08-21-2022, 04:28 AM -
So, First... Are you certain that you want to be convinced..?? You're not wrong...at least not completely (IMHO..). But there are some things that need to be considered....
Everyone (YES, everyone..) has a tendency to believe that their position (opinion, idea, understanding..) is the "right" one. I am not faulting you for thinking you're right. In fact, I think you are correct a big bunch of the time. However, there are some fallacies at work here. The one I just mentioned affects all of us, and that is okay as long as we allow for the possibility that we COULD be wrong.!! So, when I find myself thinking "boy, that was a stupid decision", I remember my self-professed tagline..."A reasoned response from a reasonable mind." Like most of us, I have a tendency to let my "bias" overload my brain.
In this case, I would ask that you consider the case of Ikem Ekwonu. 'Icky' will most likely turn into a first quality OT. I know we all hope so. BUT... How many of us were constantly and blatantly demeaning the coaches because he wasn't playing with the 1's.? It was a constant bother. Still, Rhule said on multiple occasions that Eksonu "was young" and that he "had a lot to learn" and a "long way to go". Well....guess what.? Coach was (is..) right. Ekwonu has a LOT of upside. But, truthfully, he has had his butt handed to him multiple times in the last 10 days against Washington and NE. He NEEDS time and WORK. He has allowed three or four sacks in those two games and multiple pressures. In other words, he's NOT ready. He's going to get eaten alive by the good pass rushers in this league. Right now, Brady Christensen is a MUCH better pass defender than Ekwonu. But...we'll play him out there .... hopefully no one gets hurt. The same folks who were 'counseling' the coaches about how to do their job with Ekwonu were doing the same with Matt Corral. Everyone has seen how that worked out the last couple of games..... There is always a lot of 'excitement' at draft time. "We're gonna get 'em now".!! Sadly, it's a 'rare bird' that makes any kind of a splash their first year.
NOW...I know all of that ^^^, is not what you commented about. Still, can you see the parallels.?? We've had those two guys 'knocking heads' since the start of camp. We have to get a TEAM ready to play. AND, we need to avoid as many injuries as possible. So, we rest our #1's (almost exclusively..) and let the 2's and 3's play. WHY..??? Because we have to, it's a MUST situation. WE MUST evaluate all those guys. And the next 'cut' is only two days away. Besides that, both of those guys got LOTS of reps during the week against the Patriots #1's. Why put them out there when there is so little to gain.?? Think about it like this..... If we play Mayfield and Darnold we would HAVE to play our #1 O-line guys. Otherwise, what would you learn.?? So we play our #1 offense against their #1 defense. And Ekwonu gets beat several times, and maybe others as well. QBs hit the ground... AND, to add insult to injury, we would lose all of the 2nd and 3rd team reps and would be faced with cutting players who didn't get a chance...
So, for me, I'm happy they played it the way they did. I learned that Brandon Smith and Arron Mosby are tough guys and can play LB...where we will most likely need them. Amare Barno is a 'fast twitch' guy and plays like a 2nd rounder instead of a 6th. Boy, we got some value there.!! I learned that Tecklenburg is a decent C...like last year, and Cade Mays can play C as well. So yeah, we still have a QB competition (well...maybe ??), but we definitely learned a lot this week about the TEAM.!! Besides, those guys are back at it this week and will play next against Buffalo. It may not be the best situation, but I'm okay with it. The 2's and 3's need a chance .... we're probably going to need them .... and we have about a week (9 days..) before final cut-down.
Last thing..... I know some folks don't particularly care for Rhule. But, I'm convinced that he wants the best for the team. He WANTS to win. You can bet on that.!!
Everyone (YES, everyone..) has a tendency to believe that their position (opinion, idea, understanding..) is the "right" one. I am not faulting you for thinking you're right. In fact, I think you are correct a big bunch of the time. However, there are some fallacies at work here. The one I just mentioned affects all of us, and that is okay as long as we allow for the possibility that we COULD be wrong.!! So, when I find myself thinking "boy, that was a stupid decision", I remember my self-professed tagline..."A reasoned response from a reasonable mind." Like most of us, I have a tendency to let my "bias" overload my brain.
In this case, I would ask that you consider the case of Ikem Ekwonu. 'Icky' will most likely turn into a first quality OT. I know we all hope so. BUT... How many of us were constantly and blatantly demeaning the coaches because he wasn't playing with the 1's.? It was a constant bother. Still, Rhule said on multiple occasions that Eksonu "was young" and that he "had a lot to learn" and a "long way to go". Well....guess what.? Coach was (is..) right. Ekwonu has a LOT of upside. But, truthfully, he has had his butt handed to him multiple times in the last 10 days against Washington and NE. He NEEDS time and WORK. He has allowed three or four sacks in those two games and multiple pressures. In other words, he's NOT ready. He's going to get eaten alive by the good pass rushers in this league. Right now, Brady Christensen is a MUCH better pass defender than Ekwonu. But...we'll play him out there .... hopefully no one gets hurt. The same folks who were 'counseling' the coaches about how to do their job with Ekwonu were doing the same with Matt Corral. Everyone has seen how that worked out the last couple of games..... There is always a lot of 'excitement' at draft time. "We're gonna get 'em now".!! Sadly, it's a 'rare bird' that makes any kind of a splash their first year.
NOW...I know all of that ^^^, is not what you commented about. Still, can you see the parallels.?? We've had those two guys 'knocking heads' since the start of camp. We have to get a TEAM ready to play. AND, we need to avoid as many injuries as possible. So, we rest our #1's (almost exclusively..) and let the 2's and 3's play. WHY..??? Because we have to, it's a MUST situation. WE MUST evaluate all those guys. And the next 'cut' is only two days away. Besides that, both of those guys got LOTS of reps during the week against the Patriots #1's. Why put them out there when there is so little to gain.?? Think about it like this..... If we play Mayfield and Darnold we would HAVE to play our #1 O-line guys. Otherwise, what would you learn.?? So we play our #1 offense against their #1 defense. And Ekwonu gets beat several times, and maybe others as well. QBs hit the ground... AND, to add insult to injury, we would lose all of the 2nd and 3rd team reps and would be faced with cutting players who didn't get a chance...
So, for me, I'm happy they played it the way they did. I learned that Brandon Smith and Arron Mosby are tough guys and can play LB...where we will most likely need them. Amare Barno is a 'fast twitch' guy and plays like a 2nd rounder instead of a 6th. Boy, we got some value there.!! I learned that Tecklenburg is a decent C...like last year, and Cade Mays can play C as well. So yeah, we still have a QB competition (well...maybe ??), but we definitely learned a lot this week about the TEAM.!! Besides, those guys are back at it this week and will play next against Buffalo. It may not be the best situation, but I'm okay with it. The 2's and 3's need a chance .... we're probably going to need them .... and we have about a week (9 days..) before final cut-down.
Last thing..... I know some folks don't particularly care for Rhule. But, I'm convinced that he wants the best for the team. He WANTS to win. You can bet on that.!!