Anybody worried about Gates?

[Panama]

Barring a few bright spots, Gates hasn't looked 'right' for a couple seasons. The drops are a new issue that I didn't expect (last year it was fumbles/getting stripped). Still has a knack for getting open and a great rapport with Rivers, but he's lookin like a latter-day Ben Coates more than Antonio Gates at this point.

Do I need to dredge up that old post (posted twice now) where I show that Gates drops numbers (and fumbles, for that matter) are, if anything, better now than they were in his prime? He had one bad drop yesterday. It's nothing new. Check out his career stats.

[MakoShark]

Every time Gates makes a mistake the "he's over the hill" posts show up. He had 1 bad drop. Allen had 2 he should have caught. Royal dropped a first down that hit him in the chops. Rivers made some really bad throws. I guess dump them all and start from scratch?!

[richpjr]

With what happened with his sister, he also missed a lot of camp - I wonder how good of shape he is in?

[blueman]

Every time Gates makes a mistake the "he's over the hill" posts show up. He had 1 bad drop. Allen had 2 he should have caught. Royal dropped a first down that hit him in the chops. Rivers made some really bad throws. I guess dump them all and start from scratch?!

For whatever reason, our receivers played well below what we've seen of them.

Moving forward, I still think our #3 option - whether it be an aging Gates, a young Green, or a WTF Royal - needs to be better, consistently better. Inman, maybe?

[thelightningwill]

Every time Gates makes a mistake the "he's over the hill" posts show up. He had 1 bad drop. Allen had 2 he should have caught. Royal dropped a first down that hit him in the chops. Rivers made some really bad throws. I guess dump them all and start from scratch?!

Rivers dropped a snap. That was the worst dropped pass of the night.

[thelightningwill]

Do I need to dredge up that old post (posted twice now) where I show that Gates drops numbers (and fumbles, for that matter) are, if anything, better now than they were in his prime? He had one bad drop yesterday. It's nothing new. Check out his career stats.

Yep. Gates has never been Charlie Joiner.

[thelightningwill]

It doesn't have to be an either/or situation. Gates and Green can both be on the field. Bench Royal. Presto improved run game and mismatch hell.

Is Green a good blocker?

[blueman]

Guessing he's better than Royal, and will improve with playing time. Would like to see him as the #3 WR/whatever more, agree with beer it's a mismatch hell.

[Beerman]

Is Green a good blocker?

Good may be stretching it. He's certainly not on a Gates level bad though. He certainly blocks better than Royal which is the trade off. He doesn't need to be on the line. It's more the threat of him moving between the slot and off tackle that forces teams to either keep a LB in the game or try to cover him with a CB/S which hurts their run defense. A lot of teams had to play nickle D vs. Us last season which gave us the advantage running the ball. If they switch to base, you send him in patterns vs. a LB who has no chance to cover him, so it forces a double team that opens up another player.

[thelightningwill]

Good may be stretching it. He's certainly not on a Gates level bad though. He certainly blocks better than Royal which is the trade off. He doesn't need to be on the line. It's more the threat of him moving between the slot and off tackle that forces teams to either keep a LB in the game or try to cover him with a CB/S which hurts their run defense. A lot of teams had to play nickle D vs. Us last season which gave us the advantage running the ball. If they switch to base, you send him in patterns vs. a LB who has no chance to cover him, so it forces a double team that opens up another player.

Thanks.

[thelightningwill]

Guessing he's better than Royal, and will improve with playing time. Would like to see him as the #3 WR/whatever more, agree with beer it's a mismatch hell.

Thanks.

[MakoShark]

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