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Receivers don't make as much difference as teams think they will
By Don Pierson
March 31, 2007
There is a reason no wide receiver ever has won the Associated Press MVP award since its inception 50 years ago, not even Jerry Rice. In the grand scheme of things, wide receivers don’t matter as much as wide receivers think they do.
The 2006 season confirmed a notion that although receivers certainly are necessary, they also can be pretty much interchangeable. With some exceptions, and Rice would top the list, receivers seem to be sliding down the list of true difference-makers.
Just ask Terrell Owens, who fired his publicist soon after his latest team was eliminated from the playoffs.
Owens was at the forefront of a receiver exchange that dominated offseason news yet didn’t seem to matter by the time the playoff games mattered.
At the current rate, more receivers are going to need publicists. Without offensive lines, running backs, accurate quarterbacks and decent defenses, wide receivers are no more important than expensive window dressing.
This was not the first year that rotating receivers ended up as little more than curiosities in new uniforms. Remember Randy Moss? He was the Terrell Owens of his day, the big news of the 2005 offseason after the Vikings traded him to the Raiders. Yes, he fell into a black hole in Oakland two years ago and now isn’t even the most famous receiver named Moss.
That would be Santana Moss of the Redskins, or is it the Jets? And if Laveranues Coles leaves the Jets for the second time, will anyone notice?
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has elected only three wide receivers in the last decade — Lynn Swann, John Stallworth and James Lofton. In 1985, when Rice was a rookie, only four receivers had 600 catches. Now there are 42. But as the numbers go up, is the impact going down?
Andre Johnson led the league in receptions this season with 103. He plays for the Texans, in case you didn’t know. They won six games.
The Lions drafted WRs Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams with their No. 1 picks in 2003, 2004, and 2005. They finally hit on one — free agent Mike Furrey, who happened to lead the NFC in receptions with 98. A year ago, he caught zero as a defensive back whom the Rams let go in free agency.
The Lions were 3-13, by the way, following 5-11, 6-10 and 5-11 seasons.
The playoff teams are not immune to receiver folly. Because he would have it no other way, Owens was the biggest-name receiver to move last season. The Cowboys were going to blossom with him, and the Eagles were going to fold without him.
Owens watched the Eagles play the Saints in the divisional round of last season's playoffs as the Eagles used one of the Saints’ former receivers, Donté Stallworth, to help them forget Owens. The Saints replaced Stallworth with seventh-round rookie Marques Colston, the most prolific wide receiver of the NFC’s final four teams.
If you can find a Colston or a T.J. Houshmandzadeh or a Donald Driver in the seventh round of the draft, or a Jerricho Cotchery in the fourth round or a Hines Ward in the third round, why would anybody need to worry about where the next crop is coming from?
The Bears paid big money to sign proven veteran Muhsin Muhammad before the 2005 season, filling a void after the 2004 trade of Marty Booker. Recent statistics indicate they might be the same person.
The Bears resisted the urge to overpay Pittsburgh’s Antwaan Randle El in free agency, sticking with unknowns Bernard Berrian and Mark Bradley and drafting Devin Hester to assume what would have been Randle El’s punt-returning role. Not a bad decision.
Likewise, the Steelers didn’t break their bank to keep Randle El, instead drafting Santonio Holmes, who caught more passes and posted a better punt-return average than Randle El did in Washington.
The Redskins not only sought Randle El, but they also overpaid San Francisco’s leading receiver, Brandon Lloyd. In Washington, Lloyd caught 23 passes for zero touchdowns. The Redskins won fewer games than they had won last season; the 49ers won more.
The Seahawks snapped up Deion Branch when the Patriots apparently weren’t overly impressed by his Super Bowl MVP credentials.
Besides losing their top receiver, Branch, the Patriots also lost their second-leading receiver, David Givens, to the Titans. So, the Patriots signed Reche Caldwell after the Chargers let him go in free agency. The Patriots also signed Jabar Gaffney, who was released by the Eagles after signing as a free agent from the Texans.
