Kirby Jackson Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Watkins is a special talent whose rankings would be near the top in most drafts. The issue for many is: Was the trade up worth it? Those who say that it wasn't worth it have a strong basis to make that claim . The reason is until there is a qb who can play at a competent level the sterling receiver's talents are squandered. If EJ is that starter will Watkins's talents be properly utilized? I think not. (I would love to be proven wrong. But his erratic accuracy disturbs me.) If the front office in this offseason comes up with an Orton type qb then the Watkins deal looks less worthy. If the front office comes up with a capable (adequate) qb who can sufficiently make plays then the deal was worth the expense. The most interesting issue for the fans in this offseason is who is Whaley going to bring in to add to the qb mix? I have mulled over this issue, as have many others. There are no slam dunk talents available. But considering the market limitations that isn't what should be expected. If we can enter into the season with a bridge qb who falls in the category of reasonably competent then my low ball measuring stick will call it a successful transaction. If we enter the season in the same situation as last year then the Watkins deal is questionable. I agree with all of it but I think that last season will be the lowest in terms of production in Watkins career (if healthy). I think that he is a 1,200 yard a year guy with bad QB play. That's still valuable. That's where some of the disagreement lies. He won 2 games alone last year (Detroit and Minnesota). A great WR can lift a bad QB. Ebron (who would have been the pick) would have been limited as well by the poor QB play. Who knows the direction that they would have went with their 1st this year but it is NOT a good draft.
JohnC Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 I agree with all of it but I think that last season will be the lowest in terms of production in Watkins career (if healthy). I think that he is a 1,200 yard a year guy with bad QB play. That's still valuable. That's where some of the disagreement lies. He won 2 games alone last year (Detroit and Minnesota). A great WR can lift a bad QB. Ebron (who would have been the pick) would have been limited as well by the poor QB play. Who knows the direction that they would have went with their 1st this year but it is NOT a good draft. It doesn't take much to get production from an abundamentally talented receiver such as Watkins. That's a very low bar for him to meet. That shouldn't be the metric to judge him by i.e. simply a productive player. When you have an impact player such as he is and you don't get the game changing production from him then his abilities are squandered. My position on Spiller is different from many (especially from NYC Bill). I consider him to be a dynamic big play player. He is a thoroughbred being used as if he was a plow horse. The critics complain that he is not a workhorse type back. My response is so what! When you have a unique talent you have to accentuate his specific talents to get the most out of him. His coaching staff did the opposite; they accentuated what he couldn't do well and de-emphasized what he does do well. What is the point of having Spiller when you have the worst or one of the worst OLs in the league? What is the point of constructing an OL that is big, lumbering and immobile and thus is incapable of getting out in front of him on sweeps and swing passes? I'm repeating what has already been said many times over. The first priority is to get a competent qb to take the snaps and the next priority is to rebuild last year's incapable OL. If that gets done then we will be a respectable and competitive team.
Recommended Posts