I haven't followed this verbal tennis match closely, but I do feel the need to jump in here. You're arguing that top WR don't make huge impacts, but you point to Eli Manning, who was made much better by top WRs (he looked like a pile of stinking dog poo until Beckham got healthy) and the rest are All-Time great QBs - every one of them. P. Manning, Rodgers, Brady, Brees - did you even notice what you were saying? Those guys make their players better so sure, a top WR won't necessarily mean as much. But you need to take your argument to the more run-of-the-mill QBs. The WRs make THEM better.
Eli won 2 Superbowls with Nicks, Cruz and company. He certainly didn't need elite WRs then, as all those guys were good but not elite. Flacco won a Superbowl with Boldin, Smith, and Jones. Russell Wilson won one with Tate and Baldwin. You certainly need your QB to play well to win a Superbowl, but you don't need elite WRs, just decent ones. Sure elite WRs can make an average QB look better, but where does that take you in terms of team success? Nowhere, as Eli with Beckham is still a shitty team, and so are the Lions with Calvin Johnson for most of his career, and the Bears and so on. Elite QBs and pass rushers change everything, elite WRs don't.
It still leaves us in the same place - top QBs can get by without top receivers because they make those around them better. And top WRs make QBs twhat would be nowhere without them perennial playoff contenders. Look at what Stafford did without Calvin in the lineup this year (or rather didn't do). Look at how bad Andy Dalton is, without AJ Green he's nothing (and is pretty close to nothing even with him). Josh Gordon had everyone talking about Brian Hoyer getting a big contract this off-sesason. Eli's two Super Bowls were won by the defense and he did just enough to win, including one guy trapping the ball on his helmet. Game planning, that's what won for the Giants. And Cruz isn't exactly a bum - he's an upper echelon guy a good portion of the time when he isn't dropping the easy ones. Flacco....eh. Boldin may not be a flashy guy with speed, but any QB would fare well with that guy - he's a beast. Goes over the middle, gives his body up for the ball, etc. So are we arguing that just the elite guys don't make a difference? Or are we redefining what elite is? Because to me, Boldin is an elite guy unless you're talking about fantasy numbers. He absolutely made Flacco better. Same with Cruz with Eli, and Beckham this year. Your earlier argument that the Giants are 4-7 with Beckham is a valid one if you look only at record - but you're talking about impact. There's no comparison whatsoever between what the Giants looked like earlier in the season when they were completely lost on offense, and what they look like now. Night and day.
The Lions are actually going to the playoffs this year, with Calvin Johnson missing many games, and missed the playoffs for most of his career, so I don't see your argument there. Josh Gordon missed most of the year with a suspension, so Hoyer was doing just fine without him. And Cincy with AJ Green, a good regular season QB and a pretty good defense, keeps getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs. So I really don't see the impact of elite WRs. Remember, I never said you don't need any WRs, I just said you don't need elite ones. Guys like Cruz, Boldin, etc, they are good WRs, I am not denying that, but none of them are elite. Elite is guys like Megatron, AJ Green, Julio Jones, Brandon Marshall, Dez Bryant, Josh Gordon, Antonion Brown in Pittsburgh this year, and Beckham will probably be an elite WR in the league. Guys who can just flat out dominate with their combination of size, speed, athleticism, good hands, and route running. The point is, you see many teams do just fine without those types of dominating WRs, go deep into the playoffs and even win the whole thing. But you pretty much never see a team with elite WRs and with an average QB win the whole thing, or have deep playoffs runs. And that's why I would never spend a really high draft pick on a WR unless there were no other options, or sign one to a huge contract.
Great win today guys, even though Babin is an idiot. And reflects the lack of discipline on this team.
Jags had a chance at the end to beat Houston too...that would've just been the icing on the cake. Well maybe Cooper drops to 6.
Such fucking morons. NO. MANS. LAND. Hey, look on the bright side, the last time we picked 6th it turned out wonderfully.
never. every time we get close to drafting a game changing WR, the team in front of us ALWAYS takes him. but hey, glad to get this meaningful win!
We don't need a draft pick anyway, we won a meaningless game today. Trade the pick for a DE, or a running back.
but when will people understand that its not where you draft its who you draft. We got Wilkerson at 30! Sheldon at 13! etc. etc. Only times it matters is when there is an Andrew Luck of the draft which is not this draft
Teams like the Giants, Bears, Falcons will come calling for a LT on the board. This is now more than ever to trade down and get 1-2 picks. Washington will take one most likely, there may only be 2 top 10 LTs in this draft....teams will be fighting for the other one.
