Do WR's with Suspect Hands ever Become Great?

[Psycho_X]

Terrell Owens but his problem was more of an alligator arm issue. God I remember that game when Aeneas absolutely laid his ass out going over the middle. I don't think TOs elbows left his sides the rest of that game and frankly had an effect on him after that game I think. But he was never brave against defenders.

Overall, bad hands will never make someone great. Some can have niche roles in the NFL if they have blazing speed or can cut on a dime though.

 

[nighttrain]

no! They do not play, that's all folks!

train

 

[bubbaramfan]

McVay has said he's going to start the guys who give the team the best chance to win. He's also said (many times now) he wants his WR"s to be able to instill confidence in his young QB by precise route running,,knowing the play, where he and the other players are supposed to be, and when, getting open and catching the ball. I count three that do all of that CONSISTENTLY. Woods, Kupp and Spruce. All the others seem to need work in one or more of McVay's criteria.

McVay has mentioned Thomas several times. That may NOT be all good. He might be trying to instill confidence in Thomas because he needs to get better to make the team. I've seen other coaches use high praise as a tool to get players to improve.

Hard for a HC to cut someone who understands the playbook, is where he's supposed to be "when" he's supposed to be there (timing), gets open and catches the ball. McVay will have to wait til the pads come on and the scrimmages start with live hitting and NFL caliber DB's in their face. before he gets a real good idea of who he wants to keep. A job I don't envy. There are a lot of WR's to go through and some with great potential are going to have to be cut.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Maybe my memory of them being a massive fail, was due to the limited opportunities with a Fisher offense. But STILL, catch the D@MN ball when it really matters!!! There were many drops when we needed 1st downs, and THAT is what I remember from the 2016 WR group.

this is exactly it. a drop in fisher's offense is much, much worse than in a normal offense because the offensive output is so bad. nobody is making a big play to make us forget about the drop.

.

 

[Florida_Ram]

If you're asking if a WR with suspect hands will ever become a WR with great hands... I believe the answer to that question is NO.

If a person is properly instructed at a young age on catch technique... they will have an advantage. But it has to be taught early on. It's very difficult to break bad habits in technique once motor memory has been established. Proper catch technique will definitely help a WR's hands be more dependable.

However...

From my experience... regardless of technique... some people are just naturally better at catching footballs. And I mean some people are BLESSED with fabulous hands. Some... are given hands of stone.

I agree with this

A person is born with the God given gift of "Eye-Hand" coordination and that can only be improved for catching a football to a certain degree.

Obviously there are some (not many) receivers that enter the NFL with average hands that have improved their catching ability with hard work, repetition and practicing techniques by their coaches etc.

But the general answer is..........

you are either born with "sticky mitts" or you're not.

These 3 pass catchers on the Rams have serious sticky mitts!

_________

 

[LesBaker]

Torry Holt dropped a lot of passes during his rookie season. His hands weren't elite until about year 4. I don't think we have a clue how Thomas will turn out. Tavon is what he is.

To answer your question, yes. Terrell Owens had very suspect hands and he turned out to be one of the best of all time.

Holt spent A LOT of time with the JUGGS machine to get better, he worked at his craft.

It improves hand-eye coordination and tha't really the difference between average pass catchers, good pass catches and the guys who have flypaper hands. It's the hand-eye thing and the JUGGS helps that.

 

[Loyal]

Holt spent A LOT of time with the JUGGS machine to get better, he worked at his craft.

It improves hand-eye coordination and tha't really the difference between average pass catchers, good pass catches and the guys who have flypaper hands. It's the hand-eye thing and the JUGGS helps that.

"I used to catch bricks helping my Dad lay brick"
~Jerry Rice

 

[LesBaker]

"I used to catch bricks helping my Dad lay brick"
~Jerry Rice

That was the story, is that as a kid someone used to toss the bricks to Jerry up in the air and he caught them and handed them to his father.

 

[den-the-coach]

Coach..honestly..which of the guys from last year really showed you something?

Well, Britt is gone, but from the rest of the squad I still believe in Tavon and feel McVay can tapped into an area that has not been utilized. I believe Austin can play the DeSean Jackson role as to the others, well, nobody really jumped out to me. Glad they signed Woods and Kupp might up being another Jack Snow although in fairness I only remember Snow playing a couple of years.

Anyway under the previous regime besides Kenny Britt everyone else was not very good and now we shall see if WR Coach Eric Yarber can harness this talent with an improved offensive line and passing game the receivers should show major upgrades across the board.

