The Coattailes of Cutting Plackemeier

I talked to Courtney Taylor, who said he is approaching this week's game like it could be his last. I asked him if the club actually told him that, produce now or never. He said no, but he said he also knows the nature of the sport and that if you are not going to produce you are replaceable. He saw that with Ryan Plackemeier. He said he has been thinking about Sunday since the last second ticked off the clock in Buffalo, and he will have a big game. - Frank Hughes

Exactly:

[E]ven if there were no single person who might warrant being fired, someone should be fired regardless, just to shake things up, just to show every other person or player that doing enough to not get fired is not good enough.

I can't help but wonder if Courtney Taylor was acting a bit like Leonard Weaver during last season's training camp, where, paraphrasing Holmgren, "Some people think they already have the roster made." Weaver improved and made it (thank goodness), and I'm hoping Taylor shows that he can be a player as well.

Part of this may lay at the feet of the coaches, who had Taylor running with the ones from the beginning of the off-season without him having earned it on the field (practice or playing). That seemingly goes against the philosophy of merit competition that pervaded every other position battle (starting tailback, right defensive end, nickle back, fourth safety, starting tight end, just to name a few). Maybe it was most important that Taylor be given first-team reps, but in the end he didn't progress like certain other young receivers (i.e. Kent). He's naturally a cocky character, which can be a good trait for receivers, but his starting spot may have gone to his head a bit. Now he gets two games to show what he can do before he starts splitting time with Branch (or moves to split end). I'm hoping for the best.