26CornerBlitz Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 6. ZAY JONES, WR, BUFFALO BILLS 2017 overall grade: 43.6 After both Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods walked out the door last offseason, in one way or another to Los Angeles, it became more clear that Zay Jones was in for a high-volume role at receiver in Buffalo. Year 1 certainly didn’t go as planned as Jones finished the season ranked 108th out of 116 qualified wide receivers in terms of overall grade and Bills’ quarterbacks had just a 60.8 passer rating when targeting him. Jones should fare better in Year 2 if he can rectify the drop issue that snuck up on him as a rookie. Jones dropped 5-of-32 catchable targets this past season, one year after he dropped just 6-of-164 catchable targets in his final campaign at ECU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolishDave Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Assuming the Bills end up acquiring some new receiver talent, I hope Jones bounces to receiver number 3 or 4 (at least until he proves himself). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Linen Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 This is one of the major reasons to not like Taylor as your teams QB. He's a development killer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Zay taking over the slot role would serve him well. I think his issues were more mental than anything else. If he learns from year 1 I think he can be a very good player in year 2. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCOrange Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) A major issue is that Zay made his living at ECU essentially on screens, digs, and quick slants; basically anything underneath. In Buffalo, he was used as the team's deep threat, which he has always struggled with dating back to ECU. It's no wonder that he struggled as a rookie; Buffalo played him to his weaknesses instead of using his strengths. This line from that PFF article is pretty incredible though: Jones dropped 5-of-32 catchable targets this past season, one year after he dropped just 6-of-164 catchable targets in his final campaign at ECU. Edited February 16, 2018 by DCOrange 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elroy16 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 3 minutes ago, ScottLaw said: Dude Zay sucked. He was awful and that is independent of Tyrod. Need to find another receiver opposite Benjamin. Zay had some trouble separating from corners and with drops. I'm sure having a torn labrum didn't help getting off press or catching tough passes. Saying he was awful is an exaggeration. WR isn't an easy position for college players to come and play at a high level right away, especially coming from a smaller school. He probably won't be a #1, but I think he can be a solid slot receiver. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Diver Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 he had a shoulder injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 12 minutes ago, billsfan89 said: Zay taking over the slot role would serve him well. I think his issues were more mental than anything else. If he learns from year 1 I think he can be a very good player in year 2. I said it early but Zay got the yips like a golfer gets. He just never recovered. As his mistakes compiled, the pressure grew and he just couldn’t get past it. He now has some relief for that and a semi-fresh start with a new OC. The Bills certainly can’t depend on him to be their #2 receiver. He can however be a big improvement over last year. I’m pretty confident in him (I’m not sure why). 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan130 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 1 hour ago, White Linen said: This is one of the major reasons to not like Taylor as your teams QB. He's a development killer. It’s Tyrods fault that he couldn’t create separation, dropped passes, and couldn’t come down with basically any 50/50 balls? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfod Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) So is this article suggesting he is gonna go to a different team like Woods and Goodwin did and have better numbers? I troll I troll. Huehuehue. Edited February 16, 2018 by Lfod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prissythecat Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 2 minutes ago, billsfan11 said: It’s Tyrods fault that he couldn’t create separation, dropped passes, and couldn’t come down with basically any 50/50 balls? Just have to read a lot of the past threads on Taylor. All the offensive problems were Taylor's fault Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan130 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 2 minutes ago, prissythecat said: Just have to read a lot of the past threads on Taylor. All the offensive problems were Taylor's fault Oh I know. The Bills offence were just full of all pros, TT was responsible for everything... lol I don’t want to turn it into a TT thread again, so I’ll get back to point. Jones had an awful year and he really needs to step it up next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddy KGB Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 5 minutes ago, prissythecat said: Just have to read a lot of the past threads on Taylor. All the offensive problems were Taylor's fault Correct Zay will be just fine with our new QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfod Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 3 minutes ago, prissythecat said: Just have to read a lot of the past threads on Taylor. All the offensive problems were Taylor's fault I know right it's Peterman and Dennisons fault Tyrod got benched and then put up 3 points in the playoffs huehuehue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Just now, billsfan11 said: Oh I know. The Bills offence were just full of all pros, TT was responsible