I have no idea, really, how much the scouts have or have not changed (or the rest of the FO) since Ryan came back. I don't. In reading hundreds and hundreds of posts on the interwebs, it is clear that the GM doesn't really make the picks. When reading comments from former FO people and GMs on line, they say you can really only judge a GM on wins and losses, and trades and FAs, not the draft. I tend to trust them over random people here, but again, YMMV.
As for last year, I think I predicted 75-78 wins. I have never used the phrase "kool aid drinkers" to describe anyone (not in the last 2 years, I don't think.....I may have earlier, and for that I have previously apologized).
As for my negativity.....I think more could have been done differently to speed up the process. You don't agree. I don't dislike you for that.....nor do I post about your posts being wrong/bad/evil. It really doesn't bother me that you feel the need to do that to me, however, if that makes you happy.
The entire site is a collection of second guessing and offering our thoughts on what we would do. I tend to post a lot here, but if someone bothered to count the positive posts vs negative ones, the positives would way outnumber the negative. Not even close. When I do disagree strongly, I probably post too often, but then, I view this site as a bunch of people sitting around talking about sports, not some deep think tank of seriousness.....
I have been quite harsh on Ryan. I don't think he did a good job the first couple years back. He himself, when retiring, said he didn't want the job anymore, and that that game had changed, and it wasn't for him anymore. I took him at his word.
That said, I've admitted many times that he has changed some....not enough for me yet, but maybe I'm just impatient. We'll find out in the next 2-3 years how much he goes for it or not.