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Sammy Watkins, the one that got away

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xen

xen 1,010,220

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https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2018/3/21/17146428/rams-talking-about-chiefs-sammy-watkins-like-hes-the-one-that-got-away

 

The hatred Kansas City Chiefs fans have for their AFC West rivals—the Raiders, Broncos and Chargers—has always been constant.

 

As time goes on, other teams emerge as out-of-division rivals. Recently, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots all come to mind.

 

But this offseason, in my mind, you can safely add the Los Angeles Rams to the list.

 

Cornerback Marcus Peters is a Ram, wide receiver Sammy Watkins is a Chief and the two already have a date (to be determined) next year in Mexico City.

 

And while the Chiefs are barely saying anything transparent about why they traded Peters for draft picks, the Rams are talking about Watkins like he’s the “one that got away.”

 

 

“Sammy was a big part of our offense last year — I mean we went from 32nd to first [in scoring],” LA Rams general manager Les Snead said Tuesday, via Rams.com. “[We] did pursue him — it didn’t work out.”

 

Watkins made 39 catches for 593 yards and a team-leading eight touchdowns in 2017.

 

“There’s a reason why he had a market — he put good things on tape,” head coach Sean McVay added. “I don’t think that’s exclusive to, maybe, the production from a numbers standpoint. He did a lot more for our offense that’s going to be a big void.”

 

According to our own Seth Keysor, who reviewed the tape, Watkins has a knack for getting open—a lot.

 

And as the Rams try to fill that “big void,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid adds Watkin to an offense that already boasts the weapons of Travis Kelce, Kareem Hunt and the ever-dynamic Tyreek Hill.

 

During the same offseason in which general manager Brett Veach called now-starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes one of the best players he’s ever seen, he referred to Watkins as an elite playmaker.

 

“You always know that when you use the franchise tag on (safety) Lamarcus (Joyner), there is the chance of losing Sammy,” McVay said.

 

Veach agreed and even seemed to be flabbergasted the Rams made Watkins available.

 

“I think what you realize is that we were right on Sammy when you see the market that he did have,” McVay said. “It wasn’t exclusive to just the Chiefs. There were a lot of other teams involved that [offered] a lot of high numbers.”

 

The Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers were reportedly all also interested in Watkins, even despite past injury concerns.

 

“I think when you just look at the body of work, you take into account, here’s a 24-year-old who was just able to stay healthy for the entire year — you see why the value was what it was,” McVay said.

 

Watkins signed a three-year deal worth $48 million, including $30 million fully guaranteed, with the Chiefs. He has already expressed interest to spend his career with the team.

 

“To [Watkins’] credit, he earned that contract,” McVay added, “and I think he’ll do a great job in that system playing under coach [Andy] Reid.”

 

 

Here's another nugget from the rams.com piece they took all the quotes from:

 

"During the season, McVay often noted how Watkins' ability to stretch the field helped open opportunities for other members of the Rams' offense - like AP Offensive Player of the Year running back Todd Gurley, wide receiver Robert Woods, and rookie wideout Cooper Kupp. That's part of why in the lead up to free agency, Los Angeles was reportedly debating whether to utilize its franchise tag on Watkins or safety Lamarcus Joyner."

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DieHard

DieHard 2,061

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It’s an exciting time. Mahomes and Watkins have serious boom or bust potential. Hell so does Hill. It’s a truck load of dynamite that could blow up in our face or it could be a controlled explosion that blows the top off of defenses.

 

I am excited that we are no longer taking a measured approach to try to punt and play the field position game. Let’s drop the clutch and try and keep it on the road. This is a ridiculous set of skill position guys.

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Mloe68

Mloe68 1,521

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It’s an exciting time. Mahomes and Watkins have serious boom or bust potential. Hell so does Hill. It’s a truck load of dynamite that could blow up in our face or it could be a controlled explosion that blows the top off of defenses.

 

I am excited that we are no longer taking a measured approach to try to punt and play the field position game. Let’s drop the clutch and try and keep it on the road. This is a ridiculous set of skill position guys.

I really don’t personally see much chance of this whole thing not working. It’s just a matter of how long it will take in my opinion. Reid doesn’t fail with QBs and Mahomes is the most talented guy he’s ever had. If Mahomes, Watkins, Kelsey and Hill stay relatively healthy over the next 3 years, i feel confident it’s going to be special.
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Legend of AC

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I really don’t personally see much chance of this whole thing not working. It’s just a matter of how long it will take in my opinion. Reid doesn’t fail with QBs and Mahomes is the most talented guy he’s ever had. If Mahomes, Watkins, Kelsey and Hill stay relatively healthy over the next 3 years, i feel confident it’s going to be special.

I tend to agree with this. Mahomes is a gamer who has an extremely high aptitude for football. Hearing Reid talk about his leadership in the huddle and how guys gravitate to him was the icing on the cake for me. He might be special!

