This nugget at the end of Peter King's MMQB column.  This isn't explicitly about Lee, but it is potentially applicable.

 

 

Roethlisberger has a new toy, and his name is Martavis Bryant. A fourth-round pick from Clemson, Bryant is 6-4 and has traveled a strange 2014 path to this point. Inactive the first six weeks, he struggled to learn the offense. But in the four weeks he has played, Bryant has become the kind of downfield threat Antonio Brown needed to take some pressure off him.

 

Granted, there are differences in the situations.

 

Bryant has an experienced Super Bowl winning QB throwing him the ball in Roethlisberger, while Lee has a rookie in Bortles. 

 

Bryant is 6-4, while Lee is 6'.

 

Bryant has an experienced threat opposite him in Brown.  Lee...not so much.

 

But Lee has one of the best WRs coaches in the game in Sullivan coaching him.  Lee has speed to burn.

 

Lee was getting game reps while Bryant was not.

 

Lee has also, according to Bradley, performed much better in practices over the last three weeks or so.

 

If Lee can improve and become the deep threat the team envisioned when it drafted him, the offense will improve accordingly. 

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

These 2 situation are nothing alike....

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These 2 situation are nothing alike....

The moral of the story:  If one rookie receiver (Bryant) can struggle learning the offense, overcome those struggles to become a productive weapon in his rookie season, it's possible for another (Lee) to do it, too.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

I don't know Bullseye.  The difference is the stability that is present in Pittsburgh for a long time now.  We have been such an inconsistent work in progress.  I hope Lee can put it together because we are running out of bodies.

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The Khan Years

Patience, Persistence, and Piss Poor General Managers.

The moral of the story:  If one rookie receiver (Bryant) can struggle learning the offense, overcome those struggles to become a productive weapon in his rookie season, it's possible for another (Lee) to do it, too.

Or he continues to underachieve lol

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I don't know Bullseye.  The difference is the stability that is present in Pittsburgh for a long time now.  We have been such an inconsistent work in progress.  I hope Lee can put it together because we are running out of bodies.

The quest for stability is why I am in no real hurry to dump Bradley like so many are.  You can't gain stability by continuously firing coaches every 2-3 years.

 

I think it is possible Lee can pull it together to close this season out.

 

But I think even if he doesn't put it all together until next year (a la Cecil Shorts and Victor Cruz), I think he'll be fine for us.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

I, too, hope to see Lee improve with the remaining schedule.  He was the 2012 Biletnikoff Award winner; he's got some skills to develop.  I think his confidence on the field will also improve with some more game reps and catches. 

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I do think Lee will play better.


The bye week also came at a great time, hopefully he and Bortles develop some kind of trust and understanding.


I just want to see Lee a couple of explosive things before the year ends. Like the preseason long touchdown, or a punt return for a touchdown- something that shows us his speed/agility can translate to the NFL.

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Seeing Lee on the field for upwards of 40 snaps should help him start to show up.  He hasn't been on the field much in several weeks. 

 

His 26 snaps vs Dallas was the high water mark since he took a back seat to Shorts/Robinson/Hurns.  Maybe 40+ snaps will earn him 5 or 6 opportunities to show us something. 

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 Like the preseason long touchdown, or a punt return for a touchdown- something that shows us his speed/agility can translate to the NFL.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/jacksonville-jag...s-returner

 

With the injuries at WR - they don't want to put him back there and suffer another. 

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Dakota thinks that he is a bust already

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<a class="bbc_url" href='http://espn.go.com/blog/jacksonville-jaguars/post/_/id/9597/marqise-lee-wont-get-work-as-returner'>http://espn.go.com/blog/jacksonville-jaguars/post/_/id/9597/marqise-lee-wont-get-work-as-returner</a>


With the injuries at WR - they don't want to put him back there and suffer another.

See I don't get it.

Steelers put Antonio Brown, one of their most important players on punt returning duties.

The patriots have Edelman returning punts.

Being tackled an extra 3 times a game shouldn't increase your chance of getting hurt, but oh well I guess I don't know anything.

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See I don't get it.

Steelers put Antonio Brown, one of their most important players on punt returning duties.

The patriots have Edelman returning punts.

Being tackled an extra 3 times a game shouldn't increase your chance of getting hurt, but oh well I guess I don't know anything.

 

I can't disagree with you. If Ace doesn't look good this week, I'd be on board for Lee getting a shot on punt returns. 

 

Aside from the fumble/muff Ace hasn't been bad necessarily. His average is ~middle of the pack/slighty below average.  So - not good either.

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See I don't get it.

Steelers put Antonio Brown, one of their most important players on punt returning duties.

The patriots have Edelman returning punts.

Being tackled an extra 3 times a game shouldn't increase your chance of getting hurt, but oh well I guess I don't know anything.

 

It's likely much less to do with the possibility of Lee getting hurt and more to do with getting a guy who has had trouble learning the offense more time focused exclusively on one aspect of the game rather than taking time away from his core needs to practice with special teams.

 

Sanders is bad, but at least the team isn't losing much core offensive focus by having him practicing special teams.

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he doesn't know the plays or something.  blake might tell him to run a curl and he'll be running all over the place like a chicken

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I think Lee is going to get valuable playing time that is going to help him NEXT year - which will keep WR from being a position of need in either the draft or FA in the offseason.  ARob/Hurns as starters, Lee in the slot, DRob at RB, BB5 at QB - just need a quality TE and we have a vastly improved offense next year. 

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Seeing Lee on the field for upwards of 40 snaps should help him start to show up.  He hasn't been on the field much in several weeks. 

 

His 26 snaps vs Dallas was the high water mark since he took a back seat to Shorts/Robinson/Hurns.  Maybe 40+ snaps will earn him 5 or 6 opportunities to show us something. 

What is sad he didn't do squat with those snaps.

 

The guy has been a disaster for a high 2nd round pick so far.  Hope in year 2 he has a dramatic turnaround but he flat out has sucked this year. 

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What is sad he didn't do squat with those snaps.

 

The guy has been a disaster for a high 2nd round pick so far.  Hope in year 2 he has a dramatic turnaround but he flat out has sucked this year. 

 

Think about it.

26 snaps.  Roughly half of them running plays. So 13 pass downs. As the third (or fourth) receiver - he legitimately gets a look on what?  Five of those 13?  Maybe. That's not a lot of opportunity. 

 

You're expectations for a rookie are too great.   He's had limited opportunity and he's just a rookie being a rookie. When did every rookie receiver suddenly have to have a breakout game in their first season?  It's still common for good receivers to have pedestrian rookie seasons. 

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We all wanted Lee to be a huge success and continue to do so but he needs to take his opportunity and run with it.

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I think Lee is going to get valuable playing time that is going to help him NEXT year - which will keep WR from being a position of need in either the draft or FA in the offseason.  ARob/Hurns as starters, Lee in the slot, DRob at RB, BB5 at QB - just need a quality TE and we have a vastly improved offense next year. 

 

I agree that a quality TE is needed.  I would also include more reliability on the O-line.  That doesn't need to mean a high pick.  What Linder and Bowanko have done this season is impressive; but we clearly still need more of that.

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