Davante Adams

[Viper556]

I think the most disturbing problem is the route running. something that is one of the main reason Janis isn't on the field yet this guy runs quite possibly the worst slant route I've ever seen. No intensity no speed just lazy it's sad. If it's his ankle then let him get healthy. But honestly if he isn't running routes and isn't catching the ball (if he catches the one early in the game when he had the defender beat.. it probably scores.) then what are they losing with throwing Janis out there. Why not give the ball to him on a screen just like adams and let him work. I was not on the Janis train at first but watching these returns I mean how can you not give him more opportunities. I was believing the hype with Adams but the guy has not lived up to it. The fundamentals are just not there

Janis's routes can't be much worse than some of the routes I saw James Jones running. He was rounding them out and just looked lazy.

 

[Sky King]

My Question is who is the WR Coach? If a receiver isn't running routes correctly or developing then I am blaming that on his coaching. Adams has all of the tools to be a great receiver, however he hasn't taken the next step. I remember everyone jumping on James Jones because of all of his drops and he was able to fix that. Whomever the Receivers Coach is needs to work with Adams and Janis on their route recognition and expectation based on defensive situations.
Aaron and GB's Coaching Staff had been pumping Adams since OTA's of this year and even Cobb gave him props, so I have to believe he has showed them something that none of us has seen. He may have been a good practice player thus far which hasn't translated in the actual game yet. Oh & visa-versa Janis probably has done worse in practice, but has showed up huge in games when given the opportunity.
In the end of the day GB needs to invest a premium draft pick in getting Rodgers a true No. 1 Receiver. I know they wanted Odell Beckham but didn't pull the string to move up a few spots and get him. They also need to start getting true TE's who can stay healthy and stretch the field (no basketball players) but true Football TE's.

You may have raised a very salient point regarding the receivers. Alex Van Pelt moved into this position when he took over from Edgar Bennett. EB was a stickler about holding onto the ball going back to his days as the RB coach and as a RB himself. He infused that value into the RBs and later the WRs. Sure-handedness in catching passes, as well, apparently. It's hard to remember seeing a Packer WR group having a case of the dropsies as bad as this year's team since maybe the Gory Years.

I'm not saying that Van Pelt under emphasizes this trait, just that it is no longer seems to be a trait of the position group. And it happened at about the same time several of the coaching assignments also changed. Coincidence?

 

[longtimefan]

You may have raised a very salient point regarding the receivers. Alex Van Pelt moved into this position when he took over from Edgar Bennett. EB was a stickler about holding onto the ball going back to his days as the RB coach and as a RB himself. He infused that value into the RBs and later the WRs. Sure-handedness in catching passes, as well, apparently. It's hard to remember seeing a Packer WR group having a case of the dropsies as bad as this year's team since maybe the Gory Years.

I'm not saying that Van Pelt under emphasizes this trait, just that it is no longer seems to be a trait of the position group. And it happened at about the same time several of the coaching assignments also changed. Coincidence?

they work on it every practice

 

[Sky King]

they work on it every practice

It doesn't show.

 

[longtimefan]

It doesn't show.

fumbling is what was referring to, sorry

 

[Sky King]

fumbling is what was referring to, sorry

Therein lies the problem. The receivers would have to catch it first so as not to fumble it. At least we can be pleased that they are not fumbling the ball.

 

[TJV]

My Question is who is the WR Coach?

Good question. McCarthy's off season moves could very well have resulted in the Peter Principle adversely affecting the coaching staff. (The Peter Principle involves promoting people beyond their talents. It may have been introduced facetiously, but we’ve certainly seen it play out in the NFL. For example, how often have we seen successful OCs or DCs promoted to HC only to fail?) Clements was promoted to Associate HC/Offense and play caller, Bennett was promoted to OC and Van Pelt was promoted to QBs/WRs coach. Since we (at least I) have no idea what Bennett’s duties are he’s exempt from this discussion but we are seeing evidence the other two were promoted above their abilities. Dougherty has a good column about McCarthy taking back play calling duties which criticizes Clement's performance (http://www.packersnews.com/story/sp...carthy-needs-take-back-play-calling/76373426/) and the performance of the WRs doesn’t reflect well on Van Pelt. And perhaps the WR coach should only have to coach the WRs, and not the QBs too?

 

[Deleted member 6794]

• Alex Van Pelt - Quarterbacks/Wide Receivers

And perhaps the WR coach should only have to coach the WRs, and not the QBs too?

I haven't thought about it until reading it in this thread but maybe it was a mistake by McCarthy to add coaching the receivers to Van Pelt's tasks.

Receivers have to earn the trust of the QB and coaching staff in practice – both on the practice field and in meetings. If they don’t know how to adjust their routes depending upon what the D is doing on the practice field and if they can’t answer questions in meetings they are not earning trust.

It's fine that Rodgers only wants to play with receivers that he trusts as long as there enough weapons deserving of it. As of right now the entire receiving corps is struggling and Rodgers has to get over not trusting Janis as he could offer something no one is able to do for the offense.

 

[Packerlifer]

Things weren't supposed to be this bad last August. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ffense-look-like-without-jordy-nelson-in-2015

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Things weren't supposed to be this bad last August. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ffense-look-like-without-jordy-nelson-in-2015

Imagine what the Packer record and offense would look like today had TT not signed Jones and Cobbs injury was more severe. I know many of us were screaming for another WR (in addition to Jones) to be signed way back when, if for nothing else as insurance against injury or failure of unknown commodities (Adams, Montgomery, Abby, Janis). Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

 

[net]

Lets say you work in retail. If you have 15 customers come to your till and you misfire 5 times out of 15, how long will you keep your job? Adams' job is to catch passes, it's not to 'try to catch passes'.
It's clear to me Janis is one of the few players who WANTS the ball. So you sit Adams down and give Janis a try. If I was McCarthy I would tell Rodgers to start trusting Janis, NOW.
This is a team that sorely needs a size 12 boot placed in a very delicate spot.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I heard there is a huge Cyber Monday sale on Packer #17 Jersey's. If you can follow the correct route, they have really dropped the price, but act fast and try to catch the savings!

 

[Sky King]

Steadfastly sticking with Adams has been an incredible show of blind faith on the part of the coaches and their QB. But this is also the same group of coaches that has been consistently rolling-out a whole team of underachievers this season, including the reigning MVP QB. Personally, I would have been reluctant to discredit this staff in the past because their regular season W-L record truly has been exceptional up until recently. Post season has been only so-so. But that SB victory is special despite the other numerous pratfalls in the playoffs since then. Unfortunately, that successful post-season has not been a precursor of things to come.

I'm mystified that coaches are being so pig-headed in their aversion to giving Janis a greater role in an offense that desperately needs an infusion of explosive play. It seems like every other touch that Janis makes something good happens. Good grief! How many game-day explosive plays does a player have to make before they finally acknowledge that this kid's development needs to be accelerated ASAP for the good of the team. Playing time is an essential part of that development and that will also include growing pains.

The guy they're sticking with is not getting it done. Adams performances have been nothing short of abysmal, not worthy of being rated even as mediocre. His play has DIRECTLY hurt this team. The blind-faith acceptance that he must be a better practice player than Janis is counter-intuitive to what is being delivered during actual games. It should show on the field of play and it does not. That's nearly impossible to argue against. Where are the routine catches let alone the explosive plays? Two decent games as a receiver in his career and Adams gets Mulligan after Mulligan from this staff. Meanwhile, the guy who actually produces disproportionately positive results (when compared to his limited opportunities) is under-utilized at a position of great need, even though his play has DIRECTLY helped this team.

Go figure.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I don't have an issue with sticking with players that in that past, have a proven history (Rodgers, Lacy, Cobb, etc.) what I take issue with is the stubbornness of riding out a player that really hasn't earned it; Adams, Richard Rodgers. All that said though, Management and injuries have kind of painted the Packers into a corner in regards to TE and WR. The current depth at WR and TE really doesn't provide for a lot of options but to ride things out. We have 4 healthy WR's, and 2 playable TE's. Perillo is getting more time as maybe will Janis, so I get why the coaching staff is being forced into playing Adams and Rodgers. Had moves been made before the trade deadline to strengthen one or both positions, we probably would not even be talking about playing Janis or Perillo.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I don't have an issue with sticking with players that in that past, have a proven history (Rodgers, Lacy, Cobb, etc.) what I take issue with is the stubbornness of riding out a player that really hasn't earned it; Adams, Richard Rodgers. All that said though, Management and injuries have kind of painted the Packers into a corner in regards to TE and WR. The current depth at WR and TE really doesn't provide for a lot of options but to ride things out. We have 4 healthy WR's, and 2 playable TE's. Perillo is getting more time as maybe will Janis, so I get why the coaching staff is being forced into playing Adams and Rodgers. Had moves been made before the trade deadline to strengthen one or both positions, we probably would not even be talking about playing Janis or Perillo.

