Yup, and you're gonna here Cimini report about a drop more often then guys like Megatron. Eric Decker drops one, meh, it happens. Stephen Hill drops one, we are in trouble. Like I said, I'll worry about his drops when it gets closer to season time. We're 4 days into camp. Give me a break
I agree, and it is up to the owner to make the switch. those of you who are season ticket holders can make that point in any survey that the team send you.
I too think the Stephen Hill drops have been over emphasized so far but I can guarantee you that the Stephen Hill fan club that is defending him now wouldn't be minimizing it as "just 4 days into camp" had Hill been lighting it up so far. That just is what it is.
Garcia's Restaurant https://plus.google.com/104812358803347928863/about?gl=us&hl=en That's a good spot but downtown is the best place to go to eat.
He has our money and our guaranteed continued ticket purchases for the next 30 years. He does not care what we think, he cares about what Nike tells him. _
Hill has an uphill (no pun intended) battle at this point. Being consistently competent would be a huge upgrade over what he has done so far, but that still may not be enough to unseat Nelson. Now that the Jets have so many more options to pass the ball to, his potential to make an impact is going to be that much harder to reach.
Hill is far more gifted athletically so if he became 'consistently competent' of course he'd unseat Nelson. The only real question is whether he's capable of reaching that level or not. If he does win the starting job as you point out I have no idea how often Geno would look to him especially after bad experiences last year now that he has other reliable targets. At that point it would be up to Hill as to how far he can go.
Jets # of drops in 2013 - (League average is about 6 - 7 percent). Kerley - 1 drop / 43 receptions. Nelson - 2 drops / 36 receptions. Hill - 1 drop / 24 receptions. Cumberland - 1 drop / 24 receptions. Gates - 3 drops / 12 receptions Holmes - 4 drops / 23 receptions. Decker - 7 drops / 87 receptions. Ivory - 2 receptions / 3 drops. Powell - 36 receptions / 4 drops Johnson - 42 receptions / 4 drops. The story pretty much is that Holmes was terrible, Ivory is a great running and blocking back but can't catch, Kerley is one of the most sure handed guys in the entire NFL, and everyone else is pretty standard. Honestly the issue isn't whether or not these guys can catch, because I know they can, it's whether or not they can get open. Steven Hill had that one awful drop in New England but otherwise he catches most of the balls that hit his hands. The problem is that he doesn't run any routes except for just a straight go-route and when the defender knows that it's beyond easy to cover. That's why Desean Jackson is so good. A couple times a game he will hit on a slant or post, and the second he has the corner guessing, he is going to break a big one. Maybe Decker can teach Hill a thing or two about how to run a great route since he is one of the best in the NFL. 7 drops sounds high for Decker but it's only 8 percent so I am not really worried about that either. If he hauls in 90 balls this year and drops 8 or 9, I really wouldn't be upset.
I wouldn't undersell Nelson though. He had 61 receptions from Fitzpatrick in 2011, and then the Bills (probably because they are the Bills) gave up on him. Then in 12 games last year he joined the team mid-season and caught 36 balls from a rookie QB. If he played all 16 it would have been about 50 balls caught for 600 yards which would have lead the team. Now Geno is heading into year 2 and Nelson has had a full year in our system. I don't think it is a stretch to say that Nelson this year could have around 65 receptions, 750 - 800 yards, and 5 TD's, and if that is the case that would make him a top 50 receiver. I don't see top 50 potential from Hill though, unless he figures out how to run routes this year.
IBM presents: You Make The Call Hill practicing his TD celebration - or - Hill 'catching' a perfectly thrown ball:
