Gabe Davis caught an abysmal 51.6% of his 93 targets this year. Update: High% off target

[Mr. WEO]

12 hours ago, Figster said:

 

 

this just in....

[BillsShredder83]

12 hours ago, ChasBB said:

Trade him for whatever can get for him.  He's no longer an asset.  Maybe some team will send a 5th or 6th rounder for him.  Sadly, that is all he is worth now.

Worth so much more as a #3. Just needs to see thw field less

[MJS]

12 hours ago, ChasBB said:

Trade him for whatever can get for him.  He's no longer an asset.  Maybe some team will send a 5th or 6th rounder for him.  Sadly, that is all he is worth now.

Oh my gosh. He had 837 yards and 7 TD's.

 

The insanity around here is incredible.

[LyndonvilleBill]

10 hours ago, Dr.Sack said:

Remember Dawson Knox once had hands of stone (HoS). The way he corrected it was catching smaller balls, and working on his hand eye coordination and reaction time.
 

I’ve seen Davis offseason training regimen video last offseason it seemed intense and led by a very credible AT geared toward strength and explosiveness. In that video from last summer we saw Davis catch Juggs machine simulating his signature sideline catch. What Gabe needs to do next is focus is on doing exactly what Knox did to improve his hands. 

Yup, put him on the Ping Pong ball program. Less work on the body, more work on hands and eye coordination. 

[streetkings01]

Wow breaking news 😳
 

There might be 4 or 5 threads on this back in late December, early January?

Edited February 6, 2023 by streetkings01

[MrEpsYtown]

That's the thing with a first round receiver. If we draft one, they are still going to start Davis and McKenzie and never really use the rookie. It's going to be tough for a rookie to come in and unseat Gabe Davis and we will continue to watch him drop passes. 

 

One of the major issues with the franchise is it's unwillingness to play rookies and their blind faith/devotion to mediocre vets. That has to change, otherwise they will be held back from putting the most talent on the field. It has stunted the growth of DL like Epensa, Rousseau and Basham, as well as Oliver. Cook is one of the most explosive players on the team, and he spent a lot of time on the bench. Heck hey started Nate Peterman over Josh. It's why they lost Teller, it's why they lost Hodgins, it's why Shakir wasn't ready to make that big play in the playoffs. Draft these guys and let them play.   

Edited February 6, 2023 by MrEpsYtown

[Don Otreply]

3 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea when people start using numbers I am always unsure about whether they mean target share or position or something else.

 

To me Shakir winning the starting slot job and taking a step forward would be a part of the improvement but agree he should stay in the slot (whatever number designation you give that). Ideally you bring another outside guy in early in the draft and let he and Davis split time at the 2nd outside slot opposite Diggs with the idea that when Davis walks as a FA after the season your then 2nd year player is ready to be the full time starter. The other element though in terms of targets is they need to get Knox much closer to #2 in terms of target share. He is our best weapon aside from Stef. And then they HAVE to find a way to get Cook more involved in the passing game to make that pick worthwhile. 

 

Last year Diggs was c.28% of our targets; Gabe c.18%; Knox and McKenzie c.12% each; The running backs total were also c.18% but Cook himself only c.6%. 

 

Knox and Cook need more targets, Shakir needs to step forward and they need to add another legit perimeter player.  That is the most plausible roadmap to improved production IMO. 

Add in an O-line that can pass run block effectively and we would have something for sure, 

[colin]

he's a pure JAG.

 

allen has made brown and older beat up bease look like dynamic threats, when they are in fact very limited and can be erased by a D.

 

he and mckenzie run just trash routes way too often and have bad hands.  they just don't have any special talents or skills.

 

upside take: an above average to good wr in his place would add a ton to our O

[OldTimer1960]

I wish I knew why Davis has so much trouble with drops.  I think we’ve seen him make some great catches, especially along the sideline, but there are too many drops to consider him reliable at this point.

[78thealltimegreat]

13 hours ago, Figster said:

 

I think back to the 70 yard missile strike Josh made against the Jets that would have broke the internet if he completed it and Gabe just had it bounce off the number 13….that’s Gabe’s career in a nutshell. 

[Billz4ever]

6 hours ago, OldTimer1960 said:

I wish I knew why Davis has so much trouble with drops.  I think we’ve seen him make some great catches, especially along the sideline, but there are too many drops to consider him reliable at this point.

He lets the ball get into him.  Instead of catching the ball clean with his hands away from his body, he catches it closer to his body, where it's more likely there will be interaction between the ball and his body/pads.  His fundamentals are lacking.  I don't know what Hall has been doing with him, but that needs to change.  On high balls, he also waits for the ball to come to him, catching it with feet on the ground instead of going up to get it at the highest point he can.  That allows smaller DBs to make plays on the ball.  Gabe is 6' 2" but doesn't hardly ever use his height advantage.  

