The offense could benefit from a possession receiver. Really started to sputter without Jerricho. My own two cents is that guys like Gates and Hill are good at getting separation and therefore valuable because they can keep a defense honest having to defend big plays but we need more reliable hands out there
After a while, defenses will stop fearing his speed and just put one guy on top of him since they know that any sort of contact in the action of catching will result in a breakup! Gates is another version of Ted Ginn ... wow my team has drafted some bad WRs lol
That would be a more interesting debate...... There's pretty much no debating that Gates SUCKS aside from being fast.
Haha, I always love the "tough talk" like this on this site. He dropped two passes CUT HIM! The problem with this scenario is he'd need to be replaced by somebody. It'll be less of an issue once Kerley returns. I wish our team would place more value on possession-types rather than speed and great combine performers. Sure, you need the speed to get open, but I'd take a guy who wins the jump balls, and has strong hands any time, any day. Jericho? Where are you? A receiver needs to CATCH. seems simple enough...
Exactly. While they are different types of receivers the main attribute of a receiver is catching the football. "But Gates plays ST" is an argument. Since the kickoff has been moved up, it really doesn’t bear any weight. All in all Braylon should be here not Gates. I do like the guys speed and that’s why he is a fringe NFL receiver. He needs to continue to work on rout running and his hands to be a #4 in the NFL IMO.
People keep arguing that Braylon would the better solution to Gates, but is Edwards even a viable option anymore? You would think a WR-desperate team like New England, Baltimore, San Diego, Oakland, etc would have picked him up already before the Jets had the option of signing and cutting him multiple times ...
Braylon has some sort of leg injury issue right? I thought I read somewhere that the Jets would bring him back if it improved. We'll have to see. Despite his missed minor opportunity in the Pats game, I hope to see Spadola involved a bit more.
Jets decided after 2011 that they wanted to rebuild their WR corps. That was a wise move as the game has changed since then & has become a lot more reliant on the outside skill positions. Jets had become old & slow. Problem is rebuilding a WR corps takes time. When you factor in 3 coordinators in 3 years, change in gm, limited draft picks & cap space...it takes even longer to get it sorted out. Jets have found some useful pieces w/ upside. Kerley/Hill/Spadola is a pretty good start. None project as #1 types but seem to compliment each other well & can be part of the long term solution. What's missing is the #1 type. They need that match-up winner capable of running those intermediate routes to keep the chains moving. As for Gates..I don't think he's part of the future..and if he is..it's as a fringe #5 as a special teamer. That said he runs good route, is smooth in his breaks & can make big plays. It's easier to coach a guy up to catch than it is to run routes or get open.
Gates might not be the answer for the long term, but right now we are gasping for help. Edwards is no longer the answer, slow, slow, slow, and something tells me he is not even healthy enough to get a roster spot. We are better off with Spadola, give him some catches and lets see what we have. Clamoring for Kotchery is laughable, if you saw the game Monday you will know he is done done in the NFL. He literally looked dead out there.
That was a pretty ominous and threatening post, OP. Wait, I think I've seen your work before ... Step down from the ledge. Gates had a shitty game. If he validates his shitty performance with more shitty performances, he will be gone. But what if he figures it out? He didn't play high school football and went to a Div II school (Abilene Christian) so he's still raw as Hell. He's got 4.37 speed and long arms. He's cheap. He's precisely the type of player I want to see given a chance over retreads like Braylon and Brandon Lloyd, who won't be around in two years. We are rebuilding and need to be patient. These threads have to stop.
But...but...he's really fast. When a guy gets targeted 12 times and he manages to hold on to 3 of them... Even w/o context, that sucks.
Figure what out? How to catch? I think they covered that in spring training. I'd say use him as a decoy...but a carved wooden duck has better hands.
Totally agree, but I still don't want Braylon. Eric Decker had a horrible first game for the Broncos. Numerous drops (at least 3) including one in the end zone, a fumble, an offensive PI. Should he have been cut after that game? He rebounded with 9 catches last week. I'm not comparing Gates to Decker. I'm just saying that it is possible for a WR to have a stinker and come back from it, and I'd rather see us bet on Gates' potential than a castoff has-been like Braylon.
So what's your plan? Who do you want the Jets to pick up off the street to replace Gates? Are you a Braylon fan boy? Why didn't he stick in TC? Why did he get cut? Why hasn't any team - even one of the teams more desperate than us for WRs - picked him up? Braylon has no future in the NFL. He had no future 2 years ago. We need to move forward. If there is another young WR out there who the Jets brass thinks has more potential to contribute to the Jets long term success, I'm all for them cutting Gates and giving that guy a chance. You want to see more Spadola? I'm good with that. Zach Rogers? Sure. Just don't sign a has been WR solely for the sake of catching 20-40 balls this year.
I'm not a Braylon fanboy. Spadola is another story. Gates isn't a rookie. That pass in the ez hit him right in the belly. Decent receivers catch that all day long.
Agreed. We lost the game because lots of people made mistakes. Most notably our QB. There is plenty of blame to go around for Thursday's game.
