No Ordinary Run of the Gill
I just had the opportunity to speak with Robert Gill and if I wasn't one of his biggest fan before, I certainly am now.
What stood out to me in watching his AFL tapes is not only the blazing speed, but the sharp breaks and cuts he makes on his routes (thus his ability to gain quick separation) and best of all, his ability to make difficult catches. He tracks the ball very well and he adjusts to where the ball is thrown with excellent body control, hand positioning and concentration.
It's one thing to be fast...but it's another to be able to catch the football.
It appears that while Robert Gill is a relative unknown to the NFL world, Bruce Arians, WR coach Daryl Drake and the Cardinals have every intention of letting the world know who this young man is.
"BA challenges me every day in practice," Gill said. "He has been teaching me exactly what he wants and he's on me to be exact."
"Coach Drake---we already have like a father/son relationship," Gill avowed. Gill credits Drake, Larry Fitzgerald and his fellow WRs for welcoming him "with open arms" and showing great interest in pushing him along. "All the wide receivers---we're like brothers."
Gill laughed: "Larry and I kid each other about being the same age."
When asked what other Cardinals (aside from the WRs) he's been bonding with he said, "Dockett's had my back" and he said that Antoine Cason has been helping him along from a DB's perspective.
"When I first got to minicamp I asked myself---let's see if I'm really supposed to be here," Gill said. "But the way I was welcomed and the way the coaches and players have shown confidence in me and my ability, it didn't take me long at all to feel like I belong."
Of course, catching a 70 yard bomb TD from Carson Palmer had a way of helping just fine.
"I feel like I am a real member of the Bird-Gang and I am here trying to do what all the players are here to do and that is win for the Bird-Gang."
When asked about BA, Fitz, Cooper, etc.---the one common word Gill used in describing them was "humble." Of Jonathan Cooper he said, "Man, I am so impressed with the way he carries himself on and off the field."
Knowing that special teams ability can be a real factor for a #4 or #5 WR to make the 53 man roster, when asked about special teams Gill said, "I'm in the rotation for punt and kickoff returns where I can show my elusiveness in the open field."
When I told him how impressed I was with a play he made on kickoff coverage in the AFL when he streaked down field 20 yards ahead of everyone else and popped the return man just as he was catching the ball, which caused a timely fumble and turnover, he laughed and quipped, "Yeah, BA's been telling me---'You can't tackle no one'---and "I've been telling BA that there's a reason why I do 15 reps at 225."
Time will tell---but Gill has the rare speed and athletic ability that could enable him to accomplish what BA has forecasted: "We are going to open you up to the world."
Perhaps the world is already getting a sneak peek---Gill's 25 MPH Treadmill video has gone viral and apparently ESPN has already got their hands on it.
The video is not what Gill is thinking about today, however. He has been working out, studying film every day and is extremely excited about participating in Fitz's Summer Workout in Minnesota next week.
Two 29 years old members of the Bird-Gang on hand to work their butts off for the week: one an NFL Superstar, the other an NFL Cinderella whose invitation to the ball, albeit rather late, just might be in the nick of time.
