Dragonborn10 Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 What if Tasker played today? Is there a chance he is as good as Wes Welker? I don't think he was ever as quick as Welker. I don't recall him dropping any of the few balls thrown his way though. Does he start in a three WR set in the slot? Kelly always said he couldn't be covered in practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrags Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 He was over rated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hplarrm Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 He was over rated. In what way was he overrated? IMHO he has been judged to be a player who was truly special at special teams and who was a valuable back-up at WR but never was judged to be of such quality as a WR that he allowed or even forced the team to make him a starting WR. Do you rate him in some other way (and I think I and many others would want to see some specifics if you rate him to be a better or worse player than the judgment I express above or that other folks falsely rate him as being better than the description of him I state above. While some fans may have wanted him to start at WR, this was never a view expressed by the actual Bills and their coaching brain trust who never seriously seemed to bbe headed in the direction of sitting down Moulds, Lofton or even #3 WR Don Beebe in favor of Tasker. Claiming that he was overrated by a few fans (or even his buddy Jim Kelly does not mean that he was generally rated a starter because the facts are he was not by the folks really in charge. In terms of him being a special special teams player there is also objective evidence of this. He was that rare player who not specialized n one aspect of ST play, but was a recognized leader with demonstrable skills as a gunner on kick coverage, as a sure-handed return guy and even as a hands guy capable of returning kicks. As a gunner he forced teams to gameplan for him and even better he forced the NFL to establish rules for him because he was so effective as a gunner. He honestly has been a finalist for the HOF because he was a special special teamer but if he was generally overrated he would be in the HOF so the fact he is not in means he never rated as being one of the best overall there ever was. The general rating he has received as a special teams player is justified by objective evidence and the facts he was never made a starter at WR in his career and that he has never made the HOF are evidence that the broader league never incoorectly labeled him as starter WR quality or as one of the best football players ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martifal Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Late in his career Steve Tasker did actually start at WR for the Bills, IMHO he was pretty damn good at it too. I thought he proved what Jim Kelly had said about him all along he was hard to cover, although late in his career physically he didn't hold up well, you could see he would have been a pretty effective slot receiver had that been the path his career had taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 What if Marv never picked him up off the waiver wire (IIRC) from Houston? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I don't remember his change of direction as good as Welker. He was a great ST player though. He'll never make the HOF, but glad he was on our team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firemedic Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Steve Tasker was certainly one of the top 3 special teams players if not the best of all time, definately HOF worthy. Part of the decision process of not playing him at WR may have had to do with how valuable he was at ST. I would not want him getting hurt at WR, especially with how stacked the team was at WR. Gunning, punt/kick blocking were game changing plays for us..........(would like to have seen what he could do in a Welker role, though............) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Tasker changed the Special Teams game. The League made a rule to counter what he very creatively did. There aren't many players that The League makes a rule about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonborn10 Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 Agree that his special teams play and overall contribution to the team is overrated. No way is he a HOF player unless they have a special year and create a special section for kickers/punters/return players and gunners. There are far better kickers and punters that meant more to their team than Tasker did for the Bills. My point of this thread was that Tasker was never given much of a chance to play WR. But with the increased passing now, the four and five wide sets, all the underneath routes, I think he would have been a far greater WR threat than he ever was in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 what kind of fine would this be today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Bills Fan Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 (edited) Tasker was a great player and a leader and and part of the core of a team loaded with HOF talent. He was usefull in so many ways but I definitely feel he changed what special teams was all about. I recall that Parcells held special drill prior to the super bowl that were called "Tasker Drill" specially designed to marginalized him. That speaks volumes about how highly valuable he was and respected. He was succesful despite the odds against a guy of that stature excelling. Tenacity drove him. He made other guys better. He made plays that would break open games. He will always be in the list of my favorite Bills. The HOF will not come calling, put if they ever put a special teamers wing in Cantin he woukd be the main exhibit. Edited June 29, 2014 by SF Bills Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaccof Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Over-rated? You're kidding right? If any pure special teams player makes it to the HOF it will be Tasker. Back to the Dragonborn 10's premise - could Tasker start at WR in today's game? I think he could but I don't think he'd be at the level of a Wes Welker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldNMBillsFan Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 It would have been interesting if Marv did let Tasker play at the WR position. It was reported at the time, that Jim had asked Marv to let Tasker play the WR position. Marv refused, for fear of him getting injured and not being able to play on special teams. Think about it. Steve was the best gunner at that time; he constantly had 2 jamming him at the line of scrimmage and he still made the plays. With his speed, quickness and ability to get off the line, I think he would have been an above average receiver if given the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swnybillsfan Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GHtAWiH9BQ what kind of fine would this be today? that looks to be of the $25,000 variety, maybe even a game or two off as well. head down, full speed, crown of the helmet. the only saving grace is that is was not helmet to helmet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFanM.D. Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 What if Marv never picked him up off the waiver wire (IIRC) from Houston? Ed McMahon voice: Yes...you are correct sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 that looks to be of the $25,000 variety, maybe even a game or two off as well. head down, full speed, crown of the helmet. the only saving grace is that is was not helmet to helmet. That looked like a good, clean, hit, even by today's standards. While it is true Tasker leads with his helmet, it looked to me like he hit Turner squarely in the chest...not the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmur66 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 The better question is could Welker ever be like Tasker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gasjuggler Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I think he would have been very good in the slot. Reliable hands and fast. There was a time he was the fastest man on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 In what way was he overrated? IMHO he has been judged to be a player who was truly special at special teams and who was a valuable back-up at WR but never was judged to be of such quality as a WR that he allowed or even forced the team to make him a starting WR. He's overrated when people start threads comparing him to Wes Welker -- a guy who currently sits between Steve Smith and Larry Fitzgerald on the all time receptions list and will probably finish his career in the top 10 all-time. To suggest Tasker was even in the same universe based on nothing other than a supposed comment Kelly once made about practice is ludicrous. Tasker was NOT a valuable back-up at WR. He caught a grand total of 49 passes in a Bills uniform, one less than Sam Gash. Tasker was an excellent special teams player, but a guy covering kicks doesn't change the game like a guy who can run them back for touchdowns. I saw Devin Hester change a lot more games than Tasker ever did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swnybillsfan Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 That looked like a good, clean, hit, even by today's standards. While it is true Tasker leads with his helmet, it looked to me like he hit Turner squarely in the chest...not the head. isn't the act of leading with the crown of your helmet, regardless of whether or not it is helmet to helmet, an illegal hit? i am not completely up on all of my contact rules, so i may be very wrong here. He's overrated when people start threads comparing him to Wes Welker -- a guy who currently sits between Steve Smith and Larry Fitzgerald on the all time receptions list and will probably finish his career in the top 10 all-time. To suggest Tasker was even in the same universe based on nothing other than a supposed comment Kelly once made about practice is ludicrous. Tasker was NOT a valuable back-up at WR. He caught a grand total of 49 passes in a Bills uniform, one less than Sam Gash. Tasker was an excellent special teams player, but a guy covering kicks doesn't change the game like a guy who can run them back for touchdowns. I saw Devin Hester change a lot more games than Tasker ever did. but, if a guy covering the kick never gives a guy a chance to break a big return, that changes a game in a way you might not really be able to notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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