Lockette

[Anthony]

So I know he makes some bone headed moves some times. However he has been making plays lately. He is big, and fast, and seems to be coming into his own more and more. I have a feeling if given a chance he might be able to step up and be a big factor in the SB and beyond. He is fast and could be the stretch the field guy and given he is big that would help also. I know he has been on several teams and cut, and in the league a few years, but given we are not getting any WR help between now and the SB he might be able to be a wildcard for us.

Thoughts?

[RiverDog]

He's had numerous chances here plus one in San Francisco to break into a starting lineup and never has. He's fast but not explosive fast, a little slow coming out of his cuts, and as a result, doesn't get good separation. Not real great footwork, I don't see the tip toe sideline catches out of him in the same manner we see with Baldwin and Kearse. He has a problem with anger management. His plus factors are that there's no lack of effort from him, has decent hands, and he's a good special teams player.

He's going to have to compete with Richardson and Norwood for playing time next season. IMO he's always going to be on the bubble.

[Hawktawk]

With Richardson out he is the fastest guy left. He had a huge catch yesterday. I hope he makes a big leap in aptitude over the next two weeks

[mykc14]

I would love for him to be a deep threat on this team but like other have posted he just hasn't been able to really be that type of guy for some reason. The Hawks didn't even have to throw the ball deep to richardson for teams to respect him as a deep threat while Lockette hasn't consistanly shown an ability to beat guys deep. With that being said I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them try him deep at least once in the SB.

[kalibane]

Something tells me that if Lockette was ever going to be that guy who could be a consistent threat he'd already be that guy. I like him for his effort on Special Teams, his willingness to block and the occasional reception but it's been years and he's still not an every down quality receiver.

[monkey]

Something tells me that if Lockette was ever going to be that guy who could be a consistent threat he'd already be that guy. I like him for his effort on Special Teams, his willingness to block and the occasional reception but it's been years and he's still not an every down quality receiver.

That's where I am at as well.
He's just not a very good receiver.
If ever there was a game where the lack of talent in the receiving corps really showed itself, this was it.
Baldwin was all we had. Kearse, until that last play, got no separation, and neither did any of the other receivers*.

Lockette is a good special teams player, one who is passionate about his job (which I respect a lot) but he is often as big a detriment as he is an asset since he gets far too many boneheaded penalties.
I think it became obvious to anyone watching last game just how badly we need at least one, if not a couple of big play/big body receivers.


Aside: I wonder why we never saw Norwood. When no one is getting open, I would have liked to see him on the field at least on a couple occasions. He's big enough, has the hops and speed to have made some kind of difference I would think....when no one else is getting open, and guys are dropping passes that are hitting them on their hands, and worse, popping those passes into the air for easy picks, how much worse can it be with Norwood? I don't recall ever seeing him, he may have been on the field but I don't recall seeing him, and I would have noticed, because it was something I was hoping to see.

[Anthony]

That's where I am at as well.
He's just not a very good receiver.
If ever there was a game where the lack of talent in the receiving corps really showed itself, this was it.
Baldwin was all we had. Kearse, until that last play, got no separation, and neither did any of the other receivers*.

Lockette is a good special teams player, one who is passionate about his job (which I respect a lot) but he is often as big a detriment as he is an asset since he gets far too many boneheaded penalties.
I think it became obvious to anyone watching last game just how badly we need at least one, if not a couple of big play/big body receivers.


Aside: I wonder why we never saw Norwood. When no one is getting open, I would have liked to see him on the field at least on a couple occasions. He's big enough, has the hops and speed to have made some kind of difference I would think....when no one else is getting open, and guys are dropping passes that are hitting them on their hands, and worse, popping those passes into the air for easy picks, how much worse can it be with Norwood? I don't recall ever seeing him, he may have been on the field but I don't recall seeing him, and I would have noticed, because it was something I was hoping to see.

He was on and targeted once, Lockette targeted twice and caught them both. I agree h can be bone headed at times, but how much different is that then dropping 2+ catchable balls. I mean there were at least 5 drops, 2 of which ended up in Ints. Add to that Kearse showed little to no fight for the ball till the TD score. Several experts noted he could have fought and without a doubt stopped at least 1 of the Ints that were not due to his drops.

I do not know maybe I am grasping because I agree our lack of talent at WR was huge in this game. Both Ints that were not drops by Kearse not only do not happen but might even be catches with Dez, or AJ, or Johnson or OBJ, or anyone of a number of WR to include Tate. Makes you wonder just how good could our passing offense be with a true #1 and a little more help on the oline, like a center who can hike the ball to the QB and not 3 feet to the side or on the ground.

