(02-21-2022, 12:11 PM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote:

(02-21-2022, 11:46 AM)Mikey Wrote: I don't know that anyone could say that with any confidence, given Urbz' apprehension to play any freshmen rookies early on.

I agree that Little's evaluation is incomplete; in spite of that, I can't tag a guy who might be good enough to outplay him at the spot. And if this competition drags into preseason, you have to play someone at RT - you're either playing the other competitor, Taylor, or paid someone else to come in and fill the spot. Flip-flopping guys is going to skew the evaluation (either one is blocking second stringers, not as fresh as the guy who started the game at the spot), or the inconsistency proves detrimental to evaluating the other players on the field. If TLaw is getting hammered by a turnstile holding down RT while the LT competition settles itself, you're doing a disservice to the rest of the team.

We criticize our owner for being indecisive or at the very least passive in his decision-making, but advocate that the head coach take this same approach? Evaluate, decide, and move forward.

I can easily tag Robinson knowing that this year's draft class at OT is nothing short of a "crapfest", anticipating that we're probably not gonna get any premier FA O-Linemen and knowing that we have a ton of cap money. You make the moves that give you the best chance to win and I truly believe tagging Robinson and having him compete with Little, gives us the best chance to have a decent OT duo. Is it perfect? Of course not, but given the alternative, at least we are replacing Taylor with a significant upgrade no matter which player moves to RT. This doesn't deter us from looking for another OT in the middle rounds of the draft. We still do that, but it doesn't paint us into a corner where we have to start that unproven rookie right away. 

Lawrence is already getting hammered by a turnstile at RT and his name is Jawaan Taylor. This is what I'm trying to upgrade. 

No, you're advocating rushing the process with no evaluation what so ever. You'd be basing things off of a very small sample size of what Little did in relief last season and the poor coaching these O-Linemen have had for years under Warhop. To me, that's crazy! The season just ended a week ago and and you're ready to make decisions for next year before any moves have been made, players have been drafted or our current players have even gotten a chance to have one practice with the new staff. There is a huge difference between taking camp and preseason to evaluate OT's and the owner dragging his feet on hiring an EVP when the Combine, free agency and draft are only weeks away. It's not even in the same area code.

This is hyperbole.

From one of my earlier posts that you even quoted:

Quote:Doug has plenty of time now to watch game film to evaluate whether either guy has what he wants to play at LT next year. He even has some footage of Little at RT to know what to expect if he shuffles the lineup.

I'm advocating for the coaches to review film on who we got, weigh the options on who we can get, and make a choice. If the decision is that Little is not good enough to play LT, you gotta find an LT, whether that be by retagging Cam, tendering a different FA, or pursuing the darft. If that's the choice you make, that means either Little rolls to RT, stays a backup, or is on the trade block.

If you think Little is good enough to handle LT, do you pay Cam a fortune to serve a one-year stint as your disgruntled RT? Are there other options that may be as good, but more affordable, or more beneficial? I agree that moving on from Taylor as a starter is extremely high priority this offseason. And we're all well aware that you think Taylor and this year's darft class are both cold turds, it's been posted ad nauseam. If the team decides to fix RT (or LT, for that matter) through any means other than doubling up on Cam's tag, I ain't gonna head to the Modis.

This is my point - by the time Cam's tender is due, we should be able to say thumbs up or thumbs down on Little at LT. If you can't, you've wasted a month, and the indecision is going to impact your FA period, your darft, your practice sessions, everything until you get that situation resolved.

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