| AsylumGuido |
06-06-2022 12:25 PM |
Re: Saints sign UDFA OL Khalique Washington to 3-year deal
Quote:
Originally Posted by SmashMouth
(Post 953143)
Underhill seems to be hyping his coming through in year three...
Maybe Ruiz is friends with Mark Ingram.
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I have pointed much of this out this before, but I feel it all bears repeating.
In his first season with the Saints (2020) Ruiz was converted from the position he played in all 26 of his starts his last two seasons at Michigan, center, to a new position, right guard. In this first season the off-season was totally eliminated due to COVID restrictions.
In his second season with the Saints (2021) the offseason, while existent, was still much more limited in nature than the normal NFL off-season. After the first game the season I am not sure that Ruiz played more than a couple of games with both McCoy and Ramczyk in the game at the same time on either side. Ruiz was moved from right guard to center for the second game with Throckmorton coming in at guard. McCoy didn't return to center until the Seattle game in week seven allowing Ruiz to move back to the position of right guard.
We all know that more than any other player grouping the offensive line plays as a unit depending upon each other. The whole offensive line was in total flux throughout the entirety of the 2021 season. To solely judge Ruiz on either of those first two seasons is at worst unfair, and at least misleading. I would dare say that the great Jahri Evans would have likely had issues entering the league under the exact same conditions. I'm not saying Ruiz could ever be another Evans, but I can say that Ruiz has yet to have a fair shake as compared to any other player coming into the league at any other time under normal circumstances. |
