What's wrong with the passing game? (Non-JC edition)

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

Did Santana Moss dropoff in talent and ability from the first 5 games of this season when he was clearly a #1 WR? He was top 5 in catches and yards earlier in the year. He's a #1, but like all of them, he needs some help. I wouldn't say he is the same as a Randy Moss, Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald because they are different types of WR. If the definition of a #1 WR is a receiver who is your primary passing threat that defenses must account for whenever he is on the field, then yes, he's a #1.

The problem isn't that Santana can't dominate games like he did at the beginning of the season. As I've said in other threads, you can't really rely on Moss for a few reasons: health, hands, and other inconsistencies in route running.

I believe that the offense should have a bunch of plays designed to get Santana in space because he is still very dangerous, and our top big threat weapon. I'm just starting to realize that too much of what we do runs through Moss, and it comes back to bite us far too often.

I think this team will be best if Malcolm Kelly and Antwaan Randle El are able to start and produce at the receivers next year, and then Moss comes off the bench when Sellers comes out of the game in order to give the passing game another dimension of speed. We should still use the screens, play action passes, deep ins, and corners with him, but I just don't feel like he's an every down player...which I think Randle El is.

But the reason we have to do so much through him is symptomatic of the bigger problem: that neither Kelly nor Thomas is ready to have the passing offense run through them. Cooley could be this guy, with Fred Davis at TE, but I'm not sure how valuable Cooley would be running skinny posts from a split end formation and stuff.

So this is a big problem, and obviously upgrades are needed on the right side of the OL, and especially at C. But that's pretty much the whole deal with the offense, IMO.