wide receiver skills

[Boomergump]

After reading the entire Brad Stewart thread (which I considered abbreviating to BS) I ask each of you to indulge me. Below, I have posted a list of critical WR skills. Taking good physical blocking skills as a given, place the following traits in order of importance for OUR OFFENSE. Do this without BS in mind specifically. Maybe this exercise will help us judge ALL future WR prospects more objectively.

A. Field stretching sprinter speed
B. Good hands
C. Getting separation out of breaks
D. Leaping ability
E. Body control and agility
F. Dominant physicality
G. Reading defenders
H. Football instincts
I. Open field running abilty

 

[bhoffman123]

If we group the traits , i would prioritize in the following categories

1. Catch the ball when thrown to you (B,D,E,F)
2. Skills that create space and allow the receiver to get open (C,A,G,H)
3. Skills that create yards after the catch (I,A,G,H)

 

[Dottie1145]

After reading the entire Brad Stewart thread (which I considered abbreviating to BS) I ask each of you to indulge me. Below, I have posted a list of critical WR skills. Taking good physical blocking skills as a given, place the following traits in order of importance for OUR OFFENSE. Do this without BS in mind specifically. Maybe this exercise will help us judge ALL future WR prospects more objectively.

A. Field stretching sprinter speed
B. Good hands
C. Getting separation out of breaks
D. Leaping ability
E. Body control and agility
F. Dominant physicality
G. Reading defenders
H. Football instincts
I. Open field running abilty

Philpott- A, C, D, E
Howell- A, B, C, F, I
Stewart- B, D, E, G, H, I
IMHO don't know enough about Christian or Harland. Just based on film.

 

[gtg936g]

B, D, E, F, H, C, I, A, G

In our offense our WRs need to win the 1-on-1 battles in press coverage. I am less concerned about explosion plays in the passing game. If we can throw it and catch it we will be fine IMO. The route does not need to be perfect to yield great results.

The WRs are my biggest area of concern this season on offense. Smelter really helped win the Clemson game with his back shoulder catches.

 

[danny daniel]

After reading the entire Brad Stewart thread (which I considered abbreviating to BS) I ask each of you to indulge me. Below, I have posted a list of critical WR skills. Taking good physical blocking skills as a given, place the following traits in order of importance for OUR OFFENSE. Do this without BS in mind specifically. Maybe this exercise will help us judge ALL future WR prospects more objectively.

A. Field stretching sprinter speed
B. Good hands
C. Getting separation out of breaks
D. Leaping ability
E. Body control and agility
F. Dominant physicality
G. Reading defenders
H. Football instincts
I. Open field running abilty

Good list. I would add J: how to land or hit the ground after the leap and grab without getting hurt, and maintaining control of the ball. Hill had trouble with this early in his career and I often see other receivers cough up the ball on ground impact after making what looks like a great grab. Smelter on the other hand had no fear of the landing and I never saw him cough up the ball on ground impact after the catch.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

As just a WR catching the ball, I agree. As a GT football player, blocking like Smelter did is crucial for the O as a whole on the vast majority of the plays.

 

[Skeptic]

After reading the entire Brad Stewart thread (which I considered abbreviating to BS) I ask each of you to indulge me. Below, I have posted a list of critical WR skills. Taking good physical blocking skills as a given, place the following traits in order of importance for OUR OFFENSE. Do this without BS in mind specifically. Maybe this exercise will help us judge ALL future WR prospects more objectively.

A. Field stretching sprinter speed
B. Good hands
C. Getting separation out of breaks
D. Leaping ability
E. Body control and agility
F. Dominant physicality
G. Reading defenders
H. Football instincts
I. Open field running abilty

Great exercise. And a good way to expose us nincompoops. A,G,C,F,B,E,F,H,I. Seems to me our passing offense is built on going deep, and receivers have to be able to get down there and loose, and lastly, if that happens, maybe open field running is not as important as the others. Be interested to see the others. Good post. And a great Brad Stewart line.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I think sprinter speed is a good bit down the list. I'd put physicality and reading defenses near the top.

 

[DTGT]

Priority list for GT WRs:

1) Smash DB
2) Smash S/LB
3) MOAR downfield Smashing
4) Catch ball

Our prototypical WR based on these priorities is:

 

[cuttysark]

The primary requirement for a WR in the triple option offense is the TEAM attitude displayed by Smelter entering training camp last season when CPJ hear him say on the first day: "I can't wait for that first crackback block!"

Everything else flows from that statement alone.

 

[InsideLB]

Priority list for GT WRs:

1) Smash DB
2) Smash S/LB
3) MOAR downfield Smashing
4) Catch ball

Our prototypical WR based on these priorities is:

That's a really rare play for an OL to make. Thanks for posting that....I'd forgotten all about it! Our OL can really move!

