News: Rico is gaining weight and hopes to get some playing time

[Captain-Crash]

I just hope he makes the 53 man roster. We can use him for an easy timeout when Jason has wasted all the others. Just send Rico out across the middle, and let someone lay him out. Only bad thing is they will run off 10 seconds from the clock, so make sure he gets hit with at least 20 seconds left on the clock.

 

[CouchCoach]

Oh good, now we're weight watchers for Rico Gathers all Twinkies unto himself. It is not about size unless he wants to move to OT.

January 23, 2027 Rico Gathers, Dallas Cowboys legendary Tight End, announced his retirement today. His career spans 11 years and includes 1 start, the last game of 2026 after the season was declared dead. He recorded one catch and that ball will be enshrined with him alongside his bust in Canton. Tony Romo, NFL Commissioner, paraphrased Winston Churchill when he remarked "never has so much been written about someone that accomplished so little".

I just don't get the fascination with this guy. So he's tall, so are hundreds of basketball players that haven't played football since before they entered puberty.

 

[Captain-Crash]

I'm just waiting on a little person that has the strongest hands in the world. We'll just need some strong Qb who can throw him for 10-15 yards accurately. That means Dak will be gone. He'll keep throwing him out of bounds and only 5-6 yards.

 

[erod]

Neither has Swaim, Jarwin and Schultz. At least Rico has an excuse.

There are tight ends playing all over the league. The elite offensive teams have figured out how to create mismatches in the passing game with TEs. We pretend it’s 1992.

Swaim has some production. Jarwin hasn't had the chance yet, and Shultz just got here.

Rico caught a couple of balls in the 4th quarter of preseason against nobodies.

Tight end production around the NFL is mostly woeful. Outside of a small handful of guys, there's almost nothing out there. Look again.

 

[TwentyOne]

Im gaining weight too.

......


......

 

[OmerV]

Im gaining weight too.

......


......

Try the pizza and beer diet - works for me.

 

[TwentyOne]

Swaim has some production. Jarwin hasn't had the chance yet, and Shultz just got here.

Rico caught a couple of balls in the 4th quarter of preseason against nobodies.

Tight end production around the NFL is mostly woeful. Outside of a small handful of guys, there's almost nothing out there. Look again.

I like swaim alot. He has great hands. Is able to get open and his blocking looks ok to me.

I think (hope) he is able to take advantage of Wittens retirement.

When i look at Ricos physical traits i sure get ecstatic too. But when i look at his play and especially listen to him and his posts i am really annoyed by him.

 

[TwentyOne]

Try the pizza and beer diet - works for me.

Will try and give feedback!

 

[northerncowboynation]

Rico Gathers gaining weight, hopes to gain some playing time in Dallas
Posted by Michael David Smith on June 11, 2018, 12:02 PM EDT

Getty Images

When the Cowboys spent a sixth-round draft pick on Rico Gathers in 2016, they knew it would take a while for him to develop: Gathers, who played basketball at Baylor, hadn’t played football since middle school.

But after two NFL seasons and zero regular-season games played, it’s time for Gathers to finally show what he can do on the field. Toward that end, Gathers said he is gaining weight to get into the 280-285 range, significantly bigger than the 265 he weighed in at a year ago, when he said he like he was getting pushed around too much in the preseason.

“Last year was a big adjustment,” Gathers said, via the Dallas Morning News. “I was going for more trying to be quicker, trying to be faster. But that hurt me in the blocking gamea lot where I felt like I was just a body, just a body catching a blow.”

A bigger Gathers will, he hopes, be a better Gathers.

“Now coming off, I’m delivering the blow,” Gathers said. “I’m delivering the shot.”

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett seems to like what he sees from Gathers during offseason practices.

“He’s a different player now than he was a couple of years ago when he first showed up,” Garrett said. “But he just needs to play more football.”

Gathers isn’t the tight end who will make people forget Jason Witten, but he’s hoping that he can at least get on the field at a position where the Cowboys are now trying to replace one of the best ever to play it.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...ht-hopes-to-gain-some-playing-time-in-dallas/



Submitted for your reading pleasure and discussion

Hopefully the weight isn't all between his ears.

 

[John813]

Interesting. He does have a 2"-4" height advantage over most tight ends, which may help in the passing game but probably hurts in the blocking game in getting leverage. Especially when he is so raw in technique.
Gaining that much weight though, hopefully it was signed off by some staff member, whether it was the TE coach, or a strength training personnel.

 

[superonyx]

Swaim has some production. Jarwin hasn't had the chance yet, and Shultz just got here.

Rico caught a couple of balls in the 4th quarter of preseason against nobodies.

Tight end production around the NFL is mostly woeful. Outside of a small handful of guys, there's almost nothing out there. Look again.

Swaim has no production. None. 2 catches in an entire season isn’t production.
Oh so Jarwin hasn’t had the chance yet....but Rico has?
The same nobodies Rico was productive against were the same nobodies that helped us name our back up QB Rush.

I’m not blind or dense. I know Rico will most likely not be a Player in Dallas. We are ok with 1 dimensional TEs as long as that dimension is blocking. A guy like Rico needs an offense that will let TEs run routes and make plays downfield. Our 1992 offense likes slugs who are only asked to run 7 yards, turn around, catch, them fall down.

