Seahawks’ Golden Tate says he’s ready for bigger role

Published on June 21, 2011 by Seahawk Fanatic     

Pete Carroll has stated multiple times this offseason his desire to get wide receiver Golden Tate more involved in the Seahawks’ offense next season, even taking the blame for not doing so last year.

Comments Tate made Monday on Bob & Groz suggest that he’s ready to assume a bigger role in 2011, and that he takes responsibility for his underwhelming rookie season.

“I’ve talked to a couple guys in the league, and they’ve told me Year 1 to Year 2 is when you should take the biggest leaps,” Tate said. “I’m excited about it and so is coach Carroll and so is the rest of the coaching staff. They saw glances of me doing special things so they definitely know I’m capable of doing it.

“I just have to be consistent and gain the trust of the rest of the team and the coaching staff.”

Tate caught 21 passes for 227 yards last season, disappointing totals considering the Seahawks took him in the second round and had given him a first-round grade.

Tate said his athleticism and playmaking ability helped him get by in training camp, but he struggled to grasp the finer points of the position. Even though he was healthy, Tate found himself on the inactive list in Week 1 for what he — at the time — admitted was complacency.

“This year, I learned some things — releases, coming in and out of my breaks — and now I just have to execute that early in camp and show the coaches that I can do this,” said Tate, who played running back in high school. “In camp I was just making plays, but they didn’t know that I could do it the way they wanted me to.

“Now that’s kinda one of the things I’m focusing on — not being such a hard-head as (wide receivers) coach Kippy Brown would tell me.”

Before moving back to Seattle to work out, Tate had been training with members of the Titans in Nashville, which is near his hometown of Hendersonville, Tenn. He said those workouts helped with staying in shape but couldn’t simulate game speed.

Since the lockout prohibits those workouts from being overseen by NFL coaches, they couldn’t simulate an actual practice, either.

“It’s been tough because I’ve also talked to some guys and they said that that offseason going into your second season in very, very important because that’s when things start to click,” he said. “So it’s kinda frustrating that we’re not back yet. I wasn’t anticipating us being gone this long.”

Tags: Athleticism, Complacency, Game Speed, Hendersonville Tenn, Kippy Brown, Leaps, Lockout, Multiple Times, Pete Carroll, Receivers Coach, Rookie Season, seahawks offense, Staying In Shape, Taking The Blame, Tate, Week 1, Wide Receiver, Wide Receivers, Workouts, Year 1