The new receivers coach likes him, he's added weight and seems to have a renewed attitude, more drive; now I want to see a conviction behind that muscle and attitude that convinces me that
every ball headed his way is HIS, that he'll position himself so nobody else can touch it, and he'll fight for it and come down with it.The article mentions a surprisingly low catch percentage for him. I tought his hands were better than that. On further reflection (but without looking at any film) it seems to me that his hands are plenty OK; but it's way too high a percentage of contested balls that he drops.
That's the only piece missing from his game but it's a big one. It's a matter of will more than skill. Jefferson is the same height but lighter than Anquan Boldin (not allowing for this year's added muscle,) and bigger overall than Steve Smith. If he could study their games, add their moves for contested balls to his skill set
and back the skills with the will to use them, he'd be a lights-out receiver.
I remember Boldin's comment after his Super Bowl end-zone touchdown for the Ravens with a defender's arm between Boldin's and behind the ball. Perfect position to knock the ball loose, but Boldin simply wasn't about to let it happen. When asked, Boldin said, "If I'd'a had to, I'd have ripped his damn arm off."
That's the attitude I want to see from Van Jefferson.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2023 02:42PM by mtramfan.
