flgreen Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Stephen Hill can't shake reputation for bad hands at Jets minicamp The second-year wide receiver had a touchdown pass hit off his hands as he was wide open in the end zone in a play that conjured up images of Hill's third-and-3 drop in the fourth quarter against New England last season. By Seth Walder / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 8:14 PM Updated: Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 8:14 PM. Fair or not, Stephen Hill's bad-hands reputation precedes him. . Stephen Hill provided a lowlight of the Jets' misadventures in receiving during minicamp last week. The second-year wide receiver had a touchdown pass hit off his hands as he was wide open in the end zone, the ball falling to the turf. Flashes of Hill's third-and-3 drop in the fourth quarter against New England last season had to race through the minds of the fans in attendance. That time, at least, Hill still would have had some running to do; in practice, he was already in the end zone. Hill, a second-round draft pick out of the triple-option offense at Georgia Tech, has developed a reputation for bad hands. He was considered raw out of the draft, a project that didn't pan out last season. But Jets wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal says Hill's propensity for drops is exaggerated. "No, see I've gone through last year, so I contest that this was an issue with him last year," Lal told the Daily News. "To me, he had a terrible drop in St. Louis ... and the terrible one in New England that everyone remembers. Two true, real drops, and he had one in preseason." According to ProFootballFocus, Hill had six drops last season, tying him for 38th in the NFL. He only played in 11 games and had fewer receptions (21) than every receiver with at least five drops. "There were some contested catches that he didn't make. Some contorting catches that you could see either way," Lal said. "Great players will make them and he will someday. So first, I contest the drop issue." The Daily News looked back at the film, and while there is some gray area, Lal is mostly right. Hill's four other drops are all borderline at best: two are truly tough calls that probably should not be counted against him, one slipped by a defender before Hill dropped it going to the ground and the fourth was most likely a drop, though again, he had to go to the ground to catch the ball. All were possibly catchable, none as egregious as the New England play. That doesn't mean drops aren't something Hill needs to work on. The receiver seems to rarely make an impact in practice, and if the drops weren't an issue in games last season, they certainly have been in the workouts the media has watched recently. "With Stephen, he's got great natural hands, but like everyone in the group he has concentration lapses," Lal said. "So he's not treated any differently." Though injured, it has appeared that top receiver Santonio Holmes has tried to mentor Hill, taking the second-year player aside during practice often."One of the things that I spent time talking to him about," Holmes said last week, "is how can we build Stephen Hill into being that complete guy and it comes with a lot of learning and a lot of sacrifice." Twitter.com/SethWalderNYDN Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-wr-hill-shake-reputation-bad-hands-article-1.1376315#ixzz2WfVcQpX6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoFlaJets Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Why's everybody always pickin' on me? http://youtu.be/AbBr2bgAbcM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelticwizard Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Loved that clip, Jimmy. Maybe someday science will discover how Dick Clark managed to look just like that for 40 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelticwizard Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 ....."With Stephen, he's got great natural hands, but like everyone in the group he has concentration lapses," Lal said. I've heard this before about many players. Will someone please explain about receivers and "concentration lapses"? You're paid between several hundred thousand and millions of dollars a year to perform on sixteen three hour games during the year. During those three hour games, the ball will be thrown to you perhaps eight times. Now what can you be concentrating on besides catching that ball during that three hour period? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiFtheOracle Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 A good way to shake that reputation is to catch the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peebag Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Loved that clip, Jimmy. Maybe someday science will discover how Dick Clark managed to look just like that for 40 years. I'm pretty sure it was payola... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 A good way to shake that reputation is to catch the ball. Was about to say ... know a real simple way to make that go away ... and I won't even charge him the consulting fee ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeKlecko Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Why's everybody always pickin' on me? http://youtu.be/AbBr2bgAbcM LOL great clip and tune! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonehands Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 A guy drops what....20, 30 balls in practice and all of a sudden he get the reputation for bad hands...unfair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeKlecko Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 I've heard this before about many players. Will someone please explain about receivers and "concentration lapses"? You're paid between several hundred thousand and millions of dollars a year to perform on sixteen three hour games during the year. During those three hour games, the ball will be thrown to you perhaps eight times. Now what can you be concentrating on besides catching that ball during that three hour period? Focus and concentration are a habit or a type of mental muscle that has to be exercised and developed. By and large, today's athletes are pampered and allowed to get by because of their athleticism and natural talent. Don't forget that probably a fairly high percentage of those guys aren't known for their intellectual prowess or discipline. Some players have the ability to watch the ball all the way into their hands. I'm not sure if all do. Just because a players is fast and elusive doesn't mean that he has the hand/eye coordination, soft hands or the discipline or ability to consistently watch the ball into his hands. Some undoubtedly are already looking up the field to see how far they can go or hear footsteps and worrying about getting layed out by a DB. I'm pretty sure that both of those things would have an affect on their focus on watching the ball into their hands. Too, supposedly, some players just don't have "soft" hands and/or are body catchers. Even though Hill made some circus catches in college, he dropped a ton of easy passes. That's one thing I definitely agreed with Rex about...I never wanted the Jets to draft Hill. He may still develop. We'll just have to wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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