So, what the hell happened to Agnew?

All-Pro in year one, and looks scared to catch cleanly now.

He is ok for kickoffs but he is horrible fielding punts now
Muffed one in pre-season and now tonight. I don’t know how they can trust him back there anymore

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He hasn’t been the same since his injury. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Ehhh. His kickoff returns from the endzone were all short too. I am losing faith in him for sure.

I’d have to look at his defense. I saw him give up some completions, and don’t remember any pass break ups

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The problem is that kickoffs he’s never been particularly effective at. He’s deadly on punt returns but he scares the crap out of me. I just don’t know that the upside is worth the risk of him not fielding the punt.

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Is he though? Anymore, at least?

Truth!

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Dude hasn’t looked nearly as quick, or as fast, since the injury. I don’t think he’s the same guy, and I think he’ll lose his roster spot next offseason. Sucks, because I really liked him. When he was lighting fast, he was worth the risk of a bobbled catch. Now, not so much.

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Return guys tend to lose their nerve over time. I’m not sure if that’s what is going on with Agnew, or if he’s trying to do too much.

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I’d give him one or two more games, unless he fumbles again(even if he recovers it) then done now. If during those couple games you don’t see that swagger and explosion and decisiveness back, time to move on.

He may have lost it, Adrian. I’m not sure. I never thought he had great instincts for it to begin with. The punt return before the muff he tried to reverse field when merely coming towards the near sideline would’ve brought him past the gunner and opened up a ten to twelve yard return.

He still is quick though. Unfortunately I think he’s got the receiving yips and once that happens it’s tough to be valuable back there.

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Fighting your own head is much more difficult than than having the physical skills to do something

In the in game thread, I called it the Dante Hall Syndrome. Dante Hall was the super explosive Chiefs returner who had a couple monster seasons returning punts and kickoffs. He was a threat to take anything to the house. However, he quickly lost all effectiveness.

In my own opinion, the return that killed Hall was the one he caught the ball, ran backwards and reversed the entire field and by some miracle scored a TD. He then began trying this move more often, and to worsening effects.

What i think happens is, returning is pure instincts. You have to catch the ball first, and then pray that you can dodge the oncoming wall of players. Sometimes, you make amazing moves you were never intending to do. Now, the next time you get a punt, you try to make the same amazing moves. You think you have to put that level of effort into every return to get a TD. Which then leads to mistakes, and teams having seen the moves you used, and prepare for it. Now you get smacked a few times, so you try to change it even more, and get smacked some more times, and you lose effectiveness

This is very similar to Reggie Bush syndrome, where guys just run fast to the edge and outrun everyone in college, but in the NFL they cant do it. You’ve got to be able to be content knowing that not every run/return will be housed, that most will result in tackles, and that your only true job is “DO NOT TURN THE BALL OVER”

Agnew has lost his return game. He committed the ultimate sin, of turning it over. The return you guys mentioned though, showed Dante Hall Syndrome to a T. He was 1 on 1 with a gunner, and couldve stepped right or left and had 10yds to gain. Instead, he drops back, pulls a stupid spin move, and is tackled for a loss by one single solitary player. Absolutely terrible.

Due to the muffed punts, I wont be stunned if Ty Johnson is returning as soon as Sunday

He was not very good on defense yesterday either.

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Agnew has had trouble fielding punts cleanly since day one. He’s muffed a number of catches over the years- we’ve just never lost one before. Even one of his returns for a TD in 2017 was essentially a muff and recovery. That alone would be enough for me to bench him. That muff essentially cost us the game on Sunday.

In addition, he doesn’t look as fast or as fearless (or both) since he came back from injury. So he’s no longer as big of a threat, and he’s still got ball security issues. Plus he’s playing more snaps on defense, where he seems to be doing okay. Pull him and put Ty Johnson in.

From a standpoint of pure speed, Agnew used to look like a top High School recruit playing against a JV team. He used to outrun people, and if he could turn it into a footrace, he was out. Not the case anymore. He appears to have lost it.

Love the idea of letting Ty take a crack at it, though I think he will eventually be a big part of the Offense. McChapstick (can’t remember his name) is also capable, and a likely upgrade.

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I don’t think he ever recovered 100% from his knee injury. Without the speed he’s mediocre since he has never really had great juking ability.