All Things 2021 Gophers in the NFL Thread

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stocker08 said:
Even as the #3 receiver....he's got Evans (who's never had less than 1k yards in his eight year career) and Godwin (who would be going for his third straight 1k year if he had played more than 12 games in 2020) ahead of him. These are high volume guys that also happen to be two of the best in the league. Not to mention that when Gronk plays....he's one of Brady's favorite targets....and one of the best tight ends in the history of the league. Fact is that TJ was on the field for less than 25% of offensive snaps last year......and is still under 50% so far this year. He's starting to see some more time because of injuries ahead of him, so he'll have an opportunity to prove himself. But it's silly to point to his lack of production midway through his second year in the NFL as proof of anything.

And the comparison to Osborn just doesn't track. Behind Jefferson and Thielen....there is basically nothing. Not to mention that with Irv Smith out and Rudolph gone....TE isn't really a position that is demanding many targets. And that isn't to take anything away from what Osborn has contributed this year. He's played REALLY well. But it's an entirely different situation. If Osborn was on the Bucs....he'd also be around the fifth or sixth option when the entire roster is healthy.
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We're almost to the end of his 2nd year and WR is one of the easier positions NFL players can make an impact immediately. I agree that he has been buried on the depth chart on a very deep team, but he has had more opportunities this year and hasn't taken advantage of them yet.

As for Osborn, Conklin's numbers are similar to Gronk's, although over 4 more games. Tampa Bay has also attempted to throw the ball 140 times more this year (prior to tonights game) which is significantly more than the Vikings run first offense.

The opportunities are there now for TJ and he has to make the most of them. The Bucs have little financially invested in him so he has to step up or he could easily be replaced by another 5th rounder in the future. I hope he has a great end to the season.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
We're almost to the end of his 2nd year and WR is one of the easier positions NFL players can make an impact immediately. I agree that he has been buried on the depth chart on a very deep team, but he has had more opportunities this year and hasn't taken advantage of them yet.

As for Osborn, Conklin's numbers are similar to Gronk's, although over 4 more games. Tampa Bay has also attempted to throw the ball 140 times more this year (prior to tonights game) which is significantly more than the Vikings run first offense.

The opportunities are there now for TJ and he has to make the most of them. The Bucs have little financially invested in him so he has to step up or he could easily be replaced by another 5th rounder in the future. I hope he has a great end to the season.
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Doesn't matter what position. If you have that many guys ahead of you on the depth chart....and guys like Evans, Godwin, and Brown no less.....you just aren't going to get as many opportunities. And as I said.....less than 25% of the offensive snaps last year....and still less than 50% this year. In many of those cases....he's only on the field to block as well.

With Brown and Godwin injured....TJ will get his shot. He'll be taking first team reps.....should see at least 75% of the offensive snaps.....and will probably get some primary routes. We'll see what he can do now that he's a top three or four pass catching option rather than the fifth or sixth.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
TJ essentially became the #1 WR last night and the Bucs couldn't score at all with the best QB in the history of the NFL. He's been the #3 WR most of the season as Brown has only played in 5 games. Gronk has also missed 5 games, the opportunities have been there.

As others mentioned, when he does play it appears he lacks the physicality, and explosion necessary to separate so far in the NFL. That along with speed is why one of the most productive WRs in college football in 2019 fell to the 5th round.

Compare him to KJ Osborne on the Vikings who was drafted 15 picks after Johnson and has been their #3 WR this season. Osborne has been much better than Johnson. I really hope he can rise up and have a great end of the season.
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Osborn was the number 2 WR tonight (the entire game), and ended up with 3 catches for 21yards. So by your logic, we should just pull the cord on the guy based on one data point? Osborn has shown flashes, and might be good. Not sure what comparing them does. TJ is already better than first rounder Laquon Treadwell. Not sure that proves anything either.

The Bucs played like crap last night. Hall of famer Gronk had 11(!) targets and ended up with 2 catches for 29 yards. Can’t say I’m going to throw TJ under the bus for one bad game by the entire team. His limitations will prevent him from being a No.1 receiver in the league, but he has a decent chance at being a productive NFL receiver.
 

forever a gopher said:
Osborn was the number 2 WR tonight (the entire game), and ended up with 3 catches for 21yards. So by your logic, we should just pull the cord on the guy based on one data point? Osborn has shown flashes, and might be good. Not sure what comparing them does. TJ is already better than first rounder Laquon Treadwell. Not sure that proves anything either.

The Bucs played like crap last night. Hall of famer Gronk had 11(!) targets and ended up with 2 catches for 29 yards. Can’t say I’m going to throw TJ under the bus for one bad game by the entire team. His limitations will prevent him from being a No.1 receiver in the league, but he has a decent chance at being a productive NFL receiver.
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And the Vikings played well last night? Cousins had 87 yards passing. I said this is TJ's opportunity to make an impact or the Bucs may look to move in a different direction. If you've actually watched the games, he has looked underwhelming. I made the Osborne comparison because he was drafted around the same time, and has looked better.

