Who do we keep Lockette or Bates?

[seatownlowdown]

[youtube]e7vIEspy7J0[/youtube]

 

[bjornanderson21]

This whole 6th receiver decision as well as choosing our primary punt returner can only be described as "whack" (how kid's talk these days).

It makes me uncomfortable since I think that Norwood should be on the roster. I feel we should keep Norwood on the team even if he isn't 100% by week 1, I think he's hands down a top 4-5 receiver on this team when healthy... maybe even #3 behind Harvin and Baldwin.

So now I'm worried we are gonna let some guy who doesn't really deserve to be there take his spot like Walters. WALTERS HAS 27 RECEIVING YARDS IN HIS 2 YEAR CAREER!?

http://www.nfl.com/player/bryanwalters/2528181/careerstats

Technically Walters has had a 3 year career... he's been playing since 2011 but apparently wasn't good enough to make a team in 2012...

Seriously??? Why do so many people seem to love this guy, everything I see of him screams "Below Mediocre! Please do not let him take some one else's spot!!!"

Walters is 6'0'' and 26 years old, if he was really any good he would have more than 27 receiving yards in 3 years...


AND our whole punt return situation is terrible, let's be honest punt returns is the ONLY REASON why we would even consider a scrub like Walters. And that's just sad because he's not even close to as good as Golden Tate, Walters has mediocre hands and has no evasive moves whatsoever.

I think Earl Thomas would be much better as a punt returner athletically, but he's just too dang valuable... our whole defense revolves around him. And while I feel Thomas is pretty dang durable similar to Tate, I still think we should find another guy for the job, Thomas should be allowed to be 100% focused on defense, thinking about punt returns is unnecessary for the guy OUR ENTIRE DEFENSE REVOLVES AROUND.

The fact that Walters got so many more punt returns than Thomas seems too indicate that Earl Thomas is a last resort, in other words we should be able to find someone who is as good or nearly as good as Thomas that should have this job.

Right now I'm thinking Baldwin might be the best candidate, I don't wanna waste a roster spot on Walters just for his mediocre punt returns. Walters will have a fumble guaranteed, he's too slow and lacks evasiveness.

We should allow Norwood to make the team even if he isn't 100% week 1, otherwise he'll have to wait like half the season to play if we IR him according to what I heard (I'm not an expert of IR at all...)

Baldwin was interviewed the other day and asked about the punt return situation and he didn't even mention Walters... not one thing to say about him. That just shows Walters is a joke out there, Baldwin is not one to dismiss some guy if they are worthy, he gave props to Tate even who was his "rival" last year for #1 receiver.

You're being a little harsh on Walters, and im not saying that just because I went to Juanita.

Your overall assessment of him isn't wrong, but your words were pretty harsh. He seems like a good guy and he's really enjoying everything so it's easy to root for him. The problem is that, like you said, he just isn't very good.

When Walters actually came into a game late last season the other team knew there was no way the ball was coming to him and I figured Pete and John understood that we need a better depth at WR. I felt (and still feel) that if Walters makes the team then its a small failure on Pete and John to bring in enough talent at wr.

It's surprising that a team as talented as the Hawks would carry a WR that wouldn't make the cut on any other team.

 

[vin.couve12]

I think Lockette has definitively answered this question both as a WR and on ST. He is the current #4 WR and a Tomahawk on ST.

 

[Timmahawk]

I see Richardson as #4, he looks much smoother out there catching and running routes. Norwood makes the team or is on IR, Lockette also makes the team. I'm sorry, but Bates is cut, he might make the practice squad.

 

[titan3131]

percy
adb
kearse
p-rich
lockette

and norwood if not ir

 

[Bobblehead]

IMHO they have enough good receivers without Lockette or Bates, but Lockette is such a good gunner, that if they were to choose, I think it would be him. That said, he does hang out with that douche from SF, so there is that.

I also see PC ending his little experiment with Pryor when he realizes that all though Pryor is gifted athletically, he will never see the field as long as RU and TJ are here and hence would be rather frivolous when there is such few spots available.

SO they cut Pryor,
Keep Bates and Lockette.

 

[McG]

The way this guy hits, if he could learn how to play SS I think he would be a great fit as a back up to Kam. That would be a huge change, but seriously he has DB hands, he obviously can hit and he's fast (you can't teach speed).

I think he has to make the team for special teams alone. He's the 6th WR.

 

[scutterhawk]

I vote we keep Lockette even though Bates might be a better receiver.

Lockette seems to do very well whenever we do allow him to play reciever. It's kinda strange how he only gets a few targets in a Super Bowl year and he averages what like 17 yards per catch if my memory serves me and 5/7 catch rate per target?

It kinda seems like Lockette is just doomed to be a role player even if he has the speed and size and seemingly even the hands to be a top 3 receiver on any NFL team.

For whatever reason we use Lockette very sparingly as if he's some kind of cancerous plague that if we allow him to play he could kill us all... I don't get it personally...

But I would rather keep Lockette than Bates just because I can see his "gunner" skills on Special Teams coming up with a huge play. Like if we are in the Super Bowl and Lockette knocks some guy's head off and we recover the ball on their 3 yard line? Yeah... that seems like a realistic scenario with Lockette on special teams, and that alone is enough for me to give him the nod over Bates.

