Bulky shinguards = Below average player? LOL

I've noticed in the many years playing competitive, amateur football (soccer) that the players always preaching about wearing appropriate shin protection for your size or height and complaining about how they are always getting kicked - are usually the mediocre players sporting the clunky shinguards, who are always running into everybody on the pitch and giving stray passes. They seem to be more worried about not getting hurt than they are about actually playing the game. I've always worn the smaller versions for comfort and mobility during matches, but has anybody here seen the same thing with teammates and opposing players? Maybe, it's just here in America. LOL