WR group

[Cuse181]

That’s what they are though, they’re scrimmages that count on our record. We can call almost any play in our playbook and it’ll work. What I want to see is those players you mentioned plus Jones, in a situation where every play isn’t going to work and they’re not getting 5 yards of separation on a simple in route.. How do they respond when the players they’re going against can match them physically? We don’t know, because they’ve never done it. Does that mean they’re bad? No. I think it’s a talented group, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’ve never seen them do these things against peer competition.

Players get better over time, if they didnt then you’d never keep players past their first year. I have a hard time believing no one in the receiver room improved. Are the as good as OG? No, but they’re playing against good competition in practice everyday and should be improving.

 

[TheHaze315]

Players get better over time, if they didnt then you’d never keep players past their first year. I have a hard time believing no one in the receiver room improved. Are the as good as OG? No, but they’re playing against good competition in practice everyday and should be improving.

I agree I think they improved too, there seems to be a misconception with what my point is in this particular thread. In no way am I trying to diminish or downplay the talent in our WR room. I think we have a lot of talent and potential in the room. Donovan Brown is one of my favorite looking WRs we’ve had just from an athleticism perspective. My point in all of this is I’m not ready to crown these guys as a group that will instill fear in our opponents yet like others here are, and the reason I’m not is because we’ve only seen them do it against secondaries that could not keep up with them if their life depended on it. I hope the strides they made in the off-season continue to show up as the competition gets stiffer, if OG is out long term our offensive success really rides on it. I think this group will undoubtedly be a problem for almost any secondary in the future, but are they there right now? I just don’t know yet until we see them against better competition. I hope they are.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

The Alford drop last weekend was inexcusable and benchable imo (based on his history of inconsistency). When guys around you are stepping up and making plays you better not drop another one like that.

And he made an amazing catch where it was out of bounds and there was no way to keep it in but Alford somehow made it close. He does that every game and almost brings in a ball thats way OB from GS.

I'll put up with the bad drop every now and then all WRs have them hes off to a good start and can fill in for OG. Especially this week on the road.

 

[Trueblue25]

Jones is the plug and play for Oronde, not Alford.

Alford has to step it up. Players like Long and Gill are waiting for their shot.

 

[money3189]

Wr room is developing but they all have a lot to prove vs P5 comp. It doesn't matter if they are a vet or a newbie.

 

[PhatOrange]

And he made an amazing catch where it was out of bounds and there was no way to keep it in but Alford somehow made it close. He does that every game and almost brings in a ball thats way OB from GS.

I'll put up with the bad drop every now and then all WRs have them hes off to a good start and can fill in for OG. Especially this week on the road.

Jones is going to fill OGs spot.

Regarding Alford, he unfortunately is not consistent and that is his undoing. You can't make a highlight catch followed up by a bad drop. Guys will take your job when you drop TD passes. I've yet to see Hatcher, Brown or Gill drop a catchable ball and both Hatcher/Brown have made grabs they shouldn't have.

 

[AAM62]

Anyone have any guesses for how long OG is out?

 

[upperdeck]

Anyone have any guesses for how long OG is out?

if he is not a go this week I hope he takes next week off even if he is somewhat ready.

 

[shandeezy7]

Anyone have any guesses for how long OG is out?

My guess (assuming it's not season-ending, since every injury we have seems to be season-ending) is 4-6 weeks. The absolute earliest I'd expect to see him is for the UNC game. The fact that he was already dealing with an ankle issue and now injured his other ankle doesn't have me optimistic that this is a 1-2 week thing.

 

[TheHaze315]

Wr room is developing but they all have a lot to prove vs P5 comp. It doesn't matter if they are a vet or a newbie.

 

[jr4750]

Jones is going to fill OGs spot.

Regarding Alford, he unfortunately is not consistent and that is his undoing. You can't make a highlight catch followed up by a bad drop. Guys will take your job when you drop TD passes. I've yet to see Hatcher, Brown or Gill drop a catchable ball and both Hatcher/Brown have made grabs they shouldn't have.

I noticed Jones in late last week, and my assumption was it was to get him reps in OG's spot. He seemed to line up and move as OG is used.

 

[kcsu]

I thought Jones was as good as OG before his injury. Hes a player

 

[CbusCuse]

Alford's flaws are he loses concentration on some easy ones every once in a while and he is not a great route runner. He doesn't seem to get good separation all that often. Obviously there are times he's running free due to bad defense etc. He obviously has great size and leaping ability and is pretty fast. He does have pretty good hands though in that he can make a fair amount of tough catches even though he may not be wide open. In interviews Shrader has praised him for making great catches nearly everyday throughout fall camp. He seems to be the receiver Shrader commented on the most. So we can't just discount his game because he dropped an easy ball. He is a pretty good blocker with his size. Though with OG out i'd prefer Isaiah Jones be the #1 target. Alford doesn't get enough seperation for a #1 in my opinion. I'd like to see him be more physical. He should be manhandling DB's a bit more. I like Jones all around game the best at the moment. But we have quite a few options. Hatcher is getting better and better. Still may need to get a bit stronger to be a solid #1 in my opinion.

