Gabe Davis on Richard Sherman Podcast

[The Wiz]

32 minutes ago, brianthomas said:

I see a bit of Robert Woods when i see Gabe. Just a solid dependable wr who shows up to make the catch when u need him. A wr you can trust!

I dont know what was the reason the coaching staff was slow to give Gabe playing time, but just like Woods i hope we make a push to sign Gabe long term. Dudes a baller

He reinjured his foot before week 2.  The same one he hurt against the Ravens in the playoffs the year before.  Reports from Sal C. were that the injury was lingering through mid season so he wasn't getting as many snaps because he was probably less than 90% healthy.

[Joe Mama]

3 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Off of one game? 

[BADOLBILZ]

3 hours ago, NewEra said:

And other than the jets game (clearly his worst game as a pro), name another game in which he sucked.  He’s been as consistent as one can be given his snap count.  He’ll probably get over 8M a year. We should probably resign him now, because if he gets the 2nd most targets on the team next season, he’ll probably get much more than that.  He’s a very solid WR.  Inconsistent play is not something I associate with gabe. 

 

1) Jets game was brutal for sure.   He's only a 35 yard per game type receiver thru this point in his career so there are not a lot of high volume games to compare.    But the critical drop in Jacksonville (a zero catch game) and the drops at home versus NE in 2020(also a zero catch game) stand out as games where he looked bad.

 

His catch % in general is also quite low.........but I can't say that is not a factor of many deep targets.......as his yards per catch is VERY high.    Biggest barrier to showing consistency might be having ankle injuries that slowed him both years.   Hopefully he can figure out how to avoid those.

 

2) He will likely get good money on the market in time........but I don't believe they can extend him until after his 3rd season per the CBA.    They still have 2 more years of team control and given the influx of talent at the WR position around the league they might be best off letting him play it out and see how he handles the opportunities that come.   The price tags may come down on #2 and #3 WR's relative to the overall salary cap.    Up until now he's been the 3rd or 4th most concerning target for the opposition in most of his games.........reps as the #2 and even #1 probably await him in the next two years and then we will see how he produces against tighter coverage.

 

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by BADOLBILZ

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, The Wiz said:

He reinjured his foot before week 2.  The same one he hurt against the Ravens in the playoffs the year before.  Reports from Sal C. were that the injury was lingering through mid season so he wasn't getting as many snaps because he was probably less than 90% healthy.

 

We don't know but there may also have been some kind of written or "handshake"  agreement around playing time when Sanders was signed

 

My gut though, is that the Bills just saw Sanders as their #2 receiver, so once they moved away from 4 and 5 WR sets towards (1,1) and even 2 WR sets,

Davis was the odd-man-out

Edited February 26, 2022 by Hapless Bills Fan
sanders as #2

[BADOLBILZ]

3 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

Dudes inconsistent at best to this point in his career. He was great against KC… just two weeks prior against the Jets he sucked IMO. 
 

 

But he's been consistent with his inconsistency.

 

Similar yardage numbers and low catch % numbers but with very high ypr numbers.

 

Ankle/foot injuries both seasons that slowed him, but didn't inactivate him,  for long stretches.

 

I hope they are able to bring in some legitimate competition for snaps because he hasn't proven that he's ready to be that high volume #2 WR for a full season yet.

 

It might be a critical blow to the offense if their #2 WR position wasn't good for 1,000+ yards overall next season.

 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2022 by BADOLBILZ

[The Wiz]

28 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

We don't know but there may also have been some kind of written or "handshake"  agreement around playing time when Sanders was signed

 

My gut though, is that the Bills just saw Sanders as their #2 receiver, so once they moved away from 4 and 5 WR sets towards (1,1) and even 2 WR sets,

Davis was the odd-man-out

Can't disagree with any of that.  Sanders was worth the playing time he had but he did show his age later on in the season.

 

Depending on what happens with Beasley and Lil' Dirty, it will be more important to upgrade the slot than have to worry about Davis because I think he can handle being the starting #2.

