So would you activate Coates or Ayers/Hamilton?

[SteelerAl]

Ayers plays any of the receiver spots while Eli is just a slot guy. Coates does provide special teams work, but so does Heyward-Bey. If you activate Coates do you sit Ayers or Hamilton?

He plays any of the WR spots in theory - in practice we haven't seen enough to say (Tomlin said exactly that when asked yesterday). I'm on record saying I would sit Hamilton, although you may be able to dress all 6 if guys like Golden, Chickillo & Vince Williams can't go.

Just because DHB is back doesn't mean we have a surplus of gunners on special teams. Shamarko is on IR, and again Golden looms very iffy.

 

[Punxsutawney]

If Coates is fully healthy, I'd play him regularly on offense.

Steelers' fans seem to have short memories, as prior to the finger issues, Coates provided early in the season the same dimension to the offense that Bryant did the previous two seasons. Coates had 4-5 catches of 40+ yards in the team's first several games in 2016.

 

[CoolieMan]

He plays any of the WR spots in theory - in practice we haven't seen enough to say (Tomlin said exactly that when asked yesterday). I'm on record saying I would sit Hamilton, although you may be able to dress all 6 if guys like Golden, Chickillo & Vince Williams can't go.

Just because DHB is back doesn't mean we have a surplus of gunners on special teams. Shamarko is on IR, and again Golden looms very iffy.

no, Ayers hasn't proven he can consistently succeed in either AB's or Coates' wide out spots, but in the biggest game of they year the coaches had enough confidence in him to line him up wide in the 4th quarter and he got open deep and drew a big PI call.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Hamilton has a bigger frame at 6'2 212lbs and speed over Ayers 5'11" 190 ...one runs a 4.5 the other a 4.7. Ayers has bigger hands...but I think you sit Coates...

Ayers is faster than Hamilton. 40 time and football time are a little different and Ayers was hurt for his 40time. Ayers channel 24/7



Salute the nation

 

[chipped ham]

If Coates is fully healthy, I'd play him regularly on offense.

Steelers' fans seem to have short memories, as prior to the finger issues, Coates provided early in the season the same dimension to the offense that Bryant did the previous two seasons. Coates had 4-5 catches of 40+ yards in the team's first several games in 2016.

While I get your point, and do agree with it, Coates is a different player than Bryant. Coates is more like Wallace in being a "one trick pony" and running go routes all the time. Bryant can take a 10 yard pass and turn it into 80, as well as going deep. We are where we are without him, but man I am still bumming about the loss of Bryant lol.

 

[CoolieMan]

Coates can obviously still catch a kick-off and a go route, but can he catch a quick out or a comeback route with his busted fingers??

 

[SteelerAl]

no, Ayers hasn't proven he can consistently succeed in either AB's or Coates' wide out spots, but in the biggest game of they year the coaches had enough confidence in him to line him up wide in the 4th quarter and he got open deep and drew a big PI call.

I'm not hating on Ayers here - I was thrilled with what he brought in the Ravens game. But we had no one else in the Ravens game - no Coates, no Ladarius Green, no DHB etc. It was a battlefield promotion. With DHB and Green back, there really isn't a role for Ayers. I'm only playing Coates on special teams and I'm giving Ayers a hat over Hamilton, but Ayers is not getting many snaps on offense unless there's an injury.

 

[CoolieMan]

I'm not hating on Ayers here - I was thrilled with what he brought in the Ravens game. But we had no one else in the Ravens game - no Coates, no Ladarius Green, no DHB etc. It was a battlefield promotion. With DHB and Green back, there really isn't a role for Ayers. I'm only playing Coates on special teams and I'm giving Ayers a hat over Hamilton, but Ayers is not getting many snaps on offense unless there's an injury.

how can you go 5 Wide without Ayers out there?????

 

[MTC]

While I get your point, and do agree with it, Coates is a different player than Bryant. Coates is more like Wallace in being a "one trick pony" and running go routes all the time. Bryant can take a 10 yard pass and turn it into 80, as well as going deep. We are where we are without him, but man I am still bumming about the loss of Bryant lol.