 

[GoSU96]

Alford's flaws are he loses concentration on some easy ones every once in a while and he is not a great route runner. He doesn't seem to get good separation all that often. Obviously there is times he's running free due to bad defense etc. He obviously has great size and leaping ability and is pretty fast. He does have pretty good hands though in that he can make a fair amount of tough catches even though he may not be wide open. In interviews Shrader has praised him for making great catches nearly everyday throughout fall camp. He seems to be the receiver Shrader commented on the most. So we can't just discount his game because he dropped an easy ball. He is a pretty good blocker with his size. Though with OG out i'd prefer Isaiah Jones be the #1 target. Alford doesn't get enough seperation for a #1 in my opinion. I'd like to see him be more physical. He should be manhandling DB's a bit more. I like Jones all around game the best at the moment. But we have quite a few options. Hatcher is getting better and better. Still may need to get a bit stronger to be a solid #1 in my opinion.

He should have made the catch, but that wasn’t necessarily an easy catch. Running away and reaching to catch a ball that is at hip level and not coming into your body is not all that easy, even uncontested. It‘s not a natural catch or one you would practice that much.

 

[bigmike]

Gonna give Mr. Alford a pass for last week, and hope it doesn’t happen again. Please note that I’m a glass half full guy - so there’s that.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

He should have made the catch, but that wasn’t necessarily an easy catch. Running away and reaching to catch a ball that is at hip level and not coming into your body is not all that easy, even uncontested. It‘s not a natural catch or one you would practice that much.

I agree with this.

But also... when I saw the drop and realized it was Alford, it didn't surprise me.

Which isn't great.

 

[Chip]

I agree with this.

But also... when I saw the drop and realized it was Alford, it didn't surprise me.

Which isn't great.

Does he really drop a lot of passes, and I'm misremembering?

I always thought his inconsistency stemmed from probably not getting open, since he just wouldn't be much of a presence in games (until one big catch).

Just don't recall him being a guy with a case of the dropsies.

 

[RF2044]

Does he really drop a lot of passes, and I'm misremembering?

I always thought his inconsistency stemmed from probably not getting open, since he just wouldn't be much of a presence in games (until one big catch).

Just don't recall him being a guy with a case of the dropsies.

Agreed. He's got terrific hands, and makes lots of difficult grabs.

The inconsistency was more about production, versus making only 1 or 2 catches per game.

This year, he's more dialed in with Shrader, which has led to him being targeted more. That chemistry has lot to increased production.

 

[GoSU96]

Does he really drop a lot of passes, and I'm misremembering?

I always thought his inconsistency stemmed from probably not getting open, since he just wouldn't be much of a presence in games (until one big catch).

Just don't recall him being a guy with a case of the dropsies.

He hasn’t gotten the volume of catches people seem to want.

 

[Chip]

He hasn’t gotten the volume of catches people seem to want.

I'm not judging people's opinion on that. I'm hoping he'll have a Johnnie Morant type light bulb go off.

I just felt like people were thinking that drop was part of some ongoing issue, and I just couldn't remember that being the problem at all.

I do worry that it can become mental, so just hoping that was a one time thing.

 

[CbusCuse]

Does he really drop a lot of passes, and I'm misremembering?

I always thought his inconsistency stemmed from probably not getting open, since he just wouldn't be much of a presence in games (until one big catch).

Just don't recall him being a guy with a case of the dropsies.

You may be right but i'm pretty sure I seem to remember him dropping an easy one at least once before. I don't remember the time specifically but that's why i wasn't surprised when it happened. I think its happened before. He doesn't have all that many catches in his career so % of drops has to mean something there. He's only had 38 catches in his career. But agree his main weakness is getting separation in routes leading to less catches.

 

[GoSU96]

I'm not judging people's opinion on that. I'm hoping he'll have a Johnnie Morant type light bulb go off.

I just felt like people were thinking that drop was part of some ongoing issue, and I just couldn't remember that being the problem at all.

I do worry that it can become mental, so just hoping that was a one time thing.

He came right back with that contested sideline catch for a first down.

and later did catch a ball that Shrader threw ob.

he hasn’t gotten that many snaps the first two games. The other guys are on try out.

 

[Cuse House]

It seems with Alford that he does best when he does not have time to think. He’s great in reaction situations where he is fighting for the ball. Two years ago he won us the Virginia Tech game with a difficult touchdown catch at the end of the game. WR is as much mental as physical. It appears when he’s wide open he’s thinking about the catch too much. I expect him to have a good game this week.

 

[CbusCuse]

It seems with Alford that he does best when he does not have time to think. He’s great in reaction situations where he is fighting for the ball. Two years ago he won us the Virginia Tech game with a difficult touchdown catch at the end of the game. WR is as much mental as physical. It appears when he’s wide open he’s thinking about the catch too much. I expect him to have a good game this week.

Not sure on that. I kind of think he's like its a gimme and lacks concentration in those situations.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Does he really drop a lot of passes, and I'm misremembering?

I always thought his inconsistency stemmed from probably not getting open, since he just wouldn't be much of a presence in games (until one big catch).

Just don't recall him being a guy with a case of the dropsies.

He's had some but I don't know if it's at a greater rate than others. Which also might be kind of the point, he doesn't really get targeted much. Very likely I'm just biased because I've been skeptical of him and think he's more hype than realized talent.

My confidence is already higher in Jones, Hatcher, and Brown, and if Gill keeps trending, him too.

I know it's crazy because Alford does have some big catches (VT winner) but my confidence isn't super high throwing to him, and when I saw it was Alford that dropped it my feeling was more "welp, that'll happen with him sometimes."