 

[LocimusPrime]

Interesting. He does have a 2"-4" height advantage over most tight ends, which may help in the passing game but probably hurts in the blocking game in getting leverage. Especially when he is so raw in technique.
Gaining that much weight though, hopefully it was signed off by some staff member, whether it was the TE coach, or a strength training personnel.

good point. His height does hurt his leverage.

 

[OmerV]

Swaim has no production. None. 2 catches in an entire season isn’t production.
Oh so Jarwin hasn’t had the chance yet....but Rico has?
The same nobodies Rico was productive against were the same nobodies that helped us name our back up QB Rush.

I’m not blind or dense. I know Rico will most likely not be a Player in Dallas. We are ok with 1 dimensional TEs as long as that dimension is blocking. A guy like Rico needs an offense that will let TEs run routes and make plays downfield. Our 1992 offense likes slugs who are only asked to run 7 yards, turn around, catch, them fall down.

Witten didn't gain more yardage than any TE in history except by only running 7 yards and falling down. The fact is a receiving TE has to be able to block as well as catch passes in a run based offense. That's all there is to it. There is no use for a TE who is a receiver only unless he is an elite NFL receiver. Otherwise why not just use an extra WR?

 

[erod]

Swaim has no production. None. 2 catches in an entire season isn’t production.
Oh so Jarwin hasn’t had the chance yet....but Rico has?
The same nobodies Rico was productive against were the same nobodies that helped us name our back up QB Rush.

I’m not blind or dense. I know Rico will most likely not be a Player in Dallas. We are ok with 1 dimensional TEs as long as that dimension is blocking. A guy like Rico needs an offense that will let TEs run routes and make plays downfield. Our 1992 offense likes slugs who are only asked to run 7 yards, turn around, catch, them fall down.

You don't think Blake Jarwin can run routes?

 

[TwentyOne]

Swaim has no production. None. 2 catches in an entire season isn’t production.
Oh so Jarwin hasn’t had the chance yet....but Rico has?
The same nobodies Rico was productive against were the same nobodies that helped us name our back up QB Rush.

I’m not blind or dense. I know Rico will most likely not be a Player in Dallas. We are ok with 1 dimensional TEs as long as that dimension is blocking. A guy like Rico needs an offense that will let TEs run routes and make plays downfield. Our 1992 offense likes slugs who are only asked to run 7 yards, turn around, catch, them fall down.

Sorry but i remember Novachek different.

 

[CouchCoach]

Rico has never put pressure on a defense in a football game in his life.

How many real tight ends are in the NFL to begin with? I don't mean the H-back types. I'm talking about blocking and receiving tight ends.

Very few.

That's a fact Jack. A couple of teams make stars out of their TE's like KC and NE and all of the sudden that's a critical factor for an offense. If Dak ends up making any TE well known, this team is going nowhere.

Posters are over-reacting to this position because of having Witten and him being the crutch of Romo and Dak. This team needs a TE that is an OL first and foremost, not a receiver.

Why do posters think NE featured the TE's with that two headed monster? Because Belichick is smart and TE's don't get paid as much as WR's.

The other issue and it's affected KC, NE and CIN are the concussions this position is getting.

 

[CouchCoach]

Sorry but i remember Novachek different.

Same here, he was not a slug and they went after him in Plan B because of his route running and hands.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Rico has a habit of trying to convince himself he is better, different every year...id take a blocking tight end in the Nfl that can catch a few balls a game for first downs, and some mismatch tds...five total or more a season..

What are you talking about? He said earlier that it was his pass catching that could see him on the field and that he needed to work on his blocking. He even said he felt he got pushed around last season.

I have no idea what you are talking about from years before but given how he performed in preseason if he did talk himself up then he had reason to do so. He dominated the second halves of the games he played.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

That's a fact Jack. A couple of teams make stars out of their TE's like KC and NE and all of the sudden that's a critical factor for an offense. If Dak ends up making any TE well known, this team is going nowhere.

Posters are over-reacting to this position because of having Witten and him being the crutch of Romo and Dak. This team needs a TE that is an OL first and foremost, not a receiver.

Why do posters think NE featured the TE's with that two headed monster? Because Belichick is smart and TE's don't get paid as much as WR's.

The other issue and it's affected KC, NE and CIN are the concussions this position is getting.

Yeah because teams featuring their TE in the passing attack never works. Sean Payton and Bill Belichick should listen to you.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I'm encouraged by Rico taking blocking more seriously. He's huge, he's strong, he has long arms and soft hands. That's enough for a career if you learn how to block. Should have been his goal from day one.

But I'm also exasperated by this story. Where the hell are the trainers and coaches? They leave 20lb weight swings up to the players?

They should have had a plan for him.
This is the path we see for a career for you.
This is what we need to see to get you on the roster. Active. On the field.
This is what you need to do to get there.

In the quoted portion is him speaking in past tense. And what makes you think what he has done with his body is not what the coaches and trainers wanted?

They didn't want Irving to put on weight and he is sitting.