Auden Tate - Breakout Year with Burrow?

[Whatever]

(09-08-2020, 01:56 PM)Au165 Wrote: Actually, I didn't use TD's because you were strictly going off yards in your initial post. 

"Speed" to stretch the field is such a cliche that sounds good but really isn't what people think it is, especially when you think about the fact a 2 high shell negates the idea of guys just running straight by. Rarely in the NFL does a receiver line up and just run by a DB. A couple of reasons for that, one being that a .2 second difference in a 40 time doesn't make up for a 6-8 yard cushion. That is why even on a 9 route there is a skill to running the route. You can win the release giving you leverage at the start, thus allowing you to stack them, or you can stem them attacking leverage at the top of the route which then allows you to stack. 

Speed can make these things easier because there is more room for error, but I can show you highlight after highlight of "slow" guys beating much faster corners via proper stemming and stacking. If it was as simple as being fast Al Davis would have had the greatest air raid offense on earth, but he didn't because he didn't actually understand there was more to getting vertical than just speed.

I didn't use yards in my initial post.  I used 20+ and 40+ yard receptions to illustrate that Williams is a downfield threat while Tate is not.  You tried to shift the discussion to yards because Tate doesn't stack up in the original comparison.

You can use technique and good route running ability to gain separation on a deep fly.  Problem with that or any route that takes a good deal of time to develop is that you have to be fast enough to maintain that separation.  That's why mid 4.5 guys can still be effective deep if they are good route runners. They aren't burners, but they're fast enough to maintain the separation they create. When you're .2 slower than the CB, though, it's too easy for him to recover.  Conversely, if you're a 4.3-4.4 guy, if you win at the top of your route it's nearly impossible for the CB to recover quickly enough.  The other issue is that when you're that slow, there's less ground for the S to cover. They can be slow to react and still get there in time to make a play.  Seriously, there's a reason why teams don't just line up with 4 6'5"+ TE's on offense and play jump ball.  No matter how good you are with 50/50 balls, you aren't coming down with many when you're sandwiched between two defenders.

Besides which, you have defended Tate's route running ability on numerous occasions.  He's proven over two years that he's not a deep threat.  Either he's too slow, he's not a good route runner, or both.  

I'm sure you can drag up some highlights of a guy who's played 15 years in the league like Anquan Boldin winning deep.  I can drag up film of good pass pro reps from Cedric Ogbuehi, too.  Highlights are a poor indication of what a player's typical play level is like. Coverages get blown, defenders slip, jump balls go the receiver's way, OC makes the perfect play call, etc., etc.