Its possible that Bailey just doesn't have the wheels to separate. I hear he runs routes well enough. I know he has good hands. But he doesn't have the size of Quick or Britt and he doesn't have the speed of Austin. He could be that proverbial classic tweener.
I think you just nailed it. No argument his hands are the most consistent among the WRs. But those who continue to say he isn't getting on the field seem to be mistaking lack of snaps for lack of production.
At some point, when do we stop making excuses for some of these players? "They aren't using Austin correctly". "Bailey needs to play more". This has been the common theme among many for the past 2+ seasons.
Now four different QBs later, the same things are being said. Maybe, just maybe it's on the receivers. Austin is not a polished WR. He's a gadget type playmaker that they now seem determined to force the offense through. But when his limited production comes from having the ball handed off, it tells me he still isn't there as a WR.
Bailey gets plenty of snaps. What he doesn't get is targets. Again, this has been through four different QB somehow not throwing him the ball on any consistent basis.
I am not in any way trying to compare the systems here, but merely comparing the roles these guys need to perform to be successful. Consider Britt and Quick in the same roles as Bruce and Holt. The primary outside receivers who play all three downs. Austin fits the Az-Hakim role with Bailey being Ricky Proehl. It takes all four of them to be performing for ANY any of them to be able to be their best. When the GSOT lost Hakim, then Proehl wasn't as productive.
Bailey should be that goto guy on 3rd down. But if he is the only guy that teams fear in that scenario, he will be limited. Austin feeds off the other three. But to try to force the ball to him, just won't work. He is too inconsistent as a route runner.
The play that sums it up for me occurred last week vs. Pittsburgh. It was a 3rd & 6 I believe and they ran Austin on the "arrow" route that Amendola mastered here. The problem is, instead of driving straight thru the CB, forcing him to react to the route, Austin cut it off after 3 yards, made his move inside before cutting back outside. The CB just let him run the route and then closed on him once he caught the ball. He was bought down after a 3 yard gain and we punted.
Bailey, doesn't have the quickness to even run that route. So there in lies the problem with both.
Let's see if getting Quick back has an impact on the overall success of the rest of the group. Theoretically, if Britt and Quick both can post some level of consistency, then Bailey and Austin should get more room.
