Very good article about Tate's departure, FA stuff, and othe

http://seattlesportsnet.com/2014/03/12/golden-tate-and-the-conundrum-of-replaceable-players/

I love the way the article starts out...

There are more than a few dozen Golden Tates. He is a type. He is not the prototype. He is not Calvin Johnson. You can replace a Golden Tate with another Tate-type. You cannot replace a Calvin Johnson, a prototype, when only one of his kind, a six-foot-five-inch speedster with hands like cocoa butter, exists.

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Well said.

Wow, I have rarely seen such a pile of self delusion in one article. Golden Tate is a prototype, he can break tackles, make the big play, and is not just a willing blocker, but a fantastic blocker. Success has gone to the heads of the FO and coach of the Hawks. They won not because of their expertise, but because of chemistry between coaches and players. They have broken it down, and will now start over. We may be good again in 2015, but this coming year will be more like 10-6. Remember how the GB dynasty of a couple of years ago looked? Guess what, same type of front office moves, team went in the dumpster.

I think Tate may fall somewhere between just typical "type" and actual "prototype" because he has such good hands (best in the NFL the last 2-3 years), blocks well AND is an excellent punt returner. He's replaceable, but it might be a little more difficult to replace him with a guy that's good at all three things. We'd certainly preferred if he stayed, but the overall cost meant we couldn't.

And so, we move on.

jeremiah":shj85m51 said:

Wow, I have rarely seen such a pile of self delusion in one article. Golden Tate is a prototype, he can break tackles, make the big play, and is not just a willing blocker, but a fantastic blocker. Success has gone to the heads of the FO and coach of the Hawks. They won not because of their expertise, but because of chemistry between coaches and players. They have broken it down, and will now start over. We may be good again in 2015, but this coming year will be more like 10-6. Remember how the GB dynasty of a couple of years ago looked? Guess what, same type of front office moves, team went in the dumpster.

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:177692: :141847_bnono: :34853_doh:


Nothing to see here move on folks ..

jeremiah":1dwzla1o said:

Wow, I have rarely seen such a pile of self delusion in one article. Golden Tate is a prototype, he can break tackles, make the big play, and is not just a willing blocker, but a fantastic blocker. Success has gone to the heads of the FO and coach of the Hawks. They won not because of their expertise, but because of chemistry between coaches and players. They have broken it down, and will now start over. We may be good again in 2015, but this coming year will be more like 10-6. Remember how the GB dynasty of a couple of years ago looked? Guess what, same type of front office moves, team went in the dumpster.

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Green Bay fell apart because their Defense sucked. They guys they chose to keep did not play up to their potential. You know, those same guys who won the Super Bowl.

It wasn't because they let a few players go.

jeremiah":3g428dg7 said:

Wow, I have rarely seen such a pile of self delusion in one article. Golden Tate is a prototype, he can break tackles, make the big play, and is not just a willing blocker, but a fantastic blocker. Success has gone to the heads of the FO and coach of the Hawks. They won not because of their expertise, but because of chemistry between coaches and players. They have broken it down, and will now start over. We may be good again in 2015, but this coming year will be more like 10-6. Remember how the GB dynasty of a couple of years ago looked? Guess what, same type of front office moves, team went in the dumpster.

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Speaking of delusion...

jeremiah":30gnh5cy said:

Wow, I have rarely seen such a pile of self delusion in one article. Golden Tate is a prototype, he can break tackles, make the big play, and is not just a willing blocker, but a fantastic blocker. Success has gone to the heads of the FO and coach of the Hawks. They won not because of their expertise, but because of chemistry between coaches and players. They have broken it down, and will now start over. We may be good again in 2015, but this coming year will be more like 10-6. Remember how the GB dynasty of a couple of years ago looked? Guess what, same type of front office moves, team went in the dumpster.

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If he was a prototype, he would be making 11M a year and not 6.25M a year. The NFL values prototypes at WR with eight figures every year.

Excellent! And I agree with every word. Especially the cocoa butter part. Calvin Johnson could catch a newborn falling from a 1,000 foot cliff with those hands and it would just giggle like it had been tickled.

But seriously, wish the best for Tate, but he's not irreplaceable. I'm surprised he left, given the hometown comments, but it's a business. While I'd love to get a big WR in the draft, I'm sure we'll also find a few Tate-types to try out. I think the up side of our WR core is Tate leaving doesn't really create a void. Kearse has really come into his own, Lockette can step up, there are options.

sc85sis":2bxgca7i said:

I think Tate may fall somewhere between just typical "type" and actual "prototype" because he has such good hands (best in the NFL the last 2-3 years), blocks well AND is an excellent punt returner. He's replaceable, but it might be a little more difficult to replace him with a guy that's good at all three things. We'd certainly preferred if he stayed, but the overall cost meant we couldn't.

And so, we move on.

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Can you find me evidence of this, as well as comparing it to other WR's on Pass heavy Teams compared to our Run first team. Also as a QB to WR attempts/Targeted.. Because so far I don't see anything supporting this.. "Golden Tate has the best hands in the NFL"

Some people must have missed the last 5 games of the year.

jeremiah":c719y0qo said:

Wow, I have rarely seen such a pile of self delusion in one article. Golden Tate is a prototype, he can break tackles, make the big play, and is not just a willing blocker, but a fantastic blocker. Success has gone to the heads of the FO and coach of the Hawks. They won not because of their expertise, but because of chemistry between coaches and players. They have broken it down, and will now start over. We may be good again in 2015, but this coming year will be more like 10-6. Remember how the GB dynasty of a couple of years ago looked? Guess what, same type of front office moves, team went in the dumpster.

