I love BM and I hope one day he can be considered to 2 in the league, but this past year he had waaaay too many dropped passes. He started off really hot, then he had some fumble problems, then he kind of disappeared for a while. He seemed tentative to go over the middle and didn’t fight as much for extra yards after the fumble issues. I don’t know for sure, but I believe he was tops in the league for dropped passes, even more than Braylon, hands of Teflon, Edwards.

But I firmly believe that Fitzgerald is the best in the NFL. He simply makes catches that nobody else does….not to mention his ability to run with the ball once he has it.

I don’t blame ESPN too much. They pretty much just realized that the Arizona Cardinals existed. With that comes the realization that Fitzgerald is a great reciever… Which he is. I agree that TO shouldn’t have been mentioned and that Marshall should have been, but the fact remains that Marshall is yet to enter the post season and though not fair, is conveniently forgotten when the subject comes up. Case in point – Calvin Johnson of the Lions. He had a better year than Marshall, but but in the end where did that get the team? Was Johnson even on the list?

We get to the playoffs? People will be all over him calling him a “great” reciever. Until then, to everyone not wearing allied with the Orange and Blue he’s just a good reciever.

J

pointed out that Marshall’s drops weren’t that excessive when you consider how often he was thrown to. From that perspective, drops per chance rather than total drops, he was middle of the pack. Even so, I’m sure he can get even better, that some of his drops were due to his still healing injury. That injury seems to be completely healed now, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does next year. In the meantime Fitzgerald is unquestionably the best, but Marshall at least merits consideration. His biggest deficit is not his hands but his route running. If he was half as good as Royal at getting separation he’d be unstoppable.

Fitzgerald is amazing, it’s true. The way he goes up and takes the ball is something Marshall needs to learn and emulate. Derrick Mason in Baltimore is another I would put into the conversation of “best.” Dude is an ironman and a warrior, and has quietly become one of the most productive recievers in league history. Steve Smith is another great one, strong, fast, tenacious, and a great blocker. He does the same thing as Fitz with being physical, going up and taking the ball out of the air. But the best currently imo would be Andre Johnson in Houston. That guy just has it all, with an emphasis on speed, skill, and stats.

Beast15 is one of the better new young receivers in the NFL. He had a great year statistically in regard to yards and receptions, especially considering he missed a game. But c’mon, we all watched the games.. How many of those 104 receptions were little underneath dumps and/or bubble screens out in the flat that went nowhere. I’d wager that BMarsh was fed, F-E-D, at least 30% of his balls this year by his boy JayC not because he was necessarily the best option, but because he had to get him up to his magic number. Of course this is just my subjective observation, but it’s something that seemed obvious to me from the first game Brandon was back (18 catches anyone?).

The other thing I noticed about B15 this year was a lack of power, physicality, and intensity in his game. He came out fired up that first game but it seemed to taper off as the season progressed. At one point during a press conference I remember hearing him talk about how he doesn’t like getting hit. That statement combined with the Joey Porter thing (talking ish after we got pwned) combined with what I saw from him during games made me come to the conclusion that he’s the on who’s soft, and really is just immature. I don’t think either is entirely his fault though.. Brandon is young and had a breakout season in 07 and was touted as the next big thing for 08. While he did come out and improve statistically this past year, I feel he got away from some of what made him so good the year before – just plain old being bigger than the guy that’s trying to tackle him and fighting for yardage. I think some of the hype Brandon got may have gone to his head a little bit and he started to think “Yea I really AM an elite receiver, so I’d better play like one!” He seemed to have slimmed up for 08 and was playing with more of a finesse style where he’s trying to be more like Randy Moss or TO or something. He seemed to have some bad habits this year that hurt our production. Yes there were drops, but more concerning were the miscues on routes where he would just go the wrong direction and the ball would be intercepted. Not to mention the thing he does where he catches the ball and stops and sits down like he’s anticipating contact.. or all the lateral running after the catch.. Good God man L2 FALL FORWARD and just get 3,4,5 yards and everyone won’t be out of breath for the next series. Don’t get me wrong I am a huge fan and I think Cutler and Marshall have the true potential to be the best, but now? No. Not yet.

Brandon is in a great situation in Denver with a great QB who he’s bro-down with and WILL feed him those extra balls. Honestly I think one of the best things Denver/Shanny could have done was to get someone like Eddie Royal on the team to push Marshall to be a better player. I don’t even think they planned it that way necessarily. Eddie is electric and on point with his game but he’s small so he feels he has to work harder to prove his worth – Ala Steve Smith or LT etc. What I think(hope) will probably happen with #6 and #15 going to Hawaii this year is a bit of a reality check from some of the real PROS in the league. Hopefully then we will start to see some of the maturity issues with both of them start to disappear and they can just relax and play ball. The coaching situation may be in flux but as far as offense, our future looks bright indeed.

This turned into a bit of a novel and I didn’t even get to include all my rantings on the subject.. but I just wanted to say ESPN does indeed suck and I love being able to read you guys opinions on MHR. Cheers !