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Dynasty and Redraft: Sammie Coates Pittsburgh Steelers (1 Viewer)

Despite his Blair Witch filming techniques, Waldman's criticism is pretty spot-on. IIRC, Coates was lambasted and in several doghouses in the preseason for his copious drops. So while I could see that a deep cut in the webbing between thumb and index finger or similar area that is stressed when catching a Big Ben NFL ball could cause drops, Coates' butterfingers well predates this injury.

Drops were also a problem in college for Coates-- from his scouting report:

Inexplicable focus drops in all areas of the field. Doesn't play with extended catch radius. Had a drop rate of 19.1 percent. Vertical receiver without vertical feel. Suspect ball tracking. "

And the film Waldman put together really does show some terrible technique -- not gathering the ball correctly, not timing his body in adjustment to coverage or ball path, even not employing his fingers to catch the ball. 

I give this kid tons of credit because he's getting it done by raw talent alone -- gaining separation with speed, and taking advantage of corners who are a step too slow transitioning from backpedal to forward-facing sprint. 

But seems to be a lot to work on, and if the drops keep happening, how does Ben continue to have trust, except for those plays designed to leverage Coates' best quality -- speed -- to take the top off the D. This is my worry with Coates -- not that he's just stone-handed, but he simply loses trust and opportunity if his drop percentage remains high.

Homers, what do you hear about his work ethic? Hopefully they have him chained to the JUGS machine every waking minute he is not in an actual game. 

 
When a few of those stone hand drops turn into picks/fumbles/turnovers, he's not only going to lose Ben's trust, but also the coaches.

I would sell high if you can based on Waldman's input.

And LOL @ Blair Witch filming techniques.  Loved that!

 
His perceived value seems to be pretty high in dynasty PPR. I was offered him + Lacy for Lamar Miller. I turned it down.

I own Coates in another league & if I were offered Miller for him I'd do it immediately!

 
If Ben keeps throwing to him 10 times a game he's gonna be in my lineup alot
That's a big "if". OU#1 sums it up best:

When a few of those stone hand drops turn into picks/fumbles/turnovers, he's not only going to lose Ben's trust, but also the coaches.

I would sell high if you can based on Waldman's input.


My takeaway after getting past Matt's technical criticisms was that Coates had a shot at 5 TDs.
He definitely did, but he dropped 3 of them. How many more easy drops will be tolerated before he's sent to the bench? As Waldman said, this is why Bryant is going to have a shot to get his job back despite effing up so many times.

:lmao: at another comment that says catch rate means he's improved since college. Catch rate is not just based on the WR, but also on the QB. He's obviously got a much better QB than he had in college. If the commenter watched Waldman's tape and listened to him, Waldman said he's making the same mistakes he made in college. You can't fix hand-eye coordination. This guy lacks it. And people are focusing on the drops, but his inability to track the ball is just as much of a problem.

 
Nah, he's a sell high in all formats, including dynasty. Waldman rips into him pretty hard here: http://subscribers.footballguys.com/apps/article.php?article=top10wk5review

Basically says he's the same player he's always been - can't track the ball, can't catch the ball.

Wheaton is nothing special, but he's better than Coates and his snap count is increasing (actually out snapped Coates 49-44 last week).
Waldman was all over Jordan Payton's nuts in the RSP too, how has that turned out so far? Snap count up for Wheaton, how about targets and productivity? Exactly.

 
Waldman was all over Jordan Payton's nuts in the RSP too, how has that turned out so far? Snap count up for Wheaton, how about targets and productivity? Exactly.
You don't even have to listen to Waldman if you don't want to, just watch the clips. Did you watch the clips? I didn't think so.

 
You don't even have to listen to Waldman if you don't want to, just watch the clips. Did you watch the clips? I didn't think so.
Of course I watched. Big deal. He delivered on 2 of them. He had 5 big opportunities. Which is 5 more than the guy who is supposedly better than him, right???