It's not easy staying in the NFL as a 5th rounder especially when you lack NFL speed, which TJ always has. That's just the reality. The average NFL career is 3.3 years, and Johnson is in year 2. Now is the time to show what he can do.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
And the Vikings played well last night? Cousins had 87 yards passing. I said this is TJ's opportunity to make an impact or the Bucs may look to move in a different direction. If you've actually watched the games, he has looked underwhelming. I made the Osborne comparison because he was drafted around the same time, and has looked better.

It's not easy staying in the NFL as a 5th rounder especially when you lack NFL speed, which TJ always has. That's just the reality. The average NFL career is 3.3 years, and Johnson is in year 2. Now is the time to show what he can do.
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Will be interesting to see what trajectory TJ's career takes in the NFL. He may end up being someone who has to bounce around from team to team hoping to find his footing. For as good a college WR as TJ was he is lacking some of the pure NFL skill set. We talked about it a lot when Bateman and Johnson were both here, Bateman was a great WR, TJ was a great athlete playing WR. That is why Bateman went in round 1 and is already a pretty big part of the Ravens offense and TJ went in round 5 and is struggling to make an impact.
 


TJ was one of my favorite all time Gophers. I hope he can finish strong this year. There is a lot of upside on the table for him if he does.

Brady seems intolerable when things are not going his way. Playing with a guy like that definitely could add pressure and take some of the fun out of it.
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
TJ was one of my favorite all time Gophers. I hope he can finish strong this year. There is a lot of upside on the table for him if he does.

Brady seems intolerable when things are not going his way. Playing with a guy like that definitely could add pressure and take some of the fun out of it.
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The Bucs were a fun team last year. They were relatively injury-free and also early this year. As the injuries mounted, the fun went the other way. TJ has to suck it up. He must finish strong and show the Bucs his potential to be a better player with more experience.
 
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Someone just texted me that Antonio Brown just quit on live TV. Not sure if true, but this would seem to really open things up for TJ
 

WriterGoph said:
Someone just texted me that Antonio Brown just quit on live TV. Not sure if true, but this would seem to really open things up for TJ
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Sure looked like it. Threw his shoulder pads and jersey away, then took off his undershirt and danced out of the stadium waving to the fans. Really bizarre.
 

Longer Video - Very strange - but it is Antonio Brown so not the first time something like that has been said about him.

 



MNVCGUY said:

Not sure what led to this but clearly something going on.
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The guy isn’t right in the head. Whether or not it can be fixed is not answerable.
It is definitely true it can’t be fixed if he himself doesn’t want it fixed.

NFL teams are a little too overconfident in taking guys sometime. just because you have a well-run organization doesn’t mean you can make a guy who isn’t right in the head be a professional. This isn’t the only case of that.
 




Haha...the guy that posted this has 166 followers, and his video has over 4 million views.
 


Officially been released by Ariens and the Bucs. Per Ariens, " he's no longer a Buc".
 


TNGophfan said:
Officially been released by Ariens and the Bucs. Per Ariens, " he's no longer a Buc".
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Hopefully he gets some help because he clearly has some serious issues going on in his head. May be good for TJ in the short term but AB needs some help.
 


Some guy said:
Tampa should’ve been flagged for a sideline warning tbh
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Refs were probably trying to figure out what the heck was going on. But yeah, technically there should have been a penalty for him going on the field while the action was taking place at the other end.
 

Really bizarre. He was productive when he was healthy and playing. Oh well. Better chance for TJ.
 


WriterGoph said:
TJ with a huge catch down the stretch and finished with 4 catches for 50 yards. I hope that is a good sign for next week and the playoffs!
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TJ had a pretty good day. He did fail to catch a low TD that would have tied the game. Tough catch but Brady put it in the only place only TJ could get it. Still on the final drive of 93 yards Brady went to Tyler three times and he made three clutch catches.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Refs were probably trying to figure out what the heck was going on. But yeah, technically there should have been a penalty for him going on the field while the action was taking place at the other end.
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Security people thought it was a fan loose in the end zone. Maybe refs did too.
 

Dakota2 said:
TJ had a pretty good day. He did fail to catch a low TD that would have tied the game. Tough catch but Brady put it in the only place only TJ could get it. Still on the final drive of 93 yards Brady went to Tyler three times and he made three clutch catches.
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Winfield returned to the lineup today and made three touchdown-saving shoestring tackles. The first one on the Jet's opening drive was for naught because they scored a few plays later.

The last two were late in the game when the Jets were threatening to bust the game open. AWJr had to fight through blocks and dive for the feet both times. If he doesn't lay out fully and play it perfectly both were scores.
 

Sadly, he does seem to have some serious mental health issues or CTE sx showing up early. Ariens said he asked him twice to go back into the game and he refused. Whatever, his time @ Tampa is over.
 

GringaGopher said:
Sadly, he does seem to have some serious mental health issues or CTE sx showing up early. Ariens said he asked him twice to go back into the game and he refused. Whatever, his time @ Tampa is over.
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He had a really tough childhood which set him off on the wrong path early. Had to walk onto CMU due to grades and character issues. His behavior has been bizarre for a long time. I'd guess it's an issue related to mental health more than CTE since he's been a headcase for as long as he's been in the NFL.
 

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