Well, Quinn won't break down every aspect of each player's game, so we don't really know. But, my guess is that the difference is you have guys who have issues that have been identified by the staff, and the staff sees those guys actively working towards eliminating those mistakes, and can live with the fact that those players are otherwise struggling. They're struggling but they're buying into the program and responding positively to coaching.
Then you have other guys, maybe they don't respond as well to the coaching. Maybe the coaches have identified a particular issue where a guy continues to make bad pinches, or makes risky drop passes, or something very specific. And in practice they continue to do it and in games they continue to do it. And even though they're "better" than the guys in the previous group, the coach rewards guys who buy into the program and listen to the coaching staff and work on those specific things. The guys who don't do it, don't play, or play less.
Not to compare my boy's travel team to an NHL team, but the principle is the same. I have a kid, Will, who is the most talented kid on the team. But he has some really bad habits out there, and he refuses to listen to me or my AC, and he jut does the same dumb thing over and over. So now Will doesn't start, and I'll pull Will at the end of close games. It's not increasing my chances of winning, but it's helping the team--the other boys see what's up, and they know they damn well better listed to me at practice and work on what I tell them to work on. And we're now a cohesive unit to the point that not having Will isn't even that big of a deal. Again, same principle with what Quinn does. And this is absolutely the time to do it: when the team is rebuilding and trying to form an identity. You nail this **** down now, establish a culture on the team where everyone buys in 100%, and you're so much better for it a couple years down the road, when you have 15-20 guys who know the deal and whoever you add is forcibly assimilated (or doesn't play)
I'm a fan of Quinn's approach.
