PFF Identifies Zay Jones as a Rookie Who Can Bounce Back in 2018

[Chicken Boo]

He'll be just fine.  Bills fans are prone to overreacting.

[BADOLBILZ]

6 minutes ago, thebandit27 said:

 

Fun question that's not entirely germane to the topic: how many WRs have you seen track a deep ball like that kid?

 

Very few.......if anyone does it BETTER in today's NFL it's Antonio Brown.....and he's just on another level than anyone right now........that's about it.

 

The spread between Watkins and Zay Jones in this regard is a chasm and the only exceptional ball Tyrod throws is the deep ball........it wasn't hard to see the offensive issues coming when they dealt Sammy.

 

   

[Augie]

4 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I said it early but Zay got the yips like a golfer gets. He just never recovered. As his mistakes compiled, the pressure grew and he just couldn’t get past it. He now has some relief for that and a semi-fresh start with a new OC.

 

The Bills certainly can’t depend on him to be their #2 receiver. He can however be a big improvement over last year. I’m pretty confident in him (I’m not sure why). 

 

I hate to admit it, but I’ve had some trouble with the yips, and it’s just the craziest darn thing! I had to change my putting grip because my brain no longer had control of my hands! 

[Kirby Jackson]

 

52 minutes ago, Dopey said:

Not saying Zay doesn't suck, but I trust our staff and our draft from last season. As for Zay's stats, take a look at a Eric Moulds' stats in his 1st two seasons in the NFL as a Bill:  

 

 

It does take a season or two for most WR's coming in and he was not a 1st rounder. I can wait one more year to see some development. Not saying we don't need another WR, but it's premature to write off Zay. IMO.

He was pick 37 (there are 32 in round 1). He wasn’t technically a 1st but there isn’t much difference between him and a late 1st. 

 

The game has changed too. What was the best season that a rookie WR had prior to Moulds? Without looking I would bet that there have been a dozen or so seasons better that the best ever at that point. Receivers come out ready now.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Kirby Jackson

[Lfod]

3 hours ago, nedboy7 said:

 

Playoffs. Hue hehehhe. 

I'm with you. I understand that. Leaning into the playoffs is a good sign of things to come and I enjoyed it. If I was being honest my hype for the game was a lot more then the actual excitement I received watching that Playoff game. Making the playoffs was more memorable then the actual game. I don't see how you could disagree. 

 

To be honest I found it to be a boring playoff game. It was a special boring playoff game but still boring. It reminded me of the game the Bills played the Panthers. A defensive game that the offense couldn't be productive. To be honest it kind of reminded me of a majority of the Bills games. Defence was strong and office sometimes showed up. I kinda had that game predicted in my head but I was wrong about the Dolphins games. Yes Bortles out played Tyrod at his own game. I 100% believe that.

 

Offense has some good games, the defense had some bad games. If I scaled it out I would say the defense stole the ball away 13% of the time the opponent faced them with the ball in thier possession. The defense in my opinion was the largest factor in my opinion. 

 

So for a moment let's forget who is to blame. Let's not point the blame. To be blunt the offense was boring in my opinion. A lot of safe play little action. The defense was excited. Defense go get the ball back. Ok do it again. Ok offence score.... Ok we will get it next time right?

 

So please believe me when I say I have hope for any player on offense. I want them to be good. Plus please forgive me if I'm skeptical about holding on to any of the offensive players besides Shady moving forward. I get a little stupid and to harsh on players sometimes but 3 points multiple times in a year just looks bad on everyone that played a role in it.

 

On Topic: Yea Zay was not a great receiver on a not great offense. Zay was bad but nothing was good. 

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by Lfod

[White Linen]

5 hours ago, Dopey said:

Not saying Zay doesn't suck, but I trust our staff and our draft from last season. As for Zay's stats, take a look at a Eric Moulds' stats in his 1st two seasons in the NFL as a Bill:  

 

 

It does take a season or two for most WR's coming in and he was not a 1st rounder. I can wait one more year to see some development. Not saying we don't need another WR, but it's premature to write off Zay. IMO.

