Conley runs with 1st with Wilson hurt
 

Chris Conley - WR - Chiefs
Chiefs third-round WR Chris Conley ran with the starting offense at Monday's practice.
With Albert Wilson (shoulder) hurt, Conley is getting his chance to run opposite Jeremy Maclin. Before Wilson even got hurt last week, he was having a really quiet camp and preseason while Conley caught 3-of-5 targets for 30 yards in his first action of the preseason over the weekend. Wilson has speed, but isn't very big. Conley (6'3/205) was a draftnik favorite as a metrics freak with 4.35 wheels, 45-inch vertical, and 11-foot-7 broad jump. He's in the mix for No. 2 duties.

The sooner Conley plays the better. He has more potential than Wilson.

They both are young and have tremendous talent. I think Wilson has more to offer

Conley plays slower than i thought he would. My expectations have been tempered a bit.

Meh, not really he just has a lot on his plate especially missing quite a few practices.

Well yes. You do play a lot slower when you are thinking as opposed to just flowing. Huge adjustment to the NFL and even bigger to an Andy Reid offense.

You watch your mouth PIGGY

That's why all these rookies are hesitant at times. They're thinking mostly instead of just reacting and playing football. There's definitely an adjustment period. Conley is smart enough and has the skills to have a good rookie season in my mind. I'm really high on this kids potential.

So basically if Maclin gets hurt, we are ****ed.

Can't be Conley. Offense is too complex. Must've been Avant.

Would be a good joke if Avant doesn't also get regular play with the ones anyway.

Good job, Good effort though.

Not what i meant. I mean he's a slower twitch athlete than i thought. He moves like a heavier receiver.

Fair enough.

That'll change when DAT gets back.

He's a strider.

Plus he's like 6 3. Those guys don't ever seem to look fast

Well he is 6'3 and not a smaller WR like DAT. He's going to appear that way

He's on the skinny side of 6-3". He not a "big" receiver. I don't expect him to look like DAT, but i was expecting more suddenness to him.

Skinny and stride have nothing to do with each other.

I know plenty of fast tall people and they always look like they are coasting. Its ****ing irritating.

Like a gazelle

And Conley is also, damn near, a genius.

Yeah, tall dude's do not look sudden at all. Especially lanky ones.

yep. I think he could be very good as well.

Rather have Conley as #2 and Wilson in the #3 slot role anyway.

Conley is on the left. Wilson is on the right.

http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecac...moss_hed_1.jpg

Wilson has a whopping 3 catches, so far in the preseason.

Not sure if Avant got let go but Maclin posted this.

Ain't nothing changed but the color of the jersey...and my number lol! My brother for life! Nothing but respect for Avant! #ChiefsKingdom @chiefs

I think if we cut Avant and need him back due to injury at some point, he'll come back to help out.

Lots of young talent at WR to cut for an older guy like him.

Maybe give him a spot coaching...

:hmmm:


:thumb:

this

Dat and Wilson are so shrimpy, not sure they can survive regular catching

4.3 40...Dude is slower than molasses

welp, so far Conley hasn't looked like a 4.3 guy.


Is that because he is thinking too much or is it because he sort of a track guy who's speed doesn't translate with pads on?

Albert Wilson is short, yes.

Shrimpy he ain't. He's a fairly squat, powerfully built guy. He's not a linebacker out there but as far as WRs go, he's built well.

I like Conley, but Wilson brings a lot to this offense. He can/will run more precise routes than Wilson due having the shorter stride length and thus being harder to knock off route. He also showed himself to be a damn tough WR; really willing to take hits to get into zones and get the ball last year.

Perhaps he's better suited to the slot long-term, but if he's our X this year, we'll be just fine.

I haven't seen it in the game either. There must be some hesitation because he seems really unsure on returns. It's like he gets slower the closer he gets to defenders. I don't see any wiggle at all. Seems like the lanky fast guys can at least make one cut and make someone miss but he hasn't shown that ability so far.

Track speed v. football speed. Conley did not play like a 4.3 guy at Georgia.

Uh-oh.


So we might be looking at a 3rd round Baldwin?

:facepalm:

His size just isn't going to allow him to be like a DAT in terms of looking quick.

He's fine.

In fact he's doing good. We just have a flood of reeruns here...

I hope so.


I remember all the hype that Baldwin had from CP, and when I saw him play he was slow as hell.

Some of the comments are similar.