[RiverDog]

That's where I am at as well.
He's just not a very good receiver.
If ever there was a game where the lack of talent in the receiving corps really showed itself, this was it.
Baldwin was all we had. Kearse, until that last play, got no separation, and neither did any of the other receivers*.

Lockette is a good special teams player, one who is passionate about his job (which I respect a lot) but he is often as big a detriment as he is an asset since he gets far too many boneheaded penalties.
I think it became obvious to anyone watching last game just how badly we need at least onCo. e, if not a couple of big play/big body receivers.


Aside: I wonder why we never saw Norwood. When no one is getting open, I would have liked to see him on the field at least on a couple occasions. He's big enough, has the hops and speed to have made some kind of difference I would think....when no one else is getting open, and guys are dropping passes that are hitting them on their hands, and worse, popping those passes into the air for easy picks, how much worse can it be with Norwood? I don't recall ever seeing him, he may have been on the field but I don't recall seeing him, and I would have noticed, because it was something I was hoping to see.

It's interesting that we all have pretty much the same take on Lockette.

Monkey, I think the answer to your question could be summed up in one word: Experience. Norwood has played sparingly this season, and Bevell and Co. may feel uncomfortable experimenting with him in the post season.

[Hawktawk]

Kearse as our #1 target is not a good thing. The loss of Richardson seemed to hurt the rotation in general. But Kearse was 75%responsible for 2 of the picks and 50-50 on the back shoulder goal line play. Lockette is a big dude who is very strong and can take the top off. He has pretty good hands. I watched him catch a 46 yarder vs AZ immediately after being inserted into the game.

I said it in the preseason and Ill say it now. Lockette has the measurables to be very good. He just needs to play and if he got more snaps than Norwood the coaches must feel the same. I see a potentially big upside to him if he can control his emotions and work on his fundamentals. But right now he is a sneaky weapon capable of producing an explosive play at any time.

[RiverDog]

Both Ints that were not drops by Kearse not only do not happen but might even be catches with Dez, or AJ, or Johnson or OBJ, or anyone of a number of WR to include Tate.

Not the interception in the red zone. That ball was severely underthrown with the DB between Kearse and the QB, and those get picked off no matter who the receiver is. Kearse was well covered, and the only thing he could have possibly done was turn into a defensive back and knocked it down, something that is difficult to do when his momentum was taking him away from the play. There's no way you could have expected Dez, Megatron, AJ Green, or any other receiver to catch an underthrown ball when the DB is between him and the QB. That pass, if it had to be attempted, has to be thrown with some air under it and in such a manner that the only player that has a chance to catch it is the receiver. It was not a good decision to throw it and a poor throw given the coverage.

That pick was all on Russell.

[Anthony]

Not the interception in the red zone. That ball was severely underthrown with the DB between Kearse and the QB, and those get picked off no matter who the receiver is. The only thing Kearse could have possibly done was turn into a defensive back and knocked it down, something that is difficult to do when his momentum was taking him away from the play. There's no way you could have expected Dez, Megatron, AJ Green, or any other receiver to catch an underthrown ball when the DB is between him and the QB. That pass has to be thrown with some air under it and in such a manner that the only player that has a chance to catch it is the receiver.

That pick was all on Russell.

I never said the INT was not on Russell only that a better Wr would have been able to at least knock it down, and I still think they could have, for no other reason then they would have better body control and not be falling back instead of jumping up. It was obvious the ball was going to be short long before the point of no return for him , he never adjusted at all. I have seen all those Wr I mentioned do it.

[Distant Relative]

We just need another "talking head" to call out our "mediocre" receivers and they'll be fine. Funny how Baldwin called out Deon yesterday. I loved it.

[RiverDog]

I never said the INT was not on Russell only thata better Wr would have been able to at least knock it down, and I still think they could have, for no other reason then they would have better body control and not be falling back instead of jumping up. It was obvious the ball was going to be short long before the point of no return for him , he never adjusted at all. I have seen all those Wr I mentioned do it.

By saying a better receiver could have at least knocked it down implies that Russell was not at fault. I got the sense that as usual, you were trying to absolve Russell of any responsibility for his poor play.

It wasn't an All Pro receiver out there, it was Jermaine Kearse, and he does have his limitations when compared to elite receivers, limitations that are very well known by the quarterback. The ball shouldn't have been thrown unless that was his only choice and if it was his only choice, he should have put more air under it and more towards the corner of the end zone so as to let Kearse make a play on it or simply throw it away. We lost 3 points on that pick.

