I agree with so much of this.
I think the apologists are also strawmanning arguments here. No one on this board expects to title contend every year. Nor was it an expectation that the club make everything happen in one window.
How in the ever loving fuck can you not sign some fullbacks when you have ZERO. That's just so beyond the pale and the FO is already skating given their willful ignorance and fuckery for the last 3 years.
The bar for being competitive in this league is very fucking low, so to miss out on playoffs or not put together a roster that doesn't look pathetic is very hard.
Manning is accountable.