Well, if you approach it from the perspective that our defense is being rebuilt from the ground up because MS left it with no LBs except Barnett; a secondary with Joey Thomas, Ahmad Carroll and Mark "Matador" Roman; and a D-line that needed to be overhauled to replace such outstanding MS picks as Donnell Washington, James Lee and C. Hunt....why yes, you could say the problem is in large part attributable to that wheeler-dealer of a GM Mike Sherman...who never found a draft pick or player he would not throw away for a draft day reach....who kept Torrance "If I only had a brain" Marshall over Hunter Hillenmeyer, and who littered his roster with projects in order to turn charcoal into diamonds to validate his own genius as GM (just like Denny Green).
For those of you who still believe that MS did not have a massive ego and control freak tendencies...which are largely responsible for his horrible decisions regarding personnel...I ask you, "what color is the sky in your world?"
A football team is a dynamic entity and cannot be looked at in a vacuum on a year to year basis. Things done in seasons prior have an impact on the years to come...you know, like rookies taking 2 - 3 years to develop....and when they do not develop you are left with a smelly pile o' turd occupying the locker room.
To say that MS' decisions in years prior had no impact on the current state of the team is bing dishonest. Like a child who believes that the toy is gone forever when you place it under a pillow...some people would like to believe that with him now gone, Sherman's decisions no longer impact this team.
And for clarification...it is a friggin' analogy...I am not calling you children, or simple or any other derogatory.