The drop that drove Bills' Gabriel Davis to tears ... and fueled his breakout rookie season

[YoloinOhio]

Quote

Gabriel Davis had known nothing but success.

The sophomore wide receiver for No. 7-ranked Central Florida had won his first 21 college football games when he lined up for a nationally televised showdown against No. 11 LSU in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz.

Davis had already caught one touchdown when, with the Knights trailing 34-21 with about five minutes remaining in the third quarter, he blew past the coverage and down the left sideline. Quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. hit him in stride at the Tigers’ 30-yard line, nothing between Davis and the end zone. And the ball fell to the turf. The Knights lost, 40-32.

Quote

He dropped it,” Davis’ longtime trainer, Bert Whigham, told The Buffalo News. “And he should have caught it. And he calls me after the game, crying. ‘What do I gotta do?’

“And I said, ‘You’ve got to outwork everyone.’ And he drove to Disney, where we were, from UCF. An hour each way. During peak traffic times. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for the next five months going into his junior year. And then the whole summer trained with us, too. That’s what it takes, right there. What do I got to do? You’ve got to work. And he did it.”

Davis carried that tremendous work ethic into the pros after being selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft. He even went out to practice running routes immediately after he was drafted.

 

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/the-drop-that-drove-bills-gabriel-davis-to-tears-and-fueled-his-breakout-rookie-season/article_8c1a63ce-e0f4-11eb-974c-d35141b47916.amp.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_&__twitter_impression=true

 

i didn’t realize that he was such good friends with Matt Milano 

[Boxcar]

I wonder if he actually improved...

 

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

He was so damn good last year. And not just stats, he had some eye popping quality catches. The diving TD, the back-to-back sideline grabs. Amazing.

[TailgateChef]

Play starts at 1:28.08.

 

[YoloinOhio]

Love me some #13

 

Quote

Davis finished the 2020 regular season with 35 catches for 599 yards and seven touchdowns, which were the second-most on the team behind only Stefon Diggs’ eight scores and tied Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson for the second-most touchdowns in the league by a rookie wide receiver.

His catches and receiving yards ranked third among Bills wide receivers, behind Diggs and Cole Beasley, who were both named All-Pros. And his 17.1 yards per reception ranked first.

Davis also led all NFL rookies with five touchdown catches of 20 or more yards, according to the analytics website Pro Football Focus. He did not drop a single one of those targets.

 

[The Jokeman]

19 minutes ago, Tom Donahoe, GM said:

He was so damn good last year. And not just stats, he had some eye popping quality catches. The diving TD, the back-to-back sideline grabs. Amazing.

His toe tapping catches against Indy were amazing.

[YoloinOhio]

6 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

His toe tapping catches against Indy were amazing.

We don’t win the game without him. It sucked he hurt his ankle the next week (or was it in the colts game?)

Edited July 11, 2021 by YoloinOhio

[WMDman]

14 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

We don’t win the game without him. It sucked he hurt his ankle the next week (or was it in the colts game?)

Baltimore In the end zone 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

Davis is such a huge piece to the puzzle of the Bills long-term success. He's really the only youthful receiver we have on the roster that already has shown legitimate potential. Davis breaking out into a legitimate #2 or 1B receiver to Diggs by the completion of the 2022 season would be huge.  He had a knack for TD's his rookie year. His total of 7 should have been 9. I believe he had one each called back in the Titans and second Jets game each due to illegal procedure penalties. 

 

[BUFFALOKIE]

I like him.

1st: be your best;

2nd: help others be their best.

[Motorin']

1 hour ago, TailgateChef said:

Play starts at 1:28.08.

 

 

UCF punts on the drive, and Justin Jefferson muffs the punt and UCF recovers inside the redzone.

 

I'd say Davis and Jefferson both recovered from this game. 

