Tate looking to play by Week 7

[mayoclinic]

There's no reason Tate couldn't be a productive WR for us if we gave him a chance.

All last offseason I was hyping WR Mike Wallace from Mississippi as a sleeper WR and a possibly 3rd-4th round pick. The Steelers took him one pick after we took Tate in the 3rd. He currently has 12 catches for 147 hards through 3 games, has become the #3 WR on the team, and has made several key receptions include a clutch catch against Tennessee.

Tate has plenty of talent. If healthy, there's no reason he couldn't contribute, if given the chance. Edelman is contributing, so why couldn't Tate?

 

[everlong]

All last offseason I was hyping WR Mike Wallace from Mississippi as a sleeper WR and a possibly 3rd-4th round pick. The Steelers took him one pick after we took Tate in the 3rd. He currently has 12 catches for 147 hards through 3 games, has become the #3 WR on the team, and has made several key receptions include a clutch catch against Tennessee.

I was shocked they took Tate with the injury when Wallace was still on the board. Then shocked turned to pissed when the Steelers grabbed him. I told some Steeler friends, yes oxymoronic I know, that he would leave Sweed in the dust as I've never been high on him and figured he would end up like Jarrett and other bigger college receivers that have ok speed but aren't quick. They are starting to believe me.

 

[patsox23]

He has a lot of potential, but we need to be realistic. At UNC he had 46 career receptions. His senior year was cut short at 16 because of a knee injury, but his productivity was largely as a returner, not a receiver. Sam Aiken, by comparison, had 46 catches his junior year and hauled in 68 his senior year. Aiken has been relegated to STs in the NFL. I am not saying Tate cannot make it, but he has never been as productive as Nicks and has a very long way to go before he becomes a productive receiver in the NFL.

I hear ya, but Peter Warrick had a lot of catches in college and look how he turned out. Just because Aiken out-produced Tate as a WR doesn't have much to do with how the Patriots viewed Tate's skill-set at draft time. I expect they wouldn't have used a 3rd round pick for an injured player if they saw him only, or even primarily, as a returner.

 

[mayoclinic]

I hear ya, but Peter Warrick had a lot of catches in college and look how he turned out. Just because Aiken out-produced Tate as a WR doesn't have much to do with how the Patriots viewed Tate's skill-set at draft time. I expect they wouldn't have used a 3rd round pick for an injured player if they saw him only, or even primarily, as a returner.

Besides being injured Tate had tested positive for MJ. And a very good WR prospect was still on the board, and went one pick after him. So obviously the Pats, rightly or wrongly, thought very highly of him as a prospect, and as more than just a returner.

 

[Jared]

By week seven, all he has to do is beat out Galloway. At that point, we may be clamoring for someone to replace him.

 

[spacecrime]

He has a lot of potential, but we need to be realistic. At UNC he had 46 career receptions. His senior year was cut short at 16 because of a knee injury, but his productivity was largely as a returner, not a receiver. Sam Aiken, by comparison, had 46 catches his junior year and hauled in 68 his senior year. Aiken has been relegated to STs in the NFL. I am not saying Tate cannot make it, but he has never been as productive as Nicks and has a very long way to go before he becomes a productive receiver in the NFL.

I don't get the pessimisn here. He was a projected first rounder until he got hurt. You can't just rank NFL WRs by how many catches they had in college.

How many receptions did Edelman have as a junior or a senior?

Luckily BB uses more in depth methods of evaluation than a spreadsheet of cokllege receptions.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Since 2000, there have only been three rookies to have more than 20 catches in their 1st year with the team. I pick 20 as a number that shows that there is at least a contribution to the offense and the coaching staff has enough confidence to put them out there where they know enough when to cut off routes, make sight adjustments, and make adjustments according to the defense in front of them (sit in spots in a zone).

2000-JR Redmond
2002- Deion Branch
2006-Maroney


I'd love to see Tate make an immediate contribution, but history shows that only one WR has made an impact in the passing game during the BB era.

 

[mayoclinic]

Since 2000, there have only been three rookies to have more than 20 catches in their 1st year with the team. I pick 20 as a number that shows that there is at least a contribution to the offense and the coaching staff has enough confidence to put them out there where they know enough when to cut off routes, make sight adjustments, and make adjustments according to the defense in front of them (sit in spots in a zone).

2000-JR Redmond
2002- Deion Branch
2006-Maroney


I'd love to see Tate make an immediate contribution, but history shows that only one WR has made an impact in the passing game during the BB era.

I agree to up to a point, which is why I earlier said that there is no reason to assume that a healthy (condition 1) Tate couldn't make a contribution if given the opportunity (condition 2). BB may not give him the chance.

On the other hand, we have a 7th round rookie QB on our roster named Edelman who already has 11 catches having played 2 out of the first 3 games.

 

[realtime]

I'm excited to see what this guy can do.

SN rated him ahead of Nicks, Maclin and DHB –*as a WR.

They also thought that Derek Pegues (undrafted) was the top safety in the entire draft and deserving of a 1st round pick, so I wouldn't put much stock in what SN says.

That said, I am also excited to see what he can do, and if he truly has the playbook "down pat", he is already way ahead of some of our other receivers.

 

[captain stone]

I was shocked they took Tate with the injury when Wallace was still on the board. Then shocked turned to pissed when the Steelers grabbed him. I told some Steeler friends, yes oxymoronic I know, that he would leave Sweed in the dust as I've never been high on him and figured he would end up like Jarrett and other bigger college receivers that have ok speed but aren't quick. They are starting to believe me.

I had Tate off my board until at least the 5th round because of the injury plus the weed (not that there's anything wrong with that, just not < one month before the Combine). I was hoping that Derrick Williams would last until 83, but the Loins took him at 82. My next choice was Juaquin Iglesias, but he hasn't done anything for da Bears, at least not yet.

"Holding out hope" seems more dire than "looking to play by week 7", but the fact that he's still around the clubhouse is def. a good sign. Hey, he's gotta be better than the washed-up Galloway, right?

 

[Deus Irae]

A non-'blazing' receiver who'll be coming off a major injury, has never played a down in the NFL and who didn't really go through training camp.

He may become the next Randy Moss for all anyone knows, but it's not very likely to seem that way at any point this season.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I agree to up to a point, which is why I earlier said that there is no reason to assume that a healthy (condition 1) Tate couldn't make a contribution if given the opportunity (condition 2). BB may not give him the chance.

On the other hand, we have a 7th round rookie QB on our roster named Edelman who already has 11 catches having played 2 out of the first 3 games.

Love what Edelman is doing. He has a good chance that he'll surpass the 43 catches Branch had in 2002. However, that in turn may mean Welker is hurting.

 

[PatsCanDoIt]

I still think Tate was drafted because he was injured. He is an extra player we can talk about because of that injury. Maybe Wallace is playing and Edelman isn't and an other player is off the team. Instead we have all the guys on the team plus Tate. Tate was more valuable because he was PUPable IMO.

What if he is brought in off PUP as just a returner? He can do that very well. He can also run the occational bubble screen.

 

[Hardly Dykes]

Now that the sky is apparently falling (sarcasm), does Tate go from being a luxury pick that the Pats can afford to baby along to a guy that could potentially be asked to be a significant contributor in the second half? Obviously he doesn't need to be a savior on ST's and/or WR, but to even develop into a contributor could be a nice jolt...judging only from his limited UNC film. Dang, the Pats could really use a solid homegrown WR, I hope this kid is it eventually...or immediately!