To be fair to Cotch, our Qb's play completely fell apart around week 10...and aside from Keller,Cotch was our only legit recieiving threat so teams were able to double team him constantly.
I think Cotch was a solid #2, I said solid b/c he will come up with some big catches and make some plays, but he wasn't a big time reciever and didn't strike fear into another defense. I think solid is a 50-70 catch player that will take some pressure off of the #1 and the qb. He def isnt in the class of a Wes Welker that other teams really have to game plan against. I guess my def of solid is not a game changer, but simply a player who will make some plays.
this sounds about right as of now. Come the end of the season, and this should change once we know what our unproven WR's are truly made of.
I don't think the definition of '#2 wide receiver' is as cut and dry as you are implying. It always depends on who the primary receiver is. It's not like he has had Randy Moss or Larry Fitzgerald across from him, he had a declining and oft-injured Laveranues Coles drawing some coverage away from him. Cotch is not a blazer, but he is a solid possession guy with excellent hands, runs excellent routes and plays a physical game. If we had a #1 that drew a constant double along with Keller slashing the middle of the field - I think Cotch would be a very, very effective option at the secondary receiver spot.
I certainly did not mean to suggest a quality #2 is defined as someone who would even draw the double team away from a Moss or Fitzgerald. I was thinking more midpack #1's. We agree Coles was not even that toward the end of last year. Opposite a midpack #1, I am still doubtful opponents would fear Cotch much. It's hard to tell. He had a great year when Herm left. Even more yardage in 07 with the crap OL and inconsistent Qb play, although TD's dropped off from 6 to 2. Last year, though, for all Favre's problems, the Jets still had better Qb play overall than in 07, and the OL was much improved. Cotch's numbers went down. You can say that's because Coles was hurt as the season went on, but that argument doesn't only cut one way - wouldn't you expect the #2 to get MORE catches when #1 is not so much the target? Oh and btw Coles only played in ten games in 07. So is it that Cotch had a worse year in 08 because of Coles being hurt (but less so than in 07), Favre being inconsistent (but still better than the Qb play in 07), or something else? Can't be a crappy OL, either. I understand that Cotch didn't do all THAT much worse than the previous two years. But I also think last year did not show him on a continued upward path. He's likely topped out at the level we saw last year, and may even decline somewhat. In short, good but not great #2 is about where I'd put him right now. He is not likely to draw a double himself unless the team puts absolute crap else out there. No one will fear a Jet passing attack with him as the best receiver. Of course this is all about my hoping the Jets make a major move to upgrade at wideout before the season commences. I've heard nothing about any of the other guys really stepping up. People talk about Keller, and he's still young, and probably does have some real upside. But he's not going to put a D on its heels all by himself. Not to mention the need for depth - if either Cotch or Keller goes down, the Jets would REALLY be screwed. Time is running out...
I definitely do not like the WR situation. And I try not to make excuses for players when it comes to injury, but Cotch was playing with an injured shoulder for better than half a season last year. I don't know how much it affected his play, but he was healthy as a horse the year before and was much more effective. I think we're going to end up suffering on offense in 2009. Run run run pass run run.
seems about right our WRs haven't done shit other then Cotchery. Keller is just going into his 2nd season and what he did last year was a nothing but a surprise in how good he got so soon. He should continue to improve over the next season
I would be very happy to be wrong about Cotch, and see him have a great year this year. Perhaps you are right it was merely the shoulder. Let's hope so.