On his third team in 10 months, Gaffney just happened to lead all receivers (104 yards) in the wild-card round of the postseason.
The Seahawks also signed Nate Burleson from the Vikings and lost Joe Jurevicius to the Browns, who got all excited because Jurevicius has played in Super Bowls for the Giants, Buccaneers and Seahawks. Evidently, he wasn’t the reason those teams got there. The Browns *didn’t mind when they let their leading receiver, Antonio Bryant, go to San Francisco, where the 49ers used him to replace Lloyd. (Bryant was released following the season, before the start of free agency.)
The Browns won four games, the 49ers seven and the Redskins five. Their receivers did little more than fill out the huddle.
Unless you’re the Colts, who live and die with the arm of Peyton Manning and the hands of WRs Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, it appears you can find suitable receivers just about anywhere you look — free agency, high in the draft, low in the draft, practice squad, via trade or on the street.
The Broncos were going to take the next step by adding gifted Javon Walker from the Packers. Ex-Bronco Ashley Lelie was going to give Atlanta’s Michael Vick a “go-to guy.” The Broncos and Falcons won fewer games than they did last year, and the Packers won twice as many after replacing Walker with rookie Greg Jennings.
The Bills let go of leading WR Eric Moulds, who went to the Texans to complement Johnson. The Bills brought back Peerless Price, a failure in Atlanta, and the Bills won more games than they did with Moulds in ’05.
Four days before the Cowboys signed Owens, they released Keyshawn Johnson, who quickly joined the Panthers as the much-needed replacement for Muhammad, the former complement to Steve Smith. The Panthers went from 11-5 to 8-8, and even though it looks like Smith didn’t make any more difference this year than any other receiver, there are plenty of teams in the league that are glad they didn’t have to face him.
But is it any wonder that receivers enjoy those show-off endzone celebrations? If they didn’t go out of their way to be noticed, nobody could tell whether they were coming or going. By the way, did Chad Johnson play last year?
Don Pierson covers pro football for the Chicago Tribune.
The above content is featured from our Pro Football Weekly print edition — Issue 28.
By Don Pierson
March 31, 2007
There is a reason no wide receiver ever has won the Associated Press MVP award since its inception 50 years ago, not even Jerry Rice. In the grand scheme of things, wide receivers don’t matter as much as wide receivers think they do.
The 2006 season confirmed a notion that although receivers certainly are necessary, they also can be pretty much interchangeable. With some exceptions, and Rice would top the list, receivers seem to be sliding down the list of true difference-makers.
Just ask Terrell Owens, who fired his publicist soon after his latest team was eliminated from the playoffs.
Owens was at the forefront of a receiver exchange that dominated offseason news yet didn’t seem to matter by the time the playoff games mattered.
At the current rate, more receivers are going to need publicists. Without offensive lines, running backs, accurate quarterbacks and decent defenses, wide receivers are no more important than expensive window dressing.
This was not the first year that rotating receivers ended up as little more than curiosities in new uniforms. Remember Randy Moss? He was the Terrell Owens of his day, the big news of the 2005 offseason after the Vikings traded him to the Raiders. Yes, he fell into a black hole in Oakland two years ago and now isn’t even the most famous receiver named Moss.
That would be Santana Moss of the Redskins, or is it the Jets? And if Laveranues Coles leaves the Jets for the second time, will anyone notice?
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has elected only three wide receivers in the last decade — Lynn Swann, John Stallworth and James Lofton. In 1985, when Rice was a rookie, only four receivers had 600 catches. Now there are 42. But as the numbers go up, is the impact going down?
Andre Johnson led the league in receptions this season with 103. He plays for the Texans, in case you didn’t know. They won six games.
The Lions drafted WRs Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams with their No. 1 picks in 2003, 2004, and 2005. They finally hit on one — free agent Mike Furrey, who happened to lead the NFC in receptions with 98. A year ago, he caught zero as a defensive back whom the Rams let go in free agency.
The Lions were 3-13, by the way, following 5-11, 6-10 and 5-11 seasons.
