Largent80":nhnp3mim said:
Britt was drafted to play RT and did for his full first year.
It didn't work out. Last year he played LG, didn't work out.
This year....C and it is working out. A 3 year project that is finally paying dividends.
Britt probably wouldn't be as good or as competent especially mentally had he not taken those lumps at both positions.
On the OPs topic in general:
Gilliam had a lot of promise athletically but could he improve his mental game and overall toughness?
I think he just kind of fell into a hole, first spending his off-season training to be an LT, losing valuable and training reps in TC because of Cyst surgery. Thusly, losing LT spot to Sowell because lack of practice. Webb being a total flub dealing with his own injuries then lack effort and what not didn't allow for quality competition.
So not making excuses for Gilliam but losing that LT opportunity ($$$) probably frustrated him is my guess. Added to the lack of quality competition at a position he was probably a poor fit at to begin with compared to the aggressive mailers they had there in the past. So from a competitive stand point I can understand if he got content in just doing enough and just didnt compete at a high level. Perhaps adding to it was his overall lack of experience just wasn't a great pairing for Ifedi's own growth. Maybe they just didn't work well together and made too many mistakes if thier was a lack of chemistry.
Lastly, this could be a twofer, 1) not only lighting a fire under Gilliam to make him compete harder, work harder for his opportunity like he did in 2015 in the 2nd half of the season. 2) But also getting Sowell experience at RT and some playing time off that injury without taking reps from Fant in the process. Since Sowell is more or less the swing guy now. Make them both compete and see if one will rise up to the occasion since they are both playing for thier NFL livelihood going forward.
Not the smartest decision to shake things up so late in the process but I understand because that process hasn't been available until now. You want guys to improve and work hard you put pressure on thier opportunity and you see if they respond accordingly because no one likes to be demoted. Shit gets real when you know your job is on the line. Focus, responsibility, sense of urgency, effort all that jazz especially with fringe players like Gillliam and Sowell who have uncertainty of being able to continue to establish a future in this league if they can't show some consistency and aptitude.
