TwistedHusky
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It was apparent right after the SB that this team was dividing into factions.
There was those that wanted to follow Lynch and those that wanted to give the keys to Wilson.
The keys were given to Wilson, and this team really never reached the peak again.
This team should have stuck with Lynch and it would have likely had 1 more SB appearance and potentially one more SB win.
When this team won the SB, I looked at the team and figured we would probably reach 2 more SB with this roster and then we would have a period we were competitive but not primary threats. Finally, with a Seasoned Wilson we would probably reach one more SB after a 2-4 year gap from the others.
Our system worked. A great run game made it much easier for our QB. That run game allowed our defensive to stay fresh, which allowed them to be much more aggressive. And it wore out the opposing defense so that opposing teams would start to fall apart by the late 3rd quarter.
The key moment everything changed was the Unger trade. With the trade of Unger, it was clear this team was going to go all in on Wilson. Though you could easily argue that bad pass in the SB was an attempt to push Wilson to the center of the spotlight before that.
It gutted the run game, and Lynch left soon after. Yes, Lynch was hurt anyway. But Lynch was hurt during both runs up to the SB and still produced. The key was Lynch was not going to take a backseat and was not meshing with the coaches.
This team never recovered from the loss of Lynch. But the loss of Unger was the writing on the wall where this team was going to put its focus. And so the team made a choice, a choice that led to being essentially a wildcard team ever after. I remain convinced we went away from Lynch because he challenged our coaches and because we wanted to push Wilson as the leader of this team.
Lynch was probably frustrating to deal with, somewhat intractable and not really the marketing dream that Wilson was supposedly going to be. But he, and how he complemented this defense, was a key to what made this team a SB contender.
The Hawks should have looked at the 49ers for lessons on how removing wild players can hurt you. The 49ers used to have a guy name Charles Haley, but because he was doing crazy things (awful things like peeing on desks and jerking off in front of other people, according to the stories), he was allowed to go to Dallas. But...that suddenly shifted things and instead of the 49ers going to SBs, Dallas did. The 49ers did not really get back until years later, I think when Richard Dent finally joined them.
There were, I am sure, many reasons that Haley was a problem for the 49ers but in getting rid of him they vaulted Dallas over themselves.
Haley was always crazy, he famously threatened the team owner if the owner did not pay Smith during Smith's holdout. But, the team won. Because great players win you games, not great people.
In the same vein, I believe this team jettisoned Lynch because he was pushing Wilson to the side. This is a team that should have been to 3 SBs but squandered it because it jumped the gun and gave the reins of the team to Wilson instead of Lynch. Years later, that change could have been made and we likely would have had one or two more shots at the ring accordingly.
Jumping the gun on that transition just killed us. And you can probably point to the Unger trade as the day we realistically went from contending for SBs to barely making wildcard games.
There was those that wanted to follow Lynch and those that wanted to give the keys to Wilson.
The keys were given to Wilson, and this team really never reached the peak again.
This team should have stuck with Lynch and it would have likely had 1 more SB appearance and potentially one more SB win.
When this team won the SB, I looked at the team and figured we would probably reach 2 more SB with this roster and then we would have a period we were competitive but not primary threats. Finally, with a Seasoned Wilson we would probably reach one more SB after a 2-4 year gap from the others.
Our system worked. A great run game made it much easier for our QB. That run game allowed our defensive to stay fresh, which allowed them to be much more aggressive. And it wore out the opposing defense so that opposing teams would start to fall apart by the late 3rd quarter.
The key moment everything changed was the Unger trade. With the trade of Unger, it was clear this team was going to go all in on Wilson. Though you could easily argue that bad pass in the SB was an attempt to push Wilson to the center of the spotlight before that.
It gutted the run game, and Lynch left soon after. Yes, Lynch was hurt anyway. But Lynch was hurt during both runs up to the SB and still produced. The key was Lynch was not going to take a backseat and was not meshing with the coaches.
This team never recovered from the loss of Lynch. But the loss of Unger was the writing on the wall where this team was going to put its focus. And so the team made a choice, a choice that led to being essentially a wildcard team ever after. I remain convinced we went away from Lynch because he challenged our coaches and because we wanted to push Wilson as the leader of this team.
Lynch was probably frustrating to deal with, somewhat intractable and not really the marketing dream that Wilson was supposedly going to be. But he, and how he complemented this defense, was a key to what made this team a SB contender.
The Hawks should have looked at the 49ers for lessons on how removing wild players can hurt you. The 49ers used to have a guy name Charles Haley, but because he was doing crazy things (awful things like peeing on desks and jerking off in front of other people, according to the stories), he was allowed to go to Dallas. But...that suddenly shifted things and instead of the 49ers going to SBs, Dallas did. The 49ers did not really get back until years later, I think when Richard Dent finally joined them.
There were, I am sure, many reasons that Haley was a problem for the 49ers but in getting rid of him they vaulted Dallas over themselves.
Haley was always crazy, he famously threatened the team owner if the owner did not pay Smith during Smith's holdout. But, the team won. Because great players win you games, not great people.
In the same vein, I believe this team jettisoned Lynch because he was pushing Wilson to the side. This is a team that should have been to 3 SBs but squandered it because it jumped the gun and gave the reins of the team to Wilson instead of Lynch. Years later, that change could have been made and we likely would have had one or two more shots at the ring accordingly.
Jumping the gun on that transition just killed us. And you can probably point to the Unger trade as the day we realistically went from contending for SBs to barely making wildcard games.