 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

33 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

1) Jets game was brutal for sure.   He's only a 35 yard per game type receiver thru this point in his career so there are not a lot of high volume games to compare.    But the critical drop in Jacksonville (a zero catch game) and the drops at home versus NE in 2020(also a zero catch game) stand out as games where he looked bad.

 

His catch % in general is also quite low.........but I can't say that is not a factor of many deep targets.......as his yards per catch is VERY high.    Biggest barrier to showing consistency might be having ankle injuries that slowed him both years.   Hopefully he can figure out how to avoid those.

 

I like Davis.  But your point about his catch % being low for a true top WR is right on. 

 

Davis was scored with 5 drops this past season - (I know you know this, but to put everyone on the same page, drops being balls that basically hit the WR in the hands and are believed able to be caught "without extraordinary effort").      That's 8% drops, and Dawson Knox was firmly written up by Bills fandom as "better, but Still Too Many Drops" at 9% after the 2020 season.  To my eyeball, Davis has a bit of "Knox" about him, where he can make tough "climb the ladder" and toe-tapping sideline grabs but fail to haul in the "bunnies" where he's well open.

 

I looked it up on Next Gen stats and you could have a point about depth of target being a factor....they give him a Targeted Air Yards figure of 14.1.  For comparison, Stef Diggs and Justin Jefferson are both ~12 TAY.  Pro-football-reference says "average depth of target" 13 (they have Diggs at 11 and Jefferson at 12)

 

Davis has commented on Josh's throws hurting to catch at times.  Putting that together with some comments I vaguely remember (from Cover1 think) about his hand position on that bad drop of a catchable ball for a TD in the Ravens playoff game last season, and Diggs comments on Josh's balls don't hurt if you catch them properly - I wonder if he has some tendencies in how he prefers to catch that don't "play well" with how hard Josh zips it in there at times?  Or does he just lose focus, because he's often expected to block and run decoy routes which (to give him credit) he does very well?

 

Anyway, if he hauls in 4 of those 5 drops, that would put him at 61.9% catch % which would not particularly raise eyeballs.

 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

26 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

But he's been consistent with his inconsistency.

 

Similar yardage numbers and low catch % numbers but with very high ypr numbers.

 

Ankle/foot injuries both seasons that slowed him, but didn't inactivate him,  for long stretches.

 

I hope they are able to bring in some legitimate competition for snaps because he hasn't proven that he's ready to be that high volume #2 WR for a full season yet.

 

It might be a critical blow to the offense if their #2 WR position wasn't good for 1,000+ yards overall next season.

 

Question: was it a critical blow to the offense to not have a 1000+ yd #2 this past season?

I would say "not" - and that given - what would be different next season vs .this past season?

 

[The Wiz]

42 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Question: was it a critical blow to the offense to not have a 1000+ yd #2 this past season?

I would say "not" - and that given - what would be different next season vs .this past season?

 

The run game and oline was the problem for most of the season. 

 

Once we had the same 5 starters for more than a few games that didn't suck, they became better and defenses started playing up to the line because it was a threat other than Josh. 

 

Which is why I think beane will look to oline upgrades.  He knows the team rides on Josh. 

Edited February 26, 2022 by The Wiz

[LABILLBACKER]

4 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

Gabe has been a consistent performer throughout his short two years. Bills screwed around with his playing time this season with the addition of Sanders which turned out to not really benefit the Bills IMO. Davis should absolutely make a big jump next season. I'd look for him to double his production next season. Somewhere around 70 receptions and 1000+ yards 10 TD's. 

Stop dicking around with Gabe and lock him up as our long term WR2. 

[LABILLBACKER]

3 hours ago, Don Otreply said:

First Two seasons with 14 TDs, and some spectacular and timely catches along the way is likely to have something to do with it.
 

    The guy totally takes advantage of his opportunities when they present themselves, you know, just what a player is supposed to do,  when he gets paid is to be debated not if…, jmo. 

John Brown took targets from him in 20.  Sanders did the same in 21.  Just frustrating to watch this organization take longer than most to properly evaluate their talent.  Look at Bates.

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Question: was it a critical blow to the offense to not have a 1000+ yd #2 this past season?

