Much Better Than Expected Receiving Corp.s

[Fried Baloney]

Could the Bills be poised to have one of the better receiving corps in the NFL in 2013? Obviously with only one (somewhat) proven starting receiver, and no proven QB, the idea is pretty silly, but it's something to discuss... I was watching that video by the Bills questioning who will be #2, then after looking a bit harder at some of these new guys I started to wonder (hope, dream, fantasize, etc.).

 

As we have yet to see Stevie paired with a true playoff team caliber #2. It creates the possibility for a ‘twofer’ if they can find a solid opposite. Stevie’s play could blossom significantly, and that would be a good thing. With TJ, it's that mind numbing phrase “receivers usually hit their stride in their 2^nd or 3^rd year...”. We know he has speed and he wasn’t too shabby last year. If he has learned to get off defenders better, the deep threat could be real. As for his new partner in speed Marquise Goodwin, he can at least stretch the field this season. In a 3-wide or 4-wide, who do you let get deep, TJ or Goodwin? There will be room underneath at times.

 

Thus, if just one of the other receivers comes up decent, this group gets better quick. Assuming Chandler returns to form as all indications suggest. Matching him with Stevie and say a fast maturing Robert Woods, and having TJ or Marquise clear out the underneath, could be fun. Now imagine (I know, there has to be lots of imagining…) we won the lottery and Da’Rick Rogers stays cool and lives up to his potential?

 

Obviously this is all nonsense unless Kolb or EJ can do anything. But Kolb can play, and he should have decent protection and a great running game. With less pressure he could be competent if given good receivers. If EJ wins the job he might find this group gives him some solid cover. They may not live up to their potential in such a case, but it could save EJ from looking horrible in this all important rookie season.

 

The point is I think there is a decent possibility the Bills receivers could surprise this year with their contributions.

[K-9]

I appreciate unbridled enthusiasm as well as anybody. 19-0, baby!

 

But I've got to see these guys play a down or two before I consider WR anything but a thin position, at best. And outside of SJ, it's Twiggy on a diet at the moment.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Edited July 13, 2013 by K-9

[....lybob]

I think we have improved talent at WR but will not likely get improved production - generally even future great WRs take a couple years to develop there are exceptions like Anquan Boldin who had a monster rookie year but I'd say the average is in the third season- some are even later bloomers as Reggie Wayne didn't have a 1000 yard until his 4th year and Andre Reed his 5th.

[ajzepp]

I think Robert Woods may have the polish to be productive in year one for sure, and listening to T.J. Graham on John Murphy's show a couple times this year has convinced me that he's ready to become an impact player, as well. Some of the other guys we'll have in camp are very intriguing, as well.

 

The one thought I seem to have continually is that the Bills finally got it right with regard to the coaching staff. I really believe the Marrone/Pettine/Hackett regime will end up being thoroughly effective and will allow us to finally get back to being able to compete with anyone. It's the perfect situation to have a bunch of young guys to groom...I think they'll develop more quickly than expected.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

If woods isn't ready to be a solid contributor and potentially a starter, it will be a bit of a disapointment considering the scouting reports nearly unanimously indicating he was solid and NFL ready.

 

TJ, Goodwin- we'll see if they can add the other parts of the game to great open field speed

 

Da'Rick could turn out to be a brilliant pick up.

 

As OP said though it's ultimately about the QB play, first and foremost.

[Buftex]

If woods isn't ready to be a solid contributor and potentially a starter, it will be a bit of a disapointment considering the scouting reports nearly unanimously indicating he was solid and NFL ready.

 

TJ, Goodwin- we'll see if they can add the other parts of the game to great open field speed

 

Da'Rick could turn out to be a brilliant pick up.

 

As OP said though it's ultimately about the QB play, first and foremost.

 

It's funny, about Woods. Over the last couple of weeks the PAC 12 network has been re-running a bunch of "best of 2012" games, a number of which included USC. Having only read about Woods, and never actually seeing him play (that I remember) I watched a fair amount of 3 games. Honestly, as a pass catcher, Woods didn't really stand out as much as I was expecting...it seemed like USC's passing game was mostly Barkley to Marquise Lee (he is very impressive!)...Woods receptions were mostly short passes to the sidelines, or just over the line of scrimmage for short yardage.