Receivers can adjust to underthrown balls if the DB is not playing the ball, but in this case, the DB had already turned and saw the ball in flight, so he would have been able to take away any possibility for the receiver to adjust. If Kearse had a 6" height advantage, he might have been able to go over the top of the DB, but even that would have more than likely resulted in OPI, not a catch. It was a bad decision and a bad pass.

Thankfully Russell persevered and didn't let his poor play get him down, but make no mistake: He did play poorly... very poorly, until the last few minutes of the game. But oh, what a last few minutes!

[Hawktawk]

Wilson played as bad as he ever has for half the game.2 of the picks were terrible decisions and horrible throws to boot. I credit Green Bay and Dom Capers for taking everything away but Wilson was shockingly ineffective. But in the end, man almost any QB in the league would have mentally checked out and he threw some of the prettiest balls of the weekend.

[RiverDog]

Wilson played as bad as he ever has for half the game.2 of the picks were terrible decisions and horrible throws to boot. I credit Green Bay and Dom Capers for taking everything away but Wilson was shockingly ineffective. But in the end, man almost any QB in the league would have mentally checked out and he threw some of the prettiest balls of the weekend.

I was as impressed with the way Russell bounced back after an absolutely horrible 55 minute performance as I was with the touch he put on those two big completions in OT. After that 4th pick, he looked like a different quarterback and it looked like I was watching a completely different game. He's as tough as nails.

[monkey]

That pick was all on Russell.

No way, that pick most MOSTLY on Wilson for sure, but hardly all.
1. Russell intentionally under threw it with air under the ball to give Kearse a chance to get under it, but he allowed the defender to out-jockey him for position.
2. Kearse SHOULD have turned into a defender and tried knocking that ball away, but he froze.
Also, Kearse had a one vs. one out there, which as a QB is EXACTLY what you want from your #1 WR. If that was Dez Bryant, it's an easy TD. Guaranteed.

Still I blame Russ on that one, the way he threw it seemed as though he was undecided whether to throw it deep and let Kearse chase it, or under throw and let Kearse adjust, and he sort of did neither one...He tried to under throw, but did a poor job of it.

The pick that was 100% on Russell IMO was the one he threw into double coverage. That was one of those WTH are you doing moments that I so rarely have with Wilson at QB. That was all on Wilson though, poor choice to even go there, and then even worse placement.

The other two though, they hit him IN THE HANDS! You gotta catch those! Period!
Wilson had a bad day partly because Kearse had the WORST day. He wasn't getting separation, and he wasn't just dropping passes, he was knocking them up, for easy picks. That's as bad a day as a WR can have really.

[RiverDog]

Kearse had a one vs. one out there, which as a QB is EXACTLY what you want from your #1 WR. If that was Dez Bryant, it's an easy TD. Guaranteed.

Not the way that ball was thrown. If Russell had put some air underneath it, then yes, you turn it into a jump ball and Dez wins those 90% of the time. But there's not a receiver in the league that you can expect to go through a defender that is positioned between them and the QB on a pass that's under thrown and on a flat line trajectory.


Agreed about the other two you referenced, though. They weren't easy catches but close enough to where most NFL receivers will make that play. Kearse had a dreadful game, except for his game winner. But I'm not complaining. All I care about is wins and losses.

[Zorn76]

For starters, I'd like to see Lockette be our KR.

I don't like Baldwin doing it - not necessarily because of his fumble - but for the fact that we don't need one of our starting WR's back there doing any more than he's already asked to. RL would be a good option here.

I'd also love a better option for PR as well, since Walters is lucky to manage any kind of return, period. Guy has good hands - which is important, and he doesn't fumble - but he's practically worthless in terms of improving field position.

ST's are gonna be key for the SB, because our offense is, let's just say, not the most consistent, particularly when it comes to long drives, though we did have a couple of nice ones late in CCG.

We have a great tandem in Ryan and Hauschka, as they are among the best punters and kickers in the league. Any points in the SB are big, and both could figure heavily in terms of either field position or turning a game from a one score margin to two.

I also realize that the Super Bowl is not the ideal time to experiment, but I think substituting Lockette for Baldwin is very doable, and would be in the team's best interest.

[Anthony]

By saying a better receiver could have at least knocked it down implies that Russell was not at fault. I got the sense that as usual, you were trying to absolve Russell of any responsibility for his poor play.

