The NFL offseason doesn't have a real “offseason.” Most sports have a lull in their offseasons in which there's very little to nothing going on. It's either that, or the happenings aren't very newsworthy. Instead, the NFL has grown to the point where releasing the schedule has become a prime-time tv special. “We're talkin bout the schedule!” (AI voice…the basketball player)
Attaining that level of success takes time, effort, and marketing a product the people want to consume. Cultivating that product and making it want to be constantly consumed takes serious skill. There will be steps along the way that some, maybe even most, may not agree with. However, when the results are as desirable as they have been for the league, you take the good with the bad. The main thing is to keep going and focus on the end goal, not the journey.
Focusing on the end goal and not the journey is something I hope Texans fans are still doing. All the vitriol spewed regarding the draft, the trades, the moves made and so on are tailing off. It's time to move on and focus on the upcoming season. Enough is enough already!
People are entitled to their opinions. Saying one's opinion is wrong can lead to arguments. There are no wrong opinions. There are stupid ones that make very little to no sense and will call you to question that person's freedom to have internet access. Those and similar opinions should be tabled for a while. We do not know whether these guys will be hits or misses until they play. Once they play, give them at least two seasons, then and only then can we judge the moves that were made.
The schedule will be released this week. Rookie mini camps are taking place now or occurred last week. Spring League Meetings take place the end of May. June 1st is when some vets will be cut and can officially sign with other teams. July 1 is the last day for franchise tagged players to sign extensions. Late July/early August is when training camps start. Throughout this time, you'll get updates on players' recovery from offseason surgeries and injuries. There will also be the inevitable trouble some will find themselves in. As you can see, there's a lot to pay attention to.
We also have to keep in mind as outsiders, meaning people who don't work in the building and aren't privy to those conversations, we can't say what they did/didn't do is wrong. We don't know the true plans they have and never will. We can't say with any certainty that they messed up or that it's their greatest draft/offseason.
Perhaps my biggest takeaway I'd like to give fans moving forward is to trust the process. If you believed in Nick Caserio before, don't stop believing now. If you were a fan of the DeMeco Ryans hire a couple months ago, keep that same energy. They were two of the most sought after at their respective positions when hired. Caserio meant so much to New England, they blocked him from interviewing and accepting other jobs for the longest time (remember the tampering charges). DeMeco was THE coaching candidate this past hiring cycle. Bottom line: we get mad at the weather people for not predicting the weather very accurately, yet we still use them daily. They're right more often than they're wrong. Why don't we give our GMs and coaches the same treatment until they prove otherwise?
