I think the possibility is quite high that Knowles’ desire to implement the Jack position is being sabotaged by an old curmudgeonly DL coach who hates the idea of taking a DE off the field and refuses to (or at least is really bad at) implement(ing) it.
In this hypothetical scenario, let’s say that this DL coach is extremely established and successful (in addition to being curmudgeonly) and hard to override (or replace) while maintaining some semblance of cohesion amongst the coaches. There’s been rumors of a transition plan for years but there’s obviously something holding that up to the potential detriment of both recruiting and fully implementing what Knowles wants to do defensively.
If we accept these things as true, I think it’s highly likely that Sawyer was a compromise selection (especially after Melton was injured) to keep the DL coach happy by keeping one of his DL on the field, despite it being less than ideal for more than one reason.
Just to take my not-so-subtle digs at LJ Sr to the next level, I also think it is interesting that Day is on record this off season basically criticizing the DL rotation last season and insisting that the best players will be on the field more often this year (meanwhile the LB and DBs need to be rotated more… does anyone think Day’s job is easy?
).
Is it any wonder that Day is trying to take a step back from the offensive preparation to take a more active role with the defense?
There’s plenty to criticize, but I am optimistic heading into the season.
I kinda get why back-to-back losses make others not optimistic about anything until that changes, but it is pretty grating to be exposed to constantly.