 HAKIM, HOLT, (AND TIGHT END), BY 316 (Nov 29) |
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HAKIM
& DROPS. Hakim had a fine day against New Orleans. The catch-and-run
is typical of his skill sets. Seemed this close to breaking a couple of those punt
returns, as well. The guy has incredible feet ... Yes, Hakim has had some drops this year. None more painful than the one in the endzone against Detroit. However, from what I've seen of Hakim, he has very good hands. They're soft and quick. He snaps them into position quickly and tucks the football away the same speed. He gets his body low, turns into a catch and never gets too lazy in that he cradles or body catches everything. The long TD catch he made against Cincy in the second week of the season is typical of the guy's truly breathtaking skills as a receiver---he simply 'plucked' the football out of mid-air, over the top of two defenders, pulled it in, and scored. It was a play that showed not only remarkable concentration ... but terrific hands. Guys who don't have good hands don't make that play. Add to it the fact that Hakim has the best feet on the team (and is always a threat to add yards after the catch) and runs routes about as precisely as Bruce---who's one of the best in the league---and I'd say that he is one of *THE* emerging, multi-talented young stars in the league. The kid is tough as nails, too. He reminds me of Gary Clark of the old Redskins teams---who Madden always boasted had the attitude and toughness of an offensive lineman. What Hakim's *real* problem seems to be is that he's simply running before he's got it tucked away. His hands are fine---he's almost too quick sometimes. The drop against Detroit was a prime example---he had the ball in his hands, out in front of his face and body---and began to tuck it away *before* he had it secure. He was actually looking to tuck the ball away, when it started to slip and he ended up almost spiking it into the ground. Embarrasing ... but the technique was about as right as rain up until the tuck away. Az just needs to take a little more time in spreading his fingers and getting the ball secure in his hands *before* moving onto Point B. And he needs to tighten up the brain pan and avoid any lapses that multiply those kinds of problems All receivers have drops. It comes with the territory. Hell ... the year Bruce had 119 catches he also had 14 or 15 drops (BTW he's a bit of a body catcher himself and can get sloppy with his technique and lose concentration). Ricky Proehl, who probably has the best and surest hands on the team, can get really lazy about getting his hands "up" into catching position ... and goes through periods of dropsies because he's attempting to catch the back half of the football. Holt, who's a great kid and a remarkable talent himself, has been having all kinds of problems hanging onto the football on go routes---simply because the problems seem to be sticking in his head and he's losing concentration. Up until the New Orleans game he was catching everything underneath, but nothing long. These kinds of things just happen ... even to good receivers. BUT ... the point is ... it's important to take a look at each receiver, each drop, and determine *why* the drops happen. HOLT AND CONFIDENCE. Where to begin? I think the world of the kid. I started watching him late last college season when it first became apparent he might be the Rams' guy in the draft. What I saw was a kid who had Rice-like skills. He was just wonderful after the catch. He also caught everything sent his way, and was fearless ... as both a receiver and punt returner. The day of the draft, I admit to being momentarily disappointed when Holt was selected over Bailey. But, just for a moment. I felt that I had a pretty good understanding of what the Rams got with Holt. Not only the best receiver in the draft, with good size and speed, but a fine young man. A great person. Great. A true Vermeil player. Then I had the chance to watch the Rams in Champaign when they scrimmaged Indee for a couple of days. Nothing I saw there changed my opinion of Holt. Bruce was getting his limited practice reps (thank you, Al Saunders) ... and Holt got a lot of practice time and drill time. I walked away from those two days watching Holt suspecting he was going to be rook of the year. He was *that* good. He did it all ... beat people deep, worked underneath, ran after the catch, blocked. You name it ... Holt did it. And, early in the season, Holt looked to be everything and more. He had some very big catches right off the bat. I think he had two or three scores in the first month ... the most memorable being a fade route he ran against (I think) Atlanta, in which he showed marvelous footwork against the bump, great acceleration and terrific hands on a ball at the edge of his catching range. The long catch to set up the Rams first or second TD against San Fran in St. Louis (can't remember which one---there were so many) showed me what I wanted as a compliment receiver to Bruce. He ran a post/corner or something close to it, got behind Walker, and caught a long 50 yarder and set the Dome a poppin'. I was feeling very, very