Edited February 6, 2023 by Billz4ever

[gobills404]

11 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

 

Didn't Knox drop a gimmie TD in the WC game? He's been better but I don't think he is out of the woods yet. 

Nobody said his drop rate is 0%

[Spiderweb]

12 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

Is that sarcasm? I sure hope so. 

It sure appeared to be.

[CoudyBills]

56 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

That's the thing with a first round receiver. If we draft one, they are still going to start Davis and McKenzie and never really use the rookie. It's going to be tough for a rookie to come in and unseat Gabe Davis and we will continue to watch him drop passes. 

 

One of the major issues with the franchise is it's unwillingness to play rookies and their blind faith/devotion to mediocre vets. That has to change, otherwise they will be held back from putting the most talent on the field. It has stunted the growth of DL like Epensa, Rousseau and Basham, as well as Oliver. Cook is one of the most explosive players on the team, and he spent a lot of time on the bench. Heck hey started Nate Peterman over Josh. It's why they lost Teller, it's why they lost Hodgins, it's why Shakir wasn't ready to make that big play in the playoffs. Draft these guys and let them play.   

Only in Buffalo where they don't play rookies.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

6 minutes ago, gobills404 said:

Nobody said his drop rate is 0%

 

True. He's gotten better. And hopefully Gabe will as well. Knox had a big issue with drops a couple years ago so Gabe has a chance. 

[BarleyNY]

3 minutes ago, Billz4ever said:

He lets the ball get into him.  Instead of catching the ball clean with his hands away from his body, he catches it closer to his body, where it's more likely there will be interaction between the ball and his body/pads.  His fundamentals are lacking.  I don't know what Hall has been doing with him, but that needs to change.  On high balls, he also waits for the ball to come to him, catching it on the ground instead of going up to get it at the highest point he can.  That allows smaller DBs to make plays on the ball.  Gabe is 6' 2" but doesn't hardly ever use his height advantage.  

I just listened to a discussion on a podcast about the Bengals - Chiefs game. They talked about the deep pass to Higgins that got deflected by the S to the CB for an interception. They said Higgins usually goes up for those balls, but didn’t on that one. That led to a discussion on WRs in general. They said that some always let the ball drop to them, which occasionally leads to plays like that. Also they said that it is something that is not easily changed. They also talked about other aspects of playing WR like tracking ability, etc. When watching Davis I haven’t looked for him high pointing on the run, but I will in the future. Anyone have any insights on that?

[BillsVet]

It's not just the catch rate, it's the (lack of) targets.  Buffalo had 551 attempts in 2022, 154 of which went to Diggs which is understandable.  But on the ~400 other targets, Davis had less than a quarter of those on a team with a decent but not exceptional option at TE and little at the slot WR.    

 

I have to believe that after that KC game, McBeane and their All-Star Personnel Team assumed Davis would start catching more passes and getting open more jumping from WR3 to WR2.  Or, they wanted to believe in their assessment of Davis because they wanted more defense.  

 

People care about firing Frazier, but those doing the self-scouting of their own players at OBD and/or prioritizing positional needs really need to be examined.  Especially on offense where they continually fail to invest and, when they do, the results are underwhelming.  Too many misses at the skill positions. 

 

 

[Nitro]

7 drops is a lot but what about the other passes he did not catch?  Were they broken up?  Bad passes?  Ran the wrong route?  I think the team breaks down the performance of each player and whatever short comings they have, it will be pointed out on video and the coaches will take steps to correct them.   Davis is worth keeping and fixing. 

[Lane Meyer K12]

Not making any projections, but Buffalo had a receiver by the name of Eric Moulds who dropped a lot of passes his first few seasons. He was considered a disappointment. However, around season four, Moulds became one of the better receivers in the league. He ended up having a productive career in Buffalo. Possibly, Davis has the same upside and just needs a little more time. He has talent and has shown flashes. Maybe, year four it clicks.

[streetkings01]

1 hour ago, MrEpsYtown said:

That's the thing with a first round receiver. If we draft one, they are still going to start Davis and McKenzie and never really use the rookie. It's going to be tough for a rookie to come in and unseat Gabe Davis and we will continue to watch him drop passes. 

 

One of the major issues with the franchise is its unwillingness to play rookies and their blind faith/devotion to mediocre vets. That has to change, otherwise they will be held back from putting the most talent on the field. It has stunted the growth of DL like Epensa, Rousseau and Basham, as well as Oliver. Cook is one of the most explosive players on the team, and he spent a lot of time on the bench. Heck hey started Nate Peterman over Josh. It's why they lost Teller, it's why they lost Hodgins, it's why Shakir wasn't ready to make that big play in the playoffs. Draft these guys and let them play.   

I disagree with this team not playing rookies over vets. White, Dawkins, Allen, Edmunds, Oliver, Moss and Rousseau started pretty much from day 1. The problem I have with the staff is sticking with underperforming players too long in the starting lineup based on how comfortable they are with them.