The only way I see Bates making the team is if Norwood can't play week 1 and Bates will play until Norwood returns. Once Norwood returns Bates will either be replaced by Norwood or Bates will earn a spot on the team over Kearse.

Bates over Kearse for a roster spot? BWAAAHAHAAHAHHAHAAAA

 

[Tokadub]

I vote we keep Lockette even though Bates might be a better receiver.

Lockette seems to do very well whenever we do allow him to play reciever. It's kinda strange how he only gets a few targets in a Super Bowl year and he averages what like 17 yards per catch if my memory serves me and 5/7 catch rate per target?

It kinda seems like Lockette is just doomed to be a role player even if he has the speed and size and seemingly even the hands to be a top 3 receiver on any NFL team.

For whatever reason we use Lockette very sparingly as if he's some kind of cancerous plague that if we allow him to play he could kill us all... I don't get it personally...

But I would rather keep Lockette than Bates just because I can see his "gunner" skills on Special Teams coming up with a huge play. Like if we are in the Super Bowl and Lockette knocks some guy's head off and we recover the ball on their 3 yard line? Yeah... that seems like a realistic scenario with Lockette on special teams, and that alone is enough for me to give him the nod over Bates.

The only way I see Bates making the team is if Norwood can't play week 1 and Bates will play until Norwood returns. Once Norwood returns Bates will either be replaced by Norwood or Bates will earn a spot on the team over Kearse.

Bates over Kearse for a roster spot? BWAAAHAHAAHAHHAHAAAA

BWAAAHAHAAHAHHAHAAAA... who says that anymore? So dorky wow... but yes that dorky forum talk could easily be applied to me responding to you:

BWAAAHAHAAHAHHAHAAAA... you lack reading comprehension I said "The only way Bates will make the team" followed by a series of hypothetical situations. I never said Bates would earn a spot over Kearse that is just one of the only ways he could make the team.

You can find me quoting MULTIPLE TIMES ON THIS FORUM SAYING Kearse will make the team as one of our 6 Wide Receivers. I have said that so many times... the fact that you would misread my quote and make a fool of yourself is amusing.

Why do you think they targeted Kearse 5 times today, more than anyone else on the team??? We targeted Kearse 5 times nobody else even had 4... why do you think that was? Well maybe because we wanted to make sure Kearse is a lock because there is a slight chance he's not good enough? Yeah that's why and he passed the test today, he'll make the team 100% now where before it was like 95%.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400554721

Learn to read k thanks bye BWAAAHAHAAHAHHAHAAAA

 

[hawknation2014]

Why do you think they targeted Kearse 5 times today, more than anyone else on the team??? We targeted Kearse 5 times nobody else even had 4... why do you think that was? Well maybe because we wanted to make sure Kearse is a lock because there is a slight chance he's not good enough? Yeah that's why and he passed the test today, he'll make the team 100% now where before it was like 95%.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400554721

Learn to read k thanks bye BWAAAHAHAAHAHHAHAAAA[/b]

No. They already knew Kearse was good enough. He has proven that he is capable of making the tough catch in traffic. He is the best weapon on the team at catching the football over the middle of the field. As long as he is healthy, Kearse is a veritable lock to make the team.

The only way Bates makes the team is if a serious injury occurs to one or more of the six receivers ahead of him. But he's a strong PS candidate I would think.

Harvin
Baldwin
Kearse
Richardson
Norwood (once he's off the PUP list)
Lockette (special teams)

 

[Tokadub]

No. They already knew Kearse was good enough. He has proven that he is capable of making the tough catch in traffic. He is the best weapon on the team at catching the football over the middle of the field. As long as he is healthy, he is lock to make the team.

The only way Bates makes the team is if a serious injury occurs to one or more of the six receivers ahead of him. But he's a strong PS candidate I would think.

Harvin
Baldwin
Kearse
Richardson
Norwood (once he's off the PUP list)
Lockette (special teams)

Agree to disagree about Kearse. Although your list of 6 Wide Receivers who "should" make the team is identical to mine.

Unless going into training camp it was 100% sure Kearse should make the team then I'm gonna have to disagree that "They already knew Kearse was good enough."

Given that our whole team identity is to "compete", I don't think it was 100% sure Kearse would make the team. If any of these other guys had even a 1% chance to make the team Kearse is in my opinion the most likely guy to lose his spot.

Lockette is too valuable on Special Teams. Harvin and Baldwin were the only 2 receivers 100% guaranteed to make the team if healthy, we do know they are good enough unlike Kearse. Richardson is too fast and talented to not make the team, I think Norwood is better than Kearse.

So in my opinion the guy most likely to lose his spot out of both of our 6 projected Wide Receivers to make the team is Kearse. He had only about a 57% catch rate last season in the regular season for a paltry 300ish yards, both of those stats are some of the worst on our team. Kearse also missed quite a ton of catches last season whether he was too slow and it was just beyond his finger tips, or it bounced off his hands, or even at times literally went right through them since his hands were too slow and he wasn't fully aware of the ball location.