It wasn't an All Pro receiver out there, it was Jermaine Kearse, and he does have his limitations when compared to elite receivers, limitations that are very well known by the quarterback. The ball shouldn't have been thrown unless that was his only choice and if it was his only choice, he should have put more air under it and more towards the corner of the end zone so as to let Kearse make a play on it or simply throw it away. We lost 3 points on that pick.

Receivers can adjust to underthrown balls if the DB is not playing the ball, but in this case, the DB had already turned and saw the ball in flight, so he would have been able to take away any possibility for the receiver to adjust. If Kearse had a 6" height advantage, he might have been able to go over the top of the DB, but even that would have more than likely resulted in OPI, not a catch. It was a bad decision and a bad pass.

Thankfully Russell persevered and didn't let his poor play get him down, but make no mistake: He did play poorly... very poorly, until the last few minutes of the game. But oh, what a last few minutes!

You know Riv I like you but your way off here and you made assumptions that were not true and in fact made up. I never absolved Wilson of anything, and in fact echoed the same thing several people on the NFO network said. I only said a better Wr could have done something to help out his QB No place did I say it as not Wilsons fault, no place so give it a break.

[monkey]

Not the way that ball was thrown. If Russell had put some air underneath it, then yes, you turn it into a jump ball and Dez wins those 90% of the time. But there's not a receiver in the league that you can expect to go through a defender that is positioned between them and the QB on a pass that's under thrown and on a flat line trajectory.

I agree...I said the pass was lousy. It was supposed to be a back shoulder pass that got too much air. Having said that, Kearse got boxed out by his man, and it was HIS JOB to work his way back to the ball to try to make that catch, and when he couldn't to knock it down.
Sorry Anthony is right on this one. Yes Wilson's pass was crap.
Like I already said, it looked to me like he got caught in between deciding to throw the back shoulder, and the fade, and sort of threw a neither one. It wasn't good, but Kearse did NOT help there.

You can say that Wilson had a horrible game all you like, and I will not say a word otherwise, so long as you admit that MUCH of that is due to Kearse having a horrendously bad day.
In his first five pass attepts, Kearse managed to have two passes hit him right on the hands, and he bounced both of them into defenders arms. He also managed to not fight back to the ball on another one, and just drop the last.
If Wilson hadn't thrown one last pass to him, we'd all have our pitchforks out right now, demanding he be cut tomorrow. That was a historically horrible game from Kearse. I can honestly say I've never seen a worse performance from a WR, up until that last catch. He never did get open either even on that last pass, he was blanket covered...dude is just too slow. Thankfully Wilson threw an absolutely PERFECT pass on that last one, or we'd be feeling much different about both of those guys right now.

[Anthony]

agree...I said the pass was lousy. It was supposed to be a back shoulder pass that got too much air. Having said that, Kearse got boxed out by his man, and it was HIS JOB to work his way back to the ball to try to make that catch, and when he couldn't to knock it down.
Sorry Anthony is right on this one. Yes Wilson's pass was crap.
Like I already said, it looked to me like he got caught in between deciding to throw the back shoulder, and the fade, and sort of threw a neither one. It wasn't good, but Kearse did NOT help there.

You can say that Wilson had a horrible game all you like, and I will not say a word otherwise, so long as you admit that MUCH of that is due to Kearse having a horrendously bad day.
In his first five pass attepts, Kearse managed to have two passes hit him right on the hands, and he bounced both of them into defenders arms. He also managed to not fight back to the ball on another one, and just drop the last.
If Wilson hadn't thrown one last pass to him, we'd all have our pitchforks out right now, demanding he be cut tomorrow. That was a historically horrible game from Kearse. I can honestly say I've never seen a worse performance from a WR, up until that last catch. He never did get open either even on that last pass, he was blanket covered...dude is just too slow. Thankfully Wilson threw an absolutely PERFECT pass on that last one, or we'd be feeling much different about both of those guys right now.

Exactly I am not debating Wilson played bad he did, However he got little help from his oline or wrs. 6 drops, constant pressure till the end. My point is all these top QBs have top talent at wr and oline to help them. Wilson has Beast mode that is it. Again Wilson played bad, but if he had gotten any help maybe he would have snapped out of it sooner.

[RiverDog]

I agree...I said the pass was lousy. It was supposed to be a back shoulder pass that got too much air. Having said that, Kearse got boxed out by his man, and it was HIS JOB to work his way back to the ball to try to make that catch, and when he couldn't to knock it down.
Sorry Anthony is right on this one. Yes Wilson's pass was crap.
Like I already said, it looked to me like he got caught in between deciding to throw the back shoulder, and the fade, and sort of threw a neither one. It wasn't good, but Kearse did NOT help there.

