02-08-2017, 05:24 PM
Jim,
Less a question that you could answer, but possibly a lead in for Coach Lewis during his next round of media availability:
I know Coach made a vague statement about the way in which we handle playing time for rookies, 2nd and 3rd year guys, insinuating the possibility that the staff may have a longer leash and give more leeway for young guys to grab playing time over vets, but it was a pretty (I'm sure intentionally) inconclusive statement about that process.
The question I would most like to hear is how he feels or reacts to the idea that both teams in last Sunday's game gave so many opportunities to young players in the biggest spots?
Just by my count, the list of young players (3 years in the league or fewer) who played a lot of (arbitrary term) "important" snaps leading up to and including the Superbowl:
New England:
Malcolm Mitchell ®
James White (3)
Malcolm Brown (2)
Trey Flowers (2)
Kyle Van Noy (3)
Eric Rowe (2)
Atlanta:
Devonta Freeman (3)
Tevin Coleman (2)
Austin Hooper ®
Grady Jarrett (2)
Vic Beasley (2)
Deion Jones ®
Jalen Collins (2)
Brian Poole (2)
Keanu Neal ®
Now, obviously injury plays a part in something like this, no question. Also, I understand that every player is different, especially in the mental aspect of learning a playbook, and I certainly do not have the football philosophy qualifications of Coach Lewis, but is our offense/defense THAT more intricate than what Bill Belichick/Josh McDaniels/Matt Patricia/Dan Quinn and Kyle Shannahan run? So much so that guys the same age as the players above couldn't possibly handle it here?
Would this have any effect on drafting decisions? Maybe skewing slightly away from the restock the shelf/ pure BPA philosophy and more towards players who might have a better shot to help immediately? One could make a very solid argument that drafting with an eye towards the future has hurt the team (grabbing DBs in round one when they have a full complement of starters under contract, drafting guys who fall because of medical issues, double dipping positions that aren't an immediate need for another season or two).
Naturally Coach's job is to win games, but does he sense the frustration from the fanbase about seeing highly drafted players not play, when it doesn't seem to be that much of an issue for any other team around the league, even ones who have just as "stacked" a roster/ are more successful than our team? I could only imagine my (and other fans) reaction, after the past few seasons of this (hypothetically) drafting a kid like Foster and then having Maualuga play 75-80% of snaps as the Mike in the base package for the whole season.
I don't mean for this to come off as confrontational towards Coach, I'm just genuinely curious as to his response.
Thanks!
Less a question that you could answer, but possibly a lead in for Coach Lewis during his next round of media availability:
I know Coach made a vague statement about the way in which we handle playing time for rookies, 2nd and 3rd year guys, insinuating the possibility that the staff may have a longer leash and give more leeway for young guys to grab playing time over vets, but it was a pretty (I'm sure intentionally) inconclusive statement about that process.
The question I would most like to hear is how he feels or reacts to the idea that both teams in last Sunday's game gave so many opportunities to young players in the biggest spots?
Just by my count, the list of young players (3 years in the league or fewer) who played a lot of (arbitrary term) "important" snaps leading up to and including the Superbowl:
New England:
Malcolm Mitchell ®
James White (3)
Malcolm Brown (2)
Trey Flowers (2)
Kyle Van Noy (3)
Eric Rowe (2)
Atlanta:
Devonta Freeman (3)
Tevin Coleman (2)
Austin Hooper ®
Grady Jarrett (2)
Vic Beasley (2)
Deion Jones ®
Jalen Collins (2)
Brian Poole (2)
Keanu Neal ®
Now, obviously injury plays a part in something like this, no question. Also, I understand that every player is different, especially in the mental aspect of learning a playbook, and I certainly do not have the football philosophy qualifications of Coach Lewis, but is our offense/defense THAT more intricate than what Bill Belichick/Josh McDaniels/Matt Patricia/Dan Quinn and Kyle Shannahan run? So much so that guys the same age as the players above couldn't possibly handle it here?
Would this have any effect on drafting decisions? Maybe skewing slightly away from the restock the shelf/ pure BPA philosophy and more towards players who might have a better shot to help immediately? One could make a very solid argument that drafting with an eye towards the future has hurt the team (grabbing DBs in round one when they have a full complement of starters under contract, drafting guys who fall because of medical issues, double dipping positions that aren't an immediate need for another season or two).
Naturally Coach's job is to win games, but does he sense the frustration from the fanbase about seeing highly drafted players not play, when it doesn't seem to be that much of an issue for any other team around the league, even ones who have just as "stacked" a roster/ are more successful than our team? I could only imagine my (and other fans) reaction, after the past few seasons of this (hypothetically) drafting a kid like Foster and then having Maualuga play 75-80% of snaps as the Mike in the base package for the whole season.
I don't mean for this to come off as confrontational towards Coach, I'm just genuinely curious as to his response.
Thanks!