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SEMO

SEMO 6,811

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Yes I'm excited about pat and the offense LG is the only position that I'm worried about. Hoping the defense isn't what we had in the vermiel days

One thing about adding Watkins, teams are not going to be able to stack the box.  That alone will help the LG and the rest of the oline.  It will also help Hunt and especially Pat.

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kkuenn

kkuenn 3,597

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Is 7,000 yards of offense possible with this group?

Very doubtful but it would take a special season for sure to get that. How many times has it happened? Three I think and none led the teams to being SB champs. 2013 Broncos, 2011 Saints and 2000 Rams are team with over 7,000 yards in total offense.

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Mloe68

Mloe68 1,521

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Not this year. Maybe if they get the D on track otherwise teams can just run the clock. Maybe next year though.

Realistically the offensive game plan is going to have to include some ball control ourselves to help defense out. And this type of pre snap read game management is also likely where Mahomes will need the most work.

On the other hand I’m confident our defense will be improved from 2017, just not enough to make the impact we will need to be a January contender this year.

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moons314

moons314 2,463

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Not this year. Maybe if they get the D on track otherwise teams can just run the clock. Maybe next year though.

Not that I’m ready to reach for those lofty expectations, teams aren’t going to play ball control against us and run the clock because our offense is going to be too explosive. Let’s say we score, opposition runs 6 minutes off the clock a kicks a fg. We score again and now it’s 14-3. If you keep trying to run clock, you’re just going to run out of time. To beat the chiefs is going to require scoring points , lots of points, and you can’t do that playing ball control.

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xen

xen 1,010,220

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From PFF:

 

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-players-set-to-benefit-from-their-new-teams

 

Newly signed players set to benefit from their new teams

 

... skipping a bunch of chuckleheads... blah blah blah... then the good stuff...

SAMMY WATKINS TO KANSAS CITY

If there was one player last season that didn’t receive the boost in performance that came from Sean McVay’s arrival, it was Sammy Watkins. He caught just 39 passes for 593 yards and gained only 1.3 yards per route run, 68th in the league. On deep passes, Watkins caught only three of 16 targets for 145 yards and a touchdown, but that doesn’t show the volume of misses that were on Jared Goff rather than Watkins. In Kansas City, he is going to be paired with the big arm and big-play ability of Patrick Mahomes and put into an offense that is going to need to develop a secondary target – particularly deep – to Tyreek Hill. In 2017, Hill was targeted deep 24 times, and the next-highest figure among wide receivers on the team was just five. Teams may have failed to adjust to Hill’s deep threat last season, but they won’t make the same mistake in 2018, so the Chiefs will need to find ways to attack those adjustments in coverage. Watkins could be the answer to that.

 

... blah blah blah... more chuckleheads... end of article.

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xen

xen 1,010,220

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In order to hit 7000 yards Mahomes would likely need to smash Andrew Lucks rookie passing yardage record by over 600 extra yards. Plus Hunt would likely need to lead the league in rushing again but get a few hundred extra yards this time.

 

Not gonna happen.

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Fmbl2187

Fmbl2187 2,279

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I agree with the idea that this new philosophy is the way to win a superbowl finally.  But we need to keep in mind that it is fairly "boom or bust."  If all the personnel are based around Mahome's unique capabilities and fast receivers, then an injury to Mahomes wipes out the entire season.  Still, I think its worth it.  I want to see the Lombardi hoisted in the Chiefs'locker room.  As Mahomes gets more savvy, he will need to make a slightly less aggressive offense work with his brain, and add another man to his pass protection to keep him off the disabled list. Every team in football will be trying to injure him during a game, usually with a safety blitz.  I think this year, we need to use that strong running game to keep defenses from headhunting Mahomes.  We have the personnel to control games on the ground now.  Plus it would wear down defenses.  By the fourth quarter, the spread would be unstoppable.

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DieHard

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I agree with the idea that this new philosophy is the way to win a superbowl finally. But we need to keep in mind that it is fairly "boom or bust." If all the personnel are based around Mahome's unique capabilities and fast receivers, then an injury to Mahomes wipes out the entire season. Still, I think its worth it. I want to see the Lombardi hoisted in the Chiefs'locker room. As Mahomes gets more savvy, he will need to make a slightly less aggressive offense work with his brain, and add another man to his pass protection to keep him off the disabled list. Every team in football will be trying to injure him during a game, usually with a safety blitz. I think this year, we need to use that strong running game to keep defenses from headhunting Mahomes. We have the personnel to control games on the ground now. Plus it would wear down defenses. By the fourth quarter, the spread would be unstoppable.

Thus is my biggest concern. The line needs to step up in run and pass blocking this season. Staying healthy would help.

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