People obviously didn't watch the game. The guy drew a penalty bc he smoked the DB and he had no choice but to interfere with Conley.

No one is comparing him to Dat. He might be 6-3", but he's only 210lbs, so it's not like he's a big receiver.

There's a reason he fell to the 3rd round. I think it's reasonable to discuss some of the tools he may be lacking that allowed a guy with outstanding measureables to slip that far.

It's far too early to say what kind of career he'll have and i hope he has a great one, but i think he lacks that suddenness that separates the good from the great.

JFC We haven't even seen the guy run a go route and the one time he ran a fade he got behind he defender and drew a PI.

Baldwin he is not, but i think i've seen enough to understand why he fell to the 3rd round.

Cool.


I guess if he turns into a 3-500 yard receiver a year that is good for a 3rd rounder. If he fails it's not that big of a loss.

It's funny how people freak out the moment you stop worshiping the shrine of a fan favorite.

Guys, he's not perfect. IT'S OK.

Well, as much as they argue against it, production hurt him in college some.

But he hasn't really shown anything different than what was discussed foe why he dropped, imo

I watched it, but don't recall this. That's a good sign. My main impression is coming from watching his returns and I think you'd agree that he hasn't beem very dynamic doing that. I'll admit I didn't analyze every play he had, but my general reaction was that he doesn't look as fast as I thought he'd be. Clearly I need to pay closer attention!

That reason is he's raw and he needs a good season of NFL conditioning.

He doesn't fight worth a $3it off the snap and he's not full body strong.

That will come with time and a real season of NFL prep will do him wonders. He's smart and he works hard. He'll be a huge weapon in the future...

That PI call was questionable at best, so it's hardly worth arguing about. Yes, he did get over the top. But his straight line speed isn't what im talking about.

Like you said, he doesn't have that "wiggle". That suddenness to him that i was expecting, considering his measurables.

However, as DJ pointed out, he had a mediocre cone drill, which could be indicative of that.

I disagree. I think he lacks explosion and quickness. Speed does not equal quickness. NFL conditioning isn't going to change that.

I think he has some other traits that the team can really benefit from and i think he can still be productive in this league, im just saying me expectations have been lowered a bit is all. I don't think he'll ever be a #1.

Again, being that big is going to make it tough for him to be very "sudden and quick". He looks a little stiff in the hips, but I just don't know that he's ever going to look sudden

Gotcha, I missed the post about the cone drill. I was about to go look that up, actually. It'll be interesting to watch him as the season goes on. We have lots of guys with "wiggle" so I'm not too worried about his lack of it. His college highlights looked pretty good so I'm sure he'll make up for it in other areas.

Lacks quickness? Yes. Lacks explosion? No.

He won't look sudden because he isn't sudden and he never will be. He's stiff. His cone drill and his kick returns are evidence of that. He plays stiff. If he weren't, he'd look like AJ Green out there, who's the same height/weight.

Like i said, it's what separates the good from the great.

That's why I actually think he's a far better slot option than Wilson this year.

Wilson has been through some wars out there - he's more likely to win the hand fights and know the tricks he needs to do with his feet/hips to find space before the chuck.

Conley doesn't know that yet. Moreover, he's probably just not strong enough yet to win on a lot of those one on one matchups. However, if you put him in the slot, he already has a little more space and he can use some inertia and size/leverage to keep DBs off him.

For this season, Conley is probably better used like the Giants used Cruz in his breakout 'rookie' year. He was used almost exclusively out of the slot that season and it helped him find space downfield.

As we go forward and Conley gets stronger and more used to the rigors of NFL defenses, he can move outside and Wilson can move to the slot. Right now (and likely all season), Wilson is better at the X with Conley in the slot.

He was drafted as a speedy project. And he's never been a return man, that definitely shows. He's clueless back there honestly. May be doing more harm than good to even put him back there imo. but that's what you need from your bench WRs, ST and return guys.

I'm still hopeful he develops into a starting X quality WR, but with a lot of missed TC time, it may not happen this year, certainly not early in the year. Can still help as the 4 wide stretch out the defense guy right now though.

I think he caps out as a good #2. I was hoping he could develop into a #1, but i don't believe he has the quickness to reliably get open.

Doesn't mean he never will be. Nfl strength and conditioning programs aren't all about muscle.

At his size, I don't really think he has to be in the mold of a smallish wr (Antonio brown, etc). So I agree with you, in a sense.

I'd like to see him in the Vincent Jackson type role/player.

