Along this line of thought, I have about 5-6 things I'm hoping will work out. If none of them happens it will take the wind out because it will speak poorly for the future as well as the present.
Edit: to delve into it.
We need some of these, not all, but some to happen.
King/House/Randall emerge to Make secondary stop being the punchline to a bad joke.
Fackrell/Beigel/Elliot emerge to add pass rush.
Clarke to consistently show what he flashed last year.
Ghostpepper to redefine "hybrid safety" and shutdown TE's/RB's while assisting in the rungame.
Bennett/Kendricks/Monte to create matchup nightmares and cause our O to become mythical.
Obi/Evans/Patrick come on at Guard to fortify a very good OL. (anyone but Barclay).
If 2-4 of those things happen we will right there again. If none of these things occur I fear for the future of this organization.