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Matthew Stafford praises Golden Tate on short and deep routes

By Kevin Parvizi

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When the Detroit Lions signed Golden Tate this offseason, I immediately hailed it as one of the most underrated signings of the offseason, because Tate was exactly what the Lions needed. Not only did they have to sign an excellent No. 2 wide receiver to pair up with elite wideout Calvin Johnson to form a mutualistic relationship (both players taking pressure off of the other, which is something Megatron needed badly), but Tate has the kind of ability to take over games on his own.

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    • While with the Seattle Seahawks, Tate was one of the league’s most underrated receivers, as his excellent hands, superior short-area quickness, under-appreciated long speed, and superb toughness at the catch point made him a dominant player when targeted. Unfortunately, his targets were constrained by the Seahawks running offense, though the advanced stats showed what he would be capable of in a more pass-happy offense (like the Lions).

    Tate showed off his ability to take over games and to keep the Lions passing attack clicking by taking pressure off of Johnson in yesterday’s win over the New York Jets. With Calvin Johnson playing a decoy role due to an ankle injury, Tate caught eight passes for 116 yards on just ten targets in a truly dominant display (though, to be fair, the Jets secondary was never going to be able to contain him).

    Lions star quarterback Matthew Stafford served up some praise to his No. 2 wideout, via the Detroit Free Press’s Dave Birkett, “He’s a tough guy to cover in a short area. He’s a quick guy and he has great hands. He’s effective down the field. We didn’t throw a bunch of big balls to him today, but he’s catching and running with as good as anyone right now. We’re happy to have him.”

    Everything Stafford praised Tate for is 100% accurate, and, in the league today, versatile wide receivers who can win at all levels of the field and feasibly line up inside or outside are held in high esteem; Tate is definitely one of those guys.

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