 
They threw so much to Coates last week because they didn't have any real viable alternatives. Wheaton is just not very good and Eli Rogers was still out. I expect Coates targets to drop significantly going forward now that Rogers is healthy and coming back into the line up.  If Green comes off IR and looks somewhat healthy In another 2-3 weeks I expect him to eat into Coates targets too. 

 
They threw so much to Coates last week because they didn't have any real viable alternatives. Wheaton is just not very good and Eli Rogers was still out. I expect Coates targets to drop significantly going forward now that Rogers is healthy and coming back into the line up.  If Green comes off IR and looks somewhat healthy In another 2-3 weeks I expect him to eat into Coates targets too. 
He will lose some targets for sure. The thing is that neither of those players fulfill the Martavis Bryant role in this offense. He will always be a WR3 with sky high upside. I think that is what you are looking for in your WR3.

 
Of course I watched. Big deal. He delivered on 2 of them. He had 5 big opportunities. Which is 5 more than the guy who is supposedly better than him, right???
In one game. Feel free to chase those points. I hear that's a winning strategy.

FWIW, I am not a Wheaton fan. I just know that Coates' value will never be higher than it is now (for people who only look at box scores). He's a drop machine who can't track the ball. I was excited about him in the offseason, but I realize he's just not going to last in the NFL due to problems that can't be fixed. You can accept that or chase points while hyping his box score from week 5.

 
I think it's premature to call him a WR3 forever.   He is 23 with elite physical tools.   You can teach hand eye coordination and concentration which is what he seems to be missing a lot easier than you can teach 6'2" and clocked as fastest player of the week.  Many of the top WRs of the last generation struggled with drops early in their career, including DT and Brandon Marshall. 

 
I think it's premature to call him a WR3 forever.   He is 23 with elite physical tools.   You can teach hand eye coordination and concentration which is what he seems to be missing a lot easier than you can teach 6'2" and clocked as fastest player of the week.  Many of the top WRs of the last generation struggled with drops early in their career, including DT and Brandon Marshall. 
No you can't. You can teach proper catching technique, but you can't teach hand eye coordination. He's missing two things you can't teach: coordination and ball tracking. These are fundamental flaws that can't and won't be fixed. Size and speed will only get you so far. You need not look far for a reminder of this. His teammate, DHB, has Coates beat in all categories (size, speed, agility). So if you are banking on athleticism carrying him, you might want to think about that. At this point Coates needs to learn to run block if he wants to last in the league as long as DHB has.

 
FF Ninja said:
No you can't. You can teach proper catching technique, but you can't teach hand eye coordination. He's missing two things you can't teach: coordination and ball tracking. These are fundamental flaws that can't and won't be fixed. Size and speed will only get you so far. You need not look far for a reminder of this. His teammate, DHB, has Coates beat in all categories (size, speed, agility). So if you are banking on athleticism carrying him, you might want to think about that. At this point Coates needs to learn to run block if he wants to last in the league as long as DHB has.
Agree to disagree, but I find the notion that something can't be taught or developed a bit ridiculous.   Everything can be taught and developed to some degree if the student is willing. 

 
Agree to disagree, but I find the notion that something can't be taught or developed a bit ridiculous.   Everything can be taught and developed to some degree if the student is willing. 
You can't be serious. This isn't calculus. It's more like 40 time. You can work to make it better, but you're never going to get Lacy to run a 4.4 forty. Have you never played video games with your friends? Some people can practice and practice but they'll never be that good because their hand-eye coordination just isn't that good, while some people can jump in and dominate after very little practice. Unfortunately for Coates, he wasn't blessed with the elite hand-eye coordination required for the NFL and no amount of practice is going to fix that. It may help a little, but like 40 times, we're all dealing with a range (the extremes of each of our ranges go from raw to refined) that is set by our genetics. Some people might be better raw than other people are after refining their skills. I'm sure the coaches have already been working on hand-eye coordination and catching technique for the past two years. He's probably already near the best (refined) he's going to be on that range of skill. It's not like he's a basketball convert who is still learning the craft. I'm sure he can refine his skills a little more but the results are not going to be earth shattering. The learning curve of that aspect is very close to the plateau by now.

