But then the counter argument becomes: How can the Seahawks depend on Percy Harvin, the glass WR, when Tate has been so durable?
Well, counter counter argument, the surface is shallow, dig deeper for better resul.
Can Percy Harvin really be considered injury prone?
1. Sure he has an injury history in college but..
2. He was relatively healthy in his 4 seasons missing only 3 games to Migraine issues until...
3. Week 9 of 2012 where he tore a ligament in his ankle against a very, physical Seahawks D. His injury was a 4-6 week recovery that in the worst would have returned in the last game but the Vikings decided to shut him down. It marked the first and only time Percy Harvin would miss a game(s) due to an injury he sustained on the field.
4. Then his hip surgery of last year that took him out of 17 of the possible 19 games played. But after coming across this USAToday article:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...31/percy-harvin-seahawks-hip-surgery/2605795/
I felt much better knowing that this was probably a pre-existing ailment and that the Seahawks knew the risks involved.
Harvin hadn't appeared on an injury report with a hip issue since Weeks 2 and 3 of the 2010 season. But every NFL team that examined Harvin at the 2009 scouting combine knew he had impingement and tightness in both hips as well as weak abductor muscles, two people with knowledge of those examinations told USA TODAY Sports. The people spoke on condition of anonymity since the results were not released.
A study published in January — co-authored by Vikings team physician Christopher Larson, Tennessee Titans team physician Thomas Byrd and hip specialist Bryan Kelly —suggests there is at least a 40% chance a player with those risk factors will eventually require hip surgery or other treatment for degenerative conditions.
Another player from the 2009 draft, Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd, showed similar signs on X-rays at the combine and ended up missing the end of his rookie season to have surgery for a labral tear — the same type of injury Kelly is to fix for Harvin today in New York
.
So I looked up Jairus Byrd, a safety, a player who players a more viotile position, and possibly a player who has to use his hips a lot more because of coverage than a WR might. Byrd, after having surgery in January returned for 2010 season and was available for all of the next 48 games while starting 45 of them. It wasn't until last year he missed 5 games because of Platar Faciaitis not a hip injury.
Which leads me to believe that Percy Harvin can finally put this hip thing behind him and without that, he's not as injury proned as many people like to say he is. And thus bring us to the 2nd part of this argument:
Is Golden Tate really as durable as many would like to believe or even just compared to Harvin?
I'll let you decide for your self:
Percy Harvin
55 Games, 43 Starts
281 Catches, 3319 Yards, 20 TDs
107 Rushes, 683 Yards, 4 TDs
115 Returns, 3241 Yards, 5 TDs
For A Total Of:
503 Touches, 7243 Yards, 29 TDs
Golden Tate
58 Games, 33 Starts
165 Catches, 2195 Yards, 15 TDs
13 Rushes, 39 Yards
72 Returns, 854 Yards
For A Total Of:
250 Touches, 3118 Yards, 15 TDs
Its no argument that Tate's been very durable missing what only 1 game in his career? But Harvin's missed time gave them a comparable of amount of games played Tate's 58 to Harvin's 55. But would Tate be able maintain said durability if he had as many touches as Harvin had in 3 less games. We are talking a big difference, Harvin has had twice amount of touches (503) than Tate has (250). And I'm willing to bet Harvin has seen even more targets than Tate has. So, Harvin has been putting his body out there much much more than Tate has...
Use that information however you'd like but I have a feeling many of you will continue to bash Harvin's health, nonetheless. Which is fine, its your opinion..I'll just conclude this part since we have the Tate/Harvin argument going on is that Harvin is not only a more explosive and agile version of Tate, he's also bigger (in ways), faster, and stronger.
GT: 5'10, 198, 4.42s Forty, 35.0 inch Vertical, 30 1/2 in Arm Length, 9 1/4 Hands, 17 reps
PH: 5'11, 192, 4.39s Forty, 37.5 inch Vertical, 31 5/8 in Arm Length, 9 3/8 Hands, 20 reps
From GT to PH you're looking at almost a +4 inches in total reach, so Percy Harvin is capable of being as much of a jump ball WR Golden was, however, since Percy Harvin can gain consistent seperation the jump ball skill isn't as important to Harvin as it is with Tate.
Harvin can also be a capable down-field blocker, while possibly not as punishing as Tate, still as effective considering more often than not, teams will shade an extra defender on Harvin