for everything... lol I don’t want to turn it into a TT thread again, so I’ll get back to point. Jones had an awful year and he really needs to step it up next year I know - Matthews was hurt his entire time here... Deonte Thompson was a UDFA in 2012, and is on his 2nd stint with the team... Benjamin was a midseason acquisition, and hurt his knee so he missed some time and never got fully integrated with the offense... Even Zay had a shoulder injury. Tyrod was bad, but we also had some of the worst WRs in the NFL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 29 minutes ago, billsfan89 said: Zay taking over the slot role would serve him well. I think his issues were more mental than anything else. If he learns from year 1 I think he can be a very good player in year 2. Good assessment. I hope they use him in exactly that capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCOrange Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 17 minutes ago, elroy16 said: Zay had some trouble separating from corners and with drops. I'm sure having a torn labrum didn't help getting off press or catching tough passes. Saying he was awful is an exaggeration. WR isn't an easy position for college players to come and play at a high level right away, especially coming from a smaller school. He probably won't be a #1, but I think he can be a solid slot receiver. It's really not. He was objectively awful last season. That doesn't mean he can't improve though. Considering the Bills used him in all the situations that he struggled with in college plus the apparent shoulder injury, there's certainly reason to believe he can improve a substantial amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan130 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 4 minutes ago, dneveu said: I know - Matthews was hurt his entire time here... Deonte Thompson was a UDFA in 2012, and is on his 2nd stint with the team... Benjamin was a midseason acquisition, and hurt his knee so he missed some time and never got fully integrated with the offense... Even Zay had a shoulder injury. Tyrod was bad, but we also had some of the worst WRs in the NFL. This pretty much sums it up perfectly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Lfod said: I know right it's Peterman and Dennisons fault Tyrod got benched and then put up 3 points in the playoffs huehuehue. Same or similar players had us 10th in points and 16th in yards in 2016. This year we were 22nd in points in 29th in yards. So yes - I blame Dennison. He made the team worse and I'm glad he was fired. Red zone TD scoring - 64.81% in 2016 to 51.11% in 2017 Rushing YPA - 5.3 in 2016 to 4.1 in 2017 We were even worse at passing... 5.4 NYA in 2017 16 TDs and 10 picks 5.8 NYA in 2016 17 TDs and 7 picks Same RB, TE, QB, most of the O-line. And significantly worse results. What did we get better at under Dennison? Edited February 16, 2018 by dneveu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 he can't get much worse. literally. he won't be playing if he doesn't "bounce back" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolishDave Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 PLEASE GOD don't let this devolve into another friggin Tyrod thread. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 1 minute ago, kdiggz said: he can't get much worse. literally. he won't be playing if he doesn't "bounce back" Yeah, there were the obvious drops. Then there were ones where he just couldn't make a play on a tough pass. Not everything is going to be right in the bread basket. Most aren't. He didn't show an ability to make tough catches, and that's a concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 2 minutes ago, PolishDave said: PLEASE GOD don't let this devolve into another friggin Tyrod thread. That would call for a thread deletion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfod Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) 7 minutes ago, dneveu said: Same or similar players had us 10th in points and 16th in yards in 2016. This year we were 22nd in points in 29th in yards. So yes - I blame Dennison. He made the team worse and I'm glad he was fired. Red zone TD scoring - 64.81% in 2016 to 51.11% in 2017 Rushing YPA - 5.3 in 2016 to 4.1 in 2017 We were even worse at passing... 5.4 NYA in 2017 16 TDs and 10 picks 5.8 NYA in 2016 17 TDs and 7 picks Same RB, TE, QB, most of the O-line. And significantly worse results. What did we get better at under Dennison? I wouldn't disagree. Dennison was to blame. I don't think that absolves everybody of everything. Some of the problems should fall into the category of execution. We had a good run game. Shady was a beast until 8 men in the box. Edited February 16, 2018 by Lfod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 13 minutes ago, Lfod said: I know right it's Peterman and Dennisons fault Tyrod got benched and then put up 3 points in the playoffs huehuehue. FWIW, I think that the Bills put a lot of blame at Dennison’s feet. They fired him. Is that not an obvious sign that they weren’t happy with the job that he was doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloRush Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 1 hour ago, 26CornerBlitz said: 6. ZAY JONES, WR, BUFFALO BILLS 2017 overall grade: 43.6 After both Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods walked out the door last offseason, in one way or another to Los Angeles, it became more clear that Zay Jones was in for a high-volume role at receiver in Buffalo. Year 1 certainly didn’t go as planned as Jones finished the season ranked 108th out of 116 qualified wide receivers in terms of overall grade and Bills’ quarterbacks had just a 60.8 passer rating when targeting him. Jones should fare better in Year 2 if he can rectify the drop issue that snuck up on him as a rookie. Jones dropped 5-of-32 catchable targets this past season, one year after he dropped just 6-of-164 catchable targets in his final campaign at ECU. Call me crazy but I think his is 100% spot on. I think a move to the slot would be best. He is not an outside WR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 24 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said: I said it early but Zay got the yips like a golfer gets. He just never recovered. Never? I don't recall many drops in the final 4-or-so games of the season. In fact I recall a few nice catches in there. Come on, say it with me, "Zay will be fine". