HappyDays

Yeah and that mindset is why we once trotted AJ Klein onto the field in the divisional round instead of playing a rookie Dorian Williams. Klein knew the defense better but that doesn't help when your movement skills resemble the Tin Man. There is a part of me that worries the same thing will happen with Tre White and Hairston. Hopefully not though. McDermott said earlier this week the plan is to play a lot of young players on defense and reports from OTAs/minicamp said Hairston was being coached hard and getting better week over week. So I hope that they are expecting him to win the job, and that even if he is still making some mental mistakes McDermott will give him his runway early in the season to acclimate to the NFL and the team will be better for it in January.

The mindset should be if there's a tie or even if it's close you give the job to the rookie because the rookie has the most room for improvement. We shouldn't be afraid of mental mistakes early in the season if the rookie is learning from those moments and ultimately playing better than the vet ever could in December and January.

My mantra in the offseason was 40 PPG offense. The team went a different direction. If it was up to me that is still what I would have tried to build. That being said on the whole I liked most of the investments they made on defense, especially early in the draft, and I'm glad we will likely find out once and for all if the talent or the coaching is the main reason we can't slow KC down in the playoffs. I understand the logic behind this offseason's strategy but I won't be convinced it will make a difference until I see it happen.

Yeah I'll be honest I still kind of wish we hadn't signed Tre. I love what he meant to the franchise but I believe he is just washed at this point. I would rather keep younger players whose bodies haven't broken down, like Strong and Ingram, but the team will probably feel obligated to keep Tre here over one of them.

Last minicamp practice is today. Update from Matt Parrino on Hairston:

I haven't even heard Dorian Strong's name since rookie minicamp. The reports on Hairston are that he's been getting better and better with each practice and has been mixing in with the 1s. It's nothing like Elam/Benford where early on they were clearly in a competition against each other. I'll be shocked if Hairston isn't the week 1 starter. If it's not him it will be White. Strong is fighting against Dane Jackson to make the roster.

I know he has a goofy attitude but one of the reasons I latched onto him as a prospect is he is known to be a hard worker and dedicated to being great. Words and intentions don't always equal results but I have no doubt that if Keon fails it won't be because of his own effort. If he never develops the requisite skills so be it I can live with that. I think the athletic potential combined with his work ethic gives him more of a chance than you believe though.

Moore is getting a lot of 1st team work at every practice the media has attended and most importantly seems to have developed good chemistry with Allen... Still need to see what he does when the pads come on and defensive coverage becomes more complicated but you couldn't ask for more at this point. One player that I have not heard much about is Kincaid. Still doesn't seem like Allen favors him as a target. And Matt Parrino specifically pointed out Knox making a few plays today. Way too early to have definitive takeaways but it's worth noting.

A few updates from Matt Parrino:

7-9 last year IMO (I'll remove the final Pats game). I have us losing to Arizona, Jets on the road, Miami at home, Indy, KC, and Detroit with league average QB play. The 2017 team isn't a good comparison. The level of competition has grown significantly since then and we're playing a 1st place schedule. That team playing the 2024 schedule would not have even been in the wildcard conversation.

Couple updates from Matt Parrino:

He is honoring his contract. To the letter. He skipped voluntary workouts and now is present for mandatory minicamp. Nothing Cook has done has gone remotely beyond the pale.

Mandatory minicamp today and tomorrow, supposed to be Thursday too but usually the team cancels the last practice as a show of good will to the players.

Not even holding in:

I'm good with this as a vet option, almost certainly knocks Spector off the roster. Thompson has missed most of the last two seasons with injuries. Put him on ice and only bring him out in case of injury. Hopefully it's not an AJ Klein situation where he's lost all movement ability.