[Ruhskins]

The way people talk about Reed Doughty and how "bad" he has played, it makes me think that the expectations of him are that of a superstar, when I have always said that Doughty is an average player. Doughty should lose his job either because his performance drops and/or because Horton outperforms hims after a number of games. Doughty should not lose his job b/c he caught a f'ing stomach virus. Rookies are going to perform well in one game, and as Blache would say it can break your heart the next. I don't think the team is going to risk that with the type of passing game that we're going to face this Sunday.

That being said, I tried to find some way to measure RD's performance, and all I could find was # of tackles (since there are some claims that he can't tackle). In seven games (from Wk 13 of last season to this season's Wk 1 game against the Giants) here are RDs tackle stats:

Total Tkls: 45; Total Solo Tkls: 29; Total Ast Tkls: 16; Pass Def: 2
Avg Tkls/Game: 6.4; Avg Solo Tkls/Game: 29
Best Performance (Wk 15 vs. NYG): 11 Tkls, 7 Solo, 1 Pass Def
Worst Performance (Wk 16 @ MIN): 2 Tkls, 1 Solo, 0 Pass Def
Last Performance: 6 Tkls, 4 Solo, 0 Pass Def

Based on just number of tackles, RD's numbers are higher than other Free Safeties in the division . His two pass defended were comparable to other safeties in the division, save for Hamlin of the Cowpokes who had a significant higher number of PDs.

No one is taking away from Horton's performance and potential. We are lucky to have such a good young player. However, stop making arguments that Horton should start after just one game. He needs to develop this season, and could be a starter at the end of the season. But just don't call for a change in roster just b/c of a stomach virus.