Heyword-Bey Gets a Rough Initiation - PFT

[Dante84]

HEYWARD-BEY GETS A ROUGH INITIATION
Posted by Mike Florio on May 11, 2009, 10:27 a.m. EDT
He finished the weekend by skipping practice, as he nursed a sore hamstring. At one point before the muscle revolted, he dropped three straight passes.

But rookie receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey likely got the biggest splash of cold water in eyes that at some point could be blamed for his lack of production during his first snap against an NFL cornerback.

Nnamdi Asomugha.

Heyward-Bey did everything he was supposed to do. And Asomugha was in place to prevent him from catching the ball.

“I came back,”and I just went, ‘All right, I’m not in college anymore,’” Heyward-Bey said, according to Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times.

And since Heyward-Bey could generate only 600 yards and change “in college” last season, that’s not an encouraging observation for Raiders fans.

Many teams have rookies practice only against other first-year players at their initial camp, preventing such “welcome to the next level, bitch” moments for guys who already are feeling nervous about their new jobs.

The challenge for each team is to decide whether to give the incoming players a chance to build confidence by competing against each other, or to throw them into the fray.

On one hand, it’s a good way to begin the process of smoking out a bust.

On the other hand, it’s a good way to begin the process of smoking out a bust.

Of any first-round pick who doesn’t play quarterback for the Detroit Lions, no rookie will be more scrutinized than Heyward-Bey. He was the first receiver taken in the draft, ahead of Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, and Kenny Britt.

With Crabtree playing for the nearby 49ers, it’s safe to say that someone in the Bay Area media will be charting every aspect of their respective performances — catches, yards, touchdowns, and drops — on a regular basis.

No one expects Heyward-Bey to make a first-year impact like Randy Moss did in 1998. But the decision of a team with unconventional methods and a recent history of questionable moves to make Heyward-Bey the seventh overall pick is prompting many to sit back and practice their delivery of the possible epitaph to his career.

“I told you so.”

[Dante84]

He finished the weekend by skipping practice, as he nursed a sore hamstring. At one point before the muscle revolted, he dropped three straight passes.

Will it ever end????


Boy, I hope not. :D

[Gonzo]

Awesome pick there...

Enjoy that raider fans. ROFL

[Spicy McHaggis]

Who knew catching the ball would be such a huge part of playing receiver in the NFL?

[Crush]

What about Mike Mitchell?

[Mr. Krab]

Nice, i hope he gives everyone flashbacks to the Ryan Leaf moment.

[The Franchise]

It's going to suck even worse when he has to learn how to catch from a different QB after next years draft.

[KcFanInGA]

Thanks Al, really.

[Kyle DeLexus]

ROFL They are going to ruin him. While it makes me look bad from a draft standpoint since I was pimping DHB, I will love every minute of that team imploding.

[buddha]

Al knows the first thing you need to do is break the rookie's spirit. Mission accomplished. He's already dropping passes with Raider-like efficiency. The system that gave us James Jett is still as finely honed as it ever was.

[okiedokieokoye]

Don't worry guys..if the DHB experiment fails miserably...they can still put fear into the rest of the AFC West with the dreaded Samie Parker.

[chiefzilla1501]

Who knew catching the ball would be such a huge part of playing receiver in the NFL?

Yeah, but did you see how fast he was? It's the QB's fault--DHB ran so fast that every throw was probably behind him.

[KCrockaholic]

The guy is on his way to bust-mania. I never liked him comming out of college. If you go to draft planet, and look for my post in the 2010 draft class thread you can see my short scouting report on him. Like ive said. I watched 5 guys play that were in college last year. Heyward-Bey was one of them. Not impressed. Thats all I can say.

[KCrockaholic]

"I watched 3 games on Heyward-Bey, and was not real impressed. I guess to be fair Maryland just doesnt throw the ball that much. He has awesome straight-line speed obviously, and can accelerate away from defenders. But that was in college, in the NFL I dont see him being anything special. He drops too many passes from what ive seen. I would say, Crabtree, Maclin, Harvin, Nicks, even Ramses Barden will end up with better NFL careers than Heyward-Bey. I think he is an alright kid, pretty soft-spoken in his interviews but I will be very surprised if he ends up having a good NFL career. Hes the type of player that might have 50 catches for 800 yards his rookie year, but NFL teams will quickly figure him out and be able to shut him down."


