The Foolishness Of Using An Injured Player As A "Decoy" (1 Viewer)

[packersfan]

I'm not a Cotchery owner so I don't have a vested interest in this from a fantasy perspective. But as an NFL fan, I've never understood why a head coach would even consider using an injured player as a decoy, much less actually go through with the plan. But that's what the Jets did on Monday night with Cotchery and it looks like he made his hamstring injury worse in the process. I'm not calling out Rex Ryan specifically here but I just think this decision is stupid. Why would you put a key player at risk if you knew going into the game you weren't going to use him? To have defenses respect him? How tough will it be for a good defensive coordinator to realize Cotchery (in this case) clearly can't run and so there's no reason to worry about him?

One play?

Two?

Three at most?

Again, this isn't so much about Cotchery as it is the decision to put an injured player at risk to begin with. This isn't the first time this has happened either. Shanahan did that with Javon Walker a few years ago and it was completely pointless because it was obvious after the first quarter (at the very latest) that Walker was not figuring in the game plan in any way whatsoever.

If a player is injured and the coach doesn't believe he will be involved in the game plan, it makes no sense to me to play him unless that particular position is decimated by injuries and the head coach has no other choice. Just seems stupid to me.

End of rant.

 

[Reaper]

Except that Brad Smith and David Clowney were also dinged which kinda forced the Jets to use Cotchery more...

I don't think the plan was to use him as a decoy...... Why? Does Jerricho Cotchery really decoy or scare a defense into doing anything different?

 

[NYRAGE]

Like Reaper said, he wasn't a decoy.

I was at the game, so I might have missed his number a couple of times, but the only time I remember him playing in the first half was on a third and goal from like the 6 yard line. Then he came in after the other injuries.

 

[packersfan]

I guess it doesn't make any sense to me that he was even active. He clearly couldn't play based on how limited he was, not to mention the fact he didn't practice the entire week. Seems to me that nothing good could come from putting him on the field and if he did make the injury worse, then somebody bad did occur because of that decision.

 

[bollocks28]

I wish my fantasy opponents would employ this strategy.

 

[Reaper]

I guess it doesn't make any sense to me that he was even active. He clearly couldn't play based on how limited he was, not to mention the fact he didn't practice the entire week. Seems to me that nothing good could come from putting him on the field and if he did make the injury worse, then somebody bad did occur because of that decision.

NFL rosters are loaded each week with players that are playing at only a percentage of their potential..... Players nurse Hammys every week...Not always an easy call... Sounds like you started Cotchery in a FF game and didn;t like the result...I played a team that had Calvin Johnson in the lineup - Was that any different? Reggie Bush?? Wes Welker???