Original writer/creator/actor leaves the show. There can be a lot of reasons why they leave, and sometimes it's a really good reason, but the show almost always suffers.
That sounds like cope. I remember the first couple of episodes of the season getting criticized heavily on Reddit, for reasons that had nothing to do with the 'changing of the guard', after I also found myself bored watching same.
Maybe it improved after that, but I wouldn't know, I moved on.
Yes, the first two episodes of S7 you can hear the differences in voice, but, after that they really improve and Rick’s voice actor puts in so much more emotion.