02-26-2017, 02:43 PM
(02-25-2017, 10:07 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Dennard has played 585 defensive snaps. Lets not pretend that he's never touched the field in his career so far.
Cool story about Aaron Rodgers. Show me the Brett Favre that Dennard is stuck behind and I will be glad to agree with you. But until you can point out the first ballot Hall of Famer he's stuck behind, I will point out to you that Dennard got passed up by Josh Shaw on the depth chart. A guy who is both younger, drafted later, and had less experience than Dennard coming into '16.
If they draft me in the first round and don't get a ton of playing time, and get passed up on the depth chart by younger guys, maybe I am just not any good. Just throwing out a thought there. You say he can't be judged because he has gotten no playing time. I say he hasn't gotten an abundance of playing time because he isn't very good. Shaw got a small taste of playing time in '15 and impressed. Dennard didn't.
You can end up being a good player in the end and still be a bust. Reggie Nelson was a bust for the Jags, got traded for David Jones (who was going to be cut anyway), and ended up becoming a great player with the Bengals. Doesn't make him any less of a bust for the Jags who used a 1st round pick on him.
Kirkpatrick was indeed pretty good last year, but you don't spend the 17th overall pick on a CB who doesn't become decent until year 5. Those players are called busts. People get too wrapped up with equating bust to a player being garbage. A mediocre starting QB chosen 1st overall is a bust. A mediocre starting QB chosen in the 4th round is a great pick. It's all about context.
So you throw out a stat and that negates the fact that Dennard has had his opportunities derailed by injuries or the depth chart time and time again, same as Kirk did?
You can spin it as much as you like but by your definition Rodgers is a bust or was pretty close to it for a HoF QB.
You think Dennard got passed up because his ability? By saying that you are basically saying conservative Marvin Lewis is making the right choice and he isn't so bad at making a depth chart. Do you think Hall got the start over Kirk for so long because Kirk wasn't good enough? What about Newman? Do you think Marvin has too much loyalty to vets and is hesitant to pull the trigger on a depth chart move?
Shaw didn't beat out Dennard. Dennard got injured (once again.) during the off-season workouts and missed most of his practice time. The coaches were comfortable with Shaw and didn't want to rock the boat. More spinning.
Reggie Nelson isn't a bust he's a really good safety that was misused in Jacksonville by Del Rio. They tried moving him to CB instead of letting him play his natural position. Another coaching decision that has hampered a players development. Do you see the trend yet? Labeling someone a bust is implying the player wasn't good enough and that it was a mistake to draft them. The mistake with the Jags wasn't drafting Nelson it was how they used him. How's that on Nelson? How's that fair that Nelson carries a bust label in your eyes because Del Rio stunted his growth at his natural position?
Kirk didn't magically become "decent". He needed playing time just like Dennard. Why did he need playing time? To contribute to his experience as playing at the highest level of the game I'm sure isn't an easy thing to do. That game day experienced combined with the experience a player obtains by being healthy, practicing, building chemistry/trust with the coaches and teammates helps develop them into a good player. You miss out on all of that when you are injured and an important portion of it when you don't get the chance to play. It's called player development. You just want to skip that part though and watch them play like an all-pro like a video game.
