CP totally pulled that "featured" argument out of his ***.
From 2011 to 2014 Jimmy Graham lead the Saints in targets every year, Rob Gronkowski never lead the New England Patriots NOT ONE time in targets in any of those years.
So please elaborate how Gronk was featured more.
From 2011-2014 New Orleans Saints attempted more passes than any team in NFL history except the Detroit Lions. The New Orleans Saints also were a bottom 4 run to pass ratio team during that time frame.
So please elaborate how the New Orleans Saints had a more balanced offense.
Saying Gronk was featured more in New England is your opinion is like me saying in my opinion I'm taller than Dirk.
Targets don't just mean "featured"
Wes Welker gets TONS of targets, is he the A1 #1 focus of the NE offense every year? Or the focus of every defense he faces? He benefited off of Moss, and then Gronk, correct? Do you see what I mean in that sense? That's a ton of touches/looks, doesn't make him the featured player. Same with Edelman today.
And when I say balance, I don't mean run/pass man, come on.
I mean balance in terms of weaponry.
When both jumped out in 2011, Welker, Gronk, Chico, and Branch were all the targets. 173, 124, 113, and 90. Brady used those 4, all year long.
NO had Jimmy, Sproles, Colston, Moore, Meachem, Thomas, and Henderson all split targets. 149, 111, 107, 73, 60, 59, and 50.
Jimmy had plenty of looks, sure, my point is that NO spread the ball around so much, he should have had MORE than what he did. And part of why Sproles, and Thomas, had so many looks was all the attention defenses had to pay to Jimmy. (unless you believe that Sproles and Pierre Thomas made defenses not focus on Jimmy at all.)
My overall point is, I have an extremely high opinion of Tom Brady, and Bill Belichick. I was at one time roasted for years over saying Wes Welker would make the Pro Bowl playing for those 2. People swore at me for years. And, well, he did more than make a Pro Bowl.
Brees and Payton are both really really good. But they aren't Brady and Belichick.
I look at last week, vs KC, both of those TD's to Gronk, KC had him one on one, didn't they? Bill/Brady murked them both times, off one on one coverage, in the Red Zone. The double move call was brilliant. Why on earth, with that team, that offense, would you line up 1 on 1 with Gronk, knowing that NE creates matchups in their favor?
Jimmy got looks in NO, no doubt, but he would be even MORE dangerous in that NE offense, IMO. You feel otherwise, that's fine. I'm not disrespecting Gronk, or saying that people are ******ed for backing him, I just believe Jimmy is better down the field and with the ball in his hands. Gronk is clearly the better blocker, I've never said otherwise. But used better, I think Jimmy would do ridiculous work on top of opening things up for others, like he did in NO. I really don't think that Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas, Devery Henderson, and Robert Meachem needed the touches they got, had a few more of those gone Jimmy's way, we would have seen numbers unseen at the TE position.
If you think those players needed those touches more, that's your call.
Fair enough response to your questions, or you need more to fully see what I'm sayin?
In 2013 Jimmy put up 1215 yards and 16 TD, he had 142 targets. Colston 111, Sproles 89, Thomas 84 (
) Moore 54, Stills 50, That's 5 other guys with 50+ and then Meachem and Watson with 30 each. So many guys that got looks that should have gone to Jimmy. Not every look, obviously, but two running backs with 173 combined looks out of the backfield?
That's what I mean by balance of the Saints, Brees spread it around everywhere, whereas Gronk has always been one of the 3-4 guys Brady targets, and that's about it. This year is the most balanced NE has been, 120 for Gronk, with 88 and 87 to Edelman and Amendola, 74 LaFell, and then 104 total for Lewis and White out of the backfield., 54 and 50 each That's much closer to the Jimmy NO days than the other seasons in which Gronk was healthy in NE.
2014 was 134 Edelman, 131 Gronk, 119 LaFell, and 77 Vereen. Brady doesn't spread it around as much as what Brees has done when people are healthy. I think that's why you see the change in 2015, so many injuries forced them to throw it around to others more than he normally does. Most years he targets 3-4 guys heavily and then of course the occasional looks for others, 1-2 a game, etc.
just saw that Bradford/Agent talk of 25 mill a year after getting back from work
the collector
lol
