WR's and their hands (1 Viewer)

[Matt Waldman]

A WR's Hands: Discerning correctable lapses from glaring deficiencies.

 

[DesmondBishop]

Another good read Matt, but one I do not really agree with from the "it can be corrected" perspective. How many guys had the dropsies in college and then came to the pro's and had the same issues and then later they became a guy with great hands? I think a big factor is that once guys are labeled as either a guy with bad hands or doesn't concentrate all the time, they usually stop getting chances to prove they can get over it, unless they just have insane physical gifts. I think it is partially mental, but mostly physical, watch any wr in the game today, if they let the ball get to the body (Body catchers) they WILL drop a lot of passes, guys that snatch the ball with the hands will almost always be the more consistent wr. I am not talking rookie mistakes but some guys just can never break that habit which is why guys like T.O. and Roy Williams and Meachem will always just be average hands guys because they catch with the body more than their hands. Obviously T.O. has other great qualities as a wr so his dropping a ton of passes has never stopped him from putting up numbers. But when guys are just normal guys, coaches eventually stop giving them the chance to drop passes and find your less talented but more consistent guys to fill those roles.

 

[Matt Waldman]

Another good read Matt, but one I do not really agree with from the "it can be corrected" perspective. How many guys had the dropsies in college and then came to the pro's and had the same issues and then later they became a guy with great hands? I think a big factor is that once guys are labeled as either a guy with bad hands or doesn't concentrate all the time, they usually stop getting chances to prove they can get over it, unless they just have insane physical gifts. I think it is partially mental, but mostly physical, watch any wr in the game today, if they let the ball get to the body (Body catchers) they WILL drop a lot of passes, guys that snatch the ball with the hands will almost always be the more consistent wr. I am not talking rookie mistakes but some guys just can never break that habit which is why guys like T.O. and Roy Williams and Meachem will always just be average hands guys because they catch with the body more than their hands. Obviously T.O. has other great qualities as a wr so his dropping a ton of passes has never stopped him from putting up numbers. But when guys are just normal guys, coaches eventually stop giving them the chance to drop passes and find your less talented but more consistent guys to fill those roles.

Thanks for responding. I think you're basically arguing my point and just fleshing it out a little more. Most players will run out of chances if they don't improve upon their mistakes early in their career. However, getting back to the "corrected" point. Notice Jerry Rice as an example of a player who dropped a lot of passes as a rookie - he's a great example of a player with great hands but dealt with early concentration issues. I think we can agree that some players get labeled with the bad hands rap because of a big drop in a big game and the media magnifies the issue when they actually catch the ball well. Most receivers with good hands but experience drops early are simply experiencing concentration issues. I think you're probably being a little hard on Owens. It's tough not to want to be hard on T.O. because he's a team-killer, IMO. But his hands are not bad. He catches the ball the right way. Your point about the physical gifts is a good one, but there are players who had his gifts who couldn't catch the ball nearly as well and that's why they never got the chances T.O. did. He could catch the ball and make big plays.He may have been more of a home run hitter with a higher strikeout average, but he still connected enough for teams to rely on him. I can understand the argument you make though - especially when your reading him in an example that includes Jerry Rice. I'm not saying Owens had great hands like Rice. I'm just showing the range of players who did start shaky but corrected their issues (and Owens did enough to correct them to become a six-time Pro Bowl player).