good about the kid at that point. But, in all actuality, that was also the game in which his game began to suffer some. It was that game that BRUCE *really* re-established himself as a Pro Bowler ... and one of the premier receivers in the game. As much as I love Warner, it was also when Warner began to focus a bit too much on Bruce ... and began to get away a little bit from one of the things that was most stiking during his first month---the way he spread the ball around. After thatm Holt's "problems" have begun to surface. Hell ... he even had an unfortunate fumble in week two against Cincy ... after a 20 yard gain over the middle. But ... it seems like ... after the first Whiner game, Holt has back-tracked a little. I don't think he's had a deep one for a while after that---but part of that is also because teams are now laying their safties so far back on the Rams. And while Holt became Warner's favorite on the long comeback---in which Holt can accelerate down the field, and then cut off the route at the sticks for tough first downs---he struggled mightily on the deep balls. As everyone saw, he had a long TD bounce off his belly (of all places) against San Fran in the second game... and failed to come down with another long sure score the week before against Carolina. Both were fairly tough catches ... but I can assure you that they were catches Holt would have made during his North Carolina State days. As we all know, a lot of what makes a player successful as an athlete has to do with where their heads are at. How much confidence they're playing with. That in mind, I think the only problem Torry Holt had for a while was that his confidence was been shaken a bit in this, his rookie year. He isn't the first rookie wideout to have it happen, nor will be be the last. I believe Bruce only had 20-something catches in *his* rookie season. So, in my estimation, the only thing bothering Torry right was his confidence. Based on everything I've read, he's a kind, thoughtful, sensitive kid. And this is his first run in the National Football League. He's had some drops and the Rams/Martz simply weren't going to him as much as they did in the first weeks of the season. Not only did Holt lose some confidence in himself, Warner had lost some confidence in him. I still think Holt can one day be the equal of Bruce ... in Bruce's best moments. The kid remains *THE* total package - size, speed, strength, hands, ability ... plus he's just magic after the catch. Add to that his work as a downfield blocker ... and the kid remains the right choice at six. I'm still a firm believe in him, and expect him to one day be a Pro Bowler. And... ...what I personally liked most about Holt's performance against New Orleans was that he "came through" whenever the opportunity arose. Can't really speak about much related to technique or route running (only saw the game as it happened and haven't had a chance to go back over the tape) ... but he caught everything that came his way. Was refreshing to see. I r did me good to see Martz/Warner then run the corner route on the second play from scrimmage for Holt. The kid came through on an altogether average throw and turned it into a TD. The second TD probably gave him an even bigger boost---considering he kind of bobbled it near the goal line before getting complete control. I always liken that to a hitter getting a bloop hit ... one that might not have fallen in other circumstances. Holt coming up with that grab on a bobbled ball was great to see. Also liked the chance he got to run the crossing pattern late, in which he made the catch and got a little chance to run after the catch. That was one of the first things that attracted me to him when I saw him play for NC State. Good to see the Rams get him the football in a position where he could get some yards-after-catch add-on. All in all, a fine performance from Holt last Sunday---from the basic standpoint that he made every play. WHERE ARE THE TEs LATELY? Blocking, mostly ... I think something that's going pretty well unnoticed around the league right now is that a lot of teams are combatting zone blitzes and stunts by keeping the tight end in to block in passing situations. (Quick---name the top pass-catching tight end in the league right now.) I'd have to go back and look at the tape to determine just how many downs Williams did stay in and block aginst New Orleans, but I'd guess it was fairly high. And since Warner isn't the most mobile guy on the planet (although his pocket presence is usually pretty damn good), that's mighty important. Since the Rams run so many three receiver sets, plus send Faulk into most patterns, it becomes almost imperative that Roland Williams remains in to block. He does a real nice job in the passing game, but his best role right now is in max protect schemes. As far as occupying the safeties and linebackers, the TEs aren't really needed for that. Faulk's mere presence in the Ram lineup has had a profound effect in that case. You can almost see them flinch every time there's a play-fake and Faulk carves out space in the middle of the field. |
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