Originally posted by Rascal:
No, is not just Baldwin, it was Brandon Jacobs as well as AJ Jenkins as some have pointed out (although not me personally as I felt I had already seen enough).
But, let's focus on Baldwin here for the purpose of this discussion, first off, the playbook argument is weak or even simply invalid.
Why ? Does one need to know the entire 785 pages of the playbook before one can play ? No.
Can a player be utilized on certain packages for certain specific situations say by learning 10 plays to begin with ? Yes.
And by the way, this is not something that I invented cos many teams do it. If not, how the hell can Trenton Richardson be traded and played in an away game within a matter of days ? Do you mean to tell me he had already learnt the entire playbook within 3 days ? Does he have a photographic memory ?? Surely not, right ?
And to add, Jon Baldwin is from the 2011 draft class while Richardson is from the 2012 draft class, in other words he has even more real game experience than Richardson. So, are you saying he can't even handle memorizing only a handful of plays not to mention he already possesses a healthy base knowledge from the West Coast Offense carry-over from the Chiefs ?
As for "earning your spot", well do you think Richardson had already "earned" his starting spot before the game when he was immediately named a starter by Chuck Pagano at the trade press conference ? He has been to what ? May be a couple of Colts practices ? Oh and they already had Ahmad Bradshaw, a guy who gashed us twice when he was with the Giants and is still gashing us now as evident on last Sunday's game. But, yes they still decided to play Richardson right away cos they believed he could contribute.
Baldwin has already been with the 9ers for at least 5 weeks ? Has any of his so-called "red flags" resurfaced thus far ? I haven't heard anything, have you ?
Then you look at how the current receiving corps has been playing, KW's performance has been very so so or even subpar in the eyes of some. What do you do then ? You rotate and try out others. Actually, Badlwin is the ONLY receiver we have left on the 53 who is yet to play a game. It is not like we have a truckload of options to go to.
I am not the only person on earth who is asking to try out Baldwin. There are many posters here who are asking the same. Heck, even the media is asking the same question.
Just try him out, at least see what he can bring. If he plays well let him continue, if not take him out and give him a bit more time in practice that's all. What's wrong with that ? Nothing.
First, Baldwin.
As I said, I think he will be activated this week. So, we will see. You think he should have been activated in the first three games.
As I said, I am not so sure. We do not know to what degree learning the play book is an issue. But, I will concede that he could have been put in for a few plays.
You did ignore my point about having Baldwin earning his spot and its importance because of his red flags. Baldwin has had a reputation for being a head case ever since he days in college. Andy Reid quit on Baldwin for a reason.
If the coaching staff feels that Baldwin has to earn his spot as a step in cleaning up his act, so be it. We have not heard anything, but that does not mean there is not anything there. This is an important point, we have not heard anything. We do not know all that much.
As you know, my original reaction was to your assertion that we
never utilize our players.
Now, you are saying that Baldwin, Jacobs, and AJ Jenkins are examples that show we never use our players.
For the sake of argument, I will concede that Harbaugh should have played each of those three players sooner or more often.
Again, this concession is only for this argument.
How does not using three players sufficiently =
never utilizing our players?
That was your assertion. I do not expect you to acknowledge that this assertion is so exaggerated that it has little or no merit.
Anyway, if we look at those three players. Jacobs has not been doing very well in New York. AJ Jenkins has not been great in KC.
And we have no concrete or specific information about what has been happening with Baldwin.
Again, I hope that Baldwin is active for the Rams game. I hope he plays, and I hope he plays really well.
Your willingness to use exaggerations and unfounded speculations to criticize Harbaugh and Baalke seems both boundless and endless.