Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattyk
I wouldn't say that at all. Hankerson could easily step into the #2 role once he gets some experience. I think there's definitely room for the young guys to move up once they get their feet wet. Tough to expect them to be ready for prime time with no offseason. I think Gaffney was brought in to help bridge that gap.
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I can buy Gaffney as the guy who will gradually give reps to Hankerson as he earns them over the next two years, setting up a breakout (in receiving yards) 2013 for Hankerson when Gaffney is out of his way. But I also think the best thing that you can do for Hankerson if they really like him is just play him. Instead of playing Gaffney until Hankerson knows everything about everything, just throw him out there and let him fail a few times.
We screwed up a lot about the Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly draft, but one thing they didn't do is acquire a vet to block them. Either Chad Johnsoncinco was going to be the acquisition that offseason, or it was going to be Thomas. And even then, Devin Thomas' lack of grasp of an NFL offense was probably the single biggest reason the 2008 team failed to make the playoffs. But that was justifiable because the idea was that the 2009 team would benefit from that.
I firmly believe that having Jabar Gaffney or Donte Stallworth in 2008 would have put that team in the playoffs, but I think it's a different animal entirely when talking about the difference between 4 wins (receiver position is total crap) and 6 wins (receiver position performs better than expected).