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Did “The Drop” in Carolina Derail Zay Jones’s Confidence?


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2 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

So much so that virtually every catch he tackles himself because he immediately stops and goes to the ground to make sure that he catches it, ensuring no YAC. It's pitiful to watch.

 

Great point........I think this is lost on a lot of fans.

 

YAC is actually a thing for most WR's.

 

But we don't even CONSIDER the possibility that Zay will get anything after a catch anymore.............just always so relieved when it doesn't hit the turf that it feels like a win.

 

5 minutes ago, Rocky Landing said:

If that one drop had anything to do with him “losing confidence,” then that drop was not the issue. 

 

Be that as it may, Zay has not appeared to be what he was predicted to be out of college, and that is not out of the ordinary. 

 

 

It's unusual for a WR to go from being great at catching the football to being poor at it.............but as mentioned earlier it's not foreign to Bills fans after Belitnikoff winner Josh Reed went from incapable of dropping a pass as a rookie to the shakiest handed of possession receivers for the rest of his career.

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15 minutes ago, MassHog said:

I always thought that play was more on Tyrod than Zay

It's really hard to know. IMO he just didn't track the ball well in the air. He doesn't do that well. So by the time the ball got there it looked like a bad pass when it likely wasn't. He looked lost to me running the route and looking for the ball, and then lunged. IIRC some teammates brought that up and he took the blame, which was big of him.

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14 minutes ago, MassHog said:

I always thought that play was more on Tyrod than Zay

At the time I blamed Tyrod, Veteran QB should have thrown a better ball to the Rookie WR. But -he just doesn’t look like he’s going to develop into an NFL caliber WR. He might be better in a more pass heavy offense. I always compared him to Robert Woods as a Bill, but Woods was so much better. 

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2 hours ago, rayray808 said:

OBJ scored on the same route that Josh under threw Zay on... imagine if he was on target and scored 

 

Wait...OBJ and Zay in same sentence?  Don't you think thats quite the stretch?  Especially since if you watch the OBJ play there is not a chance Zay scores in the exact same conditions as OBJ was nearly caught before he broke away and is faster and more explosive than Zay.

 

But I will bite...lets imagine he makes that catch, reality is he probably gets 12 to 20 yards on that reception as he isn’t known for RAC and doesn't have game breaking speed.  So whats that really likely change?  Takes him to 2 receptions for about 26 to 34 yards on the day with a dropped TD.  

 

So yeah, guess the only thing you can do to prop up Zay at this point is imagine things that didn't happen because he isn't doing it on the field.   

Edited by Alphadawg7
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To me he’s an average depth NFL receiver. He’s inability to separate coupled with the fact he doesn’t have top end speed means he’s not quick enough to play slot, and not fast enough to play on the edges.

 

His best attribute is his hands if schemed into the offense like he was in college, WR screens / slants / hooks. He will never be more than a 11YPC guy. He could be a guy who plays a decade and amasses 40 reception seasons at around 450 yards and 2-5 TDs per year. 

 

Because of all these facts I’ve listed, I would still like to see him run deeper decoy routes. We should throw him the occasional 50/50 jump ball given his 6’2” 36.5” vertical. 

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Since everyone is kicking him I will jump in too. Makes routine NFL catches look difficult and no RAC. I really hope he pulls it together. You can see the effort is there but something is missing. Confidence comes with success.

Edited by bmur66
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6 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

It was a great ball actually, it was not a clean route where Zay tripped on his own feet slightly on his cut that threw him just off where he he didn’t get a clean turnaround and wasn’t where he would have been if he hit the route clean.

 

6 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

I think Zay crapped himself on that route knowing that the play was designed to go to him for a TD.

 

He nearly fell on his face running against air and stumbling he didn't get to his spot and it made what should have been a routine catch into a very difficult catch..........but one he had shown himself capable of at the Senior Bowl.

 

He knew it and was very emotional about it so I think doubt in himself might have crept in there.

 

Something similar happened with Josh Reed in Jacksonville in 2003.

 

Reed had been velcro handed as a rookie but when elevated up the depth chart after Peerless Price was franchised and dealt Reed cracked under the pressure............he dropped a wide open bomb from Bledsoe to the astonishment of Bills fans everywhere.     He was never the same.

 

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6 hours ago, El Guapo said:

He’s just not as good as we hoped. Many a miss in player evaluation. If it was an exact science, every team would have an awesome roster. 

I love these myths that spring up around sports.

 

A single drop from several years ago "destroyed his confidence?"  

 

Yeah, that's it.  Well, either that or he's just not that good.

 

I wonder which is more plausible.

 

 

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Zay doesn’t excel at running down the ball. Not sure he is really good at catching the over the shoulder passes. 

I do think Zay is a decent slot receiver who can run crossing routes and come back or hook patterns. I think it’s on Daboll to get Zay lined up correctly and running the right routes. I have always been a Zay supporter, however this is the last year for me in that regard. Particularly when Duke is sitting on the PS and showed some value as a red zone target and can block. 

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