Anybody else concerned that Leon has lost a step? Other than one nice return earlier in the year, the guy hasn't done anything. Last year I expected him to bring it to the house on every return Or at least bring some excitement with some moves. Lately it seems like he has been making poor decisions on bringing it out of the endzone or by running backwards on punt returns. He seems to be tentative and slower this year.

oh, he definitely has. He's smart though.

I think I am starting to see Leon Washington becoming the new dot Net whipping boy.

Tech Worlds wrote:I think I am starting to see Leon Washington becoming the new dot Net whipping boy.

They gotta run SOMEONE up the gallows.

I think teams are paying attention and reminding their guys to hold the line on their zone of responsibility which is limiting him somewhat. But the time will come this season for him to at least tie the NFL record for kick/punt returns.

Holding their area of responsibility is something our kick/punt defenders need to remember.

BTW didn't Washington hava a sure return TD, slowed up at the end and had the ball knocked out of his hands? Be tied for the record now.

He rarely gets a chance to get a return. And if anything, the finger should point at the return team as a whole and the special teams coach -- it's not Leon on an island.

There are not many kick-off return TDs in the NFL these days, it's not unique to us. It was a dumb rule change moving the kick-offs up -- that took away a great part of the game. He is still dangerous and he's given us shortened fields many times this season. He's near the top of the league in return yardage.

I'm not understanding the fussing about Leon.

??

Changing the kickoff rules has made returning much more difficult. He's still doing a great job for us, being at or neat the top in avg yards per return, so let's cut him some slack.

I still think he's one of the best returners in the game, but it wouldn't hurt to throw someone else in from time to time. I'm open to suggestions...

Return rules have changed what? 2 years in a row? First they made the wedge illegal, and now they brought the ball up 5 yards.

Leon is still one of the best returners in the game (great combination of vision, patience, and ability to make defenders miss) but he has definitely lost a step in his top-end speed. There weren't too many people that could catch him in the open field earlier in his career, but he has been caught from behind on numerous occasions since he's been here. I still wouldn't trade him for many others out there.

He had a bad game yesterday for sure. He ran backwards once, and probably should have taken a knee in the endzone as well. I know he wants to make a play so bad, but he needs to play smarter.

His opportunities to make big plays and remind us why he is so good have been drastically reduced because of the new kickoff rule.

I don't see a lost step, I see a dude who's not getting any chances.......and when he does get chances no one's blocking for him.

The arizona game didnt he have returns of like 40+ and 60 + . this guy is doing his thing.

just because he isnt scoring touchdown and yesterday he ran backwards doesnt mean he should be cut and thrown under the bus.

he has had some huge momentum shifting returns this year.....lighten up folks

Saved the team's bacon in the Patriots game. That final punt return was huge. He is having a tough time with KO returns and is pressing IMO, but you have to let him try. He may not be back next year, depends on what the team wants to do with the contract? Better him than Tate in my book.

I think I can honestly say that I have never seen a returner field a punt in the endzone. That is plain dumb. There are about 20 things that can go wrong in that scenario and very few good things that can happen. That showed very poor field awareness and even though he got it out to the 20 he was lucky to do so. I think he has the vision/know how to make up for losing a step or two but he takes too many chances and has scared the crap out of me a couple of times with muffed punts.

Tech Worlds wrote:I think I am starting to see Leon Washington becoming the new dot Net whipping boy.

Until he takes one to the house.....then dot Net will love him.

MOCHawk wrote:I think I can honestly say that I have never seen a returner field a punt in the endzone. That is plain dumb. There are about 20 things that can go wrong in that scenario and very few good things that can happen. That showed very poor field awareness and even though he got it out to the 20 he was lucky to do so. I think he has the vision/know how to make up for losing a step or two but he takes too many chances and has scared the crap out of me a couple of times with muffed punts.

Until we see what he see's its hard to judge by anything other then the results achieved, if Leon see's an opening he has to go for it, 99% of the time it falls apart but if you don't try you don't break the big ones. The view could change 5 yards into a return, a huge block or missing a block Leon assumes is going to happen changes everything, maybe he has lost a step but he is still better then 80% of the return guys in the league.

He's just pressing in my opinion, he wants to break one bad. He's still near the league tops in return averages I think. He's still elite.

I recall a pretty good return at the end of the New England game. He's trying to make something happen.

He had a bad game but come on...
He has been there with a big return a couple of times when we really needed him.
People here have a really short memory.

Chicken little the sky is falling, there is always some of that. Most people don't have the patience to see a player have a bad game.

So far this year only 7 people have returned it to the house. Out of 32 teams. He's 13th in yardage. His attempts are down to 15 so his average is 6th overall 29.1 yards per attempt. pretty good. His longest of the year was 83 yards not to mention the td that he had taken away from him for a BS blocking in the back call. The guy is still good.

Leon is a smart return guy.
No, he's not as fast as he used to be.
He's very consistent and, If you go to games, he make good decisions. usually.

Yesterday, on the punt, he didn't see the wave of Vikings coming from the backside when he was dancing around.
It just happens sometimes.

Chill out and let him do his job until someone takes it from him.