Given that at the time Joeckel was (at least ostensibly) the best lineman available, what else was Dave supposed to do? The man doesn't have a 'crystal ball' to see how someone is going to do in the future, nor is he able to predict injuries. Keeping in mind that Joeckel  was hamstrung with an injury his first season and rather than working on developing size and strength he spent most of that time rehabbing. This off season will be his first opportunity after having a full pro season to work on those issues.

 

Nevertheless, as others on here have already said, his performance for a high round draft pick has been pretty discouraging this season. I'm not sure what the answer is, but if he doesn't play it sure makes him look like a bust pick for Dave. On the other hand... if he has another season like this past one, it will tend to reinforce the growing opinion on this board that he is a high round draft bust and he really needs to be moved to more of a backup player status. The o-line just isn't the place for anyone unless they're one big, bad, mamma jamma!

 

On a side note:

I've observed that some GM's pick physically smaller linesmen in the belief that they are able to make up for the lack of mass with speed. Maybe; but I think it's probably easier for a really big man to get somewhat faster by becoming more efficient with his moves than it is for a smaller guy to get physically stronger to compensate for a difference in size. I kind'a think it's like internal combustion engines; there is no replacement for displacement... 

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