Richardson Might Be Fast But....

The dude has no wiggle, no cuts and no jukes. Just forward speed. With that said I like what im seeing from him so far.

Just remember what we saw from Golden Tate the 1st 2 years, we saw flashes but really very little else. I love Tate but I think Richardson has actually flashed more than Tate did the 1st year!

Use his strengths until he develops his weakness.

dopeboy206":vdaodetq said:

The dude has no wiggle, no cuts and no jukes. Just forward speed. With that said I like what im seeing from him so far.

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Hi spice level does seem a bit on the mild side and he hasn't been taking the top off defenses as was advertised. But one of the raps coming out of college was that he didn't have great hands, and I've seen him make some really nice grabs with defenders hanging all over him, so I guess it's been a mixed bag so far.

He runs good routes, has good hands. He can play in this league.

RIchardson going up to get the ball on 3rd down was his best catch of the year. But then he disappeared for the rest of the game. He ran 30 routes on passing plays, but was targeted only three times on those passing plays.

Why aren't we seeing him at all in the slot?

hawknation2014":3cwrl55m said:

RIchardson going up to get the ball on 3rd down was his best catch of the year. But then he disappeared for the rest of the game. He ran 30 routes on passing plays, but was targeted only three times on those passing plays.

Why aren't we seeing him at all in the slot?

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That 3rd down play was clearly improvisation based on the escape and scramble of Russ. He got open after seeing Russ in trouble, just like ADB does so well.

It's only a matter of time before he is targeted more frequently in is initial routes.

Be patient, and trust the science. :16:

hawknation2014":2ljczytb said:

RIchardson going up to get the ball on 3rd down was his best catch of the year. But then he disappeared for the rest of the game. He ran 30 routes on passing plays, but was targeted only three times on those passing plays.

Why aren't we seeing him at all in the slot?

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that's what happens when 10 different receivers catch passes.

I think the OP is more concerned with his KO returns, which I have to 100% agree. The kid is getting on the field during offensive plays and that's great. But he needs to be taken off KO's, he just runs dead straight ahead and most times can't make it past the 20. He just doesn't make any kind of moves. We'd be better off kneeling. I believe he returned one to the 8 yd line yesterday, just freaking kneel on it.

1. He's a rookie

2. Going into camp and going into the season he the #5 receiver at best. Now with the harvin thing and lockette pursuing and acting career he's a three, and because of where he lines up, more like a 2.

so all that to say, he's probably on schedule.

kmeleon":20231klj said:

I think the OP is more concerned with his KO returns, which I have to 100% agree. The kid is getting on the field during offensive plays and that's great. But he needs to be taken off KO's, he just runs dead straight ahead and most times can't make it past the 20. He just doesn't make any kind of moves.

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Yes u are correct. I know he has speed but lacks the cuts, shake n bake and moves to compliment his speed on KR

He's looking like a good 3rd down target for Wilson. His routes are fine but he doesn't have quickness.

He looks like just a guy to me unfortunately.

SonicHawk":2rjjwkqj said:

He's looking like a good 3rd down target for Wilson. His routes are fine but he doesn't have quickness.

He looks like just a guy to me unfortunately.

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Norwood looks more like a 3rd down threat to me.

I suspect he will just get better and better. What I loved seeing is he has serious springs for legs. Guy can really jump.

SC

Hawknballs":2uob1r2o said:

1. He's a rookie

2. Going into camp and going into the season he the #5 receiver at best. Now with the harvin thing and lockette pursuing and acting career he's a three, and because of where he lines up, more like a 2.

so all that to say, he's probably on schedule.

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Totally agree.

As for the KO's, if I'm not mistaken, he didn't do that in college. For Kick Offs, you need vision. Find the hole and hit it fast and hard. You don't need a lot of "wiggle" or "shake and bake". Watch all the KO returns in the NFL. If a guy starts running side to side, he's usually done. It just lets everyone get back into their lanes and set up the picket fence to keep the guy in. See the hole, hit the hole fast while the defense is running down full speed, get upfield before guys can break down and square you up.

Vision can be learned by reps. He honestly looks like he needs practice at it. Also, Philly's ST's are really damned good. When he was getting hit early, it was because he had a few guys already in position, broke down, to make tackles and bracket him in. Not saying he can't do better, but they're a tough team to do it against.

Devin Hester is probably the best returner in the game. In his words, you get upfield fast. He said that whatever you do, whatever moves you make, try to do it getting up field.

He may not have "moves", but he's getting his basics down solid. He runs a great route, he improvises well when a play breaks, and he can block downfield. I'll take those things over moves right now. Moves you can figure out as you get better.

he didn't get nearly the touches in the pre-season he would have had we known he would be a starter in our 3 WR offense. so he's still just getting the basics of being an NFL receiver down. With time he can work that other junk into his game, for the time being we should be glad he seems to mostly know the plays and is running the proper routes, especially when you're asking him to be part of an offense that has to improvise as much as ours. Also why I'm surprised that Norwood hasn't emerged more, but I guess his injury issues in camp have a lot to do with it. At Alabama he specialized in finding ways to get open on critical third downs and finding holes in the D when things broke down so I figured he'd probably make an impact faster than Richardson. I still think he might. There's a reason he made the opening day roster despite not doing much in camp and pre-season.

I think it is extremely difficult to evaluate WRs in this type of offense, where the passing game is meant to complement the running game and the emphasis is on ball control and security. Add to that the fact that Russell misses open receivers quite a bit. It's unfair to evaluate our WRs compared to other teams, particularly the pass-oriented teams like GB, Detroit, Denver, etc.

I'll be patient with his route running and what not. But for KO returns, I feel like if it's any deeper than 1 yard in the end zone, considering he's consistently being taken down BEFORE the 20. I think he should take a knee. He's running out every time expecting to be Percy Harvin and he's one fumble away from being taken off the job completely.

I'm OK with his running style, but I'm not OK with running the ball out from deep in the end zone.

Dude needs to know when to take a knee, can't keep starting drives from the 12 yard line.