BTW if Mike Thomas can hang onto the football, he has the size & speed to create mismatches in the secondary and throw Reynolds into the mix and now you might just have something. But we await preseason and although you usually can't judge in preseason at the very minimum we should be able to see who is getting open and consistently hanging onto the football.

 

[jrry32]

But they were great when it mattered, right? I can only remember dropped passes and fumbles from Higbee and Thomas...I really remember nothing about Pharoh Cooper except for a few kick off returns.

Not always.

 

[Loyal]

Not always.

but normally, or else they would not be considered great.

 

[bubbaramfan]

Jack Snow played in every game from '65-'75 for the Rams with over 6,000 yds and 45 TD's.

He had a reputation for never being caught from behind.

 

[den-the-coach]

Jack Snow played in every game from '65-'75 for the Rams with over 6,000 yds and 45 TD's.

He had a reputation for never being caught from behind.

 

[bubbaramfan]

Beat me to it den One of my favorites and one of Rams' "All Time" greats.

 

[den-the-coach]

Beat me to it den One of my favorites and one of Rams' "All Time" greats.

Notre Dame alum when I was able to focus on football (born in 66) Snow was at the tail end of his career, he retired in 75, but a class act that had great hands and ran great routes and was the only time I liked hearing any mention of Snow.

 

[Ram65]

Well, Britt is gone, but from the rest of the squad I still believe in Tavon and feel McVay can tapped into an area that has not been utilized. I believe Austin can play the DeSean Jackson role as to the others, well, nobody really jumped out to me. Glad they signed Woods and Kupp might up being another Jack Snow although in fairness I only remember Snow playing a couple of years.

Anyway under the previous regime besides Kenny Britt everyone else was not very good and now we shall see if WR Coach Eric Yarber can harness this talent with an improved offensive line and passing game the receivers should show major upgrades across the board.

BTW if Mike Thomas can hang onto the football, he has the size & speed to create mismatches in the secondary and throw Reynolds into the mix and now you might just have something. But we await preseason and although you usually can't judge in preseason at the very minimum we should be able to see who is getting open and consistently hanging onto the football.

Jack Snow played in every game from '65-'75 for the Rams with over 6,000 yds and 45 TD's.

He had a reputation for never being caught from behind.

Jack Snow had great hands.

He passed the great hands down to his son TJ Snow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Gold_Glove_Award_winners_at_first_base

"Keith Hernandez has won the most Gold Gloves at first base, capturing 11 consecutive awards in the National League from 1978 to 1988.[6] In the American League, Don Mattingly won nine times with the New York Yankees for the second-highest total among first basemen,[7] and George Scott won eight awards playing for the Boston Red Sox (three) and the Milwaukee Brewers[a] (five).[8]Victor Pellot, who played most of his major league career under the alias "Vic Power", and Bill White each won seven awards;[9][10]six-time winners include Wes Parker and J. T. Snow.[11][12]Steve Garvey and Mark Grace have won four Gold Gloves at the position,[13][14] as well as Mark Teixeira as of 2010. Eddie Murray is the only member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to win a Gold Glove at first base in either league.[15]"

 

[Legatron4]

He dropped a pass in the Super Bowl in the first half, but then made up for it in the 2nd half...I don't remember his having hands of stone, myself.

I will link you some games from the 1999 season. He had some pretty bad drops mostly due to the rookie woes.

 

[Loyal]

Notre Dame alum when I was able to focus on football (born in 66) Snow was at the tail end of his career, he retired in 75, but a class act that had great hands and ran great routes and was the only time I liked hearing any mention of Snow.

"I got shoes older than you!" ~Dave51

 

[Soul Surfer]

That was the story, is that as a kid someone used to toss the bricks to Jerry up in the air and he caught them and handed them to his father.

He also went on to say that the football seemed soft in comparison.

 

[Ram65]

Holt spent A LOT of time with the JUGGS machine to get better, he worked at his craft.

It improves hand-eye coordination and tha't really the difference between average pass catchers, good pass catches and the guys who have flypaper hands. It's the hand-eye thing and the JUGGS helps that.

I agree players can get better with practice. Some players it's a confidence and lack of concentration. Not looking the ball all the way into their hands and trying to run first are sure fire ways to drop a pass. I think Tavon does both but he could be coached up. Haven't seen enough of Mike Thomas to know why he has a rep of dropping passes.

Some players have great hands and great timing. Think Lynn Swan, John Jefferson, Wes Chandler and Steve Largent from the old school days.