He also has trouble judging the speed and/or trajectory of the ball. That's a cognitive thing.

 
Maybe those things FF ninja is talking about apply more to dynasty than redraft? Not sure as i dont play dynasty.  But for this year he sure seems to have value in the M. Bryant role - stretch the field and we'll throw it deep a bunch of time per game.  The Steelers clearly want this option in their lineup as they have used Bryant when he was available and now Coates in that role for about 3 years.  No other player currently on the Steeler's roster is better at this than Coates - so when the Steelers want to throw bombs its most likely going to be to him.  Now, given this role his week to week production is going to be all over the place... some people.like that in a WR3 and some dont.  But for his year i think this minumum role is pretty much guaranteed.  

 
You can't be serious. This isn't calculus. It's more like 40 time. You can work to make it better, but you're never going to get Lacy to run a 4.4 forty. Have you never played video games with your friends? Some people can practice and practice but they'll never be that good because their hand-eye coordination just isn't that good, while some people can jump in and dominate after very little practice. Unfortunately for Coates, he wasn't blessed with the elite hand-eye coordination required for the NFL and no amount of practice is going to fix that. It may help a little, but like 40 times, we're all dealing with a range (the extremes of each of our ranges go from raw to refined) that is set by our genetics. Some people might be better raw than other people are after refining their skills. I'm sure the coaches have already been working on hand-eye coordination and catching technique for the past two years. He's probably already near the best (refined) he's going to be on that range of skill. It's not like he's a basketball convert who is still learning the craft. I'm sure he can refine his skills a little more but the results are not going to be earth shattering. The learning curve of that aspect is very close to the plateau by now.

He also has trouble judging the speed and/or trajectory of the ball. That's a cognitive thing.
Could be his eyes. Maybe he need glasses.

 
You can't be serious. This isn't calculus. It's more like 40 time. You can work to make it better, but you're never going to get Lacy to run a 4.4 forty. Have you never played video games with your friends? Some people can practice and practice but they'll never be that good because their hand-eye coordination just isn't that good, while some people can jump in and dominate after very little practice. Unfortunately for Coates, he wasn't blessed with the elite hand-eye coordination required for the NFL and no amount of practice is going to fix that. It may help a little, but like 40 times, we're all dealing with a range (the extremes of each of our ranges go from raw to refined) that is set by our genetics. Some people might be better raw than other people are after refining their skills. I'm sure the coaches have already been working on hand-eye coordination and catching technique for the past two years. He's probably already near the best (refined) he's going to be on that range of skill. It's not like he's a basketball convert who is still learning the craft. I'm sure he can refine his skills a little more but the results are not going to be earth shattering. The learning curve of that aspect is very close to the plateau by now.

He also has trouble judging the speed and/or trajectory of the ball. That's a cognitive thing.
I don't disagree with most of this. These are the negatives on Sammy and I'm not under any delusion that he will go from poor hands and ball tracking to elite.   I do think his deficiencies and inability to improve in those areas may be a bit overstated though. 

 
FF Ninja setting himself up to eat some major crow. Hope your little tummy is ready to be force fed.
Target volume might prop him up for a week or two, but long term he's got little value. I'll be back to laugh at you next year when he's buried on the depth chart if he's even still on the team. Keep holding and keep chasing points, bag holder.

Maybe those things FF ninja is talking about apply more to dynasty than redraft? Not sure as i dont play dynasty.  But for this year he sure seems to have value in the M. Bryant role - stretch the field and we'll throw it deep a bunch of time per game.  The Steelers clearly want this option in their lineup as they have used Bryant when he was available and now Coates in that role for about 3 years.  No other player currently on the Steeler's roster is better at this than Coates - so when the Steelers want to throw bombs its most likely going to be to him.  Now, given this role his week to week production is going to be all over the place... some people.like that in a WR3 and some dont.  But for his year i think this minumum role is pretty much guaranteed.  
Yes, I'm primarily thinking dynasty, but I also think he's a sell high in redraft due to Rogers, Green, and Wheaton eventually stealing targets this year (in dynasty Bryant will be taking the job back next year). But if the drops and ball tracking persist, he'll stop getting targets even if those guys don't return.

