Barry's my guy, but this was a weak article for him. He went on a rip about the players we let go without saying whether he would have paid what they got and who he would have cut to let them go. I loved Wilkens, but his asking price has already proven to be too high. Holland's release wasn't a hard decision to reach, either. Hunt's release was debatable, IMO. Van Ginkel is the only real keeper we let walk and I'd posit Barry would have found a reason to complain about who left had we kept each of the four players he mentioned. He said we could have found a better DT than Benito Jones without saying who was available. That's blogger-level analysis and he's capable of better. To be sure, we shouldn't have re-upped Ramsey or Cheetah last season. And I can't argue about extending X after I argued that I understood why he wanted another deal a year after signing the previous one. But those extensions were killers. Ramsey's a b*tch boy for pretending to be hurt to finesse a new deal when he already knew he wanted out. His departure was not the fault of the team. And Jonnu's release was also necessary after learning the lessons about premature extensions. Especially now that they're focusing on the culture. You can't have a whiner (Ramsey) and someone who's disgruntled (Jonnu) diverting negative attention at this crucial time. Our biggest problem has been injuries. Unfortunately, when we have a fragile but fearless QB, it's the team's fault for not mitigating his recurrent in-season vacations. And since we have had as many significant injuries, at some point, it ain't really luck. I would rather have read an article criticizing the team's lack of focus on depth thanks to the extensions and injuries. But writing an article about the players we let go without suggesting who should have been released in their place is cherry picking and Barry's should be ashamed. Finally, I blame the current roster construction on Grier and McDaniel. There's no reason why two of our highest paid players are in the same position group. That's a recipe for failure since it has to come with a lack of depth everywhere. But it's easy to write a column where you point out problems while offering no solutions. It's easy to write a piece where you criticize decisions without mentioning what you would have done. Hindsight is 20/20 and everybody's right when knocking decisions after the fact. This was a Mando-level column and I hope he does better in the future.
