Darrius Heyward-Bey: Learning in a Hurry?
After reading the OTA report on the web, two things strike me as curious.
Where was this DHB last year, and could the change of QB have anything to do with it?
For the first part of the question, you have to realize what was dragging down on Darrius. He was a first round draft pick. Expectations were high and I imagine the Michael Crabtree media blitz didn't help any.
Then you have to look again, at the QB, which leads into the second question.
DHB's primary weapon, was to get downfield for a deep pass, which means speed. Considering that JaMarcus Russell was dealing with time constraints and Russell's issue with passing, errant at times did not help Darrius' attempts to catch. At times, Darrius was just as guilty, failing to run a right route, fall down allowing an easy pick or letting the ball hit off his hands.
With Russell now gone, the belief is that those who were shielded by Russell's problems, have been pushed out into the open. For DHB, maybe the talent was there, but unable to function in the present conditions.
Either way, be it the new QB, the bringing in of Hue Jackson or even the release of Russell.....DHB looks like we just drafted a good weapon at WR....maybe a great one.
