Quote:
Originally Posted by notorious
(Post 9898974)
The punch from Jones caused Baldfail to become a slow, shitty route running idiot?
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No, but it got in his head.
C'mon, we all know how critical it is for these guys to get out, get confident and start making their way in this league. The margins between success and failure are so incredibly small that, if you're not 100% confident in your ability, you're going to struggle.
I think Ryan Sims falls in this class a little as well. Sims was never going to be a star, I'll grant you. But in Sims rookie year, when he broke his elbow and it just fried that season, he was immediately behind the 8 ball. He seemed to lose his confidence there, it never came back and he just shuffled to hell and gone.
We see it a lot. Had Baldwin been a more mature kid, I don't think the thumb would've had an impact on him. But he wasn't (still isn't). After the fight/thumb, I think Baldwin just felt picked on. He felt like his teammates didn't support him and he just flat shut it down. He lost that rookie season because his confidence wasn't there.
Meanwhile, had Jones done what a veteran leader
should've done and actually taken the kid aside and worked with him, I don't think he gets down on himself like he did.
Baldwin was a major project that was going to need everything to go right for him to hit. When Jones decided to keep it real with a damn teammate, he ensured that the development curve wouldn't be a smooth one for Baldwin. That was enough to send an immature kid off the rails.
But either way, Baldwin wouldn't have worked in this offense - he's just not the right WR. But I do believe that, had he gotten off to a quick start and ingratiated himself with his teammates, he'd have been a happy, productive WR. I also think he would've been far better in a different system.
It's not Jones fault that Baldwin is an immature dude. But he didn't have to make the situation worse and you keep veterans in your locker room with the idea that they'll
improve situations like that. Jones' bullshit didn't.