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New Jersey – Some teams won’t start rookies until they show they are ready, until they show they are know the system, are assignment-savvy and so forth . . .
The Philadelphia Eagles have played first-round pick, Louisville outside linebacker Marcus Smith, just 59 snaps this year.
Chip Kelly doesn’t think he’s ready for prime-time yet.
“He needs to be more consistent from a practice standpoint,” Kelly said. “”He has to show the coaches that we have the trust in him to put him on the field.”
And that is the way it should be.
Throwing guys out there before they know what they are doing, is bad for the player, and for his teammates.
To me, Rex Ryan has taken the wrong approach on this front, on more than one occasions.
There is no way around it – throwing Dee Milliner and Calvin Pryor in the starting lineup, immediately as rookies, way before either was ready, was ill-advised. And it didn’t just hurt the player, but the defense. Milliner last year, and Pryor this year, made coverage errors that impacted games.
Look at what Jaiquawn Jarrett did in Pryor’s place last week – AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
I understand Jarrett won’t play that way in every game, but he’s so much more advanced as an NFL safety right now than Pryor. Obviously Antonio Allen is as well, but he was caught up in a cornerback project.
And it took Pryor being late for meetings, not performance, or merit, for the move to be made.
Now Rex is talking merit when asked why he’s sticking with Jarrett this week.
“You do what you feel is in the best interest of the team,” Ryan said. “You want your plays, you want your playing time. It is not that I am down on Calvin. I am not. I just think that Jaiquawn Jarrett deserved a shot. The way he was practicing, the way he played in games, that is why I made the move that I did. We will make adjustments trying to put our football team in the best situation, not just one player.”
I just don’t understand why Rex rolls this way – throwing guys out there before they are ready, and impacting his team.
Perhaps he thinks he can will people into playing well by believing in them.
You have to respect Kelly. He’s handling Smith right.
You don’t put players in the starting lineup until they know what the heck they are doing out there, regardless of what round they are picked in . . .
The Houston Texans released linebacker Ricky Sapp today.
From 2011-13 he spent time with the Jets – bouncing between the practice squad, regular roster and the street.
The bottom line is Sapp, who looked like a potential NFL star early in his Clemson career, was never the same player after blowing out his knee as a junior.
This could be the end of the road for him.
What a shame, another prospect helping a college make a fortune for their football program, but gets hurt, and is never the same . . .
November 18, 2014
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