New & Improved WR Thread

[DawgFan]

....and if you thought that was the ONLY article saying nice things about the Browns WR corp....

Browns WRs Have a Feel About Them Like the 2006 Saints WRs Had | National Football Authority

Hi-lites:

The Cleveland Browns receiving corps was easily the worst in the NFL last season.

If you count receptions by players who are deemed wide receivers, the five players for the Browns totaled 129 receptions for 1,438 yards. Or for those of you who need easier numbers for comparison, 14 receptions more than Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl receiver Roddy White and 10 less yards receiving than Denver Broncos Pro Bowler Brandon Lloyd.

I mean, you know things are bad when two of the Browns top three leading receivers were tight end Ben Watson (763 yards) and running back Peyton Hillis (477 yards). In fact, those two had the same amount of receptions as the five Browns receivers on the season, as Watson had 68 and Hillis had 61 for a total of 129.

You can’t put all the blame on the Browns receivers though. When your team starts the season with Jake Delhomme under center, then has Seneca Wallace take over due to injury and then finally third-round rookie draft pick Colt McCoy takes over when Wallace goes down with an injury, it may be a little tough to develop any type of rhythm with your quarterback.

After the 2010 season ended with the Browns in their usual place, on the couch at home watching the playoffs, many fans thought the team would go out and either draft one of the top two available wide receivers (A.J. Green from Georgia or Julio Jones from Alabama) or throw big money at a veteran free agent like Santonio Holmes or Sidney Rice.

However, fans could not have been more wrong, as the team not only passed on drafting Jones by trading down, but they also left free agency without any major additions to the receiving corps. In fact, outside of second-round draft pick Greg Little from North Carolina, one could say the Browns did not do anything to their group of receivers.

But they could not be more wrong.

See, it was not so long ago that another “small” quarterback was taking over a franchise in a state of flux. In 2006, Drew Brees signed a deal to become the starting quarterback of a team coming off a 3-13 season. While I know Brees was already an accomplished quarterback with the San Diego Chargers and McCoy still has much to prove, my focus here is on the receivers, not who was under center.

Can you venture a guess at how many “big name” receivers Brees has had when he signed with the New Orleans Saints? Well I’m going to make it easy on you, none.

Yeah, Marques Colston is a household name now, but back in 2006 he was a seventh-round draft pick out of Hofstra. The Saints did not think he would make the roster when they drafted him, let alone post four 1,000-yard receiving seasons in his first five years in the NFL. The rest of the team’s leading receivers from the Brees era are listed below:

Lance Moore, 2005 Undrafted Free Agent from Toledo
Robert Meachem, 2007 First-Round Pick from Tennessee
Devery Henderson, 2004 Second-Round from LSU
Joe Horn, 1996 Fifth-Round Pick from Itawamba Community College
David Patten, 1996 Undrafted Free Agent from Western Carolina

The team also had the likes of tight ends Jeremy Shockey and running back Reggie Bush too. The point is the New Orleans Saints have been dominating the NFL in passing without top wide receivers in the draft or big name veteran free agents and they grew within the system itself.

What the Saints do is trust in the system and their quarterback. They gave Brees the keys to their version of the West Coast offense. Their fans don’t clamor for big name wide receivers, because they trust in their quarterback to put the ball on their compilation of guys who know how to run routes and catch the ball. And I think the Saints have been doing a pretty good job at it.

So when the Browns enter the 2011 season with the likes of Brian Robiskie, Mohamed Massaquoi (currently injured), Josh Cribbs, Little, Carlton Mitchell and Jordan Norwood as McCoy’s wide receivers, don’t panic and start screaming for Terrell Owens. The big change to the receiving corps won't be the addition of any "big name" players, it will be the installation of a new offense which will allow them to do what they are supposed to do best—catch the ball.

Under the direction of Pat Shurmur and Mike Holmgren’s West Coast offense, you will soon see it does not matter how big of a name the receiver has. What matters is that the guys can run the routes effectively and catch the passes thrown to them. It has worked with the combination of head coach Sean Peyton and Brees in New Orleans since 2006 when they came together, and it will work for Shurmur and McCoy in Cleveland.

