Lack Of Competition

[atapcl]

Harnish was third string. Drew Stanton never complained about not getting reps.

 

Even still, Luck should have gotten the vast majority of the reps; as a rookie and as the new centerpiece of the franchise he needed all the reps he could possibly get. If that means Harnish only gets ten reps a practice, so be it.

Stanton did not complain but he left to find a team where he could compete for a starting job.

[atapcl]

Where's the evidence? How do we know these players won't have competition? How do you really know Angerer didn't have competition last year?

We know because he got the lion's share of the reps in training camp and Freeman did not get much until Angerer was hurt.

[atapcl]

Not sure that's really correct. Hasselbeck is going to be pushing Luck. But outpr franchise leader doesn't need competition, we aren't the Jets. Wayne has competition from a STACKED WR position. Tackle I can understand a bit. Justice Cunningham was apparently the star of the camp so it's safe to say he will compete with Fleener and Allen. Redding has nothing but competition, RJF, Montori Hughes, Moala, Nevis. The list goes on. I can understand Mathis sort of, but we still have Walden and Werner both can be starters. Corner is a little undermanned, but I like Toler. And we drafted Boyett to compete with Bethea and Landry.

But I like the fact that we always manage to find some unpolished diamonds on our roster.

Freeman made it as a starter but he had professional experience and an injured player that made room for him. I am not trying to down Grigson and Pagano because I think they both are excellent at their jobs but it would be helpful for some people to have competition. I dont think we had one UDFA make the team last year.

[JoKeR]

We know because he got the lion's share of the reps in training camp and Freeman did not get much until Angerer was hurt.

According to who? I'm just saying that we think we know but we really don't know.

[Superman]

Stanton did not complain but he left to find a team where he could compete for a starting job.

 

So do you think it's a bad thing that the starting quarterback job isn't up for grabs? Or are you just playing devil's advocate?

[GoColts8818]

I think the Colts have some real depth at certain positions.  Cornerback, D-line, O-line, Tightend, and QB maybe being the deepest.  The linebacking core isn't bad either.  Mathis, Walden, Angerer, and Freeman probably go to camp as the starters.  Behind them you have a guy in Conner who has been a starter most of his career and a first round draft pick in Werner.  You also have Sidberry and several other rookies who are going to fight for maybe one or maybe two spots.  That seems like pretty good depth to me. 

 

Also for the guys who don't have competition most of them being talked about star players.  They wouldn't have competition on any roster unless you put together a superstar team.  Also if any of those guys slip I don't think Pagano is going to have a problem yanking them for someone else.  They know that and tend to work hard to make sure they don't put themselves in a spot where the coach would even think about benching them which is why they are star players to start with.  That's not a bad thing those are the kind of guys you really want on your team. 

[atapcl]

So do you think it's a bad thing that the starting quarterback job isn't up for grabs? Or are you just playing devil's advocate?

I am playing devil's advocate. I love the fact that we have Luck as the starter. I know Luck will push himself to get better. Cherilus is a starter at RT and he is a good football player but will he push himself or is competition better for him? Also if you tell a person you have no chance to start then how much motivation can you get from that player? I am also interested in how may players are like Jerell Freeman-they have the talent but may not get the chance to show it.

[Superman]

I am playing devil's advocate. I love the fact that we have Luck as the starter. I know Luck will push himself to get better. Cherilus is a starter at RT and he is a good football player but will he push himself or is competition better for him? Also if you tell a person you have no chance to start then how much motivation can you get from that player? I am also interested in how may players are like Jerell Freeman-they have the talent but may not get the chance to show it.

 

Okay, cool deal. To be more realistic, we can probably leave the quarterback position out of it. That position is going to be managed differently than any other position, because a) we have a young starter who needs reps, and b) we have a veteran backup who is pretty entrenched at QB2. Around the league, that's not far from ideal; I think most teams would prefer to have little competition among their quarterbacks, because that means they have a strong starter and a backup they're comfortable with.

 

As for other positions, we signed Cherilus intending for him to start. It would take an injury or really terrible performance for him to be unseated. Just the way the business works. Hopefully we got that signing right; I think we did, but I'm concerned about his knee. We have Linkenbach and Ijalana who will compete for primary backup status particularly at right tackle. But the starting job is pretty well locked up.

 

I agree that you don't want to open up camp telling players that they have no shot to be starters. But I do think it's good for the development of a young team to have well defined depth charts and a hierarchy so that everyone knows where they stand. I'd like to think that the best players will play, but I also think our front office does a good job scouting -- both pros and amateurs -- to know who is going to contribute and to what extent. So if they sign someone like RJF, they know where he's going to fit. When they draft Werner, they know where he's going to fit.

 

What happened last year with guys like Freeman, Lefeged, and a bunch of other reserves who wound up getting a lot of time throughout the season, makes me believe that the team not only does a good job of getting a lot out of players who aren't penciled in to start, but also that they do a good job of developing their younger guys. They also found roles for reserves, which is why Lefeged stood out on special teams.