At some point he has to be put in with the 1s. It’s asinine to continue acting as if Turner or Mitchell are anywhere near as vital as Becton
Over longer term I found them to be mostly accurate when it comes to OLine. For example, their shit rankings for our tackles last year very accurately reflected their performance based on my personal observations. So, unless someone we trust who actually watched all the games and analyzed specific players' every snap, like PFF does, can attest, I think it's a decent tool to at least get an idea of how a player did. And Billy last's year's ranking mirror the reports we are getting on him in the camp.
If both are ready to play, and Brown is actually still able to play well, which I am not certain is the case, they both need to play. That means Becton will have to play RT, since Duane at this point can't change his position. What bothers me the most though is that as @bicketybam noted, JD didn't get solid back-ups for these guys, given age, injury history, and last year. If one of them cannot go at any point in the sason, we have to move AVT to tackle, where he got seriously hurt last time on the edge, and downgrading the Guard position, where he really provided some mismatches. That's because we have practice squad quality guys like Max and Turner as main back-ups. And btw, they are injury prone too. There is a lot of things that have to go right for us this year for the line to be good. We definitely need lady luck's help on that one.
If games were played on paper or Madden, I’d agree with you. IRL you cant hand the starting job to someone who hasn’t earned it. It wouldn’t sit right with the team and you’re putting too much on an unknown. If Brown were to miss the first 3 games of the season and Becton is an absolute beast filling in, that’s a different story….. but we’re not there and should hope we don’t get there. I’ve never called Becton a bust but he wasn’t handed the LT spot last year, he lost it to Fant. To assume he’d be handed it this year is not realistic.
This is one though where I lay the blame at JD’s feet. He’s been here long enough to have better addressed our OL. He was foolish to rely on Becton last year, and I’m still concerned that Becton is again a huge key this year I really like JD. A lot. I wouldn’t advocate for letting him go. But to me, he has not done enough on OL….this far into his tenure as GM the fact that we are hugely relying on a 38 year old LT coming off injury and another LT who will need to move to RT who himself has not played in two years…man. Sure if they both stay healthy and perform our OL should be solid, but to me, it’s a lot to ask of those two guys to stay healthy and productive. We should be farther along at OT than we are
I understand what you are saying but has Billy Turner earned it? he runs out there with the 1s every day
I disagree. Anyone playing LT other than Becton, Brown or AVT is a disaster waiting to happen, and will more than likely wind up with Rodgers getting hurt. If Becton is at RT and Brown is unable to play, then he should slide over to LT and Turner take over RT if it's just for a game or two. If it's going to be for an extended time, then Becton should still slide over to LT and AVT should slide to RT, and Schweitzer or Tippman take over at RG (unless Tippman has replaced McGovern as the starting C). No, we shouldn't re-evaluate who is the longer term answer at LT. It's not gonna be a 40 year-old Brown. That's just ridiculous. If Becton stays healthy and plays at a high level, the team should sign him to a long-term extension. If they still have concerns about his weight or health, they can include clauses to cover that with incentives for games played and weight levels achieved.
I have to disagree regarding the swing tackle position. Turner has done it for years and knows this offense backwards and forwards. Mitchell is still struggling badly. He needs to focus on one position, not flip-flopping sides. IMO it doesn't matter than he can be here for the future at this point. For this season, we need a solid and set OL and let next year take care of itself. That's true with Becton and Brown as well. If Brown looks better at LT than Becton, then he should start at LT. I just don't like Saleh lying saying there would be a competition, when there never was going to be. Again, I understand why they may have started Becton practicing on the left side with the 2s, so that he would be comfortable and where he was most confident. Personally, I think he would be better than Brown this season, but it would be better to have both Brown and Becton on the field at the same time. I don't think that Mitchell is ready to see the field. He was supposed to get a redshirt season last year and didn't get it. I think he needs to sit and learn this year. I don't think the experimenting should go on for another week. They need to get the starting OL as ready as possible. Our opening games are tough. If Becton is likely going to be the RT, then play Turner at LT the rest of the time and let the other starters play where they're going to play.