 

He had Kelly in his last year and Todd Collins throwing to him in 96 and 97.  Then Flutie  and Rob Johnson started Moulds emergence.  He then had a down year with Van Pelt and Rob Johnson throwing to him then a huge spike with Bledsoe.  Then another down year with Bledsoe  followed by another good one.  

 

The QB matters and if you want WR's to develop you have to get rid of a player like Tyrod.  

[Kirby Jackson]

4 minutes ago, White Linen said:

 

He had Kelly in his last year and Todd Collins throwing to him in 96 and 97.  Then Flutie  and Rob Johnson started Moulds emergence.  He then had a down year with Van Pelt and Rob Johnson throwing to him then a huge spike with Bledsoe.  Then another down year with Bledsoe  followed by another good one.  

 

The QB matters and if you want WR's to develop you have to get rid of a player like Tyrod.  

Josh Gordon led the league in receiving with Campbell, Weeden and Hoyer. Hopkins had almost 1600 yards with Hoyer, Mallet, Yates and Weeden. Good receivers are good receivers, there is no reason to make excuses for Zay’s putrid play. Let’s just hope that it improves this year (I think it will). 

[BillsFan130]

6 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Josh Gordon led the league in receiving with Campbell, Weeden and Hoyer. Hopkins had almost 1600 yards with Hoyer, Mallet, Yates and Weeden. Good receivers are good receivers, there is no reason to make excuses for Zay’s putrid play. Let’s just hope that it improves this year (I think it will). 

Exactly. 

 

I remember people were saying Smith schuster is only good because of Big Ben.

 

Then On the final game of the regular season when Landry Jones started, Smith Schuster had around 150 yards that game with 2 TDS 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

So much love be for Bills rookies not put in a position to play to his strength and with an injury.  

 

[JohnC]

6 hours ago, White Linen said:

 

Zay did stink but Tyrod didn't help.  There were times when Zay was blatantly open and Tyrod doesn't throw the ball.  

 

You'll see a lot of times a QB will go right back to the same receiver that dropped a ball on the next play.  It's that type of stuff that Tyrod doesn't help young WR's develop.  Receivers don't grow with Tyrod - that's my point.  

I'm not a Tyrod advocate. But let's be fair here. Zay's failure was his failure. He had a lot of drops and more problematic he rarely got separation. He being blanketed was on him, not the qb. I'm certainly not giving up on him. His production in college was too prolific to write him off. I'm hoping that he is the type of player who after being acclimated to the pro game will make a quantum leap next year. 

Edited February 17, 2018 by JohnC

[Watkins101]

9 hours ago, DCOrange said:

A major issue is that Zay made his living at ECU essentially on screens, digs, and quick slants; basically anything underneath.

 

In Buffalo, he was used as the team's deep threat, which he has always struggled with dating back to ECU. It's no wonder that he struggled as a rookie; Buffalo played him to his weaknesses instead of using his strengths.

 

This line from that PFF article is pretty incredible though:

 

 

The real question is whether or not it counts the Carolina pass as catchable or not.

[Kirby Jackson]

12 minutes ago, billsfan11 said:

Exactly. 

 

I remember people were saying Smith schuster is only good because of Big Ben.

 

Then On the final game of the regular season when Landry Jones started, Smith Schuster had around 150 yards that game with 2 TDS 

If anyone watched Zay Jones play this year and said, “he’s fine it is the QB’s fault” they don’t know what the hell they are watching. He was awful and they stopped throwing him the ball. He got 6 targets over the last 4 games. https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/stats/receiving#catch-percentage

 

I am a fan of Zay and loved the pick. I wanted to trade up for him. I said he would be an upgrade over Woods. That was one of my worst predictions ever!!

 

It’s not time to give up on him but he doesn’t need to be sheltered either. Let’s call it what it is; he sucked last year. It would be a huge lift if he had a bounce back but the Bills can’t count on that. Production from him will be found money at this point.

