This thread bears a strong similarity to the impeachment proceedings I watched this afternoon while waiting for an appointment in the doctor's office (I won't say who sounds like who). I'm not much of a recruitnick these days, so outside of some recent casual study, I'm not real familiar with all the names on our signee list. I do believe in the worth of star power and filling needs. Looks like we have thus far been adequate overall. I'd be really worried if we had WRs and a RB in place of our OL/DL guys at this point. Had the latter been a strength this year, especially OL, we might have been playing for the conference championship (and maybe more). But that's a speculative opinion.
I have felt all along that Mullen would have to really improve the recruiting to get us back in the championship(s) conversation. Strides made thus far, but not quite there yet. It remains to be seen if there is fruit to be picked still. I can't tell you for sure if it is a matter of replacing staff members, Mullen's overall recruiting strategy, facilities, or just what that has us on the fringe of the upper echelon, but I'd guess it is some part of all of it. That makes it Dan's responsibility to improve the process by whatever means if we are to be in the conversation soon.
If there's a bright spot for me, it's that we should begin seeing, hearing about, and feeling the improvement on the LOS. Even though the game is so much more about speed these days, the majority of them are ultimately won or lost in the trenches. We might finally have enough bodies and quality to boot so that we can prosper in stead of suffer in this aspect. If so, a lot of things get better.
The final questions become how quickly do we see the positives with the line and do we have enough weapons remaining at WR and RB to push us beyond recent sticking points? There's a good chance it might be next season if development goes well and injuries don't weaken us. Probably a better chance the year after, but I'm not sure the faithful (often a loose term, to be sure :)) can make it that long. Strange that 10/10+ win seasons can be disappointing, but that's the sporting life these days, isn't it?