I really don't blame the lack of production at wide receiver on Thompson. Entering training camp the depth chart included Nelson, Cobb, Adams, Montgomery, Janis and Abbrederis with the league leading offense returning all major contributers at the position. There was no way for the GM to know that Nelson would be lost for the season and the others being plagued by various injuries. He even brought back Jones (the best available player at that time) to help make up for the loss of Jordy.

Completely different story at TE though as Thompson expected Rodgers to make a jump from his rookie season but with him having regressed this year there was not any depth to get some much needed contribution out of the group. IMO it's hard to understand him not even thinking about trading some late rounds picks to acquire Vernon Davis.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I really don't blame the lack of production at wide receiver on Thompson. Entering training camp the depth chart included Nelson, Cobb, Adams, Montgomery, Janis and Abbrederis with the league leading offense returning all major contributers at the position. There was no way for the GM to know that Nelson would be lost for the season and the others being plagued by various injuries. He even brought back Jones (the best available player at that time) to help make up for the loss of Jordy.

You are right Captain, most of us were fired up at the start of training camp at the core of WR's we had. Looked to be the strength of the team. When it got weak, due to inexperience, was when Jordy went down and Cobb got dinged. It became clear pretty fast, that even with the signing of a vet like Jones, the Packers were in a bit of trouble at WR due to inexperience. So yeah, call it the perfect storm, with every WR but Janis getting injured at some point in the season, making evaluating the true potential of a healthy group playing together almost impossible. The part where I blame management a bit, just like the TE position is not recognizing our weakness at WR before the trade deadline and doing something about it by bringing in an experienced proven player.

But yes, who would have predicted: Jordy gone. Cobb nicked up early and failing under the added pressure of no Jordy. Adams looking like a 7th round rookie in his injury plagued season. Injuries to Monty and Abby not even allowing them to contribute......the perfect storm for WR collapse.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

Steadfastly sticking with Adams has been an incredible show of blind faith on the part of the coaches and their QB. But this is also the same group of coaches that has been consistently rolling-out a whole team of underachievers this season, including the reigning MVP QB. Personally, I would have been reluctant to discredit this staff in the past because their regular season W-L record truly has been exceptional up until recently. Post season has been only so-so. But that SB victory is special despite the other numerous pratfalls in the playoffs since then. Unfortunately, that successful post-season has not been a precursor of things to come.

I'm mystified that coaches are being so pig-headed in their aversion to giving Janis a greater role in an offense that desperately needs an infusion of explosive play. It seems like every other touch that Janis makes something good happens. Good grief! How many game-day explosive plays does a player have to make before they finally acknowledge that this kid's development needs to be accelerated ASAP for the good of the team. Playing time is an essential part of that development and that will also include growing pains.

The guy they're sticking with is not getting it done. Adams performances have been nothing short of abysmal, not worthy of being rated even as mediocre. His play has DIRECTLY hurt this team. The blind-faith acceptance that he must be a better practice player than Janis is counter-intuitive to what is being delivered during actual games. It should show on the field of play and it does not. That's nearly impossible to argue against. Where are the routine catches let alone the explosive plays? Two decent games as a receiver in his career and Adams gets Mulligan after Mulligan from this staff. Meanwhile, the guy who actually produces disproportionately positive results (when compared to his limited opportunities) is under-utilized at a position of great need, even though his play has DIRECTLY helped this team.

Go figure.

You know people had to be scratching their head after they saw a guy built like Nelson run back that kick return, only to be put on the bench in favor of a guy who was dropping everything.

I understand that there is more to a receiver than size and speed, and many players possessing these traits couldn't cut it. The difference I see in Janis is that he wants to help his team. Whether it be special teams, offense, etc., I see him playing until the whistle. And he's certainly never hurt the team with penalties, drops, or put forth the ****-poor effort that Adams has.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

The part where I blame management a bit, just like the TE position is not recognizing our weakness at WR before the trade deadline and doing something about it by bringing in an experienced proven player.

I'm not convinced there were any receiver available at the trade deadline that would have helped the Packers this season.

 

[C-Lee]

I say give him one more shot to redeem himself. If he doesn't, give some other guy's some chances. We honestly might need to bench him.

 

[Pkrjones]

I say give him one more shot to redeem himself. If he doesn't, give some other guy's some chances. We honestly might need to bench him.

So another INT or stalled drive? Why, he's been the "go to guy" for the past 3 losses!

Lacy and Starks are pulled and seated after 1 fumble, even if they're on a roll... why does Adams deserve chance #24 to make a play?

