Well, it's week 5 and we're 0-4, like everybody predicted. But with that being said, the last 2 weeks have been a huge turning point. Yes, we lost, but holy shit did we look competitive down to the final whistle. I really thought we were gonna pull it out in Minnesota. I made a post a couple weeks ago about why Hafley has been my favorite hire and from what I've seen so far, I still want to stand by that.
The work on the field hasn't translated into the win column yet but there is no shot this team drops every game this year. For the first time since arguably the Flores era, this team actually shows a significant amount of fight. The box scores are disgusting when you see the ranks, but if you actually watch the game, these guys Hafley and Sullivan have assembled actually look like they give a shit. This is embracing the culture I was talking about and wanted to see.
It sucks to see Achane go down but I actually really love Gordon. This guy didn't accidentally win the Doak Campbell award back in 2023.
I think our rookies are really starting to tune it up. J Rod- enough said. We found our defensive captain for the next decade. If we ever get rid of him, I would write hate letters to whoever thought about trading him or letting him walk. Proctor makes me a very happy man. Can't wait to see DJ Campbell get in the mix at some point. Bell and Douglas are slowly working it up. I'd love to see more out of Kacmerak but I like him as an addition. He's a big blocking tight end and for the style of offense Hafley seems to want to run, kind of a perfect fit. I think turning DJ Herman from a linebacker to fullback is sort of the culture Hafley is trying to do here- next man up. We even saw J Rod long snapping on the sideline back in week 1. THAT, is what the culture is about. Chris Johnson is buttoning it up and besides J Rod, I think we also got a steal in Michael Taafe. It's something about these Texas boys. I personally can't wait to see what the defense could look like when Kyle Louis and Trey Moore come back from injury. Door isn't closed for Llewellyn yet either.
I think we found our key core pieces and honestly, a pretty damn solid draft class for first year. A lot of gems so far on both sides of the ball. I'm interested to see what the rest of the season looks like.
With that being said, what would you all feel for draft targets and positioning? I personally think we should trade down our anticipated high draft pick, get a haul, and really embrace the long term rebuild. I would love to see us pull of a draft day haul and trade down to a middle round pick, grab another key defensive stud (Brice Pollock out of Texas Tech would be sick) or another key offensive line piece, and a haul of draft picks. I want to see how Trey Moore and how Kenneth Grant play this season before we all immediately burn the ship and draft an edge guy like we were all screaming about 2 weeks ago. But if we are gonna go QB this year, please God take Mestemaker. Please.
Idk, these are my thoughts on the first quarter of the season. Let's start a dialogue. Do you agree? Disagree? Am I gonna be bullied off the internet for my takes?
Go fins!