 

[AE 87]

The primary requirement for a WR in the triple option offense is the TEAM attitude displayed by Smelter entering training camp last season when CPJ hear him say on the first day: "I can't wait for that first crackback block!"

Everything else flows from that statement alone.

Seriously, doesn't some small part of you suspect cpj missed the sarcasm?

 

[Boomergump]

[QUOTis="Boomergump, post: 157593, member: 639"]After reading the entire Brad Stewart thread (which I considered abbreviating to BS) I ask each of you to indulge me. Below, I have posted a list of critical WR skills. Taking good physical blocking skills as a given, place the following traits in order of importance for OUR OFFENSE. Do this without BS in mind specifically. Maybe this exercise will help us judge ALL future WR prospects more objectively.

A. Field stretching sprinter speed
B. Good hands
C. Getting separation out of breaks
D. Leaping ability
E. Body control and agility
F. Dominant physicality
G. Reading defenders
H. Football instincts
I. Open field running abilty[/QUOTE]
Here is my order of importance:
BEFGDCHAI

Look, they are all important qualities. But this is how I rank them. So, according to the list, how do the guys in the program stack up?

 

[ilovetheoption]

B,E. Then a pretty big gap, actually. Those two are are by far the most important, to me.

Then F,H,A,D,G,I,C

 

[TechPhi97]

As just a WR catching the ball, I agree. As a GT football player, blocking like Smelter did is crucial for the O as a whole on the vast majority of the plays.

I think dominant physicality should be 1 or 2. I watch almost all games on TV, so hearing them direct our WR has been interesting. Because we face a lot of one-on-one coverage, the ability to dominate the CB at the line creates the space needed to break a big play. We also throw a lot of balls where the ability to muscle a DB to maintain your position is key. How many times did Smelter use his body to free his hands to make catches? A bunch. Our WR screen plays have been lost effective with DT, who physically dominated CBs to gain huge yards on that play.

And I haven't even mentioned run blocking. The WRs are like the Queen in chess - you can move them into space and attack from different angles. A great physical WR can make a DB hear footsteps, creating enough of a hesitation to allow our RBs to break huge gains. Edge blocking is the difference between an 8 yard play and an 80 yard play..

In short, dominant physicality at the WR position serves our offense in so many ways that i think it's a Top 2 trait.

 

[RocketJacket]

For me it's:
BFDAEGCHI

GT WRs need to be able to make clutch catches even if covered. That's why hands and physicality are my top 2. Leaping ability is also related. Speed helps keep the safeties honest, so that also a big one IMO, but isn't necessarily required for success. Kind of a recommended luxury, if you will.

 

[InsideLB]

Great post Boomer. Seems like also different guys with certain different groupings can be successful in our offense.

In our offense I think there is a place for a guy--as long as he can block--who is a burner and can stretch the field but isn't necessarily a big physical possession receiver/jump ball guy also. I mean it's awesome if you have a guy like Bebe who has most all the qualities of Boomer's list. But those guys don't grow on trees. Summers is sort of like this. We really haven't had a guy like this yet at GT because we've had bigger posession type guys. But IMO there's a place for this type of guy in the offense.

By the same token there's also a place in our offense for a slower physical possession guy who can leap, as long as he's fast enough/slick enough/physical enough to fake a block and get behind a DB in single coverage--at least long enough to get the ball. As far as I can tell Messick & Jeune are more of this type receiver. Smelter was like this but Smelter had some serious explosion to him that--while not a burner--made him very dynamic. My limited intellect projects Howell and Stewart in this category as well. Jeff Greene and Darren Waller were this category but also fading into the next category:

The crossover type reciever--the rare burner who is also big and physical. Philpott is kind of unique because he's a burner with a big frame so as a PROSPECT he has serious upside like Stephen Hill or Bebe who are also in this category. But like all prospects it depends on a lot of different factors as to what their ceiling ends up being in their career.

Will be interesting to see how it all works out. We've have some big likely looking receivers and prospects!

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

If we group the traits , i would prioritize in the following categories

1. Catch the ball when thrown to you

This! If you can't do this, the rest doesn't matter.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

We need kids who can block and catch, period. However they do it, it doesn't matter.

 

[awbuzz]

B. Good hands - If you can't catch, then why are you playing WR(???)
G. Reading defenders - Need to know "what" they are looking at so you can play off of it to your advantage
H. Football instincts - Kind of ties in with G above
C. Getting separation out of breaks - need to be able to get "open" (see G above)

E. Body control and agility - need to be able to pinball and not fall down
F. Dominant physicality
D. Leaping ability - probably can't do this w/o E and F above
A. Field stretching sprinter speed - While nice, if you can't catch, who cares!
I. Open field running ability - Ties in with G, E and H above. But if you can catch the ball 10, 20, 25, etc. yards down field then job is 90+% done on a pass play.