The playoff teams are not immune to receiver folly. Because he would have it no other way, Owens was the biggest-name receiver to move last season. The Cowboys were going to blossom with him, and the Eagles were going to fold without him.
Owens watched the Eagles play the Saints in the divisional round of last season's playoffs as the Eagles used one of the Saints’ former receivers, Donté Stallworth, to help them forget Owens. The Saints replaced Stallworth with seventh-round rookie Marques Colston, the most prolific wide receiver of the NFC’s final four teams.
If you can find a Colston or a T.J. Houshmandzadeh or a Donald Driver in the seventh round of the draft, or a Jerricho Cotchery in the fourth round or a Hines Ward in the third round, why would anybody need to worry about where the next crop is coming from?
The Bears paid big money to sign proven veteran Muhsin Muhammad before the 2005 season, filling a void after the 2004 trade of Marty Booker. Recent statistics indicate they might be the same person.
The Bears resisted the urge to overpay Pittsburgh’s Antwaan Randle El in free agency, sticking with unknowns Bernard Berrian and Mark Bradley and drafting Devin Hester to assume what would have been Randle El’s punt-returning role. Not a bad decision.
Likewise, the Steelers didn’t break their bank to keep Randle El, instead drafting Santonio Holmes, who caught more passes and posted a better punt-return average than Randle El did in Washington.
The Redskins not only sought Randle El, but they also overpaid San Francisco’s leading receiver, Brandon Lloyd. In Washington, Lloyd caught 23 passes for zero touchdowns. The Redskins won fewer games than they had won last season; the 49ers won more.
The Seahawks snapped up Deion Branch when the Patriots apparently weren’t overly impressed by his Super Bowl MVP credentials.
Besides losing their top receiver, Branch, the Patriots also lost their second-leading receiver, David Givens, to the Titans. So, the Patriots signed Reche Caldwell after the Chargers let him go in free agency. The Patriots also signed Jabar Gaffney, who was released by the Eagles after signing as a free agent from the Texans.
On his third team in 10 months, Gaffney just happened to lead all receivers (104 yards) in the wild-card round of the postseason.
The Seahawks also signed Nate Burleson from the Vikings and lost Joe Jurevicius to the Browns, who got all excited because Jurevicius has played in Super Bowls for the Giants, Buccaneers and Seahawks. Evidently, he wasn’t the reason those teams got there. The Browns *didn’t mind when they let their leading receiver, Antonio Bryant, go to San Francisco, where the 49ers used him to replace Lloyd. (Bryant was released following the season, before the start of free agency.)
The Browns won four games, the 49ers seven and the Redskins five. Their receivers did little more than fill out the huddle.
Unless you’re the Colts, who live and die with the arm of Peyton Manning and the hands of WRs Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, it appears you can find suitable receivers just about anywhere you look — free agency, high in the draft, low in the draft, practice squad, via trade or on the street.
The Broncos were going to take the next step by adding gifted Javon Walker from the Packers. Ex-Bronco Ashley Lelie was going to give Atlanta’s Michael Vick a “go-to guy.” The Broncos and Falcons won fewer games than they did last year, and the Packers won twice as many after replacing Walker with rookie Greg Jennings.
The Bills let go of leading WR Eric Moulds, who went to the Texans to complement Johnson. The Bills brought back Peerless Price, a failure in Atlanta, and the Bills won more games than they did with Moulds in ’05.
Four days before the Cowboys signed Owens, they released Keyshawn Johnson, who quickly joined the Panthers as the much-needed replacement for Muhammad, the former complement to Steve Smith. The Panthers went from 11-5 to 8-8, and even though it looks like Smith didn’t make any more difference this year than any other receiver, there are plenty of teams in the league that are glad they didn’t have to face him.
But is it any wonder that receivers enjoy those show-off endzone celebrations? If they didn’t go out of their way to be noticed, nobody could tell whether they were coming or going. By the way, did Chad Johnson play last year?
Don Pierson covers pro football for the Chicago Tribune.
The above content is featured from our Pro Football Weekly print edition — Issue 28.
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