Re: There are 5 levels of intensity in NFL play…

43 I found your post interesting and pretty right on.

The only point I would add is that with so many young players that each of the 5 levels represents an areas where young players can mature and develop and that players may react differently in each of the environments. An example is Perkins who seems to develop more during game time than in preseason. Other players may do well in practice but tend to miss assignments when it comes time to the playing in games.

There are so many unknowns and until you see someone in a real game you really never know whether they are ready nor not. Some players may see to develop faster but that can be misleading because you need an opportunity to play and if there are proven players ahead of you the opportunity to learn and grow becomes less. This can happen at each of the levels.

So my point is that all these young guys who were acquired already have a developed skill and they need to develop the other parts of the game to be ready to play. They won't all develop in the same way or the at the same pace and at the stronger positions some will have to wait for an opportunity to compete at the next level of "intensity" Last year Jones, who did show up and develop quickly, got to play because the 2 starters in front of him weren't very good so he got the opportunity. Hopkins really didn't get any time last year during the regular season or in the playoffs until the Super Bowl. Everyone wrote him off but when he finally got the chance he stepped up big time.

As fans most of us don't get to see the players practice and we must rely on the great reports we get from those who are attending practice as well as the comments from coaches and player on how the young guys are coming along. In preseason the regulars and rotation players that don't need game experience allow us to get some idea about player performance though in a team game you are also dependent on your teammates. Here we can do some evaluation but for the most part you have reserves going against reserves so if someone excels they are only excelling against someone who is a backup or who may only be a scrub.

It's not until the real games that we can get an idea of how ready or how good a player is and for young guys, which we have a bunch of, you have to look at how they develop over a period of games, usually first as a rotation play, though OL doesn't rotate so you don't really have much to go on until there is an injury or repeatedly bad performance from the starter.

Of course injuries happen and sometimes backups get pressed into action before they are ready. As fans we tend to write them off quickly if the fail to perform up to expectations. However, when you have so many young guys sometimes they will get pressed into action before they are really ready to play. The game experience becomes valuable to them and they continue to develop & get better and end up with a better idea of what they need to do to make it in the NFL. I would say that happened with Long who really sucked when he got to play until last year when he finally was able to contribute and play well. Now he is a legitimate rotation player in the secondary.

I guess my point is the rush to judgement is often to quick on this board. We fall in love with Harris size and speed but now he is injury prone and there is hardly a mention of him. Tutu wasn't ready and now performs well in practice and apparently McVay has a role for him in the offense. Noteboom took a lot of hits a few years ago and now is the starter at left tackle. Hopkins sucked but was a key player in the Super Bowl win. Our young guy for the most part were drafted in the later rounds and need to be developed and sometimes it takes a couple of years before they are ready. That is the model of the Rams and how the use that model to manage the cap. Next season Hav's, Higbee and Edwards all may be cap casualties. Will Hopkins and Blanton be ready to take over? How about Bruss and Jackson for Hav's & Edwards?

Anyway I try not to be to quick to judge. That said if Evans ends up taking over for Hav's or Edwards I will be shocked.