Interesting Ringer Article on the Evolution of the WR Position (Gattis heavily featured)
Article is meant to talk about the loaded NFL draft class at WR and how the position has evolved over the last decade. A main focus of the piece is to mention that the gap between elite receivers and everyone else seems to be closing. Some great NFL receivers have recently been found in the 3rd round or later, and Gattis is quoted several times as a means of explaining why that is, as well as how his experience both playing and coaching can help explain the evolution of the position.
Excited to see what the receivers look like during year 2 (whenever that starts!) of the Gattisization!
April 21st, 2020 at 10:21 AM ^
I hope the WRs make a year 2 jump, but it remains to be seen if "OC Gattis" is as effective as "WR Coach Gattis." Drevno was once a good OL coach, but he completely fell apart when he was splitting his time.
April 21st, 2020 at 11:23 AM ^
Layman's perspective: it's obviously more difficult to do two jobs simultaneously, but I would hope that his experience as both would unlock some new efficiencies you don't get by having two different people. For example, I would expect Gattis to have much more intimate knowledge of his WRs' skills than the average OC who isn't also coaching WRs. I would expect him to have an extra level of detailed knowledge regarding which players can run which routes best and in which situations (having a feel for how tired a guy is, which way he's better cutting, etc.). I wouldn't expect a dedicated OC to be thinking about all those things when calling plays.
April 21st, 2020 at 11:29 AM ^
Almost every coordinator is also a position coach somewhere. It's just a question of how well they wear both hats.
April 21st, 2020 at 10:24 AM ^
I'm excited to see how things go under Gattis in year two. Even with some of the losses on the outside we still have a very good unit. We just need more consistency catching the damn ball. QB was obviously a big part in their struggles at times last year but the amount of drops/fumbles was asinine. That should not be a hard fix for D1 receivers it's just about concentration.
April 21st, 2020 at 10:46 AM ^
This team really needs a QB to come through.
April 21st, 2020 at 11:20 AM ^
Will not blame Gattis for giving a quote when asked, he's only been here a season. Considering how criminally underutilized the receiving corps was last year it's odd to come to him for opinion though. I put the blame 75% on QB ability and 25% coaching and game plan. DPJ went from a can't miss, likely 1st rounder from signing day, to a - if he's lucky - 3rd rounder. Sadly, every recruit in the country knows this.
Firmly believe the coaches knew what they had with Patterson last year and intended to get DMac way more involved. The dog fight with Army and the injury next game shelved all those plans.
April 21st, 2020 at 11:37 AM ^
I'm in this camp as well. Once McCaffrey was cheap-shot'd into oblivion against Wisconsin (BTW, fuck Wisconsin), any previous plans went out the window--it was Patterson or bust. It busted.
Wouldn’t it stand to reason that if your estimation of 75/25 QB/Coaching ratio of blame for the “criminally underutilized .. receiving corps” is correct that “every recruit in the county” (who likely know football better that you, and who can actually speak to the coaches and hear their side of the story) would understand this isn’t, necessarily, a systemic issue?
Shea was injured and somewhat of a liability in his decision-making and DMac was (badly?) injured. Go watch/read (more?) about the in’s and out’s of the modern RPO offense, and how it’s supposed to run. We saw glimpses in the second half of the season, but still not what it needs to be and could be.
When it’s year 5 and half a season of Jake and “Wilton didn’t suck” is your best QB performance, it’s fair to question.
April 21st, 2020 at 11:58 AM ^
Thanks for sharing!
I still think DPJ can light it up in the NFL and this gives me some hope. Shea cost him a lot of money last year