Are We Being Too Hard on Brandon Lloyd?

[dgack]

Originally Posted by jsarno

It's only been one week...he could still turn it around. They did throw it to him 2 times, and once in the endzone. Had he caught both, he'd be on his way to a decent season.
If he catches 3 balls for 40 yards and a TD vs the eagles, we'll be talking differently about him.

Sure, I guess I'm just saying that it seems pretty clear that Campbell was looking for Cooley, Moss, and ARE and Lloyd is really the last option. After the perception (deserved or otherwise) that he didn't make the effort to go up and get that INT/pass, why would Campbell look his way again? If anything, JC is going to start throwing the ball away rather than putting it up there for the Amazing Circus Catch Lloyd to go get it.

And really, when you get right down to it, isn't that what this guy's modus operandi was supposed to be? He's not the fastest, known to be a sloppy route runner and fairly lazy in terms of professionalism, but hey, he can go make highlight reel catches...

Except that he isn't doing that. And now he's caught in a negative spiral where he's lost the confidence of coaches and JC, and knows he isn't going to get the ball, so I can pretty much guarantee you he isn't going to be out there giving it his all.

Think back to any time you've shot hoops with a guy who was fire and forget and would never pass. Did you hustle your ass down the court on every rebound after the 25th shot he took, or were you walking up the court? Doesn't matter if it turns out you really just sucked or not, if you don't think you're going to get a chance, you won't hustle. And coaches see you're not hustling, you don't get any more chances.

The only way this cycle gets broken is if a guy has a strong work ethic, and I just don't see that in Lloyd.