Edited February 17, 2018 by Kirby Jackson

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

9 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I'm not a Tyrod advocate. But let's be fair here. Zay's failure was his failure. He had a lot of drops and more problematic he rarely got separation. He being blanketed was on him, not the qb. I'm certainly not giving up on him. His production in college was to prolific to write him off. I'm hoping that he is the type of player who after being acclimated to the pro game will make a quantum leap next year. 

Which is why Ifound it interesting that the short routes were his strength.   

 

Forcing him deep was a mistake.  

 

 

[Kirby Jackson]

7 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Which is why Ifound it interesting that the short routes were his strength.   

 

Forcing him deep was a mistake.  

 

 

No doubt about this. That was the problem with the Bills having all of those lumbering receivers. They had to use Zay to stretch the field (especially before Deonte Thompson got there). They didn’t do him any favors.

 

I think that it was mostly mental though. I was a baseball player and made 5 errors in a game in high school. The ball just kept finding it me and I was just fighting it. The errors just kept piling up. That was how it was for Zay this year. He couldn’t get a break. He needed a play or 2 to really lift the weight off his shoulders. Zay knew that they needed him and he was pressing. Hopefully this break will be good for him. I still think that he can help them. He was too productive in college to be a disaster.

[JohnC]

Just now, Kirby Jackson said:

No doubt about this. That was the problem with the Bills having all of those lumbering receivers. They had to use Zay to stretch the field (especially before Deonte Thompson got there). They didn’t do him any favors.

 

I think that it was mostly mental though. I was a baseball player and made 5 errors in a game in high school. The ball just kept finding it me and I was just fighting it. The errors just kept piling up. That was how it was for Zay this year. He couldn’t get a break. He needed a play or 2 to really lift the weight off his shoulders. Zay knew that they needed him and he was pressing. Hopefully this break will be good for him. I still think that he can help them. He was too productive in college to be a disaster.

One would think that an error prone player such as you would be more sympathetic and empathetic toward Peterman in his starting debut. 

side note: Canisius just beat Monmouth 78-60

 

[3rdand12]

10 hours ago, elroy16 said:

 

 

Zay had some trouble separating from corners and with drops. I'm sure having a torn labrum didn't help getting off press or catching tough passes. Saying he was awful is an exaggeration.

 

WR isn't an easy position for college players to come and play at a high level right away, especially coming from a smaller school. He probably won't be a #1, but I think he can be a solid slot receiver. 

nope. you are kind and generous as i might wish to be.

he was awful

 He knows this.

 And so does his Mom : )

only way to go is up for him. I expect he will pull himself together during this coming season.

 

did they bring Lal back yet?.....

2 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said:

" Saying he was awful is an exaggeration."

 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2018 by 3rdand12

[FLFan]

19 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

No doubt about this. That was the problem with the Bills having all of those lumbering receivers. They had to use Zay to stretch the field (especially before Deonte Thompson got there). They didn’t do him any favors.

 

I think that it was mostly mental though. I was a baseball player and made 5 errors in a game in high school. The ball just kept finding it me and I was just fighting it. The errors just kept piling up. That was how it was for Zay this year. He couldn’t get a break. He needed a play or 2 to really lift the weight off his shoulders. Zay knew that they needed him and he was pressing. Hopefully this break will be good for him. I still think that he can help them. He was too productive in college to be a disaster.

All true, although I think he did largely work himself out of the aweful start in terms of catching the ball. The problem became getting open. They did him no favors playing him on the outside. Hopefully with the changes being made, and hopefully with a QB who can/will actually throw the ball, playing out of the slot he will develop. It is certainly way too early to give up on him. 

[Misterbluesky]

11 hours ago, White Linen said:

This is one of the major reasons to not like Taylor as your teams QB.  He's a development killer.  

T T is to blame for dropped balls too?

[Kirby Jackson]

36 minutes ago, JohnC said:

One would think that an error prone player such as you would be more sympathetic and empathetic toward Peterman in his starting debut. 

side note: Canisius just beat Monmouth 78-60

 

Ha ha, well played

 

I watched the Griffs game. Reese has been outstanding!! Big game Sunday

[starrymessenger]

Not worried about Isiah.

Isiah's gonna be good.