Ginn’s athleticism is off the charts…now if he can just get on the NFL map.
(Third in a series of reports on NFL players on the verge of crucial ‘make or break’ seasons in 2010.)
The San Francisco 49ers are looking to make some noise this season. Plenty of “experts” and prognosticators say they will.
They say Coach Mike Singletary has these boys ready. They say Alex Smith is the key at quarterback. They say All-Pro tight end Vernon Davis and top draft pick from a year ago Michael Crabtree at wide receiver makes this team prolific offensively. What they fail to mention is the potential impact that recently acquired wideout Ted Ginn Jr may have on the team’s success. Read on…
Ginn and Ravens QB Troy Smith were studs in college. Not so much in the pros.
Ted Ginn Jr, 25, is an electrifying young player, who is a threat to score each time he touches the football. Drafted 9th overall by the Miami Dolphins in the 2007 NFL draft, Ginn showed glimpses of his tremendous speed and play making ability in his two seasons with the Dolphins.
Last year in a game against the New York Jets, the former Ohio State All-American returned kickoffs of 100 and 101 yards for touchdowns to become the first player in NFL history ever to have two kickoffs of 100 or more yards in the same game.
That is the play making potential that Ginn brings to the field. The downside is that most of his great plays with the Dolphins happened on special teams, not at wide receiver. There, Ginn was inconsistent. Something about problems concentrating and catching the football.
The Dolphins eventually gave up on their top draft pick and traded him to the San Francisco 49ers for a fifth-rounder this off-season.
Now Ginn has an opportunity to finally show that star potential at wide receiver under 49ers coach Mike Singletary’s no nonsense system.
The 49ers are a young team but they have All-Pro potential throughout their team, especially on offense. Davis is already one, Alex Smith certainly has the ability and teamed up at wide receiver with Michael Crabtree, Ted Ginn Jr has a chance to be part of one of the top receiver tandems in the NFC. If he takes advantage of his opportunity and catches the football, that is.
Ginn’s concentration level (always a factor in dropping balls) may have contributed to his downfall in Miami. He has admitted that he has a learning disability, and it takes him two to three times longer to learn something than most others. After being diagnosed in the eighth grade, Ginn had tutors to help him and graduated from middle and high school with honors.
“Inconsistent is one of the words that is out here about me and I don’t like that. So I just try to go out every day and just try to get better,” he said.
He’ll need to learn offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye’s system to be effective and so far, Raye says Ginn has been impressive in his first camp with the Niners.
“To this training camp, he’s been outstanding,” Jimmy Raye said. “If that continues, we’ll be very pleased with him.”
Ginn is in the fourth year of a 5yr, $19.6 million contract he signed while with the Dolphins back in 2007 and needs to show his star potential consistently at wide receiver this season with the 49ers. With the talent San Fran has on offense, a productive year by Ginn could make this team division winners and playoff bound.
Ted Ginn’s future is right in front of him now. The adjustment period that college star athletes must make to the NFL game is over. He’s been in the league long enough and has had adequate playing time to show what he can do. At times, he’s even shown it. Now he has to be more consistent and maximize that play making ability he possesses. Call it make or break time for Ted Ginn Jr.
(Next up: N.Y. Giants’ Osi Umenyiora and his comeback season in the Big Apple.)
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