To his credit Akers came to camp beefed up and buffed, and with a smile on his face and gleam in his eye.
I hoped he had turned a corner, but was still in "trust but verify" mode. Glad to see what so far looks like needed change - show me more, Cam. Sustain it under fire.
McVay was very mindful to pour accolades and trust in Akers' direction. McVay has an unteachable, innate knack, to connect with players, bring out the best in them. He brought those gifts to his handling of Akers. Whatever happens from here out, he will not throw Akers unter a bus, but will be charitable in his treatment and statements regardiong Akers.
All that said, his goal is to put the players on the field who have the best chance for victories, for performance, for success - not
personal success but team success. Call it what you will - he is creating an obvious chemistry, vibe, culture, to that end. Players who want to be a part of that must be, in McVay's phrase, all in.
That would show in celebrating the success of others. That would show by playing with heart and enthusiasm. Those things can be seen in what we call body language. You can't fake enthusiasm or intensity - at least not for long, especially under duress.
Akers' body language against the Seahawks didn't show me what I had hoped to see.
I said in an earlier snarky post that a good landing spot for Akers would be a swimming pool - I halfway regret it and take it back, but at the time my serious thought was that an immediate plunge into cold water or some equivalent might shock and invigorate this young man - help him come to his senses. Maybe a benching will do it - but McVay is running out of options.
Putting a winning NFL football team on the field is a harsh and demanding business, not a personal growth workshop. That McVay can grow players and get the best out of them (cf. Jalen Ramsey, Allen Robinson, et al) is invaluable to building a team. But in management situations there comes a time where there is a breakpoint - how much can you invest in a person for the performance you get in return? Akers may be at that point it or past it.
Meantime McVay has to put his best players on the field.