 

50 minutes ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

Davis is such a huge piece to the puzzle of the Bills long-term success. He's really the only youthful receiver we have on the roster that already has shown legitimate potential. Davis breaking out into a legitimate #2 or 1B receiver to Diggs by the completion of the 2022 season would be huge.  He had a knack for TD's his rookie year. His total of 7 should have been 9. I believe he had one each called back in the Titans and second Jets game each due to illegal procedure penalties. 

 

 

He also scored a TD in the Seahawks game. He was ruled out at the 1. We hurried to the line and ran a play. Had McD challenged, it would have been a TD. Ended up getting stuffed and taking a FG on the drive. 

[Mr. WEO]

This kid is a stud.  

[Boxcar]

1 hour ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

Davis is such a huge piece to the puzzle of the Bills long-term success. He's really the only youthful receiver we have on the roster that already has shown legitimate potential. Davis breaking out into a legitimate #2 or 1B receiver to Diggs by the completion of the 2022 season would be huge.  He had a knack for TD's his rookie year. His total of 7 should have been 9. I believe he had one each called back in the Titans and second Jets game each due to illegal procedure penalties. 

 

There was another one where he was incorrectly called OoB short of the goal line that the Bills didn't challenge.

[nato7412]

13 minutes ago, Boxcar said:

There was another one where he was incorrectly called OoB short of the goal line that the Bills didn't challenge.

Yeah that was in the Seattle game, bills should've reviewed it but didn't

[Patrick Duffy]

2 hours ago, Tom Donahoe, GM said:

He was so damn good last year. And not just stats, he had some eye popping quality catches. The diving TD, the back-to-back sideline grabs. Amazing.

Yeah had good grabs throughout last season. Couple in particular that was little more important were in the playoffs. Those tip-toe side line grabs were eye popping. Looks like Bills got a very good WR

[PrimeTime101]

Having Diggs and Beasley on the team brought up expectations to another level and will continue to help Davis along in his career

 

That and a QB named Josh freaking Allen

[patzen]

I would not be remotely shocked if he ends up being our number 2 receiver this year. I'm very excited for his development.

[BADOLBILZ]

 

He was excellent but he was probably the biggest individual beneficiary of Daboll having a great year calling plays that really caught teams off-guard.

 

Davis had a bunch of blown coverage TD's.

 

I think that's why he doesn't get as much credit for his extraordinary yards per catch and TD numbers.

 

Teams will be more prepared this season,   like they were in the playoffs,   so everyone is going to have to add to their games just to get back to where they were offensively.    

 

That's a tall task when your top 2 WR both had career years but they have a very hard working group between Allen and his receivers.......and the OC has a chip on his shoulder after getting passed up for HC jobs so there isn't a reason to necessarily expect less.

 

 

[Patrick Duffy]

2 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

We don’t win the game without him. It sucked he hurt his ankle the next week (or was it in the colts game?)

I actually thought it was before the playoffs, last reg season game? I may be wrong, thought just about all the WR's were banged up pretty good going into the post season.

Edited July 11, 2021 by Patrick_Duffy

[Doc Brown]

3 hours ago, Boxcar said:

There was another one where he was incorrectly called OoB short of the goal line that the Bills didn't challenge.

I actually tipped my hats to the broadcast crew on that one as I don't think anybody thought that was a touchdown (including the Bills obviously).

[billsbackto81]

8 hours ago, Tom Donahoe, GM said:

He was so damn good last year. And not just stats, he had some eye popping quality catches. The diving TD, the back-to-back sideline grabs. Amazing.

His development was a big reason the decision was made to not retain John Brown. The kid has a promising future. 

[billybrew1]

Davis looked incredible at the beginning of the year. His first two games I thought he made catch of the week in the whole NFL.... I thought he showed us he was human later on with a couple drops, but bounced back nicely until he got hurt. But man, those two catches for a rookie in his first games! Excellente...

[billybrew1]

1 hour ago, billsbackto81 said:

His development was a big reason the decision was made to not retain John Brown. The kid has a promising future. 

