One of the things I'm most excited about this season is the idea that the current coaching staff has a reputation for coaching players up to reaching their potential. It's my conviction that we have wasted as much talent in the past decade as any team in the league which has led us down a path where we put more stock into FA pickups than is healthy. We seem to be moving away from that, and - for me - it's a breath of fresh air. But the other side of that sword is that we must be able to maximize the talent of young players through their ongoing development.

I was trying to think of where I we might see the most improvement next year in terms of players reaching their full potential.

- secondary...more specifically safeties. This is hugely important given the overall talent and usage of TEs in our division.
- WR - we all hope for development here, especially since Marshall's production is gone. And, as I looked back at their histories, Hartline and Bess have been very stagnant in terms of their statistical output.
- TE - while it's not a Gonzo/Gates/Gronk level, I actually love Fasano's game. But the real opportunity for development, IMO, is Clay.

Obviously, I would love it if QB were the position that improved the most, but I don't even know who the starting QB will be on opening day.

Thoughts? Where do you think we'll see better coaching make the most impact on the field?

I'm in a wait-and-see mode with this staff. The last coach we had that truly developed players was Hudson Houck (O-Line). Since then we've had a host of questionable position coaches.

I can name Wade Smith and Chris Gray off the top of my head, and Gray went on to have an excellent career in Seattle starting a franchise record 121 straight games.

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"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

tsstamper Wrote:

> - WR - we all hope for development here,
> especially since Marshall's production is gone.
> And, as I looked back at their histories, Hartline
> and Bess have been very stagnant in terms of their
> statistical output.
> - TE - while it's not a Gonzo/Gates/Gronk level,
> I actually love Fasano's game. But the real
> opportunity for development, IMO, is Clay.
>

One thing to remember is that Bess and Hartline saw their targets drop dramatically once Moore took over at QB. Bess was thrown to 118 times in 2010, and just 79 times in 2011. Hartline was thrown to 68 times in 2010, in just 12 games. In 16 games in 2011, he was thrown to just 66 times.

It's a combination of factors for them. One, we threw the ball less, in general. And two, Moore doesn't really cycle to his second and third reads. There is no question that both will have more opportunities in 2012, and will have chances to significantly boost their production.

As for Fasano, we have kept him in to block an awful lot. He is a much better receiver than most folks give him credit for. We just haven't used him as much as we should. In the WCO, though, it's normally all 5 guys out into the pattern and just the o-line left in to block. That's why you need a QB who makes quick decisions and is mobile. Without extra blockers, the mold of the QB changes. Anyway, it will also create more opportunities for Fasano this year.

And I agree with you, I think Clay is a prime breakout candidate.

I guess when I was looking at the numbers on Bess, I didn't mean total yardage as much as YPC and TD in terms of stagnation. Maybe he is who he is and that is a darn good 10 YPC slot receiver who will catch 3-5 TDs per year. But I would love to see if he can get closer to Welker's 13 last year (helped tremendously by one 99-yarder in particular).

Hartline intrigues me more. I'm not disappointed in his YPC, but it has remained steadily good. I'm more hoping for development in terms of consistency and rounding out his game. He disappears for stretches (he had 7 games in a row with 0 or 1 catches save one 4-catch game) and doesn't seem to find his way open for TDs. He has deceptive speed and gets open down the field between the 20s. I look at Jordy Nelson and wonder if there's room for Hartline to improve like Nelson did after his first two seasons.

I disagree that Moore does not look for his 3rd and 4th receiver. He was outstanding at doing that.

Bess was targeted more with Henne because he checked down to Bess often.

Omar ran a similar piece today and I guess I forgot about developmental project WRs like Wallace and Moore. Honestly, I can't remember who's who, but it will be interesting to see if either makes strides in the new offense and with (hopefully) the right coaching.