TE Luke Willson interview 3/30/15

[kearly]

If only his hands were as good as his interviews. If only his blocking as was good as his tackle breaking.

He's mediocre and probably always will be, but the splash plays are fun.

 

[hawknation2015]

If only his hands were as good as his interviews. If only his blocking as was good as his tackle breaking.

He's mediocre and probably always will be, but the splash plays are fun.

With all due respect, I think it's way too early in his development to proclaim this.

Willson flashed those downfield receiving skills as a rookie, but couldn't block worth a lick. In his 2nd year, he made some fairly impressive gains as an in-line blocker. If he continues to get stronger (under Carlisle) and refines his technique (under Cable) he has a chance to show even more improvement as a blocker.

Catching the ball with consistency comes with experience. Calvin Johnson dropped maybe two balls during his final season at Georgia Tech, but as a freshman he was dropping balls left and right. Mike Williams had maybe a dozen drops his freshman year at SC; by the next year, he had some of the best hands in the country. Willson entered the league as a freakish athlete (139 SPARQ, a standard deviation better than any other TE in his draft class) but a raw overall product due to his lack of game experience.

Willson's hands are fine . . . What he needs to develop is the mental edge that only comes from that experience of making catches in traffic, completing concentration catches, and focusing solely on the ball. Carroll employs a somewhat unique philosophy when it comes to improving a player's mental consistency. While other teams try to drill mistakes into the heads of young players with vociferous criticism, Carroll tends to use the strategy that Timothy Galway helped formulate in The Inner Game of Tennis (for which Carroll wrote the forward), which allows a player to find his center -- his peak stage of athletic performance -- by replacing the negative thoughts in his head with the contentment of enjoying competition.

You may ultimately be right that Willson will never reach his potential, improve his blocking and catch the ball consistently. But it would be foolhardy to brand him forever "mediocre" and to pretend that potential does not exist. It is there for the taking if Willson finds himself capable of working hard to attain it.

 

[BigMeach]

I just hope Graham's the type of person who loves helping teammates get better, cause I think he could really help Luke learn to be a great receiving Tight end.

 

[DavidSeven]

I don't necessarily think it's just about "hands" or fear of contact. I'm just not sure he has the natural athleticism to be the player that some envision him to be. Certainly, Luke is fast, but I'd argue that even Zach Miller is a more fluid athlete in many respects. Zach might lose a foot race, but the dude makes a ton of athletic plays and can match the footwork of the best DEs and OLBs in the game. You look at Luke, and you don't see much of that unless he's running a straight line. I guess the one thing SPARQ may not measure is how all these different athletic components actually come together on the field.

That being said, I think Willson is coachable and can be explosive once the ball is in his hands. He definitely has a place in this league and can be a useful threat when surrounded with the right talent.

 

[BigMeach]

I think this is the year that will say everything about what he will be. It is his 3rd year in the league. That is the year where you find out what you have in a receiver for 99% of receivers.

 

[Jville]

Willson will then leave for Hawaii to be part of an informal camp with quarterback Wilson and other members of the offence before attending an organized team activity with the rest of the Seahawks.

Windsor Star 3/30/15 interview >>>>> [urltargetblank]http://blogs.windsorstar.com/sports/video-mary-caton-talks-with-luke-willson-in-the-news-cafe[/urltargetblank]

 

[kearly]

I always have a degree of hope for players with drop issues in Seattle. The Hawks have a very good track record at coaching up players to catch the ball better. I do think that Luke Willson's hands got noticeably worse in 2014 though. And he was never a great hands player, even in college. So I'm not really feeling a lot of optimism there at this moment in time.

As a blocker, he will never be good. He just doesn't have the body for it, or even the right type of athleticism.

And now that Graham is here to occupy a Luke Willson type role, I would be mildly surprised if Wilson saw a second contract here. If the FO still thought Willson was all that, they wouldn't have made upgrading pass catching TE such a huge priority this offseason (before the Graham trade, they made two runs at Julius Thomas).

I do like Willson's ability after the catch a lot, but I think he'll basically be the Jermaine Kearse of the TE group. A splash play specialist with limited reps... somewhat unlikely to get a 2nd contract (unless he's cheap and/or the Hawks are desperate). Willson is in a very similar situation right now to what John Carlson was in 2011.

 

[Jville]

Jimmy Graham is unique and exceptional. He has been brought on board for want of a big wing span receiver. He changes what they can present to a defense. They can label him a tight end. But, I acknowledge him as a jumbo receiver presenting that highly coveted huge catch radius.

Like wise, the departure of "the complete" Zack Miller changes things. The loss of his considerable versatility makes the 2015 offense less unpredictable. Their best route for replacing Zack may very well be via a build your own approach .... very much like what they are endeavoring to accomplish at fullback.

So ..... they have come to that proverbial fork in the road and have committed to an altered offense for 2015. Luke is an important part of the 2015 plan. And as with other young developing players in the Seahawk scheme of things, year three should be pivotal in Luke's evolving and unique career. I'm looking forward to witnessing the evolution. With all the changes to Seattle's offense at hand, I expect this to be a defining year.