 

Where Woods really stood out, was in the physical aspects of the game....he really seems to enjoy mixing it up as a blocker, and making whatever contact necessary to make a short, tough, catch. He plays with an attitude that I can't recall any Bills receiver having in some time..maybe Eric Moulds (though he didn't look to have the big play potential of EM), before he resorted to just complaining about how he was interfered with on every play.

 

The "film study" also gave me a nice look at Nickel Robey...I am surprised he went undrafted. Kiko Alonso was very impressive in one game against USC. The kid is fast, and really seems to relish making a big hit.

[mitchmurraydowntown]

Da' Rick is big game, he just needs to keep his head on straight & we'll be pretty dope.

[leper65]

I'm really excited about our receivers this year too. Don't forget Chris Gragg at TE, he could cause some problems with his 4.5 speed.

[chris heff]

Woods is the key. He needs to play like a veteran. If he is as polished as advertised it will help the third and fourth WR and take preasure off Stevie. It could get interesting

[NoSaint]

Even if the rookies play well for rookies the group would likely qualify simply as good, not among the best. If anyone disappoints, or heaven forbid something happens to Stevie it could be worst in the league. High hopes but a big risk big reward type group

[BillsWatch]

Where Woods really stood out, was in the physical aspects of the game....he really seems to enjoy mixing it up as a blocker, and making whatever contact necessary to make a short, tough, catch. He plays with an attitude that I can't recall any Bills receiver having in some time..maybe Eric Moulds (though he didn't look to have the big play potential of EM), before he resorted to just complaining about how he was interfered with on every play.

 

If you are looking for a prior Bills WR for to aspire to in blocking it is not Moulds but Josh Reed who was also a 2nd round pick. He was one of the best WR blockers the Bills have had for a long time. I do hope he catches more balls and more TDs however and is not just a blocking WR.

[The Wiz]

If 2 out of 3 (Woods, Rogers, Goodwin) end up contributing to a point from above average to good, I'll consider it a great draft/UDFA signing.

 

We really can't expect these guys to be all-pro this early on but I see a lot of potential down the road and I like what our WR's are looking like.

Edited July 13, 2013 by The Wiz

[Whites Bay]

First off, welcome to the Wall. Strap yourself in.

 

As I've said in a prior post, I'm still not convinced Stevie Johnson is a bona fide Number One receiver. I'm not taking ANYTHING away from him, particularly given the atrocious QB (and play calling) situation over the last couple of years. The guy deserves a medal for what he's done. But we've all been barking for a legitimate Number Two for ages, and this year the Bills might actually have a solid #2, #3, #4...(keep going...). Johnson might end up at #3 by the time this season ends. This coaching staff has nothing invested in him. It's time to play your heart out, or end up on Special Teams.

 

My mystery player is Rogers. I'm probably buying into the story line, and bathing in Kool Aid. And I would forewarn anyone that the first few games are going to be brutal vis-a-vis the passing attack. But we could actually see the top get taken off a few defenses this year. And I don't mean crap defenses like Toledo or Air Force. You might see the Bills whip Baltimore pretty hard this year. No more Eight-in-the-box crap.

 

"Beautiful Boy" - John Lennon

[Rockinon]

If the tempo is as fast as advertised, this group could come out of the gate and surprise teams.

[BADOLBILZ]

At some point in their future the Bills will do what all teams that get turned around do and actually have a unit that was perceived as a weakness going into camp turn out to be a position of great strength.

 

But it hasn't happened like that in over a decade so I am going to agree with those who say it's a weakness.

 

The argument kinda' reminds me of the hype surrounding Turk Schonerts no-huddle offense which was supposed to be difficult to contain with Lee Evans on one side and TO on the other. Turns out that Trent Edwards was a disaster and the no huddle didn't survive training camp and the Bills passing offense wasn't just not good, but AWFUL.

[#34fan]

I think we have improved talent at WR but will not likely get improved production - generally even future great WRs take a couple years to develop there are exceptions like Anquan Boldin who had a monster rookie year but I'd say the average is in the third season- some are even later bloomers as Reggie Wayne didn't have a 1000 yard until his 4th year and Andre Reed his 5th.

 

I lean toward this conclusion as well. Rookie recievers have so much to get used to. -Pro routes... New QB... Game speed... Violence at the line of scrimmage. Few rooks can make the jump without struggling mightily.

 

That said, there's something about this Kaufman kid thats not the same as the others. One of the things I've observed as being key to a reciever's success, is wanting the ball in the first place. From his first preseason game, I knew Victor Cruz would be a star because of how bad he wanted the rock in his hands. He simply refused to let anyone else catch it. -A pass that was off by a few degrees was no problem. Victor went up and got it. -Traffic? Also not a problem because Victor will fight you for it.