The Steelers are getting by without him. It is what it is. The plus side is these young WR are getting experience and make some positive strides. That's a huge confidence boost

 

[mightyguru]

I have faith in Ayers and Hamilton. Coates should sit.

 

[blitzburghv5]

Ayers does not run a 4.7....that was with an injured hand and he had a poor showing at the combine....

Im just goin by the combine numbers.....if you say hes fast, then hes fast. If he gets tracked down by a lineback in a burn off, im comin back at this...........lol....just sayin

 

[CoolieMan]

Im just goin by the combine numbers.....if you say hes fast, then hes fast. If he gets tracked down by a lineback in a burn off, im comin back at this...........lol....just sayin

did you watch Christmas Day against the ravens? did he look like 4.7 speed when he got behind the corner and drew the long PI call? Or this past sunday running all thoses crossing routes? He left the CB behind when he caught his TD pass and beat him to the endzone....

 

[Steelerfan81]

He plays any of the WR spots in theory - in practice we haven't seen enough to say (Tomlin said exactly that when asked yesterday). I'm on record saying I would sit Hamilton, although you may be able to dress all 6 if guys like Golden, Chickillo & Vince Williams can't go.

Just because DHB is back doesn't mean we have a surplus of gunners on special teams. Shamarko is on IR, and again Golden looms very iffy.

Ayers played more snaps then Eli last week because he can play either outside position.

 

[Steelerfan81]

Appearance wise they look just like each other. Lol.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Steeler Nation mobile app

 

[SteelerAl]

Ayers played more snaps then Eli last week because he can play either outside position.

There's knowing a position and then there's being able to play it "above the line" in a meaningful game. BJ Finney can play either center or guard, but I think we all saw on Sunday that he has a long, long way to go at center. Similarly, the jury is still out on Ayers really being able to play outside. He played there on Sunday because there was no other option on the roster. I'm sure Eli could similarly take some snaps on the outside, but why would we rock the boat when he's settled in as the "starting" slot receiver?

Just because he showed a flash or two on Sunday doesn't mean he's a legitimate option on the outside. BJ Finney undoubtedly had a few nice moments as well.

 

[CoolieMan]

There's knowing a position and then there's being able to play it "above the line" in a meaningful game. BJ Finney can play either center or guard, but I think we all saw on Sunday that he has a long, long way to go at center. Similarly, the jury is still out on Ayers really being able to play outside. He played there on Sunday because there was no other option on the roster. I'm sure Eli could similarly take some snaps on the outside, but why would we rock the boat when he's settled in as the "starting" slot receiver?

Just because he showed a flash or two on Sunday doesn't mean he's a legitimate option on the outside. BJ Finney undoubtedly had a few nice moments as well.

Like Ayers did in the Christmas Day game...he didn't get a lot of snaps, but he blocked well when necessary, drew the long PI penalty and had a nice catch and got out of bounds on the final drive....

 

[SteelerAl]

Like Ayers did in the Christmas Day game...he didn't get a lot of snaps, but he blocked well when necessary, drew the long PI penalty and had a nice catch and got out of bounds on the final drive....

He was great when called upon. So was Chris Hubbard when he had to start for Marcus Gilbert. Doesn't mean he's the best option at the moment.

Why is this board turning me into some kind of Ayers hater? He did an awesome job when called upon, and I have high hopes for his future. That said, for this playoff run I'd much rather have DHB on the outside than Ayers. And it absolutely remains to be seen whether he could be a long-term option at outside receiver or whether his true place is the slot.

Let's be honest, guys, we have no idea whether Ayers ran the wrong route 10 different times in the Cleveland game. We know Finney struggled at center because it's much easier to discern when a defense is blitzing like crazy up the middle and getting on top of the QB before he can even look downfield. All we know about Ayers is that he was targeted 13 times and he caught 5 passes and drew one PI penalty. He had a drop and probably should have been able to "toe tap" a sideline catch which ended up incomplete. At least 1 other "target" was a terrible throw by Jones and Ayers had no chance.