I don't disagree with most of this. These are the negatives on Sammy and I'm not under any delusion that he will go from poor hands and ball tracking to elite.   I do think his deficiencies and inability to improve in those areas may be a bit overstated though. 
Only if what he showed in week 5 was due to his worst game ever. But if that's who he is (and it is consistent with his college scouting reports), then it's time to cut bait while he's still got value. DHB only saw 100 targets once in his career and his measurables were better and his draft position was much higher. After 5 years he was basically invisible. Sammie won't get 5 years.

 
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Lol @ next year. I only play redraft so go ahead and bump the thread next year to prove me wrong. I'll go ahead and bump the thread this year to laugh at you though. 

 
Lol @ next year. I only play redraft so go ahead and bump the thread next year to prove me wrong. I'll go ahead and bump the thread this year to laugh at you though. 
Have fun trying. When your fantasy playoffs roll around, this guy will be getting 4 targets a game at most. One will be uncatchable and he'll drop two.

 
Have fun trying. When your fantasy playoffs roll around, this guy will be getting 4 targets a game at most. One will be uncatchable and he'll drop two.
Chill, will you? For most folks here he is a bye week fill in. If he continues to roll you keep rolling with him. 

But the Steelers do like to chuck it deep ala Bryant and Mike Wallace before him. He has value and at this time of year with byes you need to roll with a Boom or Bust guy to have a chance.

 
Chill, will you? For most folks here he is a bye week fill in. If he continues to roll you keep rolling with him. 

But the Steelers do like to chuck it deep ala Bryant and Mike Wallace before him. He has value and at this time of year with byes you need to roll with a Boom or Bust guy to have a chance.
I'm just responding to the... eloquent fellow... telling me he's going to bump this to tell me to eat crow.

 
FF Ninja said:
In one game. Feel free to chase those points. I hear that's a winning strategy.

FWIW, I am not a Wheaton fan. I just know that Coates' value will never be higher than it is now (for people who only look at box scores). He's a drop machine who can't track the ball. I was excited about him in the offseason, but I realize he's just not going to last in the NFL due to problems that can't be fixed. You can accept that or chase points while hyping his box score from week 5.
While wheaton has missed some time Coates has outproduced him every game this year. So, not just 1 game.

I don't disagree there are more weapons coming that will reduce his opps (but no guarantees on Green, Wheaton still banged up (he's gone next year anyways) and All has been quiet on Bryant so who knows what will happen there )  and that coupled with some fundamental problems will limit him in the long term, that said he has a chance over next couple of weeks to continue his momentum and if so his value increases further. He has outperformed expectations so far this year.

 
i agree with Ninja (and Waldman) that Coates has issues around hand/eye and ball tracking that are very problematic. And not easily correctable. Which sucks for him. But they can be improved to some degree even as the season progresses.

What Coates does have is an elite ability to get separation and get open. Few guys in the entire league can get open like he does, even at his raw stage . For a QB like BigBen who is used to hitting very tight windows, throwing to Coates is a frigging layup. Thats why he will keep going to him. And as long as Coates catches some/most he will keep feeding him.

I own Coates but am sitting him this weekend until the hand heals. But I'm still a buyer even at these levels.

 
It seems like his floor is a rich man's Ted Ginn in a better situation.  FF ninja has a strong stance and good points.   One nuance is that even if he is right long term,  a few more big performances by Coates will yield a better sell high window than right now.   Even if he isn't a future stud, it might look like he is to fellow owners. 

Waldman said that he is still the same player he was.  He also said that means he is good enough to beat NFL players the same way he was beating College players and it still works. 

 
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Any concerns about Coates with respect to the return of Ladarius Green next week? Big Ben loves his TEs and LG, if healthy is a big upgrade to Jesse James IMO.

 
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Any concerns about Coates with respect to the return of Ladarius Green next week? Big Ben loves his TEs and LG, if healthy is a big upgrade to Jesse James IMO.
I think it hurts jesse james more than anyone else.

Is coates even going to play this week?

