In boxing, there's a phrase "to be the champ, you have to beat the champ". Usually that refers to champions getting the benefit of the doubt should a fight come down to a close decision. If you're going to take the belt, you're going to have to beat the champion clearly because if the fight is razor close, the challenger will rarely get the win. I think a lot of football coaches use this same thinking in regards to picking starters. They're going to lean on the more experienced guy unless a younger guy outplays him enough in practice that he grabs the spot. I think, as fans, we assume other guys are playing better than struggling starters because we can't fathom that "that guy" is the best option we have. Everyone always thinks the backup quarterback is the better choice until he actually gets in the game and shows why he's the backup. I think it's very likely that the wide receiver group struggled as a whole and Manny/Lashlee/Likens, whoever picks the starters, just went with the guys who struggled the least. It's understandable for the most part because a majority of the 2nd and 3rd team WRs were freshmen who had a very limited amount of practice time preseason while they were installing a new offense. Maybe one or more of the younger guys will make the jump this year and we won't have to keep trotting out 8 and 6. It's not totally uncommon for a WR to do very little his first few years and then have the lights come on suddenly. We saw it last year with Mike Harley and a few years ago with Braxton Berrios. To me, the idea that the coaches are purposely playing worse players is kind of ridiculous. They're not trying to lose games. If one of the younger guys was balling out in practice, he'd be getting more reps. It's more likely that none of the guys is really turning heads so they just stick with the guys who know the playbook better and are less likely to line up in the wrong position or run the wrong pattern.
