Do we, the media and supporters, overreact when it comes to "ducking"?
Or maybe, more specifically the talking point should be, does Melbourne need to drop Jack Watts this week to send a message to the rest of the team?
That question was answered by Paul Roos on Monday night.
The Demons coach revealed on AFL 360 he did not plan to hang his classy forward for the "crimes" he committed against Adelaide on Saturday.
And, in doing so, Roos punctuated the new perspective being brought to the old school debate.
On two occasions against the Crows, Watts was accused of ducking his head as he spilt overhead marks in quick succession, the second of which created a turnover that led to an Adelaide goal.
Shortly after the incidents, the 24-year-old was reminded by Crows captain Taylor Walker of his errors (complete with an animated "ducking" gesture), and later was slammed by ex-players on commentary.
Former Port Adelaide champion Warren Tredrea described a "couple of shocking efforts", while former Hawthorn and Gold Coast hardman Campbell Brown said "I wouldn't be able to play him the following week".
And from there it seemed like commentary around ducking would follow a familiar pattern.
Watts, a former No.1 draft pick, in that instance became a target for former players and supporters because he did not fulfil one of football's "non-negotiables".
In the past, he would have been universally slammed. But it seems just recently the conversation surrounding the issue is changing ever so slightly, introducing an element of sympathy that former players like Josh Hunt might have appreciated not so long ago.
Consider this from North Melbourne legend Wayne Carey, maybe the best player of the modern era.
"This is a crack at all of us," he said on Channel Seven's Talking Footy.
"It's very easy sitting in the grandstand, sitting in the commentary box or even siting in the lounge room chair at home.
"If all of us ... and all of those [former] players who have commented, haven't done that at least once in their careers ... I'll go he.
"I can sit here and honestly say that I've done worse than what Jack Watts has done there."
And there have been others, like Geelong premiership captain Cameron Ling, who have voiced similar thoughts, arguing that nowadays we can afford to take a measured — some might say fairer — viewpoint.
Their outlook is not that Watts should get off scot-free. Roos revealed that Watts himself "put his hand up" at Monday's team review and admitted "it wasn't a great minute and half and I wasn't happy with it".
But what Carey and others object to is the perceived hysteria that follows.
"I've watched that over and over again and I don't actually think there was too much in that," the seven-time All-Australian said.
"Balls slip through people's hands often. Now, there was a slight duck of the head, and would he be disappointed with that? Absolutely.
"But do we need to hang him out to dry like we have?"
In a more broader sense, the question being asked is - yes, Watts made a mistake, but was it a mistake more or less costly than others that get made every weekend, and how hard should the punishment be?
The hard-line response contends that the team is bigger than the individual.
Dermott Brereton, one of the game's greatest key forwards, assessed: "You have to make a stand as to what your team stands for, and that means you can't bring him back in until you are convinced he will not do that again."
Former Melbourne great David Schwarz agreed that Watts "might have to sit out a week".
Certainly the fact Watts is the man in question makes the issue, one almost never divisive, far more so - for Watts is one of the game's most polarising figures.
Jason Dunstall pointed out that Watts was in his seventh year and therefore argued "he can't relapse into these kind of performances", adding "I don't like using the word, but he looked a little soft at times".
However Carey argues that it might be because it is Watts that the two efforts have received so much air time.
"I saw probably 15 of those over the weekend and yet we are all carrying on about this young kid Jack Watts. Get off his back," he said.
If that is true, do 15 players get dropped this week?
Doing so might appease all the supporters who would have caught each instance on the weekend when a player didn't go as hard as he could have. Those same supporters might have even called for that player's head in the heat of the moment.
But coaches like Roos must take a less emotional stand.
"Anyone who has played footy has done this [ducked] … and would have looked at themselves and gone, 'Why did I do it?" Roos said on AFL 360.
"It's often the elephant in the room and we don't want to talk about it.
"But I think the thing with someone like Watts is, how do you respond to it?
"I'm really looking forward to seeing Wattsy's response this week and I'm sure it will be what we expect it to be."
Whatever the answer, the debate certainly underlines that, especially for Watts this Friday night against Richmond, there is nowhere to hide.