So again, for those clamoring for the new, fancy, shiny WR to come to town....be careful what you wish for, we may already HAVE HIM ON THE ROSTER!

[Alo]

So Drew Brees' WRs tend to do well? I wonder why.

[DawgFan]

Originally Posted by Alo

So Drew Brees' WRs tend to do well? I wonder why.

I think the point Alo (quit being so obtuse) is that with an accurate QB in a WCO, almost any group of WR's has a decent chance to succeed as long as they can catch because the routes are just as important as the speed. I think guys like Robo are going to flourish in this system, and with an accurate QB like Colt...why not?

[Brown Warrior]

Originally Posted by Alo

So Drew Brees' WRs tend to do well? I wonder why.

Damn. You beat me to it! Next we'll hear that if Jacob Tamme can emerge in Indy, why can't no-name TEs flourish everywhere? Isn't it weird that New England weather makes Deion Branch play so much better?

If McCoy becomes That Guy who makes WRs look great? We'll all be ecstatic. But we're not there yet.

DB, your point is valid, though: If McCoy's great, the WRs will look better. If our pass rush is great, our DBs will look better. We don't have a lot of guys with bad hands... but they have had a problem getting open.

[YtownBacker]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

Damn. You beat me to it! Next we'll hear that if Jacob Tamme can emerge in Indy, why can't no-name TEs flourish everywhere? Isn't it weird that New England weather makes Deion Branch play so much better?

If McCoy becomes That Guy who makes WRs look great? We'll all be ecstatic. But we're not there yet.

DB, your point is valid, though: If McCoy's great, the WRs will look better. If our pass rush is great, our DBs will look better. We don't have a lot of guys with bad hands... but they have had a problem getting open.

Maybe it was more about the QB then the WRs. Good QBs go through their progressions and find the open guys. Manning just doesn't throw the #1 optin and say the WRs don't get open. You are the first to point out that DBs can't guard WRs for more the a few seconds and I agree 100%. It may not be that our WRs couldn't get open it may be that the QBs couldn't find the open WRs. The offensive lines also have a lot to do with giving the QBs the time to let routes develop and let them go through their progressions.

Our WR success, like most teams will hinge on McCoy being able to go through his progressions and get the ball out quickly. Might not realy be that our WRs can't get open.

You always told me that QBs make WRs and I believe it.

[Brown Warrior]

I really don't disagree with much of anything you wrote, Y.

[YtownBacker]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

I really don't disagree with much of anything you wrote, Y.

Thank you. I think we seriously revisit this after preseason game #2. By that time we should know who the contenders are and who the pretenders are.

Some guys just look great in shorts. I want to see who can play when the whistle blows and who steps up and takes charge of the positions.

The key is McCoy and his recognition of defenses. I think this line will give him plenty of time to get through his reads. Then, If the guys can't get open then we have to rethink where we are at WR.

[Brown Warrior]

On the Rams watch. Surprised by Gibson, as many are:

EARTH CITY, Missouri — There has been little separation among the logjam of wide receivers vying for a final roster spot so far in training camp. But as the team prepares for its preseason opener Saturday against visiting Indianapolis, Mike Sims-Walker, Brandon Gibson and slot man Danny Amendola are holding down the top spots. Injury problems have slowed Donnie Avery (hamstring), Danario Alexander (knee) and Greg Salas (hamstring).

Rookie Austin Pettis and second-year man Mardy Gilyard are also in the mix. Alexander had been running with the starters before experiencing swelling in his left knee, the same knee that has undergone five surgeries. Salas, a fourth-round pick last April, was impressive in the opening week of camp before tweaking his hamstring.

Read more: St. Louis Rams training camp: WR race muddled - NFL - Sporting News

[Jax Dawg]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

Alexander had been running with the starters before experiencing swelling in his left knee, the same knee that has undergone five surgeries.

Holy shit! Is this guy Hardesty's brother or something?