I think next week at home vs NE is the more competitive higher scoring game.  That's when coates has his next big game.  Steelers seems to score like double the points at home

 
I think it hurts jesse james more than anyone else.

Is coates even going to play this week?

I think next week at home vs NE is the more competitive higher scoring game.  That's when coates has his next big game.  Steelers seems to score like double the points at home
It may kill JJs vale.

 
I think it hurts jesse james more than anyone else.

Is coates even going to play this week?

I think next week at home vs NE is the more competitive higher scoring game.  That's when coates has his next big game.  Steelers seems to score like double the points at home
I think Coates plays. He cut his hand during the game last week. He got stitches (I think at halftime) and played the rest of the game. 

 
I think Coates plays. He cut his hand during the game last week. He got stitches (I think at halftime) and played the rest of the game. 
He did, but that was when he dropped all of those passes, a few of which were TDs.  Hope he plays in this matchup with Miami, who I think has the worst pass defense in the NFL, but wouldnt be shocked to see him sit or even worse...have a reduced role due to the injury, and wanting it to heal.

If he plays and you believe he is healthy, you have to start him against Miami.  Byron Maxwell is garbage, and he is their best CB and likely will be on AB.  Tony Lippett is on the other side, and he is beyond awful.  Reshad Jones is their only decent player, and he is questionable to play.  Opportunity to have a huge game.  Wont see a better matchup all season.

Note - I am a Dolphins fan and watch every pathetic play of every pathetic season.  This is the worst secondary I have ever seen.

 
He did, but that was when he dropped all of those passes, a few of which were TDs.  Hope he plays in this matchup with Miami, who I think has the worst pass defense in the NFL, but wouldnt be shocked to see him sit or even worse...have a reduced role due to the injury, and wanting it to heal.

If he plays and you believe he is healthy, you have to start him against Miami.  Byron Maxwell is garbage, and he is their best CB and likely will be on AB.  Tony Lippett is on the other side, and he is beyond awful.  Reshad Jones is their only decent player, and he is questionable to play.  Opportunity to have a huge game.  Wont see a better matchup all season.

Note - I am a Dolphins fan and watch every pathetic play of every pathetic season.  This is the worst secondary I have ever seen.
Damn you make me want to put coates in my lineup.  But I don't think I can

 
Wheaton ruled out today, and Coates looks like he is playing.  I'll have a hard time not starting him against that secondary.

Off Rotoworld:

Mark Kaboly of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports Sammie Coates (finger, questionable) will "definitely" play against the Dolphins in Week 6.
It looked like Coates was trending toward a game-time decision but now it's safe to assume he'll be out there on Sunday. Coming off the game of his life, Coates has another great matchup waiting against the Dolphins' inept secondary. He'll be in the WR3 conversation.
 
 
 
I'm not sure if I'll start him even with the great match-up because we won't know how his cut will effect his ability to catch the ball.  It's either him or Crabtree for me.  Tough since its a tough match-up for Crabtree

 
Eli may take away more receptions working the slot.

Eli Rogers (toe) is no longer listed on the Steelers' injury report.
He practiced fully this week and is set to return Sunday against Miami. Rogers sat out the previous two weeks with turf toe. He'll play in three-wide sets along with Antonio Brown and Sammie Coates.

 
 
Source: Armando Salguero on Twitter
Oct 14 - 3:06 PM

 
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Wheaton ruled out today, and Coates looks like he is playing.  I'll have a hard time not starting him against that secondary.

Off Rotoworld:

Mark Kaboly of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports Sammie Coates (finger, questionable) will "definitely" play against the Dolphins in Week 6.
It looked like Coates was trending toward a game-time decision but now it's safe to assume he'll be out there on Sunday. Coming off the game of his life, Coates has another great matchup waiting against the Dolphins' inept secondary. He'll be in the WR3 conversation.
 
 
Is wheaton hurt?

 
I'm flexing him in PPR over Tevin Coleman and Darren Sproles this week.   Hoping for a big week for Coates as his hype train needs to get rolling so I can sell high :)  

His perceived value is so low right now based on scouting but we may reach a tipping point if he keeps producing at which you can't deny the production. 