 

[Tical21]

Luke Willson is not an NFL talent. I don't know how you can get to the NFL as a TE when you're a "watcher" instead of a blocker. He tries to engage for a second and then turns and looks at Marshawn. That is a habit that most guy lose by their junior year of high school. Route running is equally bad. I don't even think it qualifies as route running. It is more of a waltz with the guy that is supposed to be covering him. It is just really strange to watch. He doesn't get football. He's a dangerous receiving specialist that can't get open or catch the ball. I think McCoy gets every opportunity to win that backup job.

 

[Jville]

Luke Willson is not an NFL talent. I don't know how you can get to the NFL as a TE when you're a "watcher" instead of a blocker. He tries to engage for a second and then turns and looks at Marshawn. That is a habit that most guy lose by their junior year of high school. Route running is equally bad. I don't even think it qualifies as route running. It is more of a waltz with the guy that is supposed to be covering him. It is just really strange to watch. He doesn't get football. He's a dangerous receiving specialist that can't get open or catch the ball. I think McCoy gets every opportunity to win that backup job.

So .... your saying you really ... really dislike Luke Willson.

Sorry to read that. We must be watching two completely different channels.

 

[Tical21]

You can't hide on the wide tape (all-22.). I thought he was fine too until I dug deeper into our passing game. It started as a case study on the receivers, and I ended up just watching 4 games of only watching Willson. I'd encourage you to watch for yourself, it is quite an experience. If you can't find links to the wide tape, just watch any tv coverage replays. You'll notice that when Marshawn is tackled, more often than not, 82 is standing around the pile from watching and following the play.

 

[hawknation2015]

You can't hide on the wide tape (all-22.). I thought he was fine too until I dug deeper into our passing game. It started as a case study on the receivers, and I ended up just watching 4 games of only watching Willson. I'd encourage you to watch for yourself, it is quite an experience. If you can't find links to the wide tape, just watch any tv coverage replays. You'll notice that when Marshawn is tackled, more often than not, 82 is standing around the pile from watching and following the play.

Which four games did you watch? His run blocking undoubtedly must improve this off-season. I thought his technique showed steady improvement as the year progressed; he still needs to add weight and get stronger.

 

[Scottemojo]

Luke Willson is not an NFL talent. I don't know how you can get to the NFL as a TE when you're a "watcher" instead of a blocker. He tries to engage for a second and then turns and looks at Marshawn. That is a habit that most guy lose by their junior year of high school. Route running is equally bad. I don't even think it qualifies as route running. It is more of a waltz with the guy that is supposed to be covering him. It is just really strange to watch. He doesn't get football. He's a dangerous receiving specialist that can't get open or catch the ball. I think McCoy gets every opportunity to win that backup job.

I think of Willson as the poorest man's version of Jared Cook. Poverty stricken Jared Cook.
But has Seattle developed a tight end since Pete arrived? Miller came to Seattle a finished product, and since him tight end has been a fairly neglected position with a real shotgun approach to adding depth. A couple of SparQ guys like Willson and Konz, a couple of tall basketball guys who were never going to be good, a disgruntled Winslow that they never really wanted to pay, a few udfa players, and the oft injured McCoy.

 

[Anonymous]

:snack:

 

[Jville]

Well, I have been meaning to go back and review the year. So ..... I'll eventually follow up on Tical21's suggestion. I do recall an uncomfortable number of players who appeared to be standing around at times in 2014. Quite a few instances IIRC. I just don't remember Willson sticking out from the rest. In any case, 2015 will never-the-less be his defining third year.

Scottemojo makes a good point that, to date, the Seahawks have struggled at finding and developing starting tight ends. However, it is a position where demand outstrips the supply of candidates. Looking forward to watching how the competition shakes out this year.

 

[Tical21]

Ooh, that's a good question! I know the first two I watched were the Super Bowl and NFC Championship. The home game against the Rams and the road game against SF, where he actually had a pretty good game catching the ball if I remember right. The All-22's were kind of hard to find. You should be able to find the playoff games without too much difficulty.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

With all the attention going to Jimmy, I think Luke is gonna have a pretty big year.

Don't tell me that, he drops the ball enough already

Jimmy gon keep him outta the heavy traffic that gives him trouble. He be AIIIIIIIGHT!!

 

[olyfan63]

You can't hide on the wide tape (all-22.). I thought he was fine too until I dug deeper into our passing game. It started as a case study on the receivers, and I ended up just watching 4 games of only watching Willson. I'd encourage you to watch for yourself, it is quite an experience. If you can't find links to the wide tape, just watch any tv coverage replays. You'll notice that when Marshawn is tackled, more often than not, 82 is standing around the pile from watching and following the play.

On the play before "the pick" people were ragging on Russell Okung for not successfully blocking a quicker linebacker 5 yards downfield, and Marshawn would have scored. However, when I watched it, I saw it was WILLSON's guy that was responsible for keeping Marshawn out of the end zone, and a little better effort on the block from Willson, and his guy doesn't get over and keep Marshawn out of the end zone.

So, that play is at least one example of Luke Willson's uninspired run blocking.