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfod Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said: FWIW, I think that the Bills put a lot of blame at Dennison’s feet. They fired him. Is that not an obvious sign that they weren’t happy with the job that he was doing? I agree but I would also say at least a part of it was on execution. We had a strong run game untill 8 men hit the box. I love Shady but I can't expect him to be the only weapon. Who is to say that Daboll wasn't the plan in waiting and Dennison wasn't a stop gap himself. It's possible right? Edited February 16, 2018 by Lfod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 He's already excited about the 2018 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolishDave Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) 2 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said: He's already excited about the 2018 season. Tre White is a better dancer. Edited February 16, 2018 by PolishDave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 I firmly believe that Zay is gonna get it together in year 2 There was nothing from his college career that would indicate that he has this problem......he is a slot guy and needs to play there 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan130 Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 6 minutes ago, BillnutinHouston said: Never? I don't recall many drops in the final 4-or-so games of the season. In fact I recall a few nice catches in there. Come on, say it with me, "Zay will be fine". In the final four games, Zay Jones had 2 receptions for 25 yards on 13 targets... Can you get worse than that for a number 2-3 receiver on the depth chart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transplantbillsfan Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 2 hours ago, White Linen said: This is one of the major reasons to not like Taylor as your teams QB. He's a development killer. Or our crappy WR corps is a development killer for our QB. Let's hope that regardless of who's under center our WRs are drastically better next year. A healthy KB will be a fantastic start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) 44 minutes ago, BillnutinHouston said: Never? I don't recall many drops in the final 4-or-so games of the season. In fact I recall a few nice catches in there. Come on, say it with me, "Zay will be fine". He caught 4 balls after week 10 on 13 targets. He had 47 yards. We didn’t notice him because they lost confidence in him and stopped throwing him the ball. He had 6 total targets over the last 4 weeks. He might be fine but he didn’t come around. Edited February 16, 2018 by Kirby Jackson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmuggs Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 Stone hands had a record year of embarrassment. There is is no way to go but up. He is hanging by a thread though and will be replaced if his nerves continue to hinder his production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProcessAccepted Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 1 hour ago, ScottLaw said: Dude Zay sucked. He was awful and that is independent of Tyrod. Need to find another receiver opposite Benjamin. I'll agree that his rookie campaign was not steller, but it's way too soon to write him off. There's a ton of examples of guys not fully getting it till year 3. One of my all time favorite WRs is Eric Moulds and it took him 3 years to crack 300 yards. Zay has the talent to be a really good WR in this league. If your patient you'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 38 minutes ago, Lfod said: I agree but I would also say at least a part of it was on execution. We had a strong run game untill 8 men hit the box. I love Shady but I can't expect him to be the only weapon. Who is to say that Daboll wasn't the plan in waiting and Dennison wasn't a stop gap himself. It's possible right? Certainly it is possible. I was replying to the sarcastic implication that “it was Dennison’s fault.” The Bills CLEARLY felt that he was a large part of the problem. He was there 1 year and canned. That wasn’t a scapegoat move. That was a “you did a bad job” move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 1 minute ago, ProcessAccepted said: I'll agree that his rookie campaign was not steller, but it's way too soon to write him off. There's a ton of examples of guys not fully getting it till year 3. One of my all time favorite WRs is Eric Moulds and it took him 3 years to crack 300 yards. Zay has the talent to be a really good WR in this league. If your patient you'll see. Nelson Agholor is one good example. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) What was the % of deep routes verses quick slants or 5 to 10 yard outs? Should they have played more to his strengths? I do recall a game or 2 where he was rock solid and caught just about everything thrown at him. (yes, there were 2 or 3 of those games) People keep saying play to TT's strengths ... so it should be the same so Edited February 16, 2018 by ShadyBillsFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoTier Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 2 hours ago, White Linen said: This is one of the major reasons to not like Taylor as your teams QB. He's a development killer. I suppose Taylor caused global warming, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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