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September 5, 20172nd Half Tribe – Hitting on All Cylinders
September 5, 2017When the Cleveland Browns traded a sixth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Sammie Coates and a seventh-round pick, it was a surprise to many; including Coates himself.
The third-year wideout had been with the Steelers ever since he was drafted by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2015 draft. But now, he will be on the other side of the rivalry. Although he wasn’t ready for the move, he seems prepared to help his new team in any way possible, whether it’s as a receiver, in special teams, or anything else.
“It is different. Short time, had to make a move, but I am happy to here. I am looking forward to helping the team win,” he said. “Whatever they ask me to do. You want to prepare for anything. I am capable to play special teams. I am capable to play offense. Whatever they ask me to do, I am going to go out there and showcase my talent.”
With Pittsburgh in 2016, Coates is aware of how bad the Browns were last year, but the 24-year-old is mature enough to not only look past that, but to look at the positive things that have gone on in Cleveland (and Berea) and to see where the team is headed going forward.
“I don’t look at what they did last year. I can’t control that. It is all about what you can do now.”
Throughout the preseason, one of the Browns’ biggest weaknesses was at wide receiver. It was a glaring need that the team needed to improve. By acquiring Coates, they hope he can be an addition that will help the receiver group immediately.
Last season, the 6-foot-2, 213-pound receiver had 21 receptions for 435 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games (five starts). Of his 45 targets, he had five dropped passes, which was the worst ratio in the NFL. But, part of that could have been due to him playing with multiple broken fingers, an injury that lingered and forced Coates to miss some time.
“It is part of the game. You are going to have ups and downs. It is how you react towards it and how you recover from it. I did a good job of recovering from it,” he said. “It is just a mind thing. You have to concentrate a little bit more and you have to catch it a certain way. That was the biggest difference was trying to figure out where to catch the ball without hitting your finger again.”
ESPN’s Josina Anderson also reported Coates is overcoming a minor knee scope.
https://mobile.twitter.com/JosinaAnderson/status/904019714241900544
Considered a deep threat that also has plenty of speed as well, Coates has the chance to make an immediate impact with the Browns this season.
Now with his new team, Coates and the Browns will take on the Steelers in their season opener on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at FirstEnergy Stadium.
23 Comments
Calling it: Coates burns Haden for a TD.
But for serious – isn’t this guy basically Corey Coleman?
That said, trading Gilbert for Coates a year later is a trade I’d make every day of the week.
I like this trade mainly because he has two years left on his contract. If he is successful this year, they have a chance to extend him before he turns FA. If not, they essentially traded Gilbert for him.
Not a lot in the public domain on exact what caused his injury, what it was and how it was treated. Tomlin was really critical of Coates performance despite the injury, which proves yet again he is a class A jerk. When Ben leaves, that program is toast.
If Coates = C.Coleman then we got a huge deal here.
I wish I believed that last line but I thought the same about the Broncos. Yet, they continue to churn out mildly interesting teams until they find an average QB who will push them back over the hump.
I hate the AFC royalty class (NE, PIT, BAL, IND, DEN).
Not a chance. You just know they’ll fall into another franchise-level QB who terrorizes us for a solid decade. A QB that, of course, we will have passed on ahead of them.
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Friday sneak preview: BAL – Not even close. Luck-less IND – hardly royalty, may not even pass Lordship. Would not put them in the same class as NE, DEN and PIT.
The gap from Elite to slightly above average is massive. The gap from slightly above average to really bad is pretty thin.
I’m talking about the last 25 years. Other than one year Oakland snuck in, those are your AFC champs and they have dominated their division titles as well.
Sure, this year it looks like Indy might not be good or Baltimore is fading. Now watch the Colts win their division despite the Titans because Luck gets healthy quick & the Ravens defense carry them to wins to compete for a Wild Card spot. I’ve seen this movie.
Can Coates do punts or kickoff returns?
Coates burns Haden then drops TD.
Because Browns.
Indy was bad without Manning and 8-8 without Luck, in the worst division in football. Losing Ben will have a major impact on PIT.
The Browns have been far worse than 8-8 w/o luck for years!
(and, I agree that Ben retiring will affect PIT – just that they won’t collapse from it, which I wish they would)
https://twitter.com/dan_labbe/status/905101779377037313
For sure. Also in a div w/ CIN, BAL and PIT.
Coates is a good run blocker. Maybe he’ll get to pancake Haden as Crowell zooms by & we’ll all throw pizza lunchables on the field.
The Broncos are the new Texans. Fantastic defense. Some decent skill position players, but no offensive line and no QB. They could go 12-4. They could go 7-9.
He’s quite a bit bigger than Corey Coleman. Not as natural of a pass-catcher.
We finally got Samm(ie).
But, I was told that Deshaun Watson was the new Warren Moon.
https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/status/890943238848303104
That’s cold- even for a lawyer.
Oh boy… McClain is going to need to dig a hole in his backyard and bury that tweet.
Some sharks are deep water sharks.
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