Clyde Gates needs to be our #2 receiver

[mandal24]

Disclaimer: This is all assuming Gates is anything even remotely close to what he has been in camp thus far. I realize he can be a dud but when you're outjumping Vontae and beating him on slant routes, it's definitely an early, good sign...


Bess is our short yardage receiver with the ability to keep the chains moving. Arguably, the best slot receiver in the game.
Marshall is our intermediate yardage receiver with amazing YAC ability. Arguably, one of the best receivers in the game.

And you're telling me Hartline is gonna be on the field with these two studs. He's considered our "burner" yet the guy isn't that fast. He's not the biggest guy either, he doesn't get much in the way of YAC and isn't the best route runner.. so who is he? what's his identity?

I see Hartline as a solid #4 receiver. He'll never wow you but he's solid. With the potential that Gates has been showing and the track speed this guy has, he's the burner that we had hoped we had in Ginn but Gates doesn't seem to shy away from contact or going over the middle on a slant route. Plus, the man can jump.

I see the Dolphins receivers similar to that of the Saints (especially with the addition of Reggie Bush)

Marshall = Marques Colston
Bess = Lance Moore/Reggie Bush, whoever was playing slot at the time
Gates = Devery Henderson -- and to me this is the kicker that really made the Saints offense extremely efficient, not allowing teams to double Colston all game long.

Marshall+Bess+Gates= Dynamic Trio
Marshall+Bess+Hartline= Solid Trio but Marshall will be doubled a lot as he was last year which isn't that big of a problem 'cause Marshall is still that damn good but Henne seems to shy away from the risky throws.

And just for kicks, imagine...

Marshall, Bess on one side.... Bush and Gates on the other.. Thats honestly insane for any defense to handle

Edit: I realize Henne is no Drew Brees lol but all these options can only help in the confidence and development of a young quarterback looking to improve.

 

[sharp]

I hear that but its also fact that Gates fell to the 4th round. I think he can be a special player with time, and he needs to get involved ASAP, but I don't know if hes ready to play #2 right from the get go.

I hope he is, but I don't know if he is. I hope we utilize more spread formations and have him in the game as much as possible if he isnt #2 quality YET.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

The sooner Gates takes the #2 job (assuming he ever does), the better it is for the Dolphins. But it's probably at least another year off, if not two. His raw talent is immense for a guy who never played in high school and played at a small college. The quickness, body control, natural hands and of course that speed. What gifts he has. But he's still very deliberate coming in and out of his breaks. He rounds off his routes at times. He drifts upfield rather than working back to the quarterback. His ability to read coverages pre-snap and on the fly would, to me, be a huge question mark.

But I have always felt that Hartline was overrated by the fan base. When you watch him in person, you realize how little defenses respect him and how little they should -- he rarely gets good separation deep despite being covered man to man, often with no safety help over the top. A wide receiver that really scared defenses would be a huge boon to the offense. It would be immensely satisfying to me to see Gates have a huge preseason.

 

[dlockz]

The sooner Gates takes the #2 job (assuming he ever does), the better it is for the Dolphins. But it's probably at least another year off, if not two. His raw talent is immense for a guy who never played in high school and played at a small college. The quickness, body control, natural hands and of course that speed. What gifts he has. But he's still very deliberate coming in and out of his breaks. He rounds off his routes at times. He drifts upfield rather than working back to the quarterback. His ability to read coverages pre-snap and on the fly would, to me, be a huge question mark.

But I have always felt that Hartline was overrated by the fan base. When you watch him in person, you realize how little defenses respect him and how little they should -- he rarely gets good separation deep despite being covered man to man, often with no safety help over the top. A wide receiver that really scared defenses would be a huge boon to the offense. It would be immensely satisfying to me to see Gates have a huge preseason.

We shall see with gates . He is raw and really did not domainate at his level. I personally dont see him being better than Knox from the same school and the odds are even against that. every year there is a guy with tremendous spped that get drafted because of his speed and nver really amounts to much. I hope gates is not that guy. Amazing how Abilene Christian seems to churn out some decent NFL players though. I dont expect much impact from him though this year except on special teams . People expect way too much of a rookie wr drafted in 4th round. Hell mar Duper had 4 catches his rookie year. I think too many people assume he will be much better than Ginn who was raved about early also.

 

[mandal24]

I've read that he's better than Knox coming out of college and if he had a season half as good as what Knox had, that'd be amazing.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

Knox was a fifth round pick and had 527 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns as a rookie coming out of Abilene. That's nothing to sneeze at. Not every one of these guys turns into Mike Wallace, I agree. But the Johnny Knox's of the world are valuable football players. Last year he had almost a thousand yards receiving.

The Ginn pick was always doomed to fail. The guy was a long strider with little short area quickness, limiting him basically to the deep routes and shallow crosses he ran in college. Plus, he was a demoralizing ***** who proved to have really lousy hands. Just not a very talented player. Cameron and Mueller saw him being what Desean Jackson is now, but they were wrong, obviously.