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Agreed. I mean, I'm not going to say Tate is an elite WR. Baldwin is an elite WR. But Tate is not a "type". He's a fantastic blocker, he's a great open field runner, he's a playmaker. He was also immature. If Harvin doesn't turn out to be a glass prima donna, we'll hardly miss Tate. If Harvin does turn out to be one, we'll be sad to have seen Tate go.

But I was sad to see Leon go, and we have a Super Bowl ring, so I think the team will find a way without Tate. That writer, however, was deluding himself.

jeremiah":yq5toxay said:

Remember how the GB dynasty of a couple of years ago looked? Guess what, same type of front office moves, team went in the dumpster.

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The Packers finished 15-1 the year after they won the Super Bowl. 11-5* the next year (fail mary) despite a number of injuries. Last year, they were rollin' until Rodgers missed half the season.

They made the playoffs all three of those years. I'm guessing 95% of NFL teams would love to be in that kind of dumpster.

CPHawk":2fsq2laj said:

Some people must have missed the last 5 games of the year.

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Like the last game of the season against the rams with that spectacular TD.

Must have missed it.

Well, I am definitely drafting Tate in fantasy football now. At or near the top in YAC, punt return efficiency and drop rate every year, fast, blocks great, and never gets hurt. Now going to an offense that puts up video game pass attempt numbers, living in the shadow of Calvin Johnson.

$6 million is going to look like a steal for Tate in Detroit. That article is going to look silly in a year's time. Not for supporting Seattle's decision, but for underestimating Tate. Seattle will be just fine, we'll find guys that fit us and the loss of Tate will likely be marginal. I see no reason to dump on Tate though. Tate is about to break out.

jeremiah":25y5c014 said:

Remember how the GB dynasty of a couple of years ago looked? Guess what, same type of front office moves, team went in the dumpster.

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Why do people keep comparing us to other Super Bowl teams that are nothing like us? Also, it's laughable to suggest Green Bay went in the dumpster.

This is pertinent -- this is what a friend who's a Lions fan wrote to me when I said Tate could rip it up in the Lions offense:

...or we'll further discover how excellent Russell Wilson was at accuracy when Tate sees his excellent hands falter trying to bring in Stafford's wounded ducks.

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That definitely made me think. Could part of the reason our entire team has great catch rate numbers be related to Wilson's accuracy and touch? Would our group have the same "hands" numbers if they were catching side-arm ducks from Stafford?

Cute article. Not even close to true, but cute.

Tate is a type? Sure. A Hines Ward type. How many other players get compared to him?

Tate was one of the leading receivers at broken tackles.

He was also one of the receivers with the least amount of drops.

And he was a leader in YAC.

Oh yes, he was also one of the best receivers at locating the long ball.

So yes, if you can find a player that plays with the attitude/aggressiveness and sheer physical nature of a Hines Ward, breaks tackles routinely and drops maybe five balls in four years - sure, then he is easily replaceable. Otherwise the writer is clearly deluded.

I needed a good laugh.

Otherwise, no. Maybe Steve Smith, though I think those were different types of players.

The funny part is just how obvious this article is. It is playing in that tendency that people have to assure themselves after a loss that the loss was no big deal. Of course I am betting that had we kept Tate, I would stand an equal chance of seeing an article on how "Tate is a unique talent, a smaller receiver that is physical, has a knack for breaking tackles and the ability to fight fight for or high point the ball".

Next we will be hearing about how Dougie is so much better than Tate? Yeah sure.

Cartire":2fsf2pus said:

CPHawk":2fsf2pus said:

Some people must have missed the last 5 games of the year.

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Like the last game of the season against the rams with that spectacular TD.

Must have missed it.

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He's not as good as Doug or Harvin, and we needed to make the move to have one big WR. My guess is the 32 pick will be Mathews and people will forget all about Tate.

kearly":2c6jv4md said:

Well, I am definitely drafting Tate in fantasy football now. At or near the top in YAC, punt return efficiency and drop rate every year, fast, blocks great, and never gets hurt. Now going to an offense that puts up video game pass attempt numbers, living in the shadow of Calvin Johnson.

$6 million is going to look like a steal for Tate in Detroit. That article is going to look silly in a year's time. Not for doubting Seattle, but for underestimating Tate. Seattle will be just fine, we'll find guys that fit us. I see no reason to dump on Tate though. Tate is about to break out.

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I hope you're not blowing an early pick on him. If so, would love to join your league. The Lions have already stated publicly they are going to balance their game out, and showed it not only with the contract they gave Bush last year, but the extension to Bell this year. And let's not forget about Bush, they love dumping it off to him. And if the Lions go for Watkins as rumored, there's even more competition.

Not trying to dog Tate, I love his effort and all around ability, but I think he went to a team that's undergoing some fundamental changes and he's really gonna have to fight to make his presence felt.