Maybe a bit, but he wasn't brought back because he let us down all year. Football is an unforgiving sport. Emmanuel Sanders was brought in to replace John Brown and if he stays healthy, he is a starter as much as any WR. They will probably dive up the snaps pretty close if no one gets hurt. Diggs with the most and Davis with the least, but it will be pretty close with all four. Diggs - Sanders - Beasley - Davis, just like thatwhen all four are healthy, imho.

Ertz will provide a dimension that will make Josh think he can beat anybody, anytime.

But Sanders is a huge add too, no doubt about it. One more guy we can count on to beat top coverage.

 

Go Bills!

[Don Otreply]

GD is a quality WR, and will continue to be that as long as the drive to out work everyone burns inside him, Beane drafted a good one in Gabe Davis.

 

 Go Bills!!!

[716er]

I think Gabe has a huge year. He's taking John Brown's spot IMO - not Sanders. 

[dave mcbride]

10 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

He was excellent but he was probably the biggest individual beneficiary of Daboll having a great year calling plays that really caught teams off-guard.

 

Davis had a bunch of blown coverage TD's.

 

I think that's why he doesn't get as much credit for his extraordinary yards per catch and TD numbers.

 

Teams will be more prepared this season,   like they were in the playoffs,   so everyone is going to have to add to their games just to get back to where they were offensively.    

 

That's a tall task when your top 2 WR both had career years but they have a very hard working group between Allen and his receivers.......and the OC has a chip on his shoulder after getting passed up for HC jobs so there isn't a reason to necessarily expect less.

 

 

He dropped an easy td vs the Pats in that game the Bills pulled out 24-21 (and probably should have lost) and had a dropped td vs the Ravens in the playoffs. He put up huge numbers with Barkley in the blowout finale too, and that skewed his stats. Don’t get me wrong, I like Davis. He had a good rookie season overall. But that Buff News article doesn’t mention the mistakes and the padding, which makes me think that it reads like One Bills Drive-sponsored propaganda.

Edited July 12, 2021 by dave mcbride

[Ethan in Cleveland]

12 hours ago, Tom Donahoe, GM said:

He was so damn good last year. And not just stats, he had some eye popping quality catches. The diving TD, the back-to-back sideline grabs. Amazing.

Agree! He was outstanding and made some superstar catches.  The Bills haven't had a group with this level of ability 1 through 5 ever. They have guys that can make diving, sideline, and contested catches consistently.  I've posted for a while the NFL is about doing the routine at a very high level of consistency and making the amazing play more often than not.

[BillsFan619]

10 hours ago, PrimeTime101 said:

Having Diggs and Beasley on the team brought up expectations to another level and will continue to help Davis along in his career

 

That and a QB named Josh freaking Allen

Totally, Primetime. JA makes everyone better. Love it!

[Fan in Chicago]

32 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

He dropped an easy td vs the Pats in that game the Bills pulled out 24-21 (and probably should have lost) and had a dropped td vs the Ravens in the playoffs. He put up huge numbers with Barkley in the blowout finale too, and that skewed his stats. Don’t get me wrong, I like Davis. He had a good rookie season overall. But that Buff News article doesn’t mention the mistakes and the padding, which makes me think that it reads like One Bills Drive-sponsored propaganda.

If you mention a drop in a playoff game, you also have to acknowledge the fantastic catches he had in the Colts game. 

Much depends on Beasley's situation but Imo, this season he will get a lot of balls thrown his way as Sanders will be used primarily as a deep threat.

[947]

14 hours ago, TailgateChef said:

Play starts at 1:28.08.

 

How is that not Pass Interference?

 

The defender dove & grabbed his foot, tripping him up just before the ball arrived. Yeah, Gabe still dropped it, but that trip surely played into it.

[PrimeTime101]

1 hour ago, 947 said:

How is that not Pass Interference?

