Hernandez, Hernandez, Hernandez.........

[MrNathanDrake]

He had major fumbling issues in pre-season.

He dropped a catch last week in the endzone that resulted in Brady's first ever redzone INT @ Home (and lost us 7 points in a cruicial part of an important game)

He fumbles again today on the opponents side of the field.



As good as he is, Hernandez just isn't reliable. I'm wondering if he's always had these issues going back to his college days?? Is it something he can fix? Or is it something worse than that, like poor grip strength and small hands?

 

[livinginthe past]

You didn't hear the story about locker room nicknames?

Aaron "Small Hands" Hernandez is the butt of a lot of cruel jokes - especially from the likes of Rob "Big Grip" Gronkowski and Albert 'Meat Hook' Haynesworth.

 

[Sparetire]

give him time to learn, he is good, very good.

 

[Gumby]

jugs, jugs, jugs......


could be...
Brady throws a faster ball than some receivers are used to.

 

[Sivy]

Better start a poll asking if he should be cut or traded...and then start another 15 by the end of the day.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Adrian Peterson also had fumbling issues when he first came in the league, bu the Vikings put up with it because it was worth it.


I guess we'll have to put up with the same crap the Vikes did, cause Hernandez really helps our Offense alot.

 

[larryo]

He had major fumbling issues in pre-season.

He dropped a catch last week in the endzone that resulted in Brady's first ever redzone INT @ Home (and lost us 7 points in a cruicial part of an important game)

He fumbles again today on the opponents side of the field.



As good as he is, Hernandez just isn't reliable. I'm wondering if he's always had these issues going back to his college days?? Is it something he can fix? Or is it something worse than that, like poor grip strength and small hands?

He has the same size hands as Dez Bryant, who they were commenting yesterday has huge hands.

 

[363839]

He has the same size hands as Dez Bryant, who they were commenting yesterday has huge hands.

How do you know this?

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Focus. He's young and pretty intense on the field. All he needs to do is remember that every effing play matters. He's so gifted he can get away with the occasional mental lapse/ brain fart even with TFB - who keeps going back to him for that reason. Looked pretty disgusted with himself on the bench after the fumble and certainly made up for it in the end (zone). Like Wilfork said, perfection is the goal but since it's pretty damn ellusive what matters is that you keep working towards it. And Aaron has probably the best tutor in the game working on it with him.

 

[102 Pat]

It's not helping when he's seemingly waving his hands at Brady to let him know he's open, thus tipping the defenders off. Still, give it some time.

 

[alvinnf]

Glass half empty here........ Hello!

 

[patchick]

could be...
Brady throws a faster ball than some receivers are used to.

Woudn't that be an explanation if he had problems with drops, not fumbles?

Mostly the same story with hand size -- while huge mitts doubtless help in fumble prevention, small hands are general considered more of an issue in catching the ball, not keeping it once you've secured it away. (And not the issue anyway, since Hernandez has 9 3/4" hands: average for a TE, big for a WR.)

My inexpert impression is that Hernandez just gets wrapped up in trying to make every tackler miss and loses focus on ball protection.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Glass half empty here........ Hello!

2 turn overs in opponents red zone 2 weeks in a row.... HELLO!!

 

[larryo]

How do you know this?

Goggle "combine numbers" for whatever player and it's all right there. 9 3/4 is the size.

 

[fnordcircle]

Glass half empty here........ Hello!

Nah, it's a valid concern. It doesn't matter how good you are if you don't end the play with the ball in your hands. It seems like we get 1 bad play a game on average from Hernandez. While I doubt that's accurate it's just how it seems.

I don't think anyone wants the guy gone or demoted but he seriously needs to spend some time with BJGE and learn ball security.

 

[ausbacker]

2 turn overs in opponents red zone 2 weeks in a row.... HELLO!!

Glass half full says as annoying as the two red zone turnovers were, Hernandez was critical in match winning moments two weeks in a row.

 

[SyN65]

Wait, is this thread serious?

He isn't reliable? Did he not make the game winning TD catch? He JUST turned 21, dude is young as hell. He's one of the best receiving TE's in the game.

 

[Hart Lee Chung]

We have without a doubt the best TE tandem in the league. Belichick has been drafting TE's as long as he has been head coach and some of the TE draft picks were definitely head scratchers. But maybe this has been his plan all along and he finally has the players to execute.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Adrian Peterson also had fumbling issues when he first came in the league, bu the Vikings put up with it because it was worth it.


I guess we'll have to put up with the same crap the Vikes did, cause Hernandez really helps our Offense alot.

Heck, Kevin Faulk fumbled the ball thirteen times during his first four years under Belichick.

They'll get him to work on it.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Heck, Kevin Faulk fumbled the ball thirteen times during his first four years under Belichick.

They'll get him to work on it.

People forget how long it took for some of the stars of the Super Bowl-winning teams to become what they became — Faulk, Bruschi, Law.

What Hernandez is able to do as a 21-year-old second-year player in the league is awesome. He showcased some serious skills yesterday. That said, the ball security thing needs work. I agree with Patchick that he just needs to focus on ball protection more, knowing when to concede that a play is about to end. I think Gronk learned this lesson last year in pre-season; watching him yesterday, dude's just just not going to let that ball go once he gets it.