1. Matt McCoy is a bust.
Reality: Matt McCoy was a good player for us before he hurt his shoulder. His plying style is very wild and physical so without being able to lead with his shoulder, his play appeared soft and he really was very bad in his last few games as a starter. Go look at GE99's Detailed Game Reports for evidence of his play declining after his injury.
2. Reggie Brown doesn't have the speed to stretch the field.
Reality: Reggie Brown can stretch the field. He had tons of 40+ yard plays this last year and showed his speed on numberous occassions. Brown is obviously not as fast as Stallworth was, but saying we lost the ability to stretch the field by losing Donte isn't true. We merely play Reggie Brown at the X-WR spot because the coaching staff believes he has the hands and toughness to play the spot. Curtis is a nice addition, but I believe that we would have been fine without him as well.
3. The Front Office needs to pick up a massive 330+ lb DT to solve our run stopping problems.
Reality: The Front Office likes small DTs who can create pressure. Pat Williams-type players will probably not wear midight green in the AR tenure. Also, with two first round picks invested in the position, such an addition would block playing time for Bunkley. We need Bunkley to get on the field and show what he can do, so we can re-evaluate the position next year. Unfortunately our run defense may strongly depend on the progression of Broderick Bunkley. Furthermore, when we were fine against the run 2001-2004, there was no massive 1-gap DT. We had a then small and quick Corey Simon and a younger Darwin Walker. We did have Hollis Thomas, but he generally wasn't the starter and was the full-time starter in '05 when our run-stopping problems began. The Linebackers are the problem. In '04 we had a fairytale season, but we were very bad at stopping the run until Trot became the starter. It was a Linebacker who turned it around, I just wished the Front Office valued the position more.
edit: A lot of people are talking about how awful we were vs. the run in '03, and that is true, but it wasn't quite the epidemic it was this last year, when we were in the bottom 10 in the league. In '03 and the first half of '04 we essentially had the same run defense. It wasn't good, but it hardly was terrible. '05 and '06 were much worse than '03 or the start of '04 ever were. And either way we managed to turn it around when we got Trotter back, again proving that with a small Line, you need Big Linebackers and vice-versa. LB is where we can fix this team, not DT right now.
4. Max Jean-Gilles will start when Jon Runyan is no longer an Eagle.
Reality: Ok, he might be able to, but please tell me why a 4th round draft pick is already pencilled into the '08 starting lineup? Sure he has potential, but there is also a very good chance that the Front Office doesn't see him as the answer and adresses the O-Line in this draft. There is a reason why 98 players were picked before him. Basically I'm saying that an Offensive Tackle in the second round is actually an outside possibility.
5. LJ Smith fumbles too much.
Reality: LJ Smith has fumbled twice in his entire career, only one of which was actually lost to the other team.
edit: He fumbled twice in a playoff game in '04 and that is the main reason people hate on the guy.
6. We will draft a WR.
Reality: Reggie, Baskett, Curtis, GLew, Avant, Bloom, Bethel. Count 'em: SEVEN. The number of WRs on the team. GLew and Bethel/Bloom are the only guy that have a shot to get cut, so that leaves 5 spots. Now where is a 6th Wide Receiver supposed to fit in? This actually isn't really a TATE misconception but rather a national media misconception.
edit: I realized that I actually did not "Count 'em". my bad :-P
thanks for listening, that is all
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