 

[C-Lee]

So another INT or stalled drive? Why, he's been the "go to guy" for the past 3 losses!

Lacy and Starks are pulled and seated after 1 fumble, even if they're on a roll... why does Adams deserve chance #24 to make a play?

He's playing terrible football, like insanely bad, but I believe that he can play better.

He was huge in the Cowboys game, and he was solid in that Patriots game. I guess I just feel a little bad giving up on him this quick. But, once again, he is playing THAT badly.

 

[Pkrjones]

He's playing terrible football, like insanely bad, but I believe that he can play better.

He was huge in the Cowboys game, and he was solid in that Patriots game. I guess I just feel a little bad giving up on him this quick. But, once again, he is playing THAT badly.

I'm not advocating cutting the guy, but he needs to sit and receive his "wake up call". He hasn't played his way out of whatever "funk" he's in, so a spot on the bench for a game or 2 will (hopefully) get him re-focused.

This offense needs to strike fear into the opposing D regarding a deep threat ~ that is Janis. He doesn't need to perfect the entire route-tree at this point: deep sideline route, come-back, and double-move. Drawing a safety over to help will greatly open-up the underneath routes for Cobb & TE.

 

[TJV]

So another INT or stalled drive? Why, he's been the "go to guy" for the past 3 losses!

Actually he wasn't. He was only targeted 3 times at Minnesota, but that bolsters the argument to sit him. According to ESPN, Adams was targeted 11 times in the loss to Carolina, 21 times in the loss to Detroit, 3 times in the win at Minnesota, and 11 times in the loss to Chicago. Not that we stats to corroborate this but the Chicago game was by far his worst: he caught two passes of 11 targets for 14 yards. (At least against Carolina he caught 7 for 93 yards and 10 for 79 yards against Detroit.)
http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/gamelog/_/id/16800/davante-adams

 

[TJV]

I posted this link in another thread, but it belongs here. This PFT piece was posted in June. It starts by referencing Cobb saying he probably won’t be able to match his 2014 production because players like Adams will reduce his opportunities. Then it quotes Rodgers:

Adams’s ability has been a popular topic for people around the team this year and quarterback Aaron Rodgers added his voice to the crowd this week. Rodgers said that he hoped to see Adams do a better job in practice early last year and that he’s seen the growth he wanted to see from a player he believes is destined for big things. “I never called out Davante by name last year. I was hoping that he would pick it up with his practice habits. But Davante is a very polished player, and he has an excellent demeanor for a guy who’s going to be a star,” Rodgers said, via ESPN Wisconsin. “I mean, he carries himself like a star – which is a very high compliment. There’s only been a few guys around here who’ve had that charisma: Charles [Woodson], Julius [Peppers], Greg [Jennings] always had it as a young player. But there’s very few guys that really ‘get it.” And he has supreme confidence, and it’s contagious. And I’m really proud of his approach and his attitude. It makes you want to get him the ball more. It makes you watch the film and have regrets about not giving him more opportunities. And that’s again, another compliment for him.”

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/06/16/aaron-rodgers-davante-adams-is-going-to-be-a-star/

So Rodgers didn’t like Adams’ practice habits early in his rookie season but as of the middle of June of this year he was proud of his “approach and his attitude”. We’ve obviously seen a huge regression from Adams on the field. I kind of wonder how Rodgers would evaluate Adams’ practice habits now, but it really doesn’t matter – his 'approach and attitude' when it counts is crap. The best thing I can write about Adams is he's young and can still it together, but someone needs to give him a huge kick in the ***. The other thing I think is worth mentioning is many of us expected Adams' return to full health would provide the outside and deep threat that would free up Cobb and allow Jones to move to his more natural #3 WR spot. Adams’ performance – particularly his lack of effort - are bad enough, but I think (some of) our expectations magnify it.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

He's playing terrible football, like insanely bad, but I believe that he can play better.

He was huge in the Cowboys game, and he was solid in that Patriots game. I guess I just feel a little bad giving up on him this quick. But, once again, he is playing THAT badly.

There's not enough potential for him to be more than just a solid 3rd receiver IMO. I hoped that since Thompson drafted this loser instead of a more talented receiver, he could be like a poor man's Boldin , but he can't catch or make big plays when it counts. It's clear that as a #1 guy, he's garbage. And he's clearly allergic to the end zone.

If we just want a guy out there who can make a simple catch, juke a guy and push for extra yards, I'd rather it be Montgomery when he is healthy and bury Adams in the practice squad. Thompson needs to offer a public apology for wasting high draft picks on him and Richard Rodgers.