If you don't believe me re-watch the Week 16 Arizona game where Kearse really struggled and missed a ton of catchable balls and may have ultimately cost us the game. I made a forum post about that game which included Kearse's performance:

http://www.seahawks.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=93406

4) Kearse has a bit of a butter fingers problem + lack of speed + lack of separation.

Wilson targeted Kearse 7 times but completed 3/7 for 38 yards. Kearse totally failed on several of those catches the ball literally falling through or bouncing right off his hands. At times Kearse's speed was simply not enough for that extra step required to catch a perfect throw. Wilson was throwing some beautiful balls to Kearse and he straight up couldn't make the play.

I'm not hating on Kearse, re-watch the game if you don't believe me. Kearse looked pretty dang bad throughout the game but he somewhat redeemed himself with 2 pretty nice plays (1 of them he looked really sloppy and bobbled the ball on the back shoulder throw).

I think this game is a good example of why Kearse's catch rate is 10% lower than our next 6 leading receivers. He doesn't have great hands or speed. I think Wilson really makes him seem better than he really is. It almost seemed like this game they were trying to see what Kearse was made of and deliberately targeted him when other guys were open, he failed to impress in my opinion.

Seriously re-watch that game if you think Kearse is so talented, the perfect being and therefor beyond evaluation. He showed he belongs tonight but I think we targeted him more than any other receiver to confirm he does in fact belong. If he caught 1/5 or 2/5 tonight instead of 4/5 he could be in some competition if Bates is as good as the training camp reports...

And Kearse should of been 5/5 tonight Wilson was that good, if I remember correctly the throw he missed was just beyond his fingertips and he jumped about 4 inches off the ground in his attempt to get it?

Kearse locked his spot tonight and may have had like a 95% chance to make it from the start, but he does have bad hands. I've watched Kearse fail to come down with a bit too many catchable balls to hail him as the next Doug Baldwin.

 

[Tokadub]

Watch this video and tell me with a straight face Kearse has great hands I dare you:

http://vimeo.com/102062194

@ 18:50 dang Kearse has some serious butterfingers drops a soft touch pass right off his hands, it was like a 15 foot throw couldn't be an easier catch....


People are so enamored with 2-3 nice "hero" plays that Kearse has made they forget his hands are so bad.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/stats/_/name/sea/seattle-seahawks

22/38 for 346 yards 57.9% catch rate? And we knew he was good enough? Agree too disagree... Marshawn Lynch just had 30 less receiving yards in 2013 and a MUCH better catch rate %.

 

[hawknation2014]

Watch this video and tell me with a straight face Kearse has great hands I dare you:

http://vimeo.com/102062194

@ 18:50 dang Kearse has some serious butterfingers drops a soft touch pass right off his hands, it was like a 15 foot throw couldn't be an easier catch....


People are so enamored with 2-3 nice "hero" plays that Kearse has made they forget his hands are so bad.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/stats/_/name/sea/seattle-seahawks

22/38 for 346 yards 57.9% catch rate? And we knew he was good enough? Agree too disagree... Marshawn Lynch just had 30 less receiving yards in 2013 and a MUCH better catch rate %.

One dropped screen pass in practice is supposed to support your argument? LOL.

His 57.9% catch rate last year was better than or equal to Calvin Johnson, Josh Gordon, Alshon Jeffrey, Michael Floyd, Dez Bryant, Riley Cooper, A.J. Green, etc.

By your own account, Kearse had a 95% chance to make the team before training camp. That is about as much of a "lock" as you can get.

 

[vin.couve12]

Every time RW or PC talks about the WRs it's always the first 3, then Lockette, then everyone else. This has been said repeatedly. Even the preseason depth charts have reflected this. Any putting the two rookies or Bates over Lockette is just not factual. I'm not here to defend Lockette or bash the others. I also saw that Richardson got some reps early in this last game with some of the ones, but as it stands right now Lockette has been the clear #4 guy. That may change, obviously, but either way Lockette is a near lock coupled with the ST duty.

 

[Uffda]

Lockette because of ST play, Bates still has the PS option.

 

[TXHawk]

I don't think there's much doubt that Lockette is ahead of Bates. He's not guaranteed to make the cut, though.

 

[hawks4thewin]

This is a hard decision.
Bates was returning punts last night.
Locket is good on special teams.
Bates as unique size, speed and athleticism.
Lockete is never in motion. Bates always is. (it means something)
Bates can pass.
Walters in all the years of training camp has never impressed me.
Very tough decision.
I don't know that I can make it yet.

 

[BlueBlood]

Lockette is an absolute assassin on special teams and neither player would get much opp to catch the ball so you have to keep the guy thats probably the best gunner in the NFL. Nobody can touch Lockette. Hes pulling an Alex Bannister by providing for his family by being one dimensional and that one dimension being elite.

 

[King Dog]

I initially voted Bates, but changed my mind after last nights game. Lockette looks solid and Bates hasn't done well....Anything (at least in preseason games).

 

[edogg23]

Lockette not only is a stud on st, he is underrated as a pass catcher. I don't recall a game yet where he has dropped a catchable pass.