Evaluation Period Begins

[CatoTheElder]

Meh, they drafted him in the second round and got a second rounder plus an overrated corner in return. 

Kolb was not a good QB and I have no idea why Whisenhunt traded for him. 

Because then he wouldn't have to draft a young QB early, which he apparently hates doing.

[Johnny English]

Yeah but you could have said that about all the positions. When he points out the safeties specifically, that makes me think it's more about Reed.

If he just left it at were gonna evaluate and get younger I'd think that's a trend.

Of course this could also mean Idzik has interest in retaining Rex and or DT possibly even discussed it with them. How often do you see coaches on the hot seat going into evaluate mode rather than trying to save their jobs

If the young players all hit the field and light it up, it's going to cause as many problems for Rex as it resolves - the big question will suddenly be "why were you freaking around with your old buddies like Reed, Landry and Pace when we had all this talent waiting to be unleashed that you apparently didn't know you had or were too scared to use?". I'm not even saying that that is a correct position but it's what the story will be.

[reuben]

I wonder if Ben Ijalana, Oday Aboushi, and Will Campbell will get any reps.

I've been thinking about this, and I just don't think it's a good idea.  I'd rather see the team stick with Winters through the rest of the campaign, and then hit the off-season knowing that it's no longer his job.  However the line shakes up in the off-season, I want the team to have worked out their starting five before preseason, ideally before training camp. 

Although, it might be a good idea to scratch Ducasse, and let one of those guys get in some work in goal line and short yardage packages. 

[CatoTheElder]

If the young players all hit the field and light it up, it's going to cause as many problems for Rex as it resolves - the big question will suddenly be "why were you freaking around with your old buddies like Reed, Landry and Pace when we had all this talent waiting to be unleashed that you apparently didn't know you had or were too scared to use?". I'm not even saying that that is a correct position but it's what the story will be.

If someone like Josh Bush comes in and lights it up it could be the final excuse Idzik needs to ditch Rex. If something like that happens and Rex doesn't get fired than I hope it will show him that he has to change his evaluation process.

[dcm1602]

How often do defensive players step in and "light it up"

It's not like an offensive player where they can get like 300 yards or multiple tds.

And turnovers have a huge element of luck being in the right place at the right time.

I'm just saying expecting a guy to play too good,  and for this to somehow get Rex fired over 2 games is a little wonky

[AlioTheFool]

Marty Mornhinweg drafted Joey Harrington.  But I do wonder how much of a say he had in drafting Nick Foles. 

*turns out Mornhinweg is responsible for Philly drafting Foles

He also had a lot of say in the Kevin Kolb selection

I'm struggling to remember, but wasn't Harrington subject to the Sanchez-effect? He had talent, but was surrounded by a truckload of fertilizer, wasn't he?
 
(After reading through the next couple of pages, yes, that was the case. I'm not necessarily saying Marty is a QB guru. See below.)

Eh, he got quite a bit out of Kolb.  More than he was worth.

I don't have faith in Geno Smith's future, but I'll second Alio's sentiment about stomaching him for another season.  Forcing a first round rookie quarterback to command next season's offense would be like driving a Ferrari through a forest. 

Right, and again, I'm only saying don't draft a QB in the following situation:

1) One of the elites doesn't fall in our laps wherever our final record lands us in this draft
and
2) We are unable to negotiate a reasonable trade-up to acquire one the elites.

I'd simply rather stomach another year of Geno, for better or worse, while drafting the supporting staff for the next heir, if we can't manage to acquire the future this coming draft.
 
The way I see it, if we can't reasonably acquire a QB, we go into next year with Geno, Simms, and another backup and see if we get lucky. Maybe Marty turns out to be right. If not, we'll have added a significant number of pieces through this draft to make the job easier for the next guy to take over.

If the young players all hit the field and light it up, it's going to cause as many problems for Rex as it resolves - the big question will suddenly be "why were you freaking around with your old buddies like Reed, Landry and Pace when we had all this talent waiting to be unleashed that you apparently didn't know you had or were too scared to use?". I'm not even saying that that is a correct position but it's what the story will be.

I'm not saying that won't be a story, but it's still a bit unfair. Cleveland is no longer in the playoff hunt and Miami might not be when we play them. That's following the same thinking that has half of the general fanbase begging for Simms to have a shot to start.
 
That said, clearly Reed stealing snaps was a bad idea.

[FlashGordon]

The last two games will basically be an open tryout for next year.

I'd like to see Zach Sudfeld get reps over Kellen Winslow.  I wonder if Ben Ijalana, Oday Aboushi, and Will Campbell will get any reps.

Saalim Hakim time

I doubt any of those lineman play.  They've all been inactives all year, who do you de-activate tomorrow to make room?  Schlauderauff sucks, but can anyone else play Center?  Maybe they can come up with some fake injuries for Winslow or Ed Reed by tomorrow.