Yes, very much so. I’d forgotten that point, which I had intended to make in this very thread. Thanks much.
Much like I find a ten 10-yard rushes much more impressive than one 99-yard rush.
Updated assessment of my 49ers.
The Troy Smith experiment is over, now that teams have figured out how to stop him. Alex Smith now gets to audition for his next team. Hopefully he won’t play too well, if we make the playoffs, the brass might get stupid and bring back Singletary. Plus, that would drop us down in the draft.
Correction on the playoffs: even if we win out, Seattle still has to lose one more game, but that looks likely.
- Atlanta Falcons
- 11-2
- Yes
3a) I think if they lose out, they’ll still make the playoffs - The team is solid
- Their history
- It’s the Falcons… but then, even the Saints won a Super Bowl so there’s still a possibility that… naw… can’t get my hopes up. They’ve been dashed too many (well, maybe 2) times already re: the Falcons and the SB.
- I’m thrilled, but not expectant
Sure, there’s no point going any farther in that case. I’ll just say I’m not as impressed by a guy with 10 catches on 20 targets for 100 yards as I am by a guy who has 4 catches on 4 targets for 100 yards. I could catch ten balls a game right now if they threw it to me 20 times.
Great players can go their entire careers without a 99 yard rush, and it’s damn near a certainty that rush resulted in 7 points. The other guy? Maybe, maybe not. I’ll take the guy who could outrun NFL DBs for 99 yards and finish the play (a LOT of NFL RBs tire out after 50 yards and get caught from behind. Even DeSean jackson almost got caught from behind on his long TD).
Most long runs are a product of receivers blocking downfield, not outrunning everyone. For a more realistic example, I’m more impressed with (and think it’s more difficult to achieve) five 10-yard runs than one 50-yard run.
As for targets, I think you’re looking at it to simplistically. Unless you’re a freak of nature like Randy Moss or Calvin Johnson, you have to get reasonably open to get a target. The receiver with 20 targets is consistently getting open, which is impressive in and of itself even if he doesn’t catch a single pass.
It’s worth pointing out that last season, Steve Smith caught 67% of his 159 targets while Jeremy Maclin only caught 61% of his 99 targets. Smith also had a better average (11.4) than Brandon Marshall (11.1) and Larry Fitzgerald (11.3).
Then I… but…
…oh.
I don’t understand that attitude at all. I love Brandon Marshall, but I don’t think he was the best receiver in the league for the last three years. You apparently do.
ETA: I do think Steve Smith 2.0 is a better receiver right now than Jeremy Maclin, for what it’s worth.
Ha ha ha! The Redskins sure ran up some yards on you guys…aw crap.
Were the Redskins not the most inept, bumbling team that ever took the field they should have won that game easily.
Well, not necessarily. They were dominated as completely in the second half as they dominated the Bucs in the first, and Tampa offset those two missed field goals by fumbling on 1st and goal at the 1.
My Detroit Lions would like to have a bumble-off with you, except they can’t stop the paperwork from slipping out of their hands like a wet bar of soap.
Also, does anyone else hear Yakety Sax when their football team plays?
That’s fair. But Orakpo got mugged on the Bucs TD but the back judge “was looking downfield” for some bullshit reason. Not to make excuses.
Meh. There’s holding on every play, and that one looks much worse as a still photo than it did on film. Anyway, Orakpo would have bounced right off Josh Freeman. He’s a monster - sacked just 20 times all season, despite a patchwork line.
Furry had the balls to run the crossing patterns without being too scared to hang on to the ball.
So was Keyshawn Johnson and Terrell Owens.
Some are helped by WR blocking, some aren’t (long runs up the middle aren’t at all, for example). What isn’t debatable is that you do have to outrun everyone, or they’ll catch you from behind. They’re still running to catch you. And I’m not just talking about speed, but also endurance. If you’ve ever tried sprinting 50 yards, it isn’t easy to have any gas left in the tank for the last ten yards.
Partly true. But as is a common lament about young quarterbacks, they tend to “stare down” a single receiver and throw him the ball, even when double covered. Sometimes plays/routes are just called for a guy, whether he’s open or not. And considering how the game is played today where a DB can’t touch you after 5 yards, it’s not at all impressive to me that someone “gets open” consistently; if you aren’t, you don’t belong in the league.
Are you trying to lump Smith in with those two guys? I think that might be a mistake. He isn’t in their league, certainly.
How many more catches does someone have to make to make them demonstrably better in your eyes? Because had Maclin gotten 159 targets last season like Smith did, he would have gotten 97 catches. I don’t think ten catches is a big enough difference to hang your hat on. Especially since Maclin would have gotten 1338 yards on his 97 catches since his average was 13.8 to Smith’s 11.4. I’ll take 97/1338 over 107/1220 every single time without a hint of hesitation.
I would have too, a week ago. Now after looking at the stats? I think it’s pretty clear Maclin is better.
Same team as gazpacho and TheBoltEater here. SD Chargers.
6 and 5.
The Chargers have invented new ways to lose games this year. Love them Chargers, but my confidence is very low in their ability to produce wins.
I hear this “there’s holding on every play” shit all the time and even if it were true, doesn’t make it right.
That wasn’t a “hook and restriction”? The refs blew it.
I hear a funeral dirge…
The Chargers are easy to dissect: horrible special teams. If they even had average special teams, they might be “The Best Team In Football”.
The WRs the Lions drafted as saviors did not. They heard footsteps and dropped everything thrown to them in the middle. It was ugly.
Furry did it much cheaper.