The most exciting thing about Gates is the way he combines elite deep speed with explosive short area quickness. It's not a combination you see very often. He's rawer than Knox was coming out of college but to me there's no question he's more physically talented.

The question is whether Gates will be able to process and learn the million things he needs to know to actually play in the NFL. He has a lot to learn. But there's nothing holding him back physically that I can see.

 

[dlockz]

I've read that he's better than Knox coming out of college and if he had a season half as good as what Knox had, that'd be amazing.

well i have heard that a couple of times on this site but Knox was a better player at ACU in the two seasons he played. he had 118 receptions for 2227 yards with 30 tds
while Gates in four seasons had 158 receptions for 2885 yards with 27 tds. Knox was just a more dangerous player. Knox may be slightly faster but ever so slightly.
would love to see the race.

 

[footsteps_falco]

Roberto Wallace brings brandon marshall like qualities to the position, may turn out to be a bigger surprise for us then Gates right now, but who knows, let's see how the preseason goes

 

[oasis]

I too would like to see Gates in the lineup over Hartline, but this regime tends to place a lot of emphasis on high character/intelligent guys (e.g. Hartline), sometimes over talent and physical skills. Especially since he's a rookie, Gates won't see much playing time unless he shows he's getting the mental aspects of the position. Some coaching staffs might throw a physically gifted rookie into the fire and let him learn on the fly, but our staff will not put Gates onto the field until they are happy with what they see in the meeting room from him. This is why I don't expect a rookie like Gates to be given as much of an opportunity as we'd all like, especially early on. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[thefranchisedef]

hartline isnt overrated... when he got injured henne crumbled.. take that into consideration

 

[MP-Omnis]

Yeah, man, Hartline gets open. Especially when the routes break down, Hartline is the best at getting open.

Also, Gates probably fell to the 4th round because he looks so glazed over all the time. His interviews are kinda like WOAH DUDE.

 

[dlockz]

Yeah, man, Hartline gets open. Especially when the routes break down, Hartline is the best at getting open.

Also, Gates probably fell to the 4th round because he looks so glazed over all the time. His interviews are kinda like WOAH DUDE.

i dont think he really fell most had him rated as a third to 4th round pick The only wr drafted over him that was perplexing was the kid from ga Durham.

 

[Mustangbee]

Disclaimer: This is all assuming Gates is anything even remotely close to what he has been in camp thus far. I realize he can be a dud but when you're outjumping Vontae and beating him on slant routes, it's definitely an early, good sign...


Bess is our short yardage receiver with the ability to keep the chains moving. Arguably, the best slot receiver in the game.
Marshall is our intermediate yardage receiver with amazing YAC ability. Arguably, one of the best receivers in the game.

And you're telling me Hartline is gonna be on the field with these two studs. He's considered our "burner" yet the guy isn't that fast. He's not the biggest guy either, he doesn't get much in the way of YAC and isn't the best route runner.. so who is he? what's his identity?

I see Hartline as a solid #4 receiver. He'll never wow you but he's solid. With the potential that Gates has been showing and the track speed this guy has, he's the burner that we had hoped we had in Ginn but Gates doesn't seem to shy away from contact or going over the middle on a slant route. Plus, the man can jump.

I see the Dolphins receivers similar to that of the Saints (especially with the addition of Reggie Bush)

Marshall = Marques Colston
Bess = Lance Moore/Reggie Bush, whoever was playing slot at the time
Gates = Devery Henderson -- and to me this is the kicker that really made the Saints offense extremely efficient, not allowing teams to double Colston all game long.

Marshall+Bess+Gates= Dynamic Trio
Marshall+Bess+Hartline= Solid Trio but Marshall will be doubled a lot as he was last year which isn't that big of a problem 'cause Marshall is still that damn good but Henne seems to shy away from the risky throws.

And just for kicks, imagine...

Marshall, Bess on one side.... Bush and Gates on the other.. Thats honestly insane for any defense to handle

Edit: I realize Henne is no Drew Brees lol but all these options can only help in the confidence and development of a young quarterback looking to improve.

Great post, but sparano and co. Not going for that hartline is their guy for now. Very interesting though

 

[Dolphin Dave]

It's way to soon to be calling for Gates to start over Hartline. We havent even played one single preseason game. Gates has raw speed and almost zero experience. His best role right now is to just run deep down the field and keep the safties back in 3 & 4 receiver sets. Also he needs a shot to see how he does returning punts and kicks. I think the guy is going to turn out to be a real gem but it is going to take some time to polish him to a bright shine.

 

[DevineU]

Roberto Wallace brings brandon marshall like qualities to the position, may turn out to be a bigger surprise for us then Gates right now, but who knows, let's see how the preseason goes

THIS! I believe Gates will provide us with an occasional, successful deep threat this year, and in years to come will just get better and better as he learns the game because he is so RAW. However, this Roberto Wallace cat... WATCH OUT. Just Sayin. Dude just gives me a feeling.