Saved you the time... :)

[htismaqe]

The guy is on his way to bust-mania. I never liked him comming out of college. If you go to draft planet, and look for my post in the 2010 draft class thread you can see my short scouting report on him. Like ive said. I watched 5 guys play that were in college last year. Heyward-Bey was one of them. Not impressed. Thats all I can say.

Yep.

I was vocal about DHB too. Anybody that read my commentary in the DraftPlanet forum KNEW this was coming. :)

[KCrockaholic]

Yep.

I was vocal about DHB too. Anybody that read my commentary in the DraftPlanet forum KNEW this was coming. :)

Heyward-Bey is just another brick in wall holding back Jamarcus Russell :D

Not that he needs any help sucking :D Hes good at that on his own.

[Dylan]

I never put too much into these things -- but, I'm happy Hakeem & Ramses were able to catch the ball. ... They still have a long way to go.

The New York Times:

Tom Coughlin

Q: How good was it to see Hakeem Nicks close up today for the first time?

A: It was good. It was something that we were looking forward to and I thought Ramses and Hakeem both did a nice job of catching the ball today. We will see if they can come back and do it a couple days in a row.

Q: What specifically do you like about the two receivers?

A: They caught the ball. This morning they caught the ball well.

Q: Just in terms of their physical attributes?

A: They caught the ball well. They are both big, strong receivers. I think they will both be able to go inside. I know that they both will be – studying them as hard as we did– they will be good in the green zone as well. That is where it stands.

[Kyle DeLexus]

Heyward-Bey is just another brick in wall holding back Jamarcus Russell :D

Not that he needs any help sucking :D Hes good at that on his own.

Russell might hold back DHB. I wanted us to get him. He is raw and would need time to develope but working with Haley would have helped him. If he went almost anywhere else, I'd say he would develope into a legit #1 and a threat to be one of the top WRs. At Oakland he will most likely be a bust. They didn't even use Randy Moss effectively and JaRussell sucks.

[htismaqe]

Russell might hold back DHB. I wanted us to get him. He is raw and would need time to develope but working with Haley would have helped him. If he went almost anywhere else, I'd say he would develope into a legit #1 and a threat to be one of the top WRs. At Oakland he will most likely be a bust. They didn't even use Randy Moss effectively and JaRussell sucks.

The way to use Moss effectively is to throw it up and let him go get it.

DHB can't do that, because he doesn't have great hands or good body position, nor does he run good routes. He's basically nothing but straight-line speed.

[MoreLemonPledge]

The only thing that will hold down DHB is the fact that he can only run one route. And he doesn't have great hands. Other than that, he's set.

Right, Troy Williamson?

[Kyle DeLexus]

The way to use Moss effectively is to throw it up and let him go get it.

DHB can't do that, because he doesn't have great hands or good body position, nor does he run good routes. He's basically nothing but straight-line speed.

I'm not trying to compare the two as players, only saying Oakland won't be able to develope DHB if they couldn't even use Moss. He needs to develope. He should have went to a different school to begin with honestly and then he should have stayed all 4 years. Maryland had QB problems and no other receiving threats besides DHB. If he was in a better situation, I don't think people would be questioning him as a prospect. He was a huge reach at 7 due to being a raw prospect, but the talent is there. The good news for us is that Oakland will most likely never develope the talent and he will be a bust for them.

[Spicy McHaggis]

I never put too much into these things -- but, I'm happy Hakeem & Ramses were able to catch the ball. ... They still have a long way to go.


NY got two of my favorite receivers in this draft. I think Nicks is going to become a solid pro sooner rather than later, and Ramses will be an exciting guy to watch develop.

[Mr. Krab]

NY got two of my favorite receivers in this draft. I think Nicks is going to become a solid pro sooner rather than later, and Ramses will be an exciting guy to watch develop.
My 2 favorite receivers in this year's draft were probably Hicks and Robiskie.

[Halfcan]

bust

[KCrockaholic]

Right, Troy Williamson?

This is probably the perfect comparison for DHB.

[Consistent1]

In slight defense of Bey, if he is going up against NA a bunch it has got to be an eye opener. That guy makes his living taking existing #1's off their game.