I like that idea. Exactly how the Eagles used Matthews last year.

Agreed.

I can think of 5 teams off the top of my head moving big vets to the slot this year. If you have a legit TE it's a matchup nightmare.

Years of Gonzo/Jimmy Gram have taught teams that a physical presence inside isn't a luxury, it's a necessity...

Cruz rookie year he played 5 games then went on IR but the following year he played a bigger role because Giants WR because all injury's. But I hope he turn out great we haven't had a great WR we have drafted since Bowe.

Then I think you were probably just getting a little too amped up.

Conley has a lot of tools, but he never had those fast feet that you see from an Amari Cooper. His speed comes from his length. While that can be put to good use in a variety of ways, he was never going to be a versatile true #1.

O.City gave a very good comp for him - Vincent Jackson. Or if you want to be a little more realistic, how about Chris Chambers? Chambers was a damn valuable 2nd weapon in this league for several years.

Maybe we get extremely lucky and he's more than that, but there are 31 other teams in this league and very smart guys are running at least 20 of them. The odds were never great that Conley was going to be a Dez Bryant/Calvin Johnson kind of WR. Nor should that be the expectation of him.

But he can be a very valuable player for us without getting near that. Give him a season or so and he will be.

That's why I put it in quotes (to signify that it was not his true rookie season) and referred expressly to his breakout season. Most people don't realize that Cruz was on a roster for a year before his breakout season and refer to that year as his 'rookie' year.

I'm well aware of Cruz's history and it's completely tangential to the discussion.

Oh okay sorry about that.

I don't see that at all.

That said, I'd nut if he had that level of production...

Why do you think that quickness is the end all be all of getting open? Chris is plenty quick.... Jerry Rice wasn't overly fast or quick and he's the best receiver to ever live... Route running > quickness. We have seen it a million times on both ends... We've seen thousands of freak guys like Marquise Goodwins, Darius Heyward Beys, pan out to be nothing. Yet we've seen below average speed and quickness guys like Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald turn in HOF careers. If Conley can't develop into a #1 it is going to be because he fails to learn the intricacies of position and NOT because of his lack of "quickness".

He's played one preseason game and detoxing acts like he has any idea his potential. Laughable.

Detox has him all figured out. LMAO

Rice was very quick. WTF are you smoking? Boldin, Fitz....both loose hips. Getting open and creating separation comes from quickness....suddenness.

There's a difference between quickness and timed speed. You clearly have the two confused.

What Detox is saying is more likely to happen than Conley becoming a #1.


The history of football proves it over and over again.

Sorry that i don't approach every player with homer glasses on. His combine results, scouting reports and his performance this preseason seem to agree with me.

Hell, DJ, his ****ing biggest supporter on this forum agrees that he lacks suddenness.

What's laughable is the inability around here to question fan favorites.

So DJ basically says the same ****ing thing i've been saying in this thread.

Pretty laughable, right guys?

My son is kind of like this. When he runs, he doesn't look very fast. T

Last Friday night, all us dads were watching the game and this running back on the other team was killing us with his speed. He breaks one on the outside and is jamming down the sideline for like 60 yards when my son (corner back)closes on him from right behind him (not a good angle or something - just a straight up sprint, one behind the other) and trips him at the 4 yardline. Kid had about a 7 yard head start and we had all just been sitting around talking about how crazy fast this kid was. No one really talks about my kid like that. He's a corner back so he's fast, but people don't really consider him "wow" fast.

He has deceptive speed. Looks like he's just not putting a lot of effort into it, but he can move. Maybe Conley is like that?

I guess a guy who has a 45 inch vertical jump doesn't have any explosion or quickness. That was best at the combine for WRs and he also was best at the broad jump a 135 inches. He may or may not turn in to what we want but he has the tools to get it done.

Robert Smith was like that.

Yes. There is definitely a difference between being quick and being fast.

There's multiple ways to get open.

Someone brought up Rice (not quick, wtf?) He wasn't in the category of guys like dez, or Megatron physically, but he was a great route runner.

It's all about putting guys in a position that their strengths allow them to succeed. That's why my Vincent Jackson comp makes sense to me, he needs to win in the crosses, posts, and deep game like Vincent did/does.

That dude was silky smooth.

I think people are hesitant to agree with VJax because of his Sheer size. The guy is like 235. I get what your saying though.

Not to mention smart at hell.


He is a better analyst than football player, and he was damn good at playing football.