The counter is that it's only been mediocre because this is one of the easiest NFL schedules in NFL history.
This is a 4-5 win team against a normal schedule, and we've got a lot tougher than a normal schedule next year.
Regarding your notion that Allen is a caretaker to get out of cap hell, I would be okay with that if I saw us making moves to get out of cap hell. But we aren't, which is frustrating because we are wasting an opportunity to reset and prolonging the pain.