Quote:
Originally Posted by GMScud
I hear you, I just feel like Marshall is a really dynamic playmaker. He has a penchant for big time catches, and often finds spectacular ways to find the endzone after the catch. I know "dynamic playmaker" is tough to quantify (and I also know that his YPC doesn't help that argument), but that's just my opinion.
Also, when you're targeted as often as Marshall was in Denver, chances are your YPC is going to be lower. He was used so much in both the short, intermediate, and deep passing game, much more so than VJ in SD. Not that VJ couldn't be that guy, he just wasn't for reasons you pointed out (Gates and good pass catching RBs).
I have no doubt if you swapped VJ's role in SD with Brandon Marshall, the YPC numbers would have been just as good.
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I do think Marshall's best days are ahead of him, which is why I've refrained from ripping the Dolphins from throwing two second round picks at him. As a prospective pickup, there's clearly plenty of talent there to work with.
As a player, Marshall is sort of a workhorse receiver. Problem is, I'm not really sure there's a spot for a workhorse receiver in an NFL offense. Which is to say, if I know I have a guy who can get 10 catches a game on 18 to 20 targets, but is only going to turn those 20 plays into 120 yards, well, now I'm averaging 6 yards per pass. If JaMarcus Russell is your quarterback, that's great! Get that man the football!
I think Marshall can be valuable if one out of every ten of his catches can go for a touchdown, as they did this year. But that's a career high mark. Over his career, it's been one in every fourteen to sixteen passes. In a high scoring offense. That's a guy who, traditionally, isn't very good in the red zone. And so if you aren't good at getting yards, and you're not good in the red zone, and you're going to act like an immature baby, why would I want you on my team?
Jackson does all those things well, and by all accounts, isn't out there to embarrass his teammates or his family name. And I think the numbers speak for themselves: he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Larry Fitzgerald. We don't discount Fitz' performance for having his best three years with a future hall of fame passer, and so Jackson shouldn't be seen as simply a product of Philip Rivers' genius.