Back in August I came down very hard on Tandon Doss in an article entitled It’s Time for The Ravens to Toss Doss. In it I agreed with the assessment of former Ravens cornerback Cary Williams and the insinuation of former Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron – Doss is soft, I concluded.
No NFL player wants that description anywhere near his resume.
But there it was and Doss earned it and earned his way off the 2013 Ravens after the team’s final preseason game.
Doss’ friend and teammate Torrey Smith came to his wide receiver mate’s defense and waged a mini Twitter war with me.
Smith had little to base his defense of Doss on then, but he does now.
Since his return to the team in Week 2, a move necessitated by the injury to Jacoby Jones, Doss has come to life. He’s been a sure-handed punt returner averaging nearly 18 yards on 15 returns and as a receiver, he’s seemingly lost his timid ways when it comes to contact.
Here’s your proof.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/OPbx0KAdDck[/youtube]
Doss is on pace to make 30 catches for 546 yards. Those are rather modest numbers yet they represent a great turnaround for the 24-year-old former Indiana Hoosier.
Perhaps I was wrong about Doss.
I hope so.
You have to admire a man who when faced with his last opportunity to turn his career around, confronts his demons and answers his critics not with words but with actions. Tandon Doss is on his way to doing that. Once he establishes consistency he will have completed the process.
And then maybe he’ll become the professional receiver that those in the Ravens’ draft war room expected him to be when Ozzie Newsome called his name on Day 3 of the 2011 NFL Draft.
And then maybe I’ll issue a public apology and begin writing articles with titles like “It’s Time for the Ravens to Toss it to Doss…”