You can say that Wilson had a horrible game all you like, and I will not say a word otherwise, so long as you admit that MUCH of that is due to Kearse having a horrendously bad day.
In his first five pass attepts, Kearse managed to have two passes hit him right on the hands, and he bounced both of them into defenders arms. He also managed to not fight back to the ball on another one, and just drop the last.
If Wilson hadn't thrown one last pass to him, we'd all have our pitchforks out right now, demanding he be cut tomorrow. That was a historically horrible game from Kearse. I can honestly say I've never seen a worse performance from a WR, up until that last catch. He never did get open either even on that last pass, he was blanket covered...dude is just too slow. Thankfully Wilson threw an absolutely PERFECT pass on that last one, or we'd be feeling much different about both of those guys right now.

I've already indicated that Kearse had a horrible game and bears a large amount of responsibility for the two int's that bounced off his hands, but I am willing to do so again if you doubted my opinion.

I just re-watched the play in question again. Shields had the play covered perfectly right from the snap, and as I had said, had himself positioned between the receiver and the quarterback. Shields had already turned to face the quarterback, meaning that a successful back shoulder was unlikely as Shields would have seen it in time to adjust to the throw. There was zero pressure on Russell and he was in an empty backfield, meaning he had 5 receivers to choose from with plenty of time to let one of them work their way open or that failing, take off on a scramble and force someone to come off their man. But having chosen to go to Kearse, he should have laid it out there towards the back of the end zone in such a spot it would have allowed Kearse and only Kearse a chance to make a play on it. Throwing it short with the DB already facing him was a poor choice. I can't see how any receiver in the league is going to make that catch. Kearse's momentum was carrying him into the end zone and when he saw that the ball was underthrown, had to turn and back peddle to adjust to what I agree looked like a back shoulder throw. He was not in a good position to fight for the ball.

That pick was almost all on Russell, both in his decision to throw to a covered receiver when he had plenty of time to find a better option and in his ball placement.

[Hawktawk]

Re watching the game I completely concur with RD. The flag throw was terrible. The corner had that thing welded. The deep ball was a huge underthrow. Kearse was open for a TD.Russ puts a lot of air under the ball which is a bad thing into the wind. The other 2 Kearse has to catch. Oh I also thought Lockette was better than I remembered. I was particularly impressed with him turning a jet sweep that was a 6 yard loss into a 5 yard gain breaking a few ankles and tackles along the way.

[NorthHawk]

Russell sometimes "floats" the ball and you can't do that in the wind, you need to really drive it hard with a tight spiral.
It seems to me that a couple of his passes almost stopped in mid air - maybe that's what Pete was referring to with his comment that Wilson was fooled a little by the wind.

[RiverDog]

Russell sometimes "floats" the ball and you can't do that in the wind, you need to really drive it hard with a tight spiral.
It seems to me that a couple of his passes almost stopped in mid air - maybe that's what Pete was referring to with his comment that Wilson was fooled a little by the wind.

If you look at the goal line pick as I have about a dozen times now, IMO there wasn't a window to put that ball into in such a manner where Kearse could have made a play on it. IMO his only chance to complete a pass on that play would have been to throw it over the top to the far corner of the end zone and let Kearse run to a spot. Shields had Kearse covered step-for-step on that play. I really don't know what Russell saw that would make him think he could have completed that pass.

[PasadenaHawk]

I would like to see them use Lockette more as well. Someone mentioned as a PR. I love the idea, but can't imagine they haven't at least explored that already. Who knows. Good mention of his jet sweep play. I will never forget the blocking he did for Lynch on that long run for a touchdown. That was incredible. I knew he was fast, but never imagined he was that fast. Also goes to show he is a team player, not selfish which is big.

[RiverDog]

I would like to see them use Lockette more as well. Someone mentioned as a PR. I love the idea, but can't imagine they haven't at least explored that already. Who knows. Good mention of his jet sweep play. I will never forget the blocking he did for Lynch on that long run for a touchdown. That was incredible. I knew he was fast, but never imagined he was that fast. Also goes to show he is a team player, not selfish which is big.

One thing I really like about Lockette is his effort. That reverse he ran had disaster written all over it but he worked his ass off and turned it into a positive play, made a really nice grab on a pass while nearly falling down. You gotta like a guy like that. He wouldn't be on this team if not for hustle plays like he makes.

[PasadenaHawk]

And of course his special teams contributions. If I were the opposing KR, I would fair catch and say a Hail Mary every time.