Opinions on WRs' ability to develop receiving skills

[Woods]

Let's take an example of a WR who has inconsistent hands. Sometimes the WR has a good day and makes all the catches, maybe even a spectacular catch. And then the WR has a string of 2-3 bad games where he can't seem to catch anything.

And this pattern goes on for a year or two.

If you were the WR's position coach, what do you recommend? Catch 200+ balls/day in the off-season? That even if you have "average" hands, you can develop them into "good" hands with enough practice?

I guess that's the question. IF you have average hands at WR, can you develop them into "good" hands (though probably never great hands) by catching enough balls in practice? Or basically are you always going to have "average" inconsistent hands?

I'm kind of reminded of watching a clip of Larry Bird when he was talking about growing up and playing basketball in high school, etc. If I remember correctly, he used to wake up around 5:30/6 a.m. and shoot something like 500 - 1,000 free throws a day before school even started. And he just kept practicing and practicing until it was like breathing.

So, if a WR has the speed, quickness, ability to run good routes, understands the playbook, but only average and inconsitent hands, can the WR really develop his hands, or is it a God given natural ability?

 

[stealth]

he can learn proper technique and get better that way, entirely subjective whether that makes his hands better or not.

 

[dooomsday]

Let's take an example of a WR who has inconsistent hands. Sometimes the WR has a good day and makes all the catches, maybe even a spectacular catch. And then the WR has a string of 2-3 bad games where he can't seem to catch anything.

And this pattern goes on for a year or two.

If you were the WR's position coach, what do you recommend? Catch 200+ balls/day in the off-season? That even if you have "average" hands, you can develop them into "good" hands with enough practice?

I guess that's the question. IF you have average hands at WR, can you develop them into "good" hands (though probably never great hands) by catching enough balls in practice? Or basically are you always going to have "average" inconsistent hands?

I'm kind of reminded of watching a clip of Larry Bird when he was talking about growing up and playing basketball in high school, etc. If I remember correctly, he used to wake up around 5:30/6 a.m. and shoot something like 500-1,000 free throws a day before school even started. And he just kept practicing and practicing until it was like breathing.

So, if a WR has the speed, quickness, ability to run good routes, understands the playbook, but only average and inconsitent hands, can the WR really develop his hands, or is it a God given natural ability?

You can be a successful WR without the best hands. See Jerry Rice and TO. Work on getting yourself open and if you have any talent and an accurate QB you'll make plays.

Now if we are talking about Austin, different story.

JK!

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I'd teach him (Austin) to look the ball in before looking upfield

 

[Woods]

You can be a successful WR without the best hands. See Jerry Rice and TO. Work on getting yourself open and if you have any talent and an accurate QB you'll make plays.

Now if we are talking about Austin, different story.

JK!

Yhea, I'm talking about Austin.

The thing is with Austin is that he's obviously got speed, I think he's tough enough (he plays ST), I think he's dedicated. We know he can get open.

But maybe IF he has inconsistent hands, there's only so much he can do to improve them.

I guess it's trying to figure out if with enough practice in the off-season, TC, etc. will really improve his abililty to make enough clutch catches as well as routine passes so as not to hinder the rythem of the offense.

 

[Nexx]

if Austin had natural instincts, which you cant teach, to play the wide receiver, i would have more hopes for him. love the measurables but nothing else. he has hands of bricks and wiggles of a tree.

 

[sago1]

Both Rice & TO worked extensively to improve all aspects of their game.

In Hurd's rookie season TO befriended him. Last year they showed a segment of Hurd (after TC practice ended) staying behind to catch at least 100 balls so he could improve his hands. Hurd actually has come a long way from an undrafted rookie in 06 to catching 20 passes & at least 1 TD in the regular season; he also worked very hard to become a good ST--never played ST before. There was no mention of Austin working out with Hurd but then we don't know if Hurd wanted him there.

The really good players usually work there butts off to improve every aspect of their game. Something to do with their being very hungry to succeed & highly competitive.

 

[Woods]

if Austin had natural instincts, which you cant teach, to play the wide receiver, i would have more hopes for him. love the measurables but nothing else. he has hands of bricks and wiggles of a tree.

I agree that he doesn't have much in terms of "wiggles", but he does manage to get open. I mean, he's no Billy White Shoes Johnson, but vs. the Packers and even the Commanders, he was open.

It's whether he can develop his hands sufficiently enough in Year 3.

 

[dooomsday]

Yhea, I'm talking about Austin.

The thing is with Austin is that he's obviously got speed, I think he's tough enough (he plays ST), I think he's dedicated. We know he can get open.

But maybe IF he has inconsistent hands, there's only so much he can do to improve them.

I guess it's trying to figure out if with enough practice in the off-season, TC, etc. will really improve his abililty to make enough clutch catches as well as routine passes so as not to hinder the rythem of the offense.

Use him properly. You dont see TO running the same plays as Randy Moss for a reason.

Get Austin the ball on crossing patterns and let him use his size and speed! Kinda like Harper. He can catch. He's a raw kid from a tiny tiny program playing against kids from Long Island.

With Austin, I think its more head and heart. He needs a gut check. We'll see.

