In a recent article in the Miami Herald, Bill Parcells said he made three lists with Jeff Ireland after breaking down the Fins' roster earlier this year: musts, needs and wants. According to Parcells: http://www.miamiherald.com/616/story/559200.html At the end of the article: Let me ask everybody here at ThePhins. What do you think those lists look like now? I'll go first: MUSTs 1. QB - John Beck or Chad Henne 2. LT - Jake Long 3. LG - Shawn Murphy or Steve McKinney 4. RG - Justin Smiley 5. NT - Jason Ferguson (for now) 6. DE opposite of Holliday - Randy Starks and Kendall Langford 7. Pass rusher to eventually take over for JT - Phillip Merling 8. CB capable of covering the #1 WRs in the league - 9. Safety - NEEDs 1. Veteran backup QB - McClown 2. WR opposite of Ginn - Ernest Wilford 3. Slot WR - Bess, Camarillo, or Hagan 4. TE who can block - Ryan and Fasano 5. ILBs capable of playing the 34 defense - Ayodele and Torbor 6. Depth at RB - Parmele and Hilliard 7. Depth at Safety - Keith Davis and Chris Crocker 8. Nickel back - Michael Lehan WANTs 1. A big-time receiving TE like Jason Witten 2. A kicker who can make a 50-yarder as well as kickoff into the endzone 3. Second string players who excel at special teams - Keith Davis, Nathan Jones, Charlie Anderson, Boomer Grigsby, Jayson Foster, Davone Bess, Donald Thomas, Sean Ryan, Ed Miles, and Greg Camarillo
I think we need a dominant OLB who can rush the passer, ala George Selvie at USF. We need another inside LB who is an improvement over Crowder. I think we need two another WR like Santana Moss who can get downfield and make catches. We need one of our QBs to step up and be consistent. Once those things get done, I think we'll be very competitive in this league.
I read that and was curious about how he was classifying things too. I think the majority of musts were on defense and involved stopping the run, or were on special teams. Merling is a DE, JT is an outside linebacker in a 3-4. I think Merling MUST be ahead of Langford, he was drafted at the top of the 2nd and was ranked in the 1st round on every draft board I looked at. Calvin Pace was one of the misses, and is probably the only reason why JT is still thinking of excuses to skip the next TC. You've got the starting QB and back-up mixed up..:d-day:
Our top MUST was rebuilding the scouting department. By firing many of them after the draft, the purge has begun. Our 'talent acquisition business", as Parcells calls it, will be set up to run effectively by next year... and to continue runing after Parcells leaves. Bpk
Special teams was definitely a priority. I'm very curious to see how much better our special teams can be this season. I would classify both Merling and JT as a hybrid like Terrell Suggs. A defensive end-linebacker... http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3394771 It's what Bill Walsh called the "elephant" position. I can see why you would think I was ranking them. But I wasn't. My listing Sparks and Langford ahead of Merling was just a coincidence. We'll see how they do in the preseason games. If McClown is the best QB on our roster then we're in trouble.
I agree that rebuilding the scouting dept was a priority for Parcells and Ireland. But the Musts, Needs, and Wants lists pertain only to the players on the roster. I'm glad you finally changed your avatar, by the way.
Selvie would be great. But if we don't draft a CB in the 1st round next year I am gonna be very disappointed.
MUST: Shore up offensive line Decide which QB is to start THIS YEAR and which is long term NEED: An established, clear cut #1 WR A solid, but not necessarily great, option for #2 A decent TE to emerge from the pack we have as a starter To determine our future MLB, Crowder or someone else WANT: Better play from secondary, because we once again did not address it Hope we dont have too many injuries at safety A clear #1 NT, depending on if Ferguson can last a whole season as a starter, or is it Randy Starks or Vonnie Holliday? Improved ST play, hopefully with Armstrong gone we will see.
Very good lists. I will add a stud WR ala TO to the want list but those can be hard to come by (unless we draft Crabtree next year). With these rules in the league, you need a top-flite WR. Likewise for a big-time receiving TE. And a guy like Andre Johnson can make okay QB's look good. I'd also put #1 CB a bit higher and a stud ILB. MUST: Have OL compatibility and on the same page Win everything up front with DL because LB and CB crew are average at best. Limited injuries as possible. NEED: Ronnie healthy Drafting a stud ILB to take over Zach's role To determine QB situation whether it be Henne, Beck, McCown, future pick. JT to be JT for us Roth/Merling/Langford to step up Ferguson to stay healthy WANT: Better depth and talent in CB top to bottom. A dynamic, preferably 6'2 and up, go-to #1 WR. Something Hagan should've been. A solid, but not necessarily great, option for #2 to have Ginn work as a #3 and KR/PR. A true #1 cover corner who can cover #1 WR's and make plays (PD's + Ints) A receiving stud TE A future NT Improved ST play, especially return game
I believe the "Musts" dealt mainly with organization structure and personnel, "Needs" had to do with player/positional improvements, and "Wants" contained the phrase "Screw Jerry Jones out of some players."
If it is only related to players, I agree with Finole on wants and needs, and I would add developmental NT (Dotson), and depth for the o-line (both developmental and experienced) as wants...
i take musts/needs and wants as postions of need not the performance of players we already have. I mean, every team in the league needs good QB play, the lines to hold etc... i think our musts, needs and wants are all the same, which is: CB WR That is probably in order of priority. I dont see the Oline getting much better talent wise, its just a cohesion thing. i think there is enough talent there from the QB's, we just need performance.
CB would definitely top the list now. But I'm not sure about WR. We'll know more about that position after this season. If QB, LT, LG, RG, NT and DE have all been addressed, I'd guess the MUST list looks like this now... MUSTs 1. CB capable of covering the #1 WRs in the league 2. NT of the future 3. Safety (depending on how Jason Allen and Yeremiah Bell do in 2008) 4. WR (depending on how Ginn does in 2008) And I would guess the NEED list looks like this now... NEEDs 1. A great ILB 2. Another pass rusher (you can never have too many) 3. Another WR (depending on how Wilford, Bess, Camarillo, or Hagan do in 2008) The WANT list would look pretty much the same... WANTs 1. A big-time receiving TE like Jason Witten 2. A kicker who can make a 50-yarder as well as kickoff into the endzone 3. Backups who excel on special teams (you can never have too many)
Musts 1. Pick the best QB, out of the three and stick with him. Let him fail without fearing getting pulled and develope one of these guys. Let's not have a Sage Rosenfelds situation where one guy outperforms the other two but you don't start him becuase he isn't your guy. 2. We must get younger and improve in the trenches. Hopefully we did this with the draft and FA! Needs 1. Playmakers on offense, I still think we're a short one true #1 WR but hopefully I'm wrong and Ted Ginn and his family will develope into one 2. Better special teams play. We were terrible last year but I think we addressed the situtation Wants 1. A playoff team 2. A true shutdown corner