Gates was awful last season. He might be decent depth but he's a nobody in the grand scheme of things. Also Braylon is painfully slow compared to where he used to be. He ran with lead boots last season but he looks a bit better so far this preseason.
Gates has always been able to be the speedy receiver with good hands. He has just been a terrible route runner. From everything we've heard and seen, he's gotten MUCH better at that. Who is to say we can't have a very solid #3 on our hands? He's got the physical tools, that's for sure. Awful was a total overstatement.
If we head into the regular season with 5 WR's I believe those 5 WR's will be... Stephen Hill. Santonio Holmes. Jeremy Kerley. Braylon Edwards. Clyde Gates. I love the fact of having a true speed burner is Gates as our 5th man. Can do lots of different things including kick returns outside of taking the top off the defense. Gates has Torrey Smith like ability just not sure his potential is anywhere near as high as Smith. But for a 5th WR, I like the kid. But then again I could see Ben Obomanu getting the nod over Gates only due to Idzik coming from Seattle in which Obomanu spent 5 years in Seattle. I don't believe Mohamed Massaquoi has a fighting chance to make the final cut. Hasn't been here all offseason and no way he's a better WR when compared to Hill, Holmes, Kerley or Edwards. And Gates and Obomanu being here during the offseason gives them a big advantage over Mohamed.
Hill, Kerley, Spadola, Rogers are apart of our future and should be getting reps over oldies I'm tired of not developing talent Woodhead Lowery- still hurts If you want vets keep the guys who can mentor our youth Cotchery should be here right now over Holmes for example As much as I wanna win this year I don't wanna do it at the expense of hindering our future
Although this is a common practice, I don't like it in situations like ours. A new offense is going in, and everyone needs as much time in practice as they can get. Makes the transition to a new offensive system easier.
I'll never understand how nobody on the staff had the foresight to make Lowery into a FS. It was so freaking obvious.
I keep hearing all this hype for Spadola and Rodgers. I'm just not sold on either of these two guys. I'm not saying they can't be good but I don't get why everyone is in love with them. As things stand right now i'd rather have Braylon Edwards over either of these two guys. Maybe keep Spadola and go with 6 WR's and try and get Rodgers on the PS?
*REVISTED* Some have said the inclement weather partly contributed to the "drops" attributed to Jet rec'vrs during the Pats game & granted the rain may have had an affect on the passing game, however I (& maybe a lot of U also) noticed mistakes/bad habits/errors some Jet rec'vr's made during the game. Stephen Hill; Size & potential yet has this bad habit of "squinting/closing his eyes" when passes come his way & defenders are close to him. Rather than "see" the ball all the way to reception, he seemingly pre-anticipates a hit 1st rather than focusing on the catch leading to drops. Clyde Gates: Average 4th-string wide-out. Noticed he sometimes improperly positions his hands/arms in an awkward manner using his stomach/chest area as an additional tool to compensate for avg to poor, pass catching ability. In addition, our wide-outs are not skilled in the art of separation nor create come-back outlets for a qb under pressure. Our WR's are just not good!
