Loyal fan here, suddenly worried about the offense again.
I promised myself I could deal with a Mario pick - heck, I even told the work buddies that last week. So what is this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach?
Mario's points are plenty. Freakish measurables. Premium position. Need position. Decent competition, solid production. Seems like a good guy. Scouts across the country have him rated just a hair behind Bush.
So what's my problem? To be honest, I don't know.
Perhaps it's the lost opportunity to see what an offensive game-planner could do with the most flexible offensive weapon of our time? Maybe it's this nagging doubt about the O-line. I had convinced myself that the threat of Bush on a screen or in the flat would keep the pressure largely at bay. I know we've upgraded, I know we have better coaches. I guess after 4 years of continuously subpar (and that's generous) performance my faith may be seriously shaken.
Perhaps I am worried about the production. With Bush, the game most often held up as "poor performance" for him still had him contributing nearly 200 yards of offense. It's just plain easier to take a DE out (double team him) than a RB like Reggie. You can spy him, but who can keep up if he busts for the outside?
Perhaps it just comes down to this:
In today's NFL, you can't stop the offense forever. The rules have been changed over decades to encourage offensive firepower. How often do teams win 7-3 against quality opponents anymore?
I promised myself I could deal with a Mario pick - heck, I even told the work buddies that last week. So what is this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach?
Mario's points are plenty. Freakish measurables. Premium position. Need position. Decent competition, solid production. Seems like a good guy. Scouts across the country have him rated just a hair behind Bush.
So what's my problem? To be honest, I don't know.
Perhaps it's the lost opportunity to see what an offensive game-planner could do with the most flexible offensive weapon of our time? Maybe it's this nagging doubt about the O-line. I had convinced myself that the threat of Bush on a screen or in the flat would keep the pressure largely at bay. I know we've upgraded, I know we have better coaches. I guess after 4 years of continuously subpar (and that's generous) performance my faith may be seriously shaken.
Perhaps I am worried about the production. With Bush, the game most often held up as "poor performance" for him still had him contributing nearly 200 yards of offense. It's just plain easier to take a DE out (double team him) than a RB like Reggie. You can spy him, but who can keep up if he busts for the outside?
Perhaps it just comes down to this:
In today's NFL, you can't stop the offense forever. The rules have been changed over decades to encourage offensive firepower. How often do teams win 7-3 against quality opponents anymore?
