SIAB's Dream Offseason

[V3rm0nt3r]

I like a lot of your ideas. I agree that Mario shouldn't necessarily be brought back as the opportunity cost that it would take to keep him could be used to effectively plug up holes in the roster. Looking at the way free agency and the draft are stacking up I'd imagine Kubiak will be looking to snag a WR in free agency to free up that first pick for another rush linebacker.

I say this because there is very little talent in the rush linebacker free agent market while there are a number of solid wide outs that would salivate at the chance to clean up across from AJ (I'm pulling for that old U combo with Wayne as well). On top of this there are three players that I really like who are projected to go in the first round in April who the front office could target.

Courtney Upshaw, DE/OLB, Alabama (6-1, 270)
Whitney Mercilus, DE/OLB, Illinois (6-4, 265)
Nick Perry, DE/OLB, USC (6-3, 250)

While I haven't seen these guys play consistently, their stats and measurables are enough to get me excited about potentially seeing them in Wade's defense (I'm pulling for Mercilus personally although he likely won't be on the board by #26).

If Houston decides to go after a WR in the first I'd expect it to be Kendall Wright. Given, he's a WR under six feet tall and Kubiak usually likes his receivers to tower over opposing corners, however Wright (5'11") offers game changing ability similar to Desean Jackson in Philly and has shown the ability to take the top off of a defense. In Houston, this ability would be used to potentially open up AJ/OD/Foster underneath the coverage which would allow the Texans to effectively manage the game clock. Wright also isn't petite enough to rule him as a strictly slot wide out and offers more girth and subsequent durability than Jackson

Dwight Jones is the other receiver I have my eye on. A more prototypical Kubiak WR prospect at 6'3" 225 lbs, Jones comes out of the system that produced Hakeem Nicks as well as Cleveland rookie Greg Little and he offers the same potential to be an athletic, outside the numbers type receiver. He'll also likely be there in the second round, however Kubiak would likely need to move up to guarantee the selection.

[Mike77015]

I would have to disagree with you about the "Lucky Manning was injured" comment. There is no way that Manning takes last years Colts to the playoffs. Our record with them would have been the same 1 win 1 lose, and would not affect the outcome of any other game we played.

[V3rm0nt3r]

Originally Posted by Mike77015

I would have to disagree with you about the "Lucky Manning was injured" comment. There is no way that Manning takes last years Colts to the playoffs. Our record with them would have been the same 1 win 1 lose, and would not affect the outcome of any other game we played.

While I agree that our record would likely still be 1 and 1 against Indy and therefore he wouldn't likely wouldn't have effected our playoff push, I disagree that the Colts wouldn't have made the postseason themselves with Manning at the helm. If there is anything that was proved by the Colt's season it's that Peyton is a one man team. He brought a team similar to the 2011 Colts (one with virtually no run game or defense) to a Super Bowl victory (granted the D picked up their game in the playoffs) and has been one of just a handful of good players on a team that has perennially made the playoffs over the past decade.

[HuttoKarl]

I'd love to see us draft that angry LB from Arizona State, Vontaze Burfict. He and Cushing together on the same team would make for some of the best Mic'd Up segments in the history of the Universe.