 

[Clove]

Yhea, I'm talking about Austin.

The thing is with Austin is that he's obviously got speed, I think he's tough enough (he plays ST), I think he's dedicated. We know he can get open.

But maybe IF he has inconsistent hands, there's only so much he can do to improve them.

I guess it's trying to figure out if with enough practice in the off-season, TC, etc. will really improve his abililty to make enough clutch catches as well as routine passes so as not to hinder the rythem of the offense.

I believe Jerry Rice couldn't catch a cold his rookie year and he played all the time. TO couldn't catch real well and still has issues.

Austin's first year getting playing time, is he not allowed to have a rough 1st year playing? That questions not for you but to all that's ready to throw him away.

But I know for a fact from watching the games, that he gets opened, and basically wide opened. Meanwhile, Hurd was ahead of Austin in catching, but couldn't get opened neither could Crayton as time went on.

If he wants to become better at catching the ball, believe me, he can.

 

[starfrombirth]

I believe, with coaching and dedication, he can get better catching. As someone posted in another thread, his college was mostly glorified high school. So try to think of it as a high school kid jumping to the NFL, in both learning curve and technique. I think many will be pleasantly surprised by Austin this year.

 

[burmafrd]

I do not remember Rice haveing that much trouble catching the ball early.
He certainly got better but he was not that bad- would not have been drafted like he was if he could not catch real well to begin with.

 

[dooomsday]

I do not remember Rice haveing that much trouble catching the ball early.
He certainly got better but he was not that bad- would not have been drafted like he was if he could not catch real well to begin with.

Check this out:

Twenty-one years ago this week, Bill Walsh stood before the skeptical Bay Area media and defended a controversial decision. He told them that the 49ers’ troubled rookie wide receiver would remain a starter despite several bad performances.

The rookie’s name was Jerry Rice.

The 49ers, fresh off a victory in Super Bowl XIX, were 6-5 and fighting for their playoff lives. Joe Montana’s passing numbers were off. Rice, the team’s top draft pick, had 26 receptions in 11 games, but he also dropped 10 balls, some of them at the worst possible times. He was coming off a game in which he dropped two passes, fumbled once, and caught just one pass. Niners fans booed the rookie; local columnists made him the butt of jokes. Freddie Solomon, a respected veteran who caught touchdown passes in 10 straight games in 1984, had become the invisible man in the Niners offense while Montana and Rice played pitch ‘n’ drop.


But Walsh held his ground, supported Rice, and kept him in the weekly gameplan. “At some point, the boos will turn to cheers,” predicted Walsh during a press conference on November 18th, 1985.


http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2006/11/17/ramblings/too-deep-zone/4554/

 

[THUMPER]

Anyone can be taught to catch a football. I have taught dozens of people (kids and adults) on how to catch a football properly. The mechanics of catching the ball are fairly simple:

Read the ball and position your body for the best angle of approach. Get your hands in the right position (the ball is not 2 feet wide). Reach out and snatch the ball (like a rebound in basketball), grip it tight. Don't wait for it to come to you, extend for it. Look it all the way in and don't start running too soon (hear that Owens?). Once you've got it secured, pull it in and tuck it away.

The harder part is route running, particularly in the NFL where the DBs are so athletic. Getting off the jam and being aware of where the defender is, shielding him away from the ball, positioning your body between the QB and the DB while still maintaining a good angle to the ball is what is truly difficult to learn as there is a lot to consider and guys tend to overthink it.

Knowing what adjustment to make on any given play is another aspect of it. If the defense does this then I have to do that, but will the QB see the same thing and make the same adjustment. Knowing the QB and how he thinks is also a factor. Knowing his tendencies is the result of long hours of practice and time playing together. That's what made Aikman & Irvin so great. The same goes for Manning & Harrison. The QB & WR are so in tune with each other that they know what the other will do.

Being relaxed and not feeling the pressure of making the big catch. We see guys who catch everything in practice then drop a couple of easy TD passes in the game because they don't know how to handle the pressure. Some of that comes with experience and some just from their personality and character. If they can't handle pressure off the field then they won't be able to on it either.

There is more but you get the idea. Some guys are natural receivers and some are just outstanding athletes. Steve Largent is a great example of a guy who was not a natural athlete but he was a natural receiver. He knew what to do and he was able to do it despite his physical limitations.

Guys like Macey Brooks and Randall Williams are examples of outstanding athletes, they had all the measureables, but couldn't catch a thing and were out of the league in a short time. That's why the combine is not a good measurement for a WR you have to see them play.

 

[dooomsday]

Please forward your #/email address and rates to one Miles Austin c/o Dallas Cowboys.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

we have some nice young talent.

 

[TheCount]

You can teach better technique, but there are some players that just don't get it or can't apply it to game situations. The league is full of guys like that, look at Troy Williamson.

T.O. is even an example, he never had stellar hands, and to this day he will drop a few he should catch. There's no amount of balls he could catch in the off-season that's going to change that.

I think basketball is a little different, a lot of what you're learning when you shoot all those shots in practice is muscle memory, not necessarily technique. Bird probably shot all those shots the exact same way, he wasn't learning how to shoot properly.