How does Brown earn the LT position if he doesn't take a snap in preseason? Asking for a once fat friend who's sworn off pancakes
No apology. Brown may not ever be ready to play. If not, the best lineup would have Becton at LT and AVT at RT, they would have several weeks of practicing at those positions, so there would be consistency. If they practice with AVT at RG and Becton at RT, and Brown isn't ready to start the season, do you really want Turner or Mitchell at LT? If so, you might as well put AR on IR right now and cancel any ideas about the postseason. IMO having a unit that has practiced together for the last 3 1/2 weeks of TC would be better than practicing as you would have it, and then having to scramble things if Brown isn't ready to go. That sure wouldn't be consistency! There is no perfect answer. Brown needs to be out there. He isn't. I tore my right rotator cuff at age 46. I know what the rehab is like. Brown is a few years younger and in a lot better shape than I was, and has the advantage of a full-time training staff, but he had both rotator cuffs repaired. He's going to have a tough time getting his strength and range of motion back in both shoulders.
Rotating the OL would not work. With the DL, they play more as individuals. Each individual has his assignment, and in general in this scheme, it's pin their ears back, be aggressive and move up field. The OL has to play as a unit. They have to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses, and how when they need to compensate for each other. They have to develop timing, coordination, cohesion, and chemistry together. OL play is more like synchronized swimming than DL play in that regard. The have to move and work as a unit. What I was suggesting with Becton, was that if he needed a rest for a few plays early in the season, until his strength is fully back, it wouldn't be the end of the world. They do that if an OL gets shaken up. He comes out for a play or two, then goes back in if he's OK. It would be the same kind of thing. He may not even need to come out for a rest by the time the season starts.
Apparently no one has earned the starting RT spot but you’d have to assume the guy with 10 years experience with both the OC and the QB would start off with a little bit of a lead.
We can agree to disagree. If they end up having Brown play the role of backup, I’ll be the 1st to compliment your foresight. If funny how everyone talks about the importance of continuity but to you, an injury at 1 position calls for a change at 3 eliminating any continuity.
Thanks for posting this!!! This (his work ethic), combined with his talent is why I take umbrage at people claiming that Becton just dogs it and is so "entitled" and not willing to work. He's still a young man. He's learning and maturing, but he's trying his hardest to be as great as he can be. He still has a ton of potential and can be a great player for us. I hope that I've been wrong about Saleh, and that he isn't or hasn't been biased against Becton, but it sure has seemed like it to me, and his comment about his trusting Becton for the first time in a long time is telling.
JD has the advantage of knowing Becton much better than any of us, having had multiple discussions with him, his CS at Lousiville, having seen him his rookie season, has gotten medical reports from Becton's Drs. and I'm sure that he has kept in touch with Becton to see how he was doing following surgery and where he was in his rehab. When Becton showed up for OTAs, he was in great shape and moving well. JD probably had no reason to doubt Becton at that point. He isn't as cynical and jaded as Jets fans are. He knew that Becton would keep working to build strength and stability in the knee and that his confidence in the knee would grow with each practice.
Don't be disingenuous. My calling for a change at 3 positions was if Brown was nowhere near being ready to practice/play. In that scenario, with the season rapidly approaching, imo the best thing would be to go ahead, make the changes now, and prepare as if Brown wasn't going to play. That would build continuity. They haven't had continuity to date, so it's disingenuous and hypocritical of you to criticize my opinion for making so many changes, when there has been little or no stability or continuity so far anyway. If you can't see that, then you're the one with the problem.
We'll have to agree to disagree on that. I've seen Jets OL and DL have great games and get a 50 something or a 60 something grade from PFF. Their Jets analyst was caught not even watching one game yet assigning grades to players. When players are awful it easy to say that they suck and give them a bad grade.
If Brown was expected to miss the year, that would make sense but he’s not expected to miss any time as of yet. I wish I could say I hope you’re right and Brown misses the season but as a fan of the team, I can’t do that.
How can you say that Becton hasn't earned it? He's been very good in TC and the preseason games and has been our best OT on the field. Becton isn't an unknown. They know how he played his rookie season, and they know how he has played so far in TC and preseason. He isn't an unknown. Brown hasn't even practiced and may not for another couple of weeks, if then. What Brown did was last year. This is this year, and Becton's out there playing very well. I do agree that the OL will be best with both Becton and Brown in the lineup, so I'm content with Becton starting at RT for this season if Brown is healthy and playing at a high enough level. I'd rather not move AVT to OT, but would if necessary. I never said that Becton should he handed the LT job this season. I was content to trust in the head-to-head competition that Becton would prevail. Brown forfeited the competition. That's not Becton's fault. He has earned the right to practice with the 1s and to be the starting LT, but Saleh doesn't want him to be the LT, so it's not gonna happen. I think it's unfortunate that Turner has looked so bad, as that has truly sealed Becton's fate that if he wants to play, it will be at RT. I've accepted that.
