Lavar has been misused...

[Oakland Red]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

1) The knee problem is my exact point. The only reason Lavar was a good player was his pure speed. When the knee problem robbed him of his speed, it became very apparent how technicially unsound he was.

2) In this past season Lavar had some good games. I remember one game when he had 10 tackles and was all over the field. He had finally gotten his knee healthy and his speed was there. So he was making plays, and it was nice to see. But then towards the end of the season the leg started bothering him again. I kept seeing him limping off the field. Some players can play hurt and play through pain even when their speed isn't 100%, because those players work hard, study opponents' tendencies, and practice sound technique. Lavar is definitely not one of them. If he's hurt, he's useless. He can play through pain because he's tough, but he can't play WELL through pain. He needs his speed to be effective.

Now, do you want to see $12 million in cap space go to a guy who can't be counted on to do much of anything unless he's 100%? For a guy coming off a knee injury, I say NO WAY.

Just think about who Lavar is for a second, though. Whenever I hear him speak, I can tell how much emotion he has in him. He plays with ferocity, and you can tell how proud he is. You can tell how much he cares about the Skins too. And his outbursts to the media (complaints about coaches) are entirely driven by emotions. He has retracted his statements several times because he lets his emotions get the best of him, and he just pops off. Then later once he cools off, he regrets what he said. That's Lavar in a nutshell, a ball of emotions.

I have no problem with emotion, you need it to play with ferocity. My main problem with Lavar is what you DON'T EVER hear him talk about. He never says anything insightful, analytical, or calculating. He never talks about the importance of technique, he never mentions being in the right place so that his teammates can make plays. When I've heard Antonio Pierce or Lemar Marshall speak, they talk about directing traffic, identifying formations, adjusting before the snap. They understand that getting Griffin and Salave'a lined up in the right spot means the LBs will have a better chance to make tackles. They talk about maintaining containment on edge runs. They talk about how a TE like Jeremy Shockey threatens certain areas of the defense, and how it's very important to stay with him in coverage. All these things they talk about, it's all indicative of a player who works hard and studies hard. They understand the importance of technique and film study, and they take coaching to heart. I NEVER hear Lavar say anything that indicates he values these kinds of things. He's not a complete player. He has the emotion and he has the speed, but he doesn't have the mind for the NFL game.

When healthy he's a force. But you can't use emotion and speed when your body is hurting. You have to use your brain and focus on being in the right place at the right time.

I think this is a good analysis. What makes a team strong is people working together effectively, and LaVar does not work with other people very well. His distracting criticisms and his working for the team but not with the team make him a liability.

He is an albatross for the team at this point, and I'm confident he will be traded or released.