 

[bigben]

They need to keep giving Hamilton opportunities. Seems like every time we need a huge catch to get a crucial 1st down its Hamilton! He's had as many big catches as anybody on the team this year. I am not a Heyward Bey hater, but when the chips are down I trust Cobi catching the ball more.

 

[CoolieMan]

He was great when called upon. So was Chris Hubbard when he had to start for Marcus Gilbert. Doesn't mean he's the best option at the moment.

Why is this board turning me into some kind of Ayers hater? He did an awesome job when called upon, and I have high hopes for his future. That said, for this playoff run I'd much rather have DHB on the outside than Ayers. And it absolutely remains to be seen whether he could be a long-term option at outside receiver or whether his true place is the slot.

Let's be honest, guys, we have no idea whether Ayers ran the wrong route 10 different times in the Cleveland game. We know Finney struggled at center because it's much easier to discern when a defense is blitzing like crazy up the middle and getting on top of the QB before he can even look downfield. All we know about Ayers is that he was targeted 13 times and he caught 5 passes and drew one PI penalty. He had a drop and probably should have been able to "toe tap" a sideline catch which ended up incomplete. At least 1 other "target" was a terrible throw by Jones and Ayers had no chance.

we also don't know if he ran the correct route every play...we do know that they lined him up on both sides and even in the backfield a few times. To me DHB and Coates are basically the same guy...except DHB will fight for the ball if it is necessary. Both are probably better at running a straight Go route from that spot since they are faster.

There were at least 3 passes thrown Ayers way that were impossible for him to catch....on two he wasn't even in the picture when the ball landed and the other was the int. He had the bad drop and should have gotten his feet down on the other one. He seemed to have learned from that play because late in the game he ran a similar route and did get both feet down inbounds for what would have been a 20 yard reception but their was a holding call to bring it back.

 

[SteelerAl]

we also don't know if he ran the correct route every play...

There were at least 3 passes thrown Ayers way that were impossible for him to catch....on two he wasn't even in the picture when the ball landed and the other was the int. He had the bad drop and should have gotten his feet down on the other one. He seemed to have learned from that play because late in the game he ran a similar route and did get both feet down inbounds for what would have been a 20 yard reception but their was a holding call to bring it back.

Will be very interesting to see how many snaps he gets this week (if he gets a hat, of course).

 

[CoolieMan]

They need to keep giving Hamilton opportunities. Seems like every time we need a huge catch to get a crucial 1st down its Hamilton! He's had as many big catches as anybody on the team this year (not named Brown). I am not a Heyward Bey hater, but when the chips are down I trust Cobi catching the ball more.

fixed it for you....Hamilton has been solid. He is not afraid of contact and will make the tough catches.

 

[CoolieMan]

Will be very interesting to see how many snaps he gets this week (if he gets a hat, of course).

if Coates is fully healthy (as healthy as his fingers will allow) then he likely gets a helmet and if they keep 5 WRs it comes down to Hamilton or Ayers, and there are arguments to be made for both of them.

 

[SteelerAl]

They need to keep giving Hamilton opportunities. Seems like every time we need a huge catch to get a crucial 1st down its Hamilton! He's had as many big catches as anybody on the team this year. I am not a Heyward Bey hater, but when the chips are down I trust Cobi catching the ball more.

The majority of his catches have been important ones (key 3rd down conversions etc.), but it concerns me that he gets targeted so infrequently even though he's had a lot of snaps. That's a sign that he doesn't get a ton of separation. With AB drawing so much coverage, the WR on the opposite side of the field should be seeing more opportunities.

 

[21STEELERS21]

I believe Hamilton will be odd man out.

 

[TDX27]

I'm excited about Ayers' future too, but this is silly. Ayers provides nothing at WR that Eli Rogers doesn't bring and he provides nothing on special teams. Coates is still our primary option as a kick returner and will be needed as a gunner on special teams. Golden, Chickillo & Vince Williams may miss this game with injuries --- we're going to be very thin on special teams.

Yes, but Coates has done nothing in 12 weeks. Even when they did put him in there before the hammy issue, he could NOT get open. No way do I put him in now. We need guys that can get open and catch the ball. He ain't one of them.