IN
DEFENSE OF COACH’S EVERYWHERE
By Tim Wutz!
This article will not be for
everyone, but I know there are many people that are not full time sports/ beat
writers or analysts that have had the same thoughts as I had recently. This is
for the casual fan that does not follow sports for a living, and simply watches
it for enjoyment or who dabbles in fantasy sports games.
I was watching the Monday Night Football game
while Travis Kelce was having his breakout game. There must have been others
out there, besides me, wondering why his coaches didn’t see his talent sooner.
I know I have been talking about him since early August and have seen numerous
posts on Twitter about him as well. My thoughts then turned to Ladarius Green
and his abilities. It seems every year, fans and analysts spot athletes with
elite attributes and qualities and talk them up long before they actually come
into their own for the teams they play for.
I am sure some of you said, as I have; if I can see this kids talent,
why can’t his coach? He does this for a
living for goodness sake. To get a little better understanding about this, I
turned to Mr. James Cobern, the self-named “keeper of the giant metric spreadsheet.”
His Twitter handle is @Jmcobern1, and his very informative website is
allprofootballsource.com. That site is a must visit for a better understanding
of metrics. He was kind enough to give me some of his time and answer a few
questions for me.
The conversation with him gave me
some great insight. There are many
reasons an obviously talented young man may not start right away and takes time
to develop. One is the coach’s preference for the position in question. Each
coach has a unique idea of what and who he wants at a given position. Another
is the type of offense and playbook they implement. A WR type tight end
obviously may not be a good fit for a power running offense. At least until
they are sure he is going to be playing, and they can add some plays to the
playbook to take advantage of that.
When a tight end reaches the NFL
level, the game is much faster, and the players much stronger. Many playbooks
and schemes are also much more complicated. All this takes time for a rookie or
young player to absorb and grow into. Even if you have an athletic stud, many
of the finer points of the game have to be picked up. Earning the trust of your
coach can also be problematic. For instance, in San Diego, you have Antonio
Gates, a future Hall of Famer, ahead of Green. He is a true pro that has earned
the trust placed in him over many years. I am sure there is also a bit of
deference given to a veteran player such as Gates, or even KC’s Anthony Fasano.
In Fasano’s case, he is a veteran and also a much better run blocker than
Kelce. That is the type of tight end
that fits the power running game of J. Charles better.
Written and arranged by - Tm Wutz TWITTER!!!!
