There are many people on this board that tend to the negative, some thrive on it. Others have had overly optimistic outlooks. When things are not going well, the negative nancies always come out, they neglect the good that has been done and don't realistically asses what was possible (instead inserting what they hoped or wanted as the minimum outcome). Sadly this is typical of the hot takes era of sports. So here are my thoughts:
1.
@tsarbomba I would agree that any comments that are anti-semitic (racist or otherwise generally against the accepted order of this board) should be grounds for punishment. I didn't see the comment (mods do a good job of deleting crap like that quickly) so I won't make any further judgements on it. Ultimately it is up to the mods to meet out punishment, but those on the board can also police things by calling out and shunning people that violate the civility of this board.
2. I think it is safe to say most on this board have been following football, participated, or coached so we all bring our built in biases, however if we were really "experts" we wouldn't be posting on a message board, we would be getting paid for that knowledge and would be the ones being criticized by a message board, so take any analysis with a grain of salt.
3. Mac I believe has demonstrated some coaching acumen and has shown the willingness to make changes when necessary. You don't have to be an asshole to be successful. Mac also realized that until the new contracts law was passed, he needed to show that he wouldn't drop someone without giving them a fair opportunity. He also realized that because of this law, great assistants weren't going to be beating down our door. Coaching staffs that turn over constantly also tend to lead to weaker performance.
4. 4-3, that is our record to date. Is it where we wanted, no, but that is based on preseason expectations from last years results. I figured we would be a 7 to 8 win team this year, hoped for more. Will I be disappointed if we only get 5 or 6, yes, but I am not going to call for the coaches head. I think a couple changes need to be made to the staff that are overdue and I would like to see a better focus on finding more promising talent in the interior.
5. We are establishing a nice running game, we need to keep developing it. Montez needs to get some timing issues worked out, some receivers need to start catching the close balls, and the line needs to be able to pick up the stunts (almost all the pressure comes from delayed blitzes and stunts).
6. Oliver, as good as he is does not make an entire defense. We have been decent on most passing downs, but the lack of pass rush hurts. Our D-line needs to hold position better and keep the o-line from reaching our linebackers.
7. Special teams is improved this year. I didn't really enjoy seeing the short kickoffs today but overall I haven't seen much to complain about.
So to sum up, step back from the ledge, get a beer and relax.
