We’re now into Week 18 of the NFL season, where a dozen teams are playing out the string, a couple others might as well be, and a few at the top are coasting into the playoffs – but already, even in Week 17 and before, Boomer can see players ‘making business decisions’ on the field.
“Sauce Gardner against the Browns, for one, was kind of embarrassing,” Boomer said, noting a play last Thursday where the reigning DROY conspicuously loafed it. “If you rally watch, there were four or five plays where he just wasn’t getting involved, but I get that – who wants to get hurt going into an offseason? Nobody, but that’s what happens when you have players deciding they don’t want to get involved.”
So why, Gio asked, don’t teams just sit guys who do that?
“Well, they won’t, because he’s one of the best players in the league, but it was obvious to me,” Boomer said. “Part of me says I don’t blame him, the last thing he wants to do is get hurt. This is the stuff you see now, and you’ll see it against the Patriots on Sunday. It’s disappointing, to say the least, but it’s what coaches have to deal with: players won’t put themselves at risk unless they’re playing for something.”
Gio still thinks that’s a perfect situation to evaluate the fringes of the roster, almost like an extra preseason game.
“That’s why Robert Saleh should say, we’re gonna get a young guy in here and try to get something out of this roster and see who could be here next year,” Gio said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t want to put guys out there in a meaningless game, but there’s a few guys you could sit down. I mean, it doesn’t even feel like they’re even trying.”
Unlike the Giants, who almost upset the Rams, but as Boomer said diplomatically, ‘sometimes things go haywire’ – before shooting down Gio’s idea that maybe coaches, now and again, are okay with it for draft position?
Gonna be an interesting Week 18 in New York…