Doug Baldwin to move to X receiver

Thought this was interesting, looks like Bevell has a few changes in mind for the offense, one of which means we'll see more of Doug

OC Darrell Bevell said Doug Baldwin will be moving to the "X" position this season.
Baldwin has mostly functioned as an inside receiver during his three-year career, but will be kicking out to split end now that Golden Tate is in Detroit. Percy Harvin will play "Z" and Sidney Rice will be a backup on the outside. It's a bump in role for Baldwin, but note that Tate never topped 70 catches or 900 yards as a Seahawk. There's just not enough opportunities in this run-based attack to make a box-score stud out of a complementary receiver. Jun 5 - 12:31 PM

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http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/6825/doug-baldwin

It's a bump in role for Baldwin, but note that Tate never topped 70 catches or 900 yards as a Seahawk. There's just not enough opportunities in this run-based attack to make a box-score stud out of a complementary receiver.

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Who cares? The kinds of catches Tate and Baldwin both made were often 3rd down conversions, or tough catches, or bailing out Russell Wilson on a scramble, when they weren't scoring. I wouldn't trade that kind of production just to be able to say we have a 1000 yard receiver.


(Not directed at the OP)

BlueTalon":1228dpn9 said:

It's a bump in role for Baldwin, but note that Tate never topped 70 catches or 900 yards as a Seahawk. There's just not enough opportunities in this run-based attack to make a box-score stud out of a complementary receiver.

Click to expand...

Who cares? The kinds of catches Tate and Baldwin both made were often 3rd down conversions, or tough catches, or bailing out Russell Wilson on a scramble, when they weren't scoring. I wouldn't trade that kind of production just to be able to say we have a 1000 yard receiver.


(Not directed at the OP)

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I completely agree, a lot of the media types get way too caught up in # of catches and total yards. Though I do think if the starters stay healthy we could see our 1st 1,000 yard WR in years. Percy or Doug (Although probably not both together) could surpass the mark this year if they stay healthy the entire time.

For me, it's the 'Fantasy Football' effect. Much like the whining about needing a "true #1 receiver," which I'm not sure I've ever really seen a useful definition of, people get lost in stat lines and rankings/ratings and lose sight of the big picture IMHO. I mean, how many players scored TDs in the SB for us? I can't remember the exact number off the top of my head, but not many guys scored 2.

Our offense looks like it remains capable of solid rushing stats with real explosive capabilities. In some ways, it's a bit of a throwback to the Chuck Knox days, but with better parts in place. As long as we can do that, I'm happy. Of course, I don't play FF, either.

Or 3 receivers sets will be tough to prepare for....who kicks inside?
Doug......no, Percy. Wait, it is Doug......
Now Percy is in motion.
Fly sweep.
Touchdown!

Yeah, stuff like this kind of leaves me scratching my head. We all know that the team is going to move folks around, play the matchup game, and try their best to be unpredictable. I'd be really surprised if we don't see Baldwin (and everybody else, FTM) play multiple positions next season.

Hell, I'd be disappointed if they didn't move him and others around. The position label is really a formality IMHO, as it is on most modern teams.

:229031_shrug:

Not to start another Tate vs Baldwin argument.

But I was perusing the .com Depth Chart to see if they maybe would have updated it yet (they didn't) and I noticed something I didn't before.

We have to go back to when Baldwin re-signed and Carroll was talking about his role, it occured to me that Carroll said Baldwin would be moving from Flanker and taking over Tate's spot at Split-End.

Doug Baldwin was listed as WR 1 on the Depth Chart that's still up from last season.

Yet, in every Tate supporter argument they alway love to point out that he always got the #1 CB and that's why he was inconsistent at times.

But as of yet this has been a blanket statement and I don't think any of posters who believe that provided any factual or statistical evidence of Tate always drawing the best CB.

If Baldwin was playing Flanker, as well as listed as WR1, he had to require some attention from the best CB as well. Maybe, I'm wrong but no one has proved it yet, its all theorhetical at this point but I wouldn't even know where to begin to look at those splits.

It should be noted, this is only for the two WR sets. The reason for this is because between Harvin and Baldwin, Baldwin is the better option at split end. It would be a waste to start Harvin at split end, where there is less room to get off the line and hit maximum speed before getting bumped by the corner.

This is going to be a new challenge Baldwin. It's usually harder for receivers to disengage from corners at the split end position. But in the three WR sets, Carroll has made it clear that Baldwin is capable of playing all three positions.

Kearse, Rice, and Norwood will all be options at split end when they move to the three wide receiver sets, which allows Baldwin more room to maneuver back inside off the line of scrimmage.