The real bright side is as follows:
1) Orton, though not great, has shown what this team can accomplish with an average QB. He's better than Cassel and a HoFer compared to Palko. He gives us some hope that when our regulars return next year that (if we develop a young QB) we can have expectations for playoffs next year.
2) If we had won out and made it into the playoffs, we do not have the talent to have advanced, so it is just as well. At least it was not a blow out. It was a down-to-the-wire exciting finish in overtime.
3) We will pick ahead of every other team in the division in the upcoming draft.
4) we get a light schedule for next year.
5) Romeo promises to be a better head coach than Haley. Though not as creative, he's not as arrogant and blind as Haley.
6) The performance of Orton, a cast off QB, should help dispel the love affair Pioli has for Cassel.
7) I think we will get a new offensive coordinator, a real one (as opposed to a shill that was a thinly-veiled excuse for Haley to call the majority of the plays himself). Having a real OC should help the offense, just like having a QB that can throw the ball to all our receivers will be a plus.
8) Pioli, who has been accused of arrogance as well, should eat a bit of humble pie when he sees that he is responsible for some of the failure of the franchise this year. Maybe that will allow him to open up to more diverse viewpoints in the organization.
9) Most of us predicted a 6-10 or 7-9 finish anyway (based on the schedule), so the year was not a major disappointment in that regard. It might have been better to go 2-13 and get Andrew Luck (who would give us the greatest hope for a SB in our lifetime), but we have too good of a team to suck that badly.
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