I would say "not" - and that given - what would be different next season vs .this past season?

 

 

 

The Bills #2 WR position(Sanders + Davis) combined for 1175 yards.

 

I am assuming Sanders to be out of that equation next season.

 

[Don Otreply]

1 hour ago, LABILLBACKER said:

John Brown took targets from him in 20.  Sanders did the same in 21.  Just frustrating to watch this organization take longer than most to properly evaluate their talent.  Look at Bates.

I have had the same thought on more than one occasion, it feels “at times”  there is no concept of fast tracking player development, but hey, what do I know…, 

[LABILLBACKER]

8 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

I have had the same thought on more than one occasion, it feels “at times”  there is no concept of fast tracking player development, but hey, what do I know…, 

I just think the coaches somewhat struggled a little determining who the best player is. Who's the best Dlineman,  not sure so let's do a rotation.  Why did it take so long to identify Bates as a better replacement?  Seemed like it took forever to finally realize Peterman couldn't cut it.  Do we play Brown, Sanders or Davis. I know let's do another rotation.  Singletary or Moss? Let's do a rotation. 

    When the coaches finally figured it out that Bates was an improvement,  he played and excelled. Same went for Singletary & Davis. 

[Lagoon Blues]

This is a big year for him for sure.  Cant remember exactly, but might have been Josh talking about Gabe or the other way around in an interview that discussed how he had a bit of a hard time mentally with not getting chances this year and Josh telling him just keep grinding they will come. Sure enough they did in the playoffs.  Fairly sure he will be getting more than enough this year coming up.  Obviously just my opinion.

Edited February 26, 2022 by Lagoon Blues

[Turbo44]

Sanders said, and I’m quoting, “I saw Gabe in practice and wondered why they signed me.” Now teammates talk up teammates but he didn’t need to say it and all.

 

I choose to trust a player’s evaluation 

[billybrew1]

12 hours ago, Buffalo ill said:

Davis has made great catches his entire time in the league.  Not saying he needs to get a top contract, but the Bills won't be doing themselves any favors by low balling him.

Gabriel certainly has fantastic hands. You could build a very impressive high lite reel displaying hands since his rookie year. I still remember his first TD. Miraculous grab, it should have gotten more press. Then the next week he has another crazy catch…. 
What you have to worry about as far as how much is he worth, is what happens if he was clearly #1 or #2 as far as the defense sees. Daboll is so awesome at calling plays and getting receivers lost to a defense. What happens when he faces a good corner one on one or the safety leans to his side? Not saying he won’t rise to the occasion I’m saying we don’t know. We signed Sanders for two reasons. One, to play #2 WR, meaning they didn’t think Davis was good enough (yet?) The other reason was to get another weapon so we don’t run out (like we did two seasons ago). So, is he ready to take #2 now? I think we’ll find out by who the Vills get to replace Sanders. I say we get someone because we can’t run out of weapons. How good he is and how much we play him will tell us maybe,what the Bills think of him this year.

He sez his idle was Larry Fitzgerald and that’s exactly who he reminds me of. Maybe Gabriel is an inch taller and a hair slower?

I would rather sign Davis over Knox and the reason is hands and clutch performing. I don’t think we’ll keep both….Too much moolah.

I’d love to keep both though. They are Buffalo Bills through and through to me…. Knox is a decent blocker too but pound for pound Davis is probably better…. Ever notice how our run game clicks when Davis comes in?

 

Go Bills!

[Richard Noggin]

He definitely had some issues executing Daboll's option routes as the season wore on, but then again, so did Sanders and everyone else (including Diggs and therefore Allen). We all saw the passing game sputter a bit in unforced ways. 

[AmishRifle]

I’m on board to lock him up long term when we get the chance.  I’m a big Gabe Davis fan.  The man can fish too!  

[Chandler#81]

I like Gabe but he’s still not a polished route runner and I doubt he’ll become one. Like Knox, the dropsies are slowly fading from his game. He has deceptive speed as he appears to lumber while running, but his uncanny knack for keeping his toes inbounds makes him a good addition to the team as long as he’s not the featured guy, imo.