Rico Gathers -- the Zeus of Cowboys TEs -- feels 'thousand times better' at start of Year 2

[ravidubey]

And I think they really effed up not getting Jake Butt late.

I think Rico is a big reason (no pun intended) why they didn't draft a TE. That and Butt's name, of course.

 

[L.T. Fan]

I think Rico is a big reason (no pun intended) why they didn't draft a TE. That and Butt's name, of course.

Are you saying Butts is dragging up the rear?

 

[BipolarFuk]

Are you saying Butts is dragging up the rear?

 

[midswat]

He's going to be the Randall Williams of TE's for us. So much potential and physical ability that never becomes a really for real football player.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

He's going to be the Randall Williams of TE's for us. So much potential and physical ability that never becomes a really for real football player.

Miles Austin was that too...

 

[Genghis Khan]

He's going to be the Randall Williams of TE's for us. So much potential and physical ability that never becomes a really for real football player.

I think there's a real chance of that. There's very little evidence that he can even belong on a football field. Until we see that, I'm keeping my expectations pretty low.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Miles Austin was that too...

To me, there's a huge difference between a guy like Austin who played football at a very small school in college versus Rico who hasn't played since like 8th grade.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

To me, there's a huge difference between a guy like Austin who played football at a very small school in college versus Rico who hasn't played since like 8th grade.

Oh I just meant he was that athletic scrub that people pined over.

 

[Rock Slamdance]

75 grabs, 16 touchdowns.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I think there's a real chance of that. There's very little evidence that he can even belong on a football field. Until we see that, I'm keeping my expectations pretty low.

Nothing wrong with that. We hear about practice warriors all the time that never become anything. I'm curious to see what Gathers can do because of his special physical traits but I'm certainly not going to call the guy the next Jimmy Graham either.

 

[Smitty]

Oh I just meant he was that athletic scrub that people pined over.

Miles Austin wasn't a scrub. He was a real WR.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Miles Austin wasn't a scrub. He was a real WR.

He was an undrafted guy who did nothing for the first 2 years of his career basically. He turned out to be a real player but before that he was another athletic scrub that people got excited over.

 

[L.T. Fan]

He was an undrafted guy who did nothing for the first 2 years of his career basically. He turned out to be a real player but before that he was another athletic scrub that people got excited over.

Yep and here are some undrafted free agents the Cowboys have also had some luck with. Dave Edwards, Cliff Harris Drew Pearson, Everson Walls,Bill Bates, Mark Tuinei and so on so Austin is in pretty good company.

 

[Smitty]

He was an undrafted guy who did nothing for the first 2 years of his career basically. He turned out to be a real player but before that he was another athletic scrub that people got excited over.

Taking two years to develop isn't the same as being a scrub. Austin always had talent. Was never anything like Randall Williams.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Taking two years to develop isn't the same as being a scrub. Austin always had talent. Was never anything like Randall Williams.

Except they were exactly the same thing until Austin broke out in year 4. That's the point. Some of these "athletic scrubs" from the bottom of the roster do work out sometimes. And sometimes they are just Randal Williams.

 

[boozeman]

And sometimes they are just Randal Williams.

Hey, you forgot he was very fast and had teh onside kicks reCoVEry!

 

[mcnuttz]

Hey, you forgot he was very fast and had teh onside kicks reCoVEry!

Fastest recorded score in NFL history, pal.

Act like you know.

 

[Smitty]

Except they were exactly the same thing until Austin broke out in year 4. That's the point. Some of these "athletic scrubs" from the bottom of the roster do work out sometimes. And sometimes they are just Randal Williams.

I don't agree that they were exactly the same.

Sometimes bottom of the roster UDFA's are just filling a spot on the roster, and sometimes they are actually talented and have developmental upside. Randall Williams was the former, Austin the latter. He was a priority UDFA that multiple teams were after because he always had the ability to turn into a real WR, he just needed to develop. Tony Romo is another example, he was an UDFA that was identified at the time he was signed as a "good signing" who had something to stick. Just because he took 3.5 years to develop into a star, you can't say he was the same as Jameil Showers for the first three years.

I mean, if your point is that Williams and Austin were both athletic and undrafted, sure, but otherwise, they were really nothing alike at all.

 

[ravidubey]

I mean, if your point is that Williams and Austin were both athletic and undrafted, sure, but otherwise, they were really nothing alike at all.

Austin's potential was in his skills as a receiver and natural ability as a returner.

Randal Williams potential was more about being 6'3" 220 and running sub-4.4 40's.

Both skill sets garnered a look, but unfortunately Williams was behind the 8-ball regarding a real football position.

That wasn't going to fly with Bill Parcells for long.

I think had Parcells stayed, the team would have backed Austin over Hurd and the increased PT would have accelerated Austin's breakout.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I mean, if your point is that Williams and Austin were both athletic and undrafted, sure, but otherwise, they were really nothing alike at all.

Sort (Because their careers had similar beginnings) of but not really. The point is we can all pretend like we knew the difference between Austin and Williams in the first few years of their careers but we really didn't. We barely saw either of them play WR and all we had to go off of was the reports about their great speed and athletic ability and how well they practiced. Which brings us full circle back to Gathers. Who is big, athletic and has had great practice reports come back from last year. But he is just as similar to Randal Williams as he is Miles Austin for example.