Are you seeing the speed of the game starting to slow down for some of the rookies?
Now, I'll admit we aren't really like everyone else in this league. We don't jump at the opportunity to throw rookies out on the field and baptize them by fire. We actually prefer to let them set by and learn in a small role and gradually grow them into a full fledge starting position. We don't chase year-end awards with our rookies because we are more concerned with winning. We also know that the progression our rookies need the most comes from the AR and not from the minimal amount of XP they're able to get from playtime stats.
A great example of this tactic is our FS Bullard. Last season, he didn't start at the beginning of the year. For the first 6 games of the season, he was our backup FS and he'd come on the field exclusively in nickel packages when our starting FS would move to the slot CB position. By week 7, he began starting at FS in base packages as well as Nickel. By the end of the season, he was 2nd in the league in interceptions. Now, he is the key to our defense. He plays FS and SS depending on the defensive formation and he then moves to slot CB in nickel which is essential to our defensive scheme.
Some would say your roster is one of the better teams in the league. Would you agree with that? Do you see any weaknesses in your team as you self-scout?
Yes, I'd definitely agree that our roster is among the best. I think what stands out about our roster is how consistent our players play at a high level. Not every great player is great all the time, but ours rarely have had off games. Offensively and defensively, our guys we rely on tend to step up. And we have incredible leadership throughout the team that really raises the level of play for every player on the team regardless of the size of their role.
I don't see any glaring weaknesses, but I do see areas we need to improve on. I won't give those away in detail, but we aren't satisfied until we are number 1 in every team statistical category there is.
Can you speak to the overall team health?
Right now we are finally coming back healthy for the last half of the season. Getting to this midway point was tough though. At one point, we were playing the defending Super Bowl champions without our starting RB, our top 3 starting WRs, and our starting superstar RG. Those weren't the only injuries, but they were very significant because basically every playmaker on our offense was in street clothes on the sideline. But all 3 of those WRs are back now and our OL is healthy and we are only waiting on our RB to come back from his injury in a couple weeks. Hopefully we can continue staying healthy as the weeks go on, but we all know it only takes 1 game to change up the season.
