A lot of people were fooled by what happened last season with this team. Explains the angst from the 1-6 start. Some thought we'd be 6-1 instead from the overly optimistic posts back in August and Sept.
He never got open, and the few times he did he fumbled or dropped the ball. I don't hate on the guy, but he was never that good. I think his little outburst last year had more to do with the fact that teams didn't have tape to see how we were going to use him, but in reality once they saw his patterns he just isn't athletic enough to get open.
I said this last year when Jet fans were high on him,he just isn't consistent,he drops a lot of passes,doesn't run clean routes,can't get seperation ,every now and then he makes a few catches and has a somewhat decent game but its fools gold
Owusu, Hakim and Powell all contribute on special teams in some manner and form. Nelson did not. I do think Nelson's better than Graham but I guess they like Graham's upside more. Same reason Stephen Hill did not stick on the team. Salas, Hakim and Powell all contribute on special teams, Hill does not. Unless you are a important player on offense or defense, you're expected to contribute on special teams in some matter.
A lot of people are mad for guys sticking up for Nelson but why? Sure he wasn't having a great season but he was being asked to be a #2 receiver which he is not. He is a veteran #4 and an unbelievable great locker room guy. The fact we released him over guys that no ones ever heard of is what's baffling.
I'm not mad at anyone sticking up for Nelson. If he can't be a #2 and he can't contribute on special teams and he has no speed, he's doing a disservice to the offense. I think like Hill, on the football field, this will end up being addition by subtraction. He could not get any separation. While we may not have heard of the other guys, easy to see that Nelson has the lowest ceiling, evidenced by how Salas outplayed him.
Nelson certainly wasn't having a good season but really not many on offense were at the WR position. I liked Nelson, thought he was a big target in the RZ but this is a production based business, I can't fault us for trying to shake things up and looking for some talent elsewhere. Just too bad he couldn't stick , he's a very charitable guy and a great locker room presence. I wish him the best and hope he catches on somewhere , which I'm sure he will.
I was a Nelson supporter last year and during training camp but he has been terrible this year. He's not getting open at all. It's like he lost a step or something which is odd. I don't mind this release.
I hate this move, Nelson is a good player. Salim Hakim is a waste of a roster spot and w/ Harvin what use would we have for Hakim? Powell is a hood PR so he brings something. Hakim brings nothing.
Hakim plays good special teams. Kick and punt coverage. Usually I don't think that's a strong enough reason to keep one guy over another but Nelson isn't doing anything for this team this year. He's useless right now getting blanketed week after week.
That's a good point and that's my mistake. I was just looking at him as a return man and he's awful as a KR. I really like Nelson, he has not had a good season but he's a big target and rounds a WR corps nicely. I'm disappointed he was released.
I rewatched the game against the Pats. They have some plans for Hakim at WR. He definitely burned Browner deep once but Geno didn't see him. He has to make his mark there soon or else he's probably next to go since we are carrying 8 WRs
Hakim is possibly the fastest player on the team. Too soon to cut him now. I agree that Nelson showed something in the red zone last year, but nothing this year so he was odd man out.
"Nelson is our lowest-graded receiver on the year (-10.7), due primarily to a lack of production. Ranked near the bottom of the league in our Yards Per Route Run signature stat, Nelson had only 65 receiving yards to show for 162 routes run. When the ball did come his way, the results weren’t good. On eight receptions he had two fumbles and a mere 6 yards after the catch." I tried saying this all offseason,.. Nelson was not "Good" at any point last season - He was just a different body that people could latch onto as a replacement for our woeful WR corp at the time. He came in as an unknown mid way through the season and Geno picked him as his GoTo guy. That person this year is Decker ( and he's much better at it ). He had very little YAC and was not really good at getting separation consistently. I'm curious to see where/if he lands somewhere else. IMO he's done and should focus on his charity work ( because he's an amazing human being, just not a good football player ). As silly as it is I really think having Stephen Hill on the roster allowed Nelson to be more "successful" last season. Taking larger/faster CBs of the defense deep and allowing Nelson to work underneath against LBs and slot CBs where because of his size is a huge mismatch. ( Ironic because he basically took his roster spot because of it. Wonder how he is enjoying NC? ) This year he was lined up a lot more as #2. ( which he is NOT ) as we have Kerley and Salas and Amaro lining up in the slot now. Amaro's Emergence and Nelsons Disappearance are related.
