Tee Higgins

[Murdock2420]

(08-05-2020, 06:12 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Going through the videos, which you had not posted when I responded...

Video 1: It's pretty clear didn't realize the ball was thrown to him until it was too late, no?

Video 2:
- first throw is definitely Ross's fault. Should have caught that.

- Second throw - That was a difficult throw to catch, as it was low. If Dalton had thrown it more accurately (i.e. right at Ross such that he didn't have to dive for it), perhaps Ross would have caught it.

- Third throw - Ross had to jump up and make the catch, which also isn't where the throw should be. It should have been thrown ahead of Ross so he could catch it in stride. Ross was also hit right after it hit his hands, so he likely wasn't catching it regardless.

- Fourth throw - should have had that one. Easy, short.

- Fifth throw - stumbled coming out of his route. Not exactly him giving up on a route or fumbling a catch.

- Sixth throw - Yes, should have had it. Had wide open space.

So yes, there were more instances than I realized. I didn't watch every snap of every game last year though, as I don't get Bengals on local TV, nor do I pay for Sunday Ticket, and I miss some plays/games when I'm at the bar trying to watch due to lack of audio.

So I would say out of those 7 throws, only 3 of them were due to clear drops by him. The remaining 4 I explained why I was more forgiving on Ross than you may have been.

Also, you are willfully stubborn if you think going from 0 yards to 210 yards to 506 yards and increased receptions is not growth. You're focusing on the gaffes rather than the improved production, of which Ross had.

You may be absolutely right that Ross might have a higher number of gaffes than most receivers in his career. But I'd rather have Ross out there than Tate or Erickson, as Ross produced 506/3 in 8 games compared to Tate's 575/1 in 12 games and Erickson's 529/0 in 16. Ross has a higher ceiling than both.

Part of that growth is just not being injured. The 0 years is from a season he played 3 games, and only had 2 targets before he was out hurt.

There is improved production but the most important ability is availability and when you are dropping easy catches still in your 3rd year (2nd if you wash out year one due to injury) and now have to complete with Higgins, Boyd, Green and Tate for WR targets, I think he will be written off quickly if Burrow can't count on him to catch it or try to break up a pick. 

I want him to succeed, he wears a Bengal jersey, so as long as he is on this team I will want him to break out and be a success, I just think he's going to go the way of Ced, and Billy Price as first round what were they thinking picks.