Can you see how some folks might consider "punctuated equilibrium" to be little more than a weak attempt by evolutionists to create an unverifiable mode of dispensing with some of the many problems that exist with their existing timelines?
I think "punctuated equilibrium" sounds as silly as the idea that the Earth's ecosphere is periods of stability followed by periods of great upheaval.
That is, not very silly and very likely. Or do you believe that the Earth changed at the same speed throughout it's existence?