I wouldn't say that they've all come in and then regressed. Allen, you definitely can't say has regressed. While Pollard seems to have regressed, I think his coverage skills were somewhat covered by having Dunta out there. Pollard is, and will always be a Strong Safety that is that hybrid linebacker/safety type. His coverage skills are not as strong as his tackling/intensity. As far as Allen goes, what says he regressed? In my opinion, Smith's in-season (or pre-season) finds have been his best asset. Pollard, Allen, Mark Anderson, and even Derrick Ward fit into this category.
Regressed in their second year with the team. Will Demps played well, got a nice contract, and then was cut the next year. Pollard played well, got another one year deal, and is now being put in positions to fail - repeatedly. I'm just saying, if this holds true to form, Allen will get re-signed and then we'll be cursing him this time next year My thinking is, if you're making your hay on picking up street free agents, maybe you don't need to be the GM in charge of the college draft. Street free agents are rarely long-term solutions, and if they are, well welcome to expansion football, still going strong 9 years running....
A couple good points there. I just want to say, though, that I think the whole "second year" thing is a coaching issue...
