in nature, serving only as a check and balance to shake up McVay when he gets hung up on repeating unsuccessful tendencies.
Phillips can stay or go. Doesn't matter to me, but if we replace him, we need someone better, who may or may not be out there. Time will tell. The D was incredible at times and awful at others. Too inconsistent. I will say that, after the Ramsey trade, whenever the D looked bad, it was a combo of players missing their tackles and the roster clearly lacking both a big NT and a thumper at LB. None of that is really on Wade. Every team will have holes. That is the reality of a salary cap. But if you play 3-4 defense, I really think you do need at least one of a big true NT or a big run stuffing LBer. To have neither makes you too easy to run at.
We seem at secondary, assuming we sign Ramsey, who can travel anywhere covering the opponent's #1 receiving option. Hill had a solid year, and Williams has looked good in his absence. I am optimistic one will able to establish themselves as a decent #2 option opposite Ramsey to cover the #2 wide-outs of other teams, with the other serves as good depth. David Long also seems to hold promise, and NRC is a useful player. Christian, who I am not a fan of, actually looked decent down the stretch. Johnson and Rapp give us two solid safeties.
Special teams are set. Down year for them, but it happens. Hekker, GZ, and coach Bones are all among the best in the NFL at their respective positions.
All in all, we have lots of talent but also lots to fix. We could easily contend for a Super Bowl next year if things break our way. We could also miss the playoffs again. Such is life in the NFL. The line between winning and losing is paper thin. And when you play in the NFC West, you have to be "on" all year, as even a small slump could leave you on the outside looking in.
