Brandon Smith

[JStandefer]

i think he can be a monster receiver. But he needs to catch with his hands and high-point it more. Use his jumping ability and athleticism.

The first drive yesterday, he had a nice catch. But if he jumps and catches with his hands, in not defendable.

 

[michael.nelson311]

Im sure he knows this..............

 

[Kinnick.At.Night]

Amazing revelations.

 

[WildTurk]

Through my eyes, that is exactly what Brandon Smith has been doing the last few weeks. Jumping over the defenders and catching the ball at it's high point. Am I missing something?

 

[Birky]

Through my eyes, that is exactly what Brandon Smith has been doing the last few weeks. Jumping over the defenders and catching the ball at it's high point. Am I missing something?

No joke, I’m not sure what the OP has been watching the last couple weeks? Maybe he is saying Brandon needs to continue doing this?

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

i think he can be a monster receiver. But he needs to catch with his hands and high-point it more. Use his jumping ability and athleticism.

The first drive yesterday, he had a nice catch. But if he jumps and catches with his hands, in not defendable.

Aside from the sarcasm of the other posters ... yeah, I agree. As the game continues to slow down for Brandon ... I think that we'll see him continue to execute with better fundamentals. And yes, part of excellent fundamentals for a high-jumping WR is to high-point the ball and catch it with his hands .... he does that, then it's going to be a lot harder for DBs to defend passes against him.

Some of the sarcastic replies might claim that this observation is a "duh" statement ... but most defenses would be performing a lot better if they tackled the guy with the ball better. Doing a better job of executing the core fundamentals ... it can make a big difference! While it seems obvious ... you see a ton of players out there who play with shockingly crappy fundamentals.

 

[JStandefer]

Im sure he knows this..............

I hope so. But if he does, why is he still catching it with his body?

 

[JStandefer]

No joke, I’m not sure what the OP has been watching the last couple weeks? Maybe he is saying Brandon needs to continue doing this?

The first catch in the first drive

 

[Birky]

The first catch in the first drive

Yes.

Every receiver sometimes doesn’t catch the ball with their hands, but he is doing a very good of doing it. He is also doing a great job of high pointing it. I’m sure he could be better, but it is awfully hard to complain about it at this point.

I guess it goes to show how well Iowa is paying right now.

 

[hknation]

I hope so. But if he does, why is he still catching it with his body?

Really? Well let's see, does any poster know anyone that has ever done something that they should know better. Like maybe a first yr player?

 

[Hawkfan_08]

That is Smith Marsette's problem more than Brandon Smith.

 

[the24fan]

Gaining confidence each passing week. Guy is primed to be one hell of a game breaker once he puts it all together ! He’s close

 

[JStandefer]

Through my eyes, that is exactly what Brandon Smith has been doing the last few weeks. Jumping over the defenders and catching the ball at it's high point. Am I missing something?

The catch against Minny was one of he best catches I’ve seen since Hinkel. I like how Smith is gaining confidence. But I believe he and Copeland need to concentrate on this. This can be a special season and if the WRs start becoming a weapon, we can have the best offense in over 20 years

I know he is still young.

 

[MeetTheFerentz]

This can be a special season and if the WRs start becoming a weapon, we can have the best offense in AT LEAST 14 YEARS, MAYBE 16.

FIFY

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

I've been under the impression that if Brandon Smith could replicate VandeBerg's production from the '17 season ... that would be a "win." Right now, Brandon is perfectly on pace to match that production ... and given that Stanley's trust in him is only growing ... and given all the attention that our TEs will be getting ... Smith is going to be finding himself in man coverage with pretty good frequency. To match VandeBerg's production from '17 ... he'd just have to hit around 380-390 yards. However, my gut tells me that he ends up with something closer to 450 yards. Of course, my gut could be wrong ... because passing the ball always gets harder in Big Ten country once those cold November winds start blowing!

 

[scotthawk1964]

I think Brandon just needed some confidence, and seems like he has it now. He could be a monster WR for us.

 

[ghostOfHomer777]

I think Brandon just needed some confidence, and seems like he has it now. He could be a monster WR for us.

His role in the O seems to only be expanding. Against the Gophers he had 5 catches ... against Indiana, he had 3 catches. Whenever the opposing team has left him in man coverage ... if Nate sees that he has a little room ... he's been giving him some targets!

Given the pressure that Hock and Fant are putting on Ds ... along with the speed of ISM and the reliability of Easley ... that's forcing opposing Ds to go with an increasing amount of man-coverage on our WRs. In the past, we'd have trouble exploiting the coverage ... and the opposing D could focus on shutting down our short-game. However, now opposing Ds have to expend more resources to also contend with our long game too ... and that puts them in a bind ... because they also know that they need to defend the run against us too!

 

[BCRoss89]

His role in the O seems to only be expanding. Against the Gophers he had 5 catches ... against Indiana, he had 3 catches. Whenever the opposing team has left him in man coverage ... if Nate sees that he has a little room ... he's been giving him some targets!

Given the pressure that Hock and Fant are putting on Ds ... along with the speed of ISM and the reliability of Easley ... that's forcing opposing Ds to go with an increasing amount of man-coverage on our WRs. In the past, we'd have trouble exploiting the coverage ... and the opposing D could focus on shutting down our short-game. However, now opposing Ds have to expend more resources to also contend with our long game too ... and that puts them in a bind ... because they also know that they need to defend the run against us too!

Exactly, and adding in improved Offensive Line play, opposing Defenses have to pick their poison. Stanley is only getting better at making opponents pay dearly for their choices.

 

[JupiterHawk]

Pretty sure BF was trying to help Brandon get his first ever TD catch at the end of the Indiana game.

 

[chuck285]

I hope so. But if he does, why is he still catching it with his body?

Sometimes you take your eyes off the ball and it just gets into your body or it's tipped a little or you don't see it until the last second. I'm sure every receiver has had this one time or another and it will happen again. Even I dropped a couple in my day.

 

[SoFla-Hawkeye]

There is something about this kid. I like him. I like his story. Hope he succeeds. We have been watching a few of the young guys grow up this year.

 

[HawkTex]

Pretty sure BF was trying to help Brandon get his first ever TD catch at the end of the Indiana game.

I agree. Stanley sets his feet and throws and he probably gets it. Unfortunately, Nate doesn't set his feet and hurries the throw for some reason.

 

[WorldSeriesChamps2015]

I think Smith should start catching with his feet, I think he would really start killing it out there by catching with his feet. Heck, maybe try doing it backwards also!

 

[millhawk]

The op is right. BS needs to catch the ball with his hands as of now he does not. It's a good observation but the truth isn't always popular around here.

 

[ichawk24]

I love when poeple come on the internet and point out really obvious things that players should do, as if they and the coaching staff haven't quite figured out that high-pointing and catching with your hands is a good idea.

 

[millhawk]

I love when poeple come on the internet and point out really obvious things that players should do, as if they and the coaching staff haven't quite figured out that high-pointing and catching with your hands is a good idea.

Who said the coaches haven't quite figured that out? If it was said it wasn't by me.