Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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irish in the pros Golden Tate Is Shining At The Next Level By Andrew Owens G olden Tate would just like to move on from a night most don't want to forget. In the most recognizable moment of his four-year professional career, Tate hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass to beat the Green Bay Packers in week three of the 2012 season. With replacement refs looking on because of a labor dispute with the regular officials, Tate shoved a Green Bay defender out of the way and wrestled with another for the ball before eventually erroneously being credited with the game-winning catch. The play led to the NFL agreeing to a new deal with the regular referees and represented the dip in quality in their absence. "Really, I've tried to forget about it," Tate told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "It's part of history and I guess a part of who I am. I'm trying to create more memories and outstanding plays. I thought I caught it, I thought it was the right call and thankfully that play set us up to win the game in the final seconds. "A year later, I've kind of tried to move forward and play more great football." Tate has improved as the season has progressed for the division-leading 8-1 Seattle Seahawks. In their first nine games, he caught 35 passes for 468 yards and three touchdowns. His best performance came against divisional foe St. Louis Oct. 28, when he caught five passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns (two and 80 yards) in a 14-9 win on Monday Night Football. Tate, whose best year to date in the pros was the 2012 season in which he caught 45 passes for 688 yards and seven touchdowns, said he is focused on joining the elite club of prominent NFL receivers. "I still think I have a lot of work to do before I can say I'm an elite receiver. I think I'm on my way as long as I continue to work hard and stay healthy," he said. "Obviously the goal is to be dominant like [Denver Broncos wide receiver] Demaryius Thomas, [Detroit Lions wide receiver] Calvin Johnson, [Arizona Cardinals wide receiver] Larry Fitzgerald and [Dallas Cowboys wide receiver] Dez Bryant, and the way to do that is to get with those guys and see what they know and learn from that. Right now I've made my identity as a guy who gets YAC [yards after catch] and YAFT [yards after first touch]. "I feel like that's very unique in this league. Once the ball gets in my hands I kind of turn into a running back and I feel like I'm more similar to [Seahawks running back] Marshawn Lynch because with my lower body strength I can break tackles and turn nothing into a big gain or a big first down." Looking back at his career at Notre