[Dante84]

In slight defense of Bey, if he is going up against NA a bunch it has got to be an eye opener. That guy makes his living taking existing #1's off their game.

Yeah, because that's the goal right? Ruin your first round pick's confidence on his first day?

Jesus, sometimes teams don't start top 10 pick QB's for a whole season for fear of them losing confidence.

Then again, sometimes teams don't start top 10 pick QB's because they won't sign a contract, and will eat potato chips until they are big enough to play RT.

[Dylan]

NY got two of my favorite receivers in this draft. I think Nicks is going to become a solid pro sooner rather than later, and Ramses will be an exciting guy to watch develop.

Thats so nice of you to say that... thanks,

Drafting WRs & QBs with a first round pick are hard to predict, and notoriously known for high busts.

It's hard for WRs to come in and play well -- I could be wrong. I'll find out soon enough, when CBs line up in coverage and jam him, and he's able to seperate & get the ball off. I'd really like to see him burst, turn him the CB & keep running down the field. .. lol

Watch this impressive catch Nicks made yesterday. Now, if he can do that in Sept. and not shoot himself, I'll happy. Coughlin's a good offensive coach, especially w/ WRs & RBs. ... you get a glimpse of Coughlin teaching rookie WRs fundermentals. Nicks #18. Barden #13

http://www.giants.com/player/ivideo-08.asp?file_300=rtmp%3A%2F%2Fcp50514%2Eedgefcs%2Enet%2Fondemand%2F50515%2F50515%2F2009%5Frookie%5Fca mp%2F09%5F0511%5Fcoach%5Fwired%2Eflv Nice Hands -- High One handed catch

[KCCHIEFS27]

So, everybody is already counting out DHB after a few of practices? Sounds sure-proof. After all, I believe everything that is posted on here. Especially since Bowe, our number one, caught 8 passes for 137 yards and ZERO touchdowns against the Raiders(specifically, Asomugha). I guess I can expect the Raiders to go 0-16 because their number one draft pick dropped 3 passes during PRE-PRE-SEASON practices.

[ct]

My 2 favorite receivers in this year's draft were probably Hicks and Robiskie.

I liked Britt and Robiskie.

And I'm thrilled the Al Davis implosion continues!! ROFL

[Kyle DeLexus]

So, everybody is already counting out DHB after a few of practices? Sounds sure-proof. After all, I believe everything that is posted on here. Especially since Bowe, our number one, caught 8 passes for 137 yards and ZERO touchdowns against the Raiders(specifically, Asomugha). I guess I can expect the Raiders to go 0-16 because their number one draft pick dropped 3 passes during PRE-PRE-SEASON practices.

Nope I still think the talent is there, I just don't know if the Raiders can develope him like he needs to be brought along. Unlike some others, it wouldn't surprise me if he goes turns out really good or busts.

[Braincase]

I hope Johnny "Lam" Jones is chucking his ass off.

[htismaqe]

So, everybody is already counting out DHB after a few of practices? Sounds sure-proof. After all, I believe everything that is posted on here. Especially since Bowe, our number one, caught 8 passes for 137 yards and ZERO touchdowns against the Raiders(specifically, Asomugha). I guess I can expect the Raiders to go 0-16 because their number one draft pick dropped 3 passes during PRE-PRE-SEASON practices.

I was counting out DHB before he was ever drafted. He's a one-trick pony.

[Mr. Krab]

So, everybody is already counting out DHB after a few of practices? Sounds sure-proof. After all, I believe everything that is posted on here. Especially since Bowe, our number one, caught 8 passes for 137 yards and ZERO touchdowns against the Raiders(specifically, Asomugha). I guess I can expect the Raiders to go 0-16 because their number one draft pick dropped 3 passes during PRE-PRE-SEASON practices.
No, we having fun making fun of the Faiders. Why are you defending them, are you a faider lover?

[talastan]

No, we having fun making fun of the Faiders. Why are you defending them, are you a faider lover?

:popcorn:

[MOhillbilly]

One of my bros is a bigtime raider fan. He hasnt answered the phone since the draft. Its fuggin great!

[Skip Towne]

No, we having fun making fun of the Faiders. Why are you defending them, are you a faider lover?

We need to tighten up membership requirements.