Soliai was a 4th round pick who was only asked to play on run downs. Most coaches expect to have to develop 4th rounders. Big difference between 52 and 108. Bill Polian lost it years ago and says so much off the wall stuff nowadays that I cannot take him seriously.
It's a little ironic that you are confident in Phillips but don't like McDowell. They both have the same "red flags" concerning effort and work ethic.
The fact that we have invested SO much in Suh, just makes finding a partner for him more important. He is just wasting away at the moment with little help and he is already 30 years old. We have 4 DE's whether you like them or not. We only have 2 DT's. Same goes with LB, FS and G. Starters have been put in place by the FO. While most of us may not like the players slotted at some of those positions, they have been addressed. DT has not.
Phillips is good for 20-25 snaps a game and has shown nothing to make anyone think he can handle more. Gase has been on him to get his snaps up. It's a huge gamble (at the cost of our run defense) to assume he will work harder this year than he has the previous two years. He couldn't even displace underachieving, Earl Mitchell. Most players like this don't get motivated until their contract year.
McDowell may not be the player for us but we have a huge need at DT.
---------- Post added at 09:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:15 AM ----------
All very true.
