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There have been a lot of rants on this site recently about BB trading back in the 2009 draft and missing out on guys like Michael Oher (23), Vontae Davis (25), Clay Matthews (26), James Laurinaitis (35) and Rey Maualuga (38) in favor of guys like Chung, Butler and Brace.
BB is notoriously cautious about playing rookies. He has a strong bent towards veterans, and generally brings rookies along slowly. I have a couple of questions about this:
1. Does anyone think that Oher, Davis, Matthews, Laurinaitis or Maualuga would have anything like their current success if the Pats had drafted them? Or would Oher have sat behind Kaczur, would Davis have been a nickel back, and would the LBs have gotten limited playing time?
2. Is BB too conservative about playing rookies? Or would playing rookies more aggressively hurt the team over the course of the season?
3. Is BB too picky about getting guys who fit his "system" instead of just picking guys like Matthews and Maualuga and letting them play?
4. Are we missing out on top talents by trading back, or just not giving our own talent a chance to show what it can do?
I thought that Darius Butler would have worked himself into the starting rotation by midseason. I also thought that Ron Brace would get more playing time to speed his development. I also thought that once Patrick Chung had showed what he could do that we would see more 3-safety big nickel packages.
Ron Brace showed against Buffalo that he isn't a total bust, he's just a prospect who needs developing. How much will he develop if he's a healthy scratch most of the season? Is keeping Butler from starting good judgment about not rushing a rookie too fast, or over-cautiousness on the part of the coaching staff? Would Chung be putting up Louis Delmas numbers if Detroit had drafted him and started him all season?
There are exceptions like Mayo, Mankins and Vollmer who get extended playing time as rookies. But the vast majority see relatively little action their rookie year, including 1st round picks like Meriweather (0 games started as a rookie), Wilfork (6 games started) and Warren (4 games started).
Right now we're seriously behind in certain areas on this team: OLB, pass rushers, and OL. We've got 4 picks in the first 2 rounds for 2010. But what does that help us if those guys aren't going to see the field much until 2011?
BB is notoriously cautious about playing rookies. He has a strong bent towards veterans, and generally brings rookies along slowly. I have a couple of questions about this:
1. Does anyone think that Oher, Davis, Matthews, Laurinaitis or Maualuga would have anything like their current success if the Pats had drafted them? Or would Oher have sat behind Kaczur, would Davis have been a nickel back, and would the LBs have gotten limited playing time?
2. Is BB too conservative about playing rookies? Or would playing rookies more aggressively hurt the team over the course of the season?
3. Is BB too picky about getting guys who fit his "system" instead of just picking guys like Matthews and Maualuga and letting them play?
4. Are we missing out on top talents by trading back, or just not giving our own talent a chance to show what it can do?
I thought that Darius Butler would have worked himself into the starting rotation by midseason. I also thought that Ron Brace would get more playing time to speed his development. I also thought that once Patrick Chung had showed what he could do that we would see more 3-safety big nickel packages.
Ron Brace showed against Buffalo that he isn't a total bust, he's just a prospect who needs developing. How much will he develop if he's a healthy scratch most of the season? Is keeping Butler from starting good judgment about not rushing a rookie too fast, or over-cautiousness on the part of the coaching staff? Would Chung be putting up Louis Delmas numbers if Detroit had drafted him and started him all season?
There are exceptions like Mayo, Mankins and Vollmer who get extended playing time as rookies. But the vast majority see relatively little action their rookie year, including 1st round picks like Meriweather (0 games started as a rookie), Wilfork (6 games started) and Warren (4 games started).
Right now we're seriously behind in certain areas on this team: OLB, pass rushers, and OL. We've got 4 picks in the first 2 rounds for 2010. But what does that help us if those guys aren't going to see the field much until 2011?