He definitely deserves some blame, but the coaches are putting him in situations that don't use his talents. The QBs deserve blame too. They almost never throw it where he can catch it and go upfield. I don't think he gets enough credit for what he has provided being a decoy.
Shep coming out of the backfield to catch short passes would work. Reggie bush lines up as a tailback and goes out for passes causing a linebacker to cover him. Shep would be a mismatch aginst a linebacker just as bush has been. This would be a short high completion pass and give him the ball in space.
what's the point though, when it does hit him in the hands he either drops the ball or runs a yard and falls down. I think they should have used him more as a running back.
That's true but our qb's can't get anyone the ball. I would also love to see what goes on in practice. To me, honestly, if Russell Shepard didn't want to play qb because his chances of making the NFL were slim to none at that position, he should have been a tailback/return specialist.
You know sometimes i wondered when watching the games if they practiced at all, and just used the games as practice. Because if you watch the games they do the same stuff over and over and over, and once they get it right, they never do it again. We definitely need a fresh mind at OC and we need Miles to be a general and take his hands out of the offense, and I think this team will be fuggin awesome.
The only problem here is his hands. He would be ok on kickoffs but punts require catching under pressure. Trindon Holliday comes to mind. And I didn't read Fanatics post above before I posted. :thumb:
Yeah they'll probably let Randle return punts instead. But I would caution everybody from being too quick to turn on Shepard. 30 catches and 250 yards is nothing to sneeze at. He's a true soph and was playing WR for the first time in his life. If he can improve the hands he could really become a top flight SEC receiver. I agree though that he needs more straight handoffs. Maybe even let him take a few direct snaps, please? A guy can dream can't he?
I don't think anyone is turning on the kid, everyone wants to see him shine, because he is a great talent, and a hell of a great kid. I just think that he hasn't lived up to all the hype.
