Hill can still work out. Clearly he has a world of physical ability. As for his mistakes, his fumble against New England was just terrible luck. He needs to work on ball security, no different than a back whose fumbling too often. I think with experience will come improvement. He may never be an All-Pro, but he can be a solid receiver.
Without Braylon Edwards the Jets don't go to two back to back AFC championship games. And speaking of dog shit (referencing another poster), Holmes hasn't done a damn thing since he got his contract. The reason? Because he didn't have Edwards there to draw the double teams off of him. Holmes is a mid level 2 at best. He's a legend in his own mind. He needs help to play to his full talent level, and Edwards provided that while he was here. So unless you think four wins in two years in the playoffs is overrated, the Jets didn't waste any draft picks on Edwards. Wasted draft picks were Vernon Gholston and Tim Tebow. As for Hill, the problem wasn't with drafting him, it's how they are developing him. They took him knowing he was a raw project and immediately inserted him into the starting line up and expected his upside to translate into immediate impact performer. Teams that have better passing games will typically take a guy like Hill, keep them around the 4th-5th spot, give them situational reps in situations where they could excel, and move them up the depth chart as they prove to be reliable. Edit: Also, I wouldn't care about not having Braylon Edwards if the Jets receiving corps wasn't such an abortion, which it is now. And to that point, Geno Smith has been set up to fail, same as Sanchez.
While I agree that Hill would benefit from being a 4th/5th at this point w/ time to develop...could you imagine the posts on this board if we took the guy 2nd round & he wasn't starting? Unfortunately that 's what NYJ fans have become. Absolutely no patience. That said.. Hill isn't exactly worthless starting at this stage. For one..he's been our leading receiver 2 weeks in a row. That's gotta count for something even if he has things to work on. Secondly, he takes the top off of defenses. Take a look at how teams line up against the Jets. There is ALWAYS a safety over top of Hill. You simply can't afford to single cover him over the top. He's too big & too fast. So while maybe he isn't a dominant/impact player at this stage...he does provide some things to this offense that really no one else on the roster is capable of. Pretty obvious the guy has a bright future. If impatient jet fans don't crucify him along the way.
What fans think ultimately doesn't matter. If the fans had their way Vlad Ducasse would have been off the Jets two years ago. Some players take longer than others to come into their own, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just because Jets fans crave instant gratification more than most fan bases doesn't mean teams should skip player development, unless they desire to truly suck forever. You're absolutely right about what Hill can do. That's why he's promising and worth developing. However, he's not a finished product yet, and further Geno Smith is counting on him since there is very little else around him. That's a recipe for disaster. The way the Giants developed Mario Manningham is an example of how Hill could be better utilized. I understand that Manningham didn't do a whole lot and ended up getting shipped off to SF, however he also had an amazing catch in the Super Bowl and was a direct contributor to something awesome and important in football terms. In the end, he was justified based on what he did, rather than what he could do.
Well said on all counts. I was thinking about how to respond to "StephenHill4Life" aka "NFL" but you provided a true gem here. I thank you, sir.
Yeah that's what I should change my name to. Like I said before, I liked Braylon, and how you said that the Jets wasted a pick on Hill, I responded saying the same about Braylon, since apparently your a little gay for him. I should of wrote "wasted", but its not that big of a deal with you. Point is, you said that they wasted a pick on a guy that has all the potential in the world, is a hard worker, and has shown improvement. Btw, you fall into the category of fans that those two were talking about up there. Impatient fans that if a guy isn't completely dominating right off the bat, they're a "wasted" pick.
I think you should've wrote nothing at all and recognize that what xxedge72x said was spot-on. But I guess you could never resist having the last word.....especially when it comes to making d-bag remarks..... (and btw, if Hill doesn't develop the way some here hope he does, then while he would be a Solid NFL WR, that would still be considered a failure of sorts because of expectations. As of right now, he's still a Project that needs to continue to improve; not holding onto the football with both hands when being tackled is proof of him needing plenty of it.)
Whats there to understand about a wide open drop and a fumble? He has had a good half so far against a weak secondary so lets not crown him quite yet.
I'm not crowning, I'm saying people need to be patient. What is there to understand? Everyone was dropping balls during that game. Receivers fumble every so often.
I agree, he is always open because he is so fast. If he can learn to catch the ball he will be a solid player for us
If I recall correctly the Jets had 3 receptions on long throws of 35+ yards, wondering if that's happened in one game for the Jets since the days of Walker...probably but It seems so long since the teams gone deep a lot.
Hill could have had an even better game if Geno made a better throw on that big 45 yarder to start the game. Lets keep it rollin
Jane McManus @janesports 24s When I told Stephen Hill the last time the Jets had 2 100+ receivers was 2006, he laughed and said he was in 10th grade. #nfl #jets
Not going to link to it but Cimini wrote on his blog that former scout Bommarito revealed the organisation views Hill as a 4-year project. I just hope Idzik has ascribed to the same timeframe because when Hill shows flashes he's on a whole different level
