Okay first with the good:

*NISWINDER- has been sensational in a small sample size. Given how compromised our punting and subsequently our field position has been in recent yrs, is it a stretch that Niswander might have been good for a couple of extra wins the last two seasons?

*ZUERLINE- See above

*DALTON SCHULTZ- a very pleasant surprise! A better pass catcher then I thought and the guy refuses to be tackled. Be interesting how they use him with Jarwin next year. A good problem to have.

D WILSON- appear to have finaly found our playmaking strong safety. Hopefully he gets better with exp.

THE ROOKIE CLASS- Several starters who all have varying degrees of promise.

TURNOVERS- whether partly by luck or partly by hard hitting, we finally helped our defense out. (where were those earlier in the season). Though in their defense we were decimated by injuries, especially in the beginning.

Now for the bad:

ZEKE- He just doesn't have it anymore. OL issues notwithstanding we simply can't have that type of production from him again next year. If he stumbles out of the gate next year, bench him. The success of the team is more important then any one player. It's plain as day he doesn't have the burst/speed/quickness anymore.

The DL- we have to find a space eating stud that can occupy blockers and stop the run. If our opponents continue to run roughshod over us, nothing else matters.

Free safety and the CB position opposite Diggs- Gotta find quality players at those two positions. We were torched way too much this year.

OL depth - With the injury history of Smith/Collins its imperative we continue to solidify this position. Tyler/Knight/Steele have potential, but the OL falling apart this year was devastating for us.

The coaching staff- Nolan has to go. Have to get the bad taste out of our mouth of this historically bad defense. Need a fresh voice and clean slate moving forward.
I'll add that it seemed like from the beginning of the year McCarthy and Co. were intent (sometimes foolishly) on showing they weren't afraid to take risks. Several decisions especially early in the year bordered on reckless and smacked of desperation. The culmination of this was failing to throw the challenge flag on the Pettis catch. Basically emblematic of the season for this coaching staff.

Final note- Starting with the #10 pick in the draft we can address some of our position needs. We have I believe nine total picks. Including two in the 3rd and two in the 4th. We should be able to replenish our squad to a large degree.

In many ways this season was an aberration. Get all of our players healthy, nail this draft and come back next year ready to get to work.