So on the PUP a player can't practice for 6 weeks. The alternative is the IR, which means a player can't practice for the season. What is more stash-friendly?
Neither are stash friendly. Whether one is more so than the other is not the point. There's a reason PUP has the 6 week waiting period before a guy can practice...to repeat, to discourage stashing. There is no debate about why this rule is constructed the way it is.
As to the question on why the packers would stash a guy like Guion, if they kept both Raji and Guion then Pennel probably wouldn't make the team. If they keep Raji and PUP Guion then there would be room for Pennel. That seems perfectly reasonable to me.
That argument would be more credible if Guion were a proven commodity in the system. Your argument presumes the competition was over before it started.
Worthy was never a NT? What!?! I kid, I kid. I don't know why you say this like I don't already know it. When did I say Worthy was a NT again? For someone that likes labeling logical fallacies this one falls under the Red Herring fallacy.
Excuse me for thinking you were conflating the DE and NT positions. It couldn't possibly be that Worthy s*cks (in this system or generally, you choose) and Thompson saw an opportunity to get something for a guy he was going to cut regardless.
As for players often thinking they're healthy when they are not, I agree with that. But, you have to look at this specific situation. What I said before was that MM said he didn't know what was up with Guion. Is it more likely that MM really doesn't know what is up with Guion. Then, Raji gets injured. Then, the very next practice, Guion is practicing. So even if you ignore what Guion said about having been healthy and ready, you still have quite the "coincidence" and very vague statements by the organization. On top of that, the Packers give credibility to what Guion said IMO by having him practice. What does MM know now that he didn't know before that leads him to believe Guion is suddenly healthy enough to practice?
That's a conjecture, not an argument. McCarthy's been all over the place in talking about injuries in recent years. He's quoted return times (too optimistically), has been way off, and made himself look like he doesn't know what he's doing. Starting last season, he's grown more curt on these matters; he's getting the hang of the Thompson way of saying as little as possible about things uncertain (which I have no problem with, by the way). That he would say, "I don't know when" surprises me not in the least and hardly indicates stashing. McCarthy is about "availability" as Job #1 and focus goes to the next man up. His curt answer to the question could be not wanting to talk about a situation he finds frustrating...like maybe not having a guy he thinks should be practicing because the docs won't release him.
So, what's next? Reading his body language?
Look, we can go back and forth on this all day. IMO, it's pretty obvious that guys get stashed on the PUP all of the time. Obviously a player isn't going to be held out of practice on Day 1 when he's healthy, but if he happens to not be able to practice for a bit then it's perfectly reasonable that teams will keep that player from practicing by being "extra cautious", saving them a 53 man roster spot.
I do believe guys get stashed on PUP, but I don't think that happens in any clearly identifiable way or with any regularity with guys who are supposed to be competing for a spot on the roster in the first place, who's never taken even a practice snap in the system, and who is fully healthy and ready to go. If I have a veteran player in the system, say, a serviceable starter, not a core player, who is expected to be out a couple of weeks into the season and I have credible backups, I might PUP him knowing he might miss a few games he could have played. PUPing a guy who should be practicing to earn a job doesn't make a lot of sense.
And as for your Neal comment, Neal isn't even saying he's healthy enough to play. He's saying that despite the situation, he can't afford to sit. So I guess that's a non sequitur from you.
You missed the point. I mentioned Neal because of his candor in order to illustrate that some guys in competitive situations will want to play hurt. Unlike Neal, most will lie...like Flynn about his elbow and Williams about his shoulder nerve damage. The problem is we don't know they lied unless they confess to it which, as in these cases, might be a year later. Some guys would never confess because they don't want to sound like they're making excuses.
Why would you take at face value Guion's claim of being 100% when we know most players who want to compete hurt do not exhibit Neal's rare candor? It's certainly plausible that Guion was concerned for his job and wanted to accelerate his return.
