Kirk has proven if all things are relatively equal from a production standpoint, he defaults to the more veteran player. He values player being in the right position 98% of the time over a player that might only be in the right position 90% of the time despite that player having better athletic talent.
To me, at some point, the athletic talent outweighs that and you should learn to live with the growing pains. Montgomery is undersized and slow. Even if he makes the right read every time he’s going to be outmatched in a lot of scenarios.
And to your first point did I watch the games. Absolutely that’s why I’m convinced. He’s not a big 10 quality linebacker. Did he make sure tackles when he could. Sure. But there were times he was overmatched in the box and got outrun on angles.
What you say is mostly correct, and thoughtfully broken down.
But certainly, the value of experience can't be undersold. It largely determines playing time in every sport, throughout the development of young men, for a reason.
Being in the right position, allows players to play at their fastest. An inexperienced, more athletic player, isn't always able to play fast enough to fully use his athletiscm.
But much more importantly, because football is a team game, not having complete trust that a less experienced player is going to be in the correct position, actually doesn't allow his adjacent teammates to play at their fastest.
Football is complicated. Experience is huge. Jayden is also a team leader. Leadership in itself is huge. But he is also teaching the room, and displaying the right examples, and helping the players in the room grow in the right direction, and get better.
It's all way to much to say about what amounts to common sense. Experience is huge. And KF knows what he's doing.
Yes, with the upside in the room, there could soon come a time when it's best to roll with someone other than the incumbent.
But guys have to get to that point in their development. Fans trick themselves far too easily with hindsight. The more athletic player goes on to being a great player, and fans fall into thinking that somehow the coaches are idiots, and that Johnny should have been playing all along.
Then, they project they're genuis hindsight onto the next situation, and claim Coach is playing the wrong guy again. Then they will swear to have been proven correct, when the guy with the upside blossoms.
It's called "DEVELOPMENT". Also known as, "reality". And guess who is the most informed about a player's stage of development. And, guess who has the most football expertise to know how to apply his information. And guess who has the best chance of deciphering who gives the team its best chance of winning. The cycle of fan narrative becomes silly every time, because they are not the answer to any of the above.
Again, way too much to say about the silliness of worrying about the football decisions of a hall of fame football coach.
But it should also be said that not only does the staff know who should play. But so do the players.
Everyone knows their stories of politics in sports, growing up. But at the major college football level, it's simply not OK to players, for the right guys not to play. And it can divide a team.
Iowa traditionally, has had great buy-in and togetherness, great culture, and great retention. Rest assured, a huge part of that is the fact that the right guys have been playing
