Put yourself in Coach Smith's position and take into account his stated philosophy of how to win games......run the ball, stop the run and get turnovers.Now, you just had a 2, 3 or 4 win season and you know that a QB like Mariotta is going to take a couple of years to develop and you know that your predecessors only had a couple of years each. Why would you draft that player when the odds are against you being here when he is ready to start and have a real impact on winning?Your team had the lead in the 4th quarter in 5 games you lost this season. Wouldn't you think that if I improve my defense with a stud DE that is going to make an impact sooner then you go in that direction? Or if I improve my offensive line then I will be able to run the ball better and that will help my offense sooner.Again, this not about what you, the fan, wants to happen, it is about what you the coach does to show improvement on your team the quickest.