 

The defender dove & grabbed his foot, tripping him up just before the ball arrived. Yeah, Gabe still dropped it, but that trip surely played into it.

I'll tell you what was on his mind... don't screw up your ankle before the draft. His ankle did get grabbed before the ball got there and at this point.. these players want to be healthy.. what round would Davis had gotten to if he sprained an ankle there? or worse? Nasty little ankle grab there... my career is on my mind at that point.

[machine gun kelly]

UCF has built up a powerful colllege offense, and fun to watch down here in FL.  Everyone around the country thinks about UF, Miami, and FSU, but UCF has been building their program up for years.  GD was the second leading WR In their history ahead of Brandon Marshall.
 

He was a steal in the 4th round and will be excellent for us barring injuries for years. Hypothetically, if the Beasley thing resolves, then he’ll be our #2 next year.  Sanders is an excellent rental, but it’s hopeful Hodgins will be another pleasant find once he gets on the field.

 

[YoloinOhio]

13 hours ago, billsbackto81 said:

His development was a big reason the decision was made to not retain John Brown. The kid has a promising future. 

JB knew

 

 

[babulator]

23 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

https://buffalonews.com/sports/bills/the-drop-that-drove-bills-gabriel-davis-to-tears-and-fueled-his-breakout-rookie-season/article_8c1a63ce-e0f4-11eb-974c-d35141b47916.amp.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_&__twitter_impression=true

 

i didn’t realize that he was such good friends with Matt Milano 

Jeepers that article and last line gets me fired up!

 

“I want to go all the way. And I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.”

 

Pretty excited to see some more Gabe this year. Go Bills!

[Patrick Duffy]

14 hours ago, 716er said:

I think Gabe has a huge year. He's taking John Brown's spot IMO - not Sanders. 

I don't know about that just yet. It's possible I guess depending on what they see in TC etc. I would love to see another productive year from him myself. Anyways, as of right now I think Sanders is Brown's replacement and Davis likely plays the same role as last season imo

[TheBrownBear]

Davis is ascending.  Good size, great hands, good route runner and hard worker.  Also, after all the praise we've heard about Hodgins, I wouldn't be quick to dismiss him either.  Excited about the kid from Houston too as a slot/burner type.  The three of them could be our future receiving corps (along with Diggs) as early as 2022.

[BADOLBILZ]

15 hours ago, dave mcbride said:

He dropped an easy td vs the Pats in that game the Bills pulled out 24-21 (and probably should have lost) and had a dropped td vs the Ravens in the playoffs. He put up huge numbers with Barkley in the blowout finale too, and that skewed his stats. Don’t get me wrong, I like Davis. He had a good rookie season overall. But that Buff News article doesn’t mention the mistakes and the padding, which makes me think that it reads like One Bills Drive-sponsored propaganda.

 

 

The story with the drop in the LSU game and a few of the drops last year leave a small concern that he could have more concentration/pressure drops or "yips" in his future.   I'm hoping but not assuming it's all going to be linear or even any improvement at all with him.   Josh Reed's happen.   Belitnikoff winner to remarkable rookie to  broken confidence and pffft.   You need to stay deep at WR in the NFL.   They are a bit thinner at the X or Z positions than I'd like.    No real competition at all for Davis job..........and one of the aspects I love about competition is that head-to-head takes players out of their own head.

[Captain Hindsight]

5 hours ago, babulator said:

Jeepers that article and last line gets me fired up!

 

“I want to go all the way. And I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.”

 

Pretty excited to see some more Gabe this year. Go Bills!

Also, a great text to get from your girlfriend

[4merper4mer]

On 7/11/2021 at 11:47 AM, Mr. WEO said:

This kid is a stud.  

Are you in the right thread?  This is about a Bills player.

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, 4merper4mer said:

Are you in the right thread?  This is about a Bills player.

probably your worst effort ever….and that’s quite a monument