Here’s the thing, while I agree on some levels Pettine has to be held accountable, the fact of the matter is at some point the players need to own the majority of what is going on.

The coaches can only coach so much, gameplan so much, instruct, teach, scheme, and make adjustments so much. The players are the ones that ultimately need to go out there and execute, and more than anyone, the players are the ones not doing their jobs.

Where’s the pride? Where’s the passion? Where’s the fire? When are these guys going to stop treating this like it’s a job, a way to collect a paycheck, not really care one way or the other and actually go out there and fight?

Pettine can’t make these guys hold onto the ball, or not jump offsides in critical situations. Yes, they practice this stuff, but again it’s up to the players, and no one else, to execute what they are being taught.

And to be fair, alot of what is being taught has been proven to be effective. Our offense can score points. Our defense CAN get stops. We CAN rush the passer. We CAN stop the run. We CAN run the football. We’ve all seen it. But the problem is we see it in spurts, and we see it without any consistency. That’s all on the players. There’s alot of lazy, uncommited, lazy motherfuckers on this team. A LOT of them. That, more than anything, is on Farmer. If anyone deserves to get the hook, it’s him. His draft picks have been abysmal, and his free agents are almost just as bad.

Coaching only goes so far. At some point, these assholes need to step up and be men, have some goddamn pride, and go out there and whoop the shit out of the guy who is standing across from you. They don’t do that. They’re lackadaisical, aloof, and honestly seem to not really give a shit. Alex Mack is at the top of this list. That guy was a fucking beast the last few years, and this year he’s has been absolutely dominated on a weekly basis. Shwartz caught it this week. Bitonio a few weeks ago.

Are we world beaters? No. But there is a good amount of talent on this team, and while yes I agree that much of the responsibility falls at Pettines feet, I feel that an even larger amount of it falls on the guys who are standing in between the lines. Actually go out there and do your damn job instead of just clocking in, clocking out, and going home.

The talent we have is abysmal. Is this team better than last year’s team? At QB, yeah. Everywhere else, hell no. Farmer was given the best gift any GM could ever hope for; 4 first round picks in his first 2 seasons. What did he do with them? 1 guy is a starter but isn’t making waves. 1 guy just earned his way onto the active roster through special teams. One guy is stuck behind Greco on the depth chart, and one guy is a dumpster fire of addiction and entitlement. How about his 2nd round picks? Should I go through them? 3rd round picks? If we’re firing people, the first target should be squarely on Farmer. He has absolutely failed in his job to fill the team with talent. He’s great at sniffing out guys later in the draft and deserves credit for McCown but that’s like having a doctor with a great bedside manner who doesn’t know his epidermis from his epididimus. The single most crucial part of his job is nailing those top draft picks.

A good QB is what separates teams.

I was a fan of the Farmer hire until I watched the first game of this season. He took guys in the draft at positions that we needed. It just turns out that none of those guys are very good. Plus the texting move was up there with Dwayne Rudd’s helmet toss in terms of stupidity. I’ve lost confidence in his ability to build or manage a team. I don’t think we need to fire him right now but I sure as heck don’t want him running another of our drafts.

I also blame Farmer who drafts like SHIT.

Ice wrote:

What players do we have that have shown development under Pettine?

Players that are better than they were at the beginning of the 2014 season:
Manziel McCown Benji Barnidge Greco Bitonio Mingo Gilbert Bademosi Solomon Dansby Bryant Dwayne Bowe (well, you can’t prove he’s NOT better)

Here’s a better question. Which players will probably be out of the NFL in 2-3 years?

Manziel. Gone.
McCown. Gone.
Benji. (I’m assuming you mean Travis Benjamin) Having his best season as a Brown.
Barnidge. Killing it. Best TE in the league next to Gronk.
Greco. Would start on another team. Probably will still be around at worst.
Bitonio. Might make the Pro-bowl. Will definately be around in 3 years.
Mingo. Gone.
Gilbert. Gone.
Bademosi. Eh, maybe.
Solomon. Gone.
Dansby. Gone.
Bryant. Gone.
Bowe. Gone.

Point being, aside from Bademosi who I label in a “Mythbusters” style as “Plausible”, the ones who have any talent are flourishing, while the ones who are completely devoid of it are, well, doing as anyone would expect and sucking.

This team, is bereft of talent. There are 22 starters, if only 7-8 of them are ACTUALLY worthy of doing so, you can’t really put the blame for them sucking on the coach.

I’m not sure that that helped your point anywhere near as much as it hurt it. And badly.