On a full moon in October, the Ghost of Marty Hurney rises from beyond the grave..

[bLACKpANTHER]

I love me some Gettlemagic. He is quite possibly the best GM in the game, easily Top 5 IMO. But let's not discredit what Hurney did to build this team.
I know I know, another Hurney bashing thread-- no no no, I want to give him credit for forming the team 2-3 years after he got the axe.. just listen quickly..

We all know Gettlemen is a cut throat, monster killer if you will.. If a player is not producing (even if he drafted you) you can and will be thrown out into the dark night. When he took over, he was irritated at the cap situation because he was handcuffed to players like Smitty, Gross, CJ, Beason and most importantly > Tolbert, Stew and D.Will.. I know for a Fact that if they didn't have such massive cap hits - all 6 would have been swept out the door as soon as Getts got here to officially start the "rebuilding process" teams typically go through when a new regime takes over. Fortunately for us, Marty's Ghost still lived in those players like a Demon from The Exorcist. They had to remain on the team because of their bloated contracts- no matter how much holy water Gettleman tried to throw on the roster -- "The power of your Price compels you!"

Because of this, we never went into full-blown rebuild mode. Because some the pieces fit, and others didn't- Gettlemen had to get creative and build the team AS is competed for the division title and playoffs. Once the players got to a point where the pain and blood would be manageable (some more-so than others (Agent 89)) he was able to rid the roster of some of the vile creatures and replace with cornerstones AND building blocks for the future.

Beason was first to be dealt with. He was shot with a silver bullet up to the NY Giants for a 7th round pick (that later was eventually traded to Minnesota on draft day for Bene Benwikere).

The bloodiest of Hurney's demons: Smitty was stabbed in the heart with a wooden stake. We all known how that ended when Smitty drove the nails into the coffin.

I think Jordan Gross may have just been left out in the burning sun and his ashes floated away in the wind.

The roster was finally cleansed of D.Will's spot with garlic this past off season - which all these moves have made it possible for Cam, Luke and Olsen to resign for solid, healthy contracts.

Kalil, Stewart, Tolbert and CJ are the last players on the roster that might need some of their bolts tightened, but for the most part- Hurney's Ghost is gone but not forgotten.

 

Other Noteworthy Holdovers from Hurn-Dawg Era ---> Gettle-Magic Era:
Cam, Kalil, Smitty, Olsen, Gross, Stewart, D.Will, Tolbert, Luke, Charles Johnson, Beason, Dwan Edwards, J_No24 and Brad Nortman.

[Oldmanrivera]

Good read right there 

[redbuddha]

I was thinking along these lines this morning. How much deeper a team we would be without the "Hurney Handicap."

[Mr. Scot]

Title scared me before even reading the post.

[Ship]

i honestly don't think Gettleman would have ditched all those guys in year one if they didn't have those big contracts. Gettleman has a healthy appreciation for vets and spot fixes until the drafting can take over. CJ was still a great all around DE, Gross was a quality LT. you don't just toss those out without legit replacements. i think this rings even more true in a situation where they didn't have big contracts.

Same with Smith, he was a #1 for us and i think if his attitude was different he may still be here. 

Dwill, i admit probably stayed put because of his cap hit.

Kalil is still one of the best Cs in the game and is vastly important to an O-line and young QB.

Beason's injury and Luke's rise makes keeping him moot.

Stewart is probably similar to Dwill but maybe not. he does have the potential to be great if he is healthy.

Tolbert took a paycut to be here, can't really say this is a fat contract like the others. at the time Tolbert was also still a very powerful productive runner for what we ask of him. it's only after his weight loss and injury that we question him.

So really, I think most of these players stay here regardless of cap hit, Dwill for sure would be gone, maybe Stewart, and Smith just because of attitude.

Gettleman is not dumb enough to tear down a team of quality guys just so he can call the rubble his own. he wants to win and he believes in building the talent himself, not kicking all the long time players off the team and filling it with mercenaries. he didn't have the picks to remove everyone, and though some of the above players may not have been the best members of the team, many of them are leaders still and are key to instilling the keep pounding mantra that makes us win today. you don't get that in 2013 with a team full of FAs and rookies. Hurney brought some great players to our team, he just overpaid many of them and wasn't talented enough to fill out the fringes of the roster and make a complete team. he also presided over the learning years for a young QB and head coach who have now learned how to win.

[em_daht]

It's been like three years to the day since we let him go right? 

[em_daht]

It's been like three years to the day since we let him go right? 

[gofightwin]

Marty just moved to my neighborhood so I am fully expecting him to hand out gold bars for halloween this year. 

[KSpan]

Marty just moved to my neighborhood so I am fully expecting him to hand out gold bars for halloween this year. 

I laughed heartily.

[Mother Grabber]

Gettleman didn't/doesn't purge or the sake of purging, he does it for getting better talent and/or value at the spot, when it makes sense from a cap point of view.