 
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i agree with Ninja (and Waldman) that Coates has issues around hand/eye and ball tracking that are very problematic. And not easily correctable. Which sucks for him. But they can be improved to some degree even as the season progresses.

What Coates does have is an elite ability to get separation and get open. Few guys in the entire league can get open like he does, even at his raw stage . For a QB like BigBen who is used to hitting very tight windows, throwing to Coates is a frigging layup. Thats why he will keep going to him. And as long as Coates catches some/most he will keep feeding him.

I own Coates but am sitting him this weekend until the hand heals. But I'm still a buyer even at these levels.
The guy is getting separation. He is where the ball is. He has gotten as many ore more targets than Brown 2 weeks in a row.  :shrug:

 
So I'm in this TE premium dynasty league where I need a TE . I scan the rosters, see the Martavis owner is currently not in the playoffs and is loaded at TE. So I think an offer of Coates for Coby Fleener makes sense. I offer it, owner is very  quick with his reply which was that Coates had a nice game but he does not buy his talent so rejected.  I shopped at his TE store and he did not like my currency and  I always appreciate a quick trade answer so truly all good with the response from him.

But it got me thinking on a few things.

First off turning down a trade offer for Coby Fleener based on perceived lack of talent of other player seems kind of funny to me since Fleener kind of blows and if he's good at fantasy football it's due to him being in a great situation, not his talent. But that's another discussion.

Next thing it did was get me examining Coates individually as well as Coates against Bryant especially when I know this other owner does believe in Bryants talent, as I'm sure most of you do as well. I really could not help but come away with conclusion that people are really selling Coates short. Bryant wins the eye test, no doubt. He makes it look easy, he looks like Randy Moss at times. But stats tell a different story.

As many outlets have mentioned Coates has had a 40+ yard catch in 4 straight games. What's more is he not only leads the league in 40+ yard catches with 6, but the closest to him is Julio and Travis Benjamin with 4. Then for WR's you drop down to AJ Green at 3 and that's it, every other WR in the entire NFL has 2 or less.  When he's had 6 already and one every game that's not a fluke, that's absolutely not getting done by an untalented WR at the NFL level. Let me again use a stat to put this in perspective. The NFL leader last year in 40+ yard receptions, over the course of the entire 2015 NFL season, was a two tie between Odell and Brown. They had 8. He's got 6 in 5 games and not even as a full time player. Bryant had 5 last season in 11 games, but to be fair a few without Ben. This is not some end all or be all stat, a few turd WR's had 5 40+ yard grabs last season. But then we are not talking about 5 over a season, we are talking about one every game and 6 total in 5. This can't just be brushed under the rug as someone getting lucky every week, at least I can't do that.

Now look at him versus Bryant. On the strength of those long gains Coates is 21.6 yards a catch, while Bryant is at 17.3. So then you look at in terms of is Coates just way more inefficient? The answer is no, Bryant is actually  less efficient with a 54% catch rate to Coates 60% and in terms of yards per target Coates has a massive 4 yards per target edge. Coates, so far, has been the more efficient player as well as more of a big play performer by every statistical measure other than TD's where Bryant has a huge edge. Now in terms of fantasy, even with that immense edge in TD numbers and assuming PPR format Coates averages 2.4 fantasy points per target to Bryants 2.07. I can no longer get this information from PFF because they chose to take a big crap on paying customers like me who helped keep them sustainable and no longer give us this info at a decent price($1500?) but the one stat I used to pay for was the yards per route run. This is the stat that don't lie. I have no idea how they measure up, assume Coates is better but Bryant graded highly in this regard. Would love to know this info if anyone has it.

The only fantasy or statistical edge Bryant has over Coates is a higher career fantasy points per game number and that's misleading as Coates was barely playing last season but active.

 
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I'm guessing Wheaton lost his job anyways.   He looks terrible and has for years.   Maybe if he looks so poorly because of injury he gets another chance,  but he doesn't seem to do anything very well. 

 
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