Please use the word football.....there are more of you then there are us
I don't agree with the "crap" comment. To me, Banks continued to go OK until after the self-titled, then he didn't seem to care. To me it's just that Rutherford is not enough of a lead guitarist to carry a band like that.
Hackett left because he couldn't get enough of his ideas in place. Which is a shame because he fell into the "I must write and sing everything" trap. Both the former band and the artist suffer in this case.
I happen to like Peter Gabriel's solo efforts because he shares the wealth. But, it doesn't really mean Genesis was better because of him. Banks and Rutherford had great ideas. It's hard for a band to keep going. There was some crap in Gabriel-era Genesis too.
I realize Ivan you are very anti-Phil Collins, but the others share the responsibilty, evidenced by the abysmal "Calling All Stations". Phil played with Brand X you know...seems proggy to me.
My main point is that Hackett is not the reason Genesis was not as good later on. It's a combination of the above.
I like Hackett's solo stuff on average, and some a lot, but there's some stuff that is a bit grating (like his singing).
All that being said, your analogy is well-taken, I like it. And the trademark comment is right on the money!