 

Anquan definitely has the anytime, anyplace, mentality as well. Once that guy shows you his numbers, he's your best bet. Period.

 

Brandon Kaufmann isn't lightning-fast, or great at running complex routes, but the kid wants the rock in his hands above all else.

He was one of the few things that made watching EWU's lava-red turf bearable. It's been my observation that will power makes up for a multitiude of deficiencies. While Kaufmann has a ways to grow, I see possibilities in his game that are simply not present in most rookie wideouts. IF our WR corp proves to be impressive, I suspect BK will have a litle something to do with it.

[White Linen]

Obviously with only one (somewhat) proven starting receiver

 

I find this comment utterly ridiculous. You'll find it difficult to find many receivers with Stevie's consistent production.

[8-8 Forever?]

I appreciate unbridled enthusiasm as well as anybody. 19-0, baby!

 

But I've got to see these guys play a down or two before I consider WR anything but a thin position, at best. And outside of SJ, it's Twiggy on a diet at the moment.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Yep. Expansion team WR corps. Will they improve? Absolutely. Will the passing game be great this year? not a chance, especially if EJ starts from day 1. This is a complete restart people. Get used to it. They wlll improve and hopefully the upside is tremendous. but 2013 will be ugly. Too many first year NFL coaches and players at key positions. Sorry. it is what it is.

[Nanker]

I think most if not all of our TC WR cuts will be picked up by other teams this year.

 

You can look at this years squad as having an unproven QB and WRs, and think sheesh... we're gonna suck. Or you can realize that most of the new wideouts have far better speed than the guys that were thrown off the team.

 

Each of our three new QBs can throw the ball 50+ yards down field - which is something that Edwards, Fitzpatrick, Thigpen, Brohm, Holcomb, Brown could all only dream about.The era of stacking the box and making The Bills QB beat you with his noodle arm is over. O-VER!

 

Sure, they're going to be rookie mistakes, but they're going to be the kind like GB went through when they got Brett Favre from Atlanta.

 

We're going to be good. Real good. Real soon.

[BuffaloBillsMagic1]

If Woods is ready to be Prime Time then we will be real strong at WR.

[K-9]

Yep. Expansion team WR corps. Will they improve? Absolutely. Will the passing game be great this year? not a chance, especially if EJ starts from day 1. This is a complete restart people. Get used to it. They wlll improve and hopefully the upside is tremendous. but 2013 will be ugly. Too many first year NFL coaches and players at key positions. Sorry. it is what it is.

 

I have to agree with this.

 

I can accept ugly as a natural part of the process, like in '86, as long as I see steady improvement and the emergence of young leaders on the team. Guys like Kelly for instance, that weren't afraid to make the team their own in spite of the entrenched views of established veteran leadership. That means having the stones to tell a guy like Mario, whose personality doesn't lend itself to that kind of leadership, to get with the program from time to time.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Not at the table Karlos]

 

 

It's funny, about Woods. Over the last couple of weeks the PAC 12 network has been re-running a bunch of "best of 2012" games, a number of which included USC. Having only read about Woods, and never actually seeing him play (that I remember) I watched a fair amount of 3 games. Honestly, as a pass catcher, Woods didn't really stand out as much as I was expecting...it seemed like USC's passing game was mostly Barkley to Marquise Lee (he is very impressive!)...Woods receptions were mostly short passes to the sidelines, or just over the line of scrimmage for short yardage.

 

Where Woods really stood out, was in the physical aspects of the game....he really seems to enjoy mixing it up as a blocker, and making whatever contact necessary to make a short, tough, catch. He plays with an attitude that I can't recall any Bills receiver having in some time..maybe Eric Moulds (though he didn't look to have the big play potential of EM), before he resorted to just complaining about how he was interfered with on every play.

 

The "film study" also gave me a nice look at Nickel Robey...I am surprised he went undrafted. Kiko Alonso was very impressive in one game against USC. The kid is fast, and really seems to relish making a big hit.

 

Last season at USC it was the Barkley to Lee show. No one could run with Lee it wasn't even funny. If I were to compare woods to any receiver in the NFL it would have to be Stevie Johnson. Great release, great route runner, good to great hands. Blocks better than Stevie. Decent speed.