It's not like Watkins has shone in preseason. He hasn't.Originally Posted by justasportsfan
Robert Woods may be our no.1 wr this year.
If things keep up with the way EJ is playing, Chandler might still have the most number of catches.
It's not like Watkins has shone in preseason. He hasn't.Robert Woods may be our no.1 wr this year.
If things keep up with the way EJ is playing, Chandler might still have the most number of catches.
The OC has a tricycle.
How do you know this?
I mean he should be given what we invested, but if it doesn't work out that way it will hardly be the first time in NFL history where a player didn't step up as he should have by draft status.
Watkins hasn't shone anything in preseason, only in camp, and big deal there. He's struggled to get open by multiple reports. Even on this play where he hurts himself, it's not like there was a ton of separation from him and the DB.
If you ask me, he's going to be a little stunned at how much faster defenses in the NFL are than they were in the ACC. We cant talk about camp all we want and the one-handed grabs and that kinda stuff, but he has to perform against other teams' #1's and he hasn't done much yet in that regard. That's a fact. Whether he's playing possum or not remains to be seen, but given this wealth of speed, agility, and other physical assets that he supposedly has, I'm quite curious why he hasn't been able to do something, even in a vanilla fashion, in preseason games.
There's way too much being placed on his shoulders this season. Part of me feels sorry for the kid.
He may well be. Great hands, had a good rookie outing. And a good pre-season so far. I was surprised to read that his ave. gain was 14.7 yds last season. That was with Stevie Johnson in the line-up. They have to make up the loss. I can't say if it's Watkins, yet. I don't think they can, either - bummer that he got the early ding last game.
They have been tossing the ball a fair amount towards Chandler- by design, I feel. And why not? He caught 53 last season, and BUF certainly spread the passes around.
They dished off Johnson - and while he had no end of detractors here, he was a decent WR who drew coverage.
It seems to me, that that OC Hackett's philosophy is to spread out the tosses - perhaps an admission that that is the best thing to do with the QB situation. It isn't such a bad philosophy - BUF did move the ball well enough, and while the red zone failures are noted., one hopes they will work on their play calls there. But they are far from alone - no end of teams that come up short and kick.
I do think that as it is, they would be served by trying to find another TE to fill in when the cuts happen, worries about Chandler gets banged up again. Being 6'7" is an asset, but it's also a lot of body to get dinged.
Last edited by stuckincincy; 08-21-2014 at 01:31 PM.
Fiat justitia ruat caelum. Noli timere. Laus Deo.
That's been my thought since Stevie was traded, that Woods would pick up the slack as the top target.
He's got the most chemistry with Manuel who's going to need to take advantage of every single edge he can get. Also, Woods is a slot guy, which is a far more likely target for a distance challenged QB.
Still, having said that I don't expect Woods to have more than 60 catches or so for 800-900 yards if he does end up being the leading WR.
Wasn't worth 2 1st round picks.
And a fourth. Probably not. He will have to have an Andre Reed type career for that to be a good trade.
TacklingDummy (08-21-2014)
I think he might. If his rookie season and this pre-season is indicative, I could see 80+. Add in the emphasis of tossing flags for putting a pinkie on a receiver....we will have to wait and see how that plays out in the regular season, of course. He seems a very good pick by BUF. Maybe Watkins, too - if you can get away from the high price they paid. I can't. They are committed to Manuel, so they are best served by sure hands in a somewhat plodding pass offense.
That sure-handness fades in the red zone as the best asset, though. There you look for leaping and height and separation, since players are concentrated in a relatively small space. I'm also surprised that close-in they don't roll out Manual much. He's speedy and big and agile enough to punch it in. Even if you try and fail a few times, you have the upcoming opposition looking at the game films and pondering.
That's something to do in the pre-season, BTW. Run those end arounds, reverses, the fancy stuff. One, you give your players the experience to do so, two, successful or not, you jazz up the youngsters that are most of any team's roster, and three, if you do it, the opposition has been given something to think about come the regular season.
I totally reject the idea of running "plain vanilla" pre-season plays. Cripes - what hasn't been seen before?
I'm also not pleased about how this DC is calling formation. If you want to evaluate how the back seven that can play man coverage, do it several times in a row. See how your players do when they are stuck in the wrong scheme - see which players try or can get the job done in a crappy situation.
What if those picks were Aaron Maybin and John McCargo? :-)
Lehner's history. He just doesn't know it yet.
better days (08-21-2014),Meathead (08-22-2014)
Better yet, Aaron Maybin & Mike Williams.
The Bills may not have a true #1 receiver this year.
I expect Woods, Watkins, Williams & Chandler to all put up good numbers to mitigate that.
And Goodwin & Hogan should put up some lesser numbers to add to the total tally as well.
Yup! Their only saving grace was drafting another QB that quickly shows A LOT of promise which is basically 1 in a 100 shot!
So they went with option #2. Got the exciting WR and are hoping to god that EJ -somehow gets better- but there is only so much you can do when you QB is having a hard time hitting the broad side of a barn.
======•==========•===========•
Our Real Hope:
They improve in 'other ways' this year and QB remains the only glaring whole.
The following year a New FO & Top HC are hired (not some .500 college cost or retread NFL coach that was average at best)
In his first season new HC & FO evaluate team and improve in ither ways. Then draft a QB the following year 2016 1st round pick
which is why I created the thread.....but in his defense, he's been in there when EJ was the qb and he hasn't shone either.
If Watkins turns out to be no better than Braylon Edwards, drafted 3rd overall, or Justin Blackmon, drafted 5th overall, then there won't be much difference.
He's been targeted more times than any other WR I think, 7, but has fewer catches than most, 3.
It hasn't been for lack of opportunity. Also, what about the reports from varying sources now, talking about how Watkins has struggled to separate himself from opposing CBs? That's hardly good considering that pretty much his biggest strength is his speed and moves.
If you ask me he's going to have the same struggles as most rookie WRs, maybe even more. I don't think that people understand the lack of competition he faced while at Clemson and how im inflated his performances.
actually Woods has been in there more times than Watkins. Watkins has had less opportunities than Woods. I would think teams will eventually lock on to Watkins once he gets his chemistry with EJ which would help Woods as well.
Well, I have faith that Watkins won't get suspended until he is out of the league at least.
Blackmon is probably the worst draft pick in the Jags history.
But Watkins needs to have a HOF type career to justify what the Bills gave up to get him.
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