Dolphins have big plans for three of last year’s rookies | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Dolphins have big plans for three of last year’s rookies

Valandui said:
Everyone knew Gates was a project coming in and they never threw the ball to him on top of that. I don't know what anyone exepected.
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Exactly. When we drafted him, wasn't the concensus belief around here "He's a bit of a project player, but he's got speed. Watch out, in a few years he's going to be dangerous."

Seriously, was anyone expecting him to be great his first year?
 
traptses said:
Exactly. When we drafted him, wasn't the concensus belief around here "He's a bit of a project player, but he's got speed. Watch out, in a few years he's going to be dangerous."

Seriously, was anyone expecting him to be great his first year?
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also, he really started to put together some nice returns towards the end of the year. let's hope he continues to improve like that
 
rent this space said:
also, he really started to put together some nice returns towards the end of the year. let's hope he continues to improve like that
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I can only think of one... I believe it was a 67 or 77 yarder, one of the few times I have actually seen him look to the sideline for some daylight...

to answer a few other questions from others, I did some research for another thread as far as offensive usage goes, while I can't say how many offensive plays gates had, I do know he had only 12 targets for the year....
 
2413fanphins said:
I can only think of one... I believe it was a 67 or 77 yarder, one of the few times I have actually seen him look to the sideline for some daylight...

to answer a few other questions from others, I did some research for another thread as far as offensive usage goes, while I can't say how many offensive plays gates had, I do know he had only 12 targets for the year....
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I remember a 40 yarder against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving and I think good one in the 2nd game against the Bills.
 
would have been nice if we had taken Denaris Moore instead
 
One of the problems I've had with Miami's offense in recent years is how they utilized Gates and Ginn. Running Gates on a shallow crossing route or quick hitch once or twice would have been helpful. If your 3 patters are the go, hitch and shallow crossing routes you don't have to be a great route runner. Not a single hitch or crossing route was thrown to Gates last year. I think the WCO offense will change that.
 
I don't think Sparano had any idea how to use anyone. I am very ecited to see how a real caoch is going to use Gates. I for one think he is going to be one of the most improved players on our team.
 
The only thing that ever impressed anyone about gates is his speed
 
Sirspud said:
Gates saw the field plenty last year, it was just hard to tell because he was so irrelevant.
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Gates showed no ability to stay vertical after first contact. He needs to add muscle to avoid the pinky tackles he experienced last year.
 
I dont expect anything out of either Thomas or Gates/ They were both horrible last year. Clay on the other hand could be something special!
 
agreed... clay can be a guy we can count on.

DT apparently is fragile all of a sudden, and gates, is fast. bad fast.. but fast is slow when you can't beat a man press... fast is slow, when you go down on first contact....
 
traptses said:
Exactly. When we drafted him, wasn't the concensus belief around here "He's a bit of a project player, but he's got speed. Watch out, in a few years he's going to be dangerous."

Seriously, was anyone expecting him to be great his first year?
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One thing I did expect out of him, was to not go down when a defender got a pinky on him.
 
i expect bigger things from all 3 guys this year also...although i'm not sure charles clay is ever gonna be a real seam buster...i still think we're missing that piece
 
Nawledge said:
Really? He saw the field plenty? Id like to know how many offensive plays he was in on(not kick returns)...I bet its not many.
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Don't know how many plays exactly he was in, but I can find stats that say 12 passes were thrown his way and only two were completed. 17 percent catch percentage isn't even a third of what NFL receivers should do.

Marlon Moore, Brandon London, Roberto Wallace, and Gates have all been project players that have (believe it or not) snuck into a fair amount of passing plays as seasons were winding down, and yet none of them were able to do more than a token play because they lack the essential skill for an NFL receiver; the ability to put oneself in position to catch a darn football. It's part route running, part awareness, and part adjusting your body and stride if a pass has been thrown. None of these guys have had more than one of those three, which is why they are nothing while guys nearly a half second slower can stay in the league for years because they have these things.
 
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