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- Jun 2, 2013
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- Fanotodd
Absolutely. While I don’t have a problem with a team playing young players for development purposes after they are mathematically eliminated, a year-long approach of that nature is definitely detrimental.
Agree to a point. I’d go a step further and say that going out and getting your heads kicked in every week is wearing and demoralizing. At some point, not having any hope—even a slim one at that—becomes counterproductive.
The mayfield comeback vs the raiders saved the season, IMO. The roster at that time was inferior to be any real threat to a good team, but the effort given from that point forward can not be questioned. Those guys played their asses off.
The opening day win vs a common opponent with plenty of time to prepare gave us all a skewed view and lofty expectations for this season. We’re Rams fans. We don’t enjoy seeing what we’re seeing right now. But getting developing players real reps is valuable and you simply cannot retool the entire roster in one season. Are the Rams tanking? No, but it is more sensible to play these young, inexperienced LBs, for example, than sending Troy Reeder (who I actually liked in his first run) out there who is more experienced and slightly better, because we have seen his ceiling and we want better.
Conversely, sending out rookies/young guys who aren’t ready can be detrimental to their development as well as the team’s. I too, would like to see Tomlinson and Allen out there, but if the staff says they’re not ready, then who are we to know differently?
NOT signing Witherspoon would have been tanking. NOT trading for Dotson and playing rookies and UDFAs instead, would be tanking. I believe the Rams are trying to win even though they know they don’t have the horses.