Who cares? Let him be positive and express his opinions. I kinda thought that this was the entire point of a message board? Am I wrong? The only thing that taints this board, is all of this negative BS, every single day. People constantly giving others shit on a message board is lame, how about we stick to the Jets, and football?
I like Cotchery, I even purchased his jersey. But I just don't see him as a true #1. He can be a fill in once in awhile, but unless he is going to take it to a whole new level, he is just a good #2. Clowney had a total of ONE catch last year. Plugging him in automatically as the number two is a tough sell. Clowney and Stuckey to me seem more like plug and play slot receivers as both are similar in stature though Clowney seems to have an edge in speed. At this point, you have to run with what you have so it appears Cotch will be the number one.
Not quite.... Cotchery was a second year starter, but a fourth year player. and you are right year 3 was his break out year, 82 catches, 961 yards and 6 TDs, in 07 his numbers were better, but only because Coles missed several games due to injury and as i recall it was either throw to cotchery or to Mccareins, and well mccareins couldnt catch a cold. Also everybody remembers that Cotchery was next to useless when coles was out. He just couldnt break the double teams needed to be a true #1.
Just like Kellen had his chance to show he could be a #1 QB in the NFL and failed, Cotchery had many oppertunities to show he could be the #1 WR for the Jets and he couldn't pull it off either. Every game Coles was off the field, Cotchery was put up against the oponents top CB and he lost. Also as many true #1 WRs know, if your the guy you often get double teamed and Cotcher couldn't handle that pressure. Boldin is the answer and I know Sanchez is praying he gets him or at least Edwards as a late draft gift.
cotchery may very well put up #1 wr numbers in 2009. with that being said what will the other wrs put up. the entire wr crew is a big question mark at this point. i see them bringing in a vet once other teams have made cuts.
I'm not even expecting Cotchery to put up 90+ catches, 1,000+ yards or 10+ TD's because this Jets offense should be a grind it out, Northeast/Smashmouth type of attack with Jones and Greene with Leon Washington doing his own thing as a change of pace/3rd down back. I look for us to average about 150 on the ground here in 09 but I do expect Cotchery to catch 1st down after 1st down and thats all I can ask for, keep those chains moving. I look for Dustin Keller to have a monster season though. A young pass catching talent could be and should be a young QB's best friend.
What makes a #1 Reciever a #1 Reciever, ist the ability to be a headache for opposing DCs and to force the D to Gameplan for him, which opens up things for the other Recievingoptions and the Runninggame. To be that kind of player, you need to have a certain ability, which makes you a pain in the ass for a CB 1-on-1. Most common ones are Size and/or Speed but there are also other abilitys, a WR can posses demand doubleteams, for example to beeing great at option routes (you also need a great chemistry with your QB for that) or beeing a Juge YAC thread. Cotch is a good, well polished Reciever, but he just lacks that one thing, that sets them apart. Most Teams got a CB, who they feel comfortable covering him 1-on-1 for most parts of the game, which allows the DC to gameplan against other Things, like putting 8-man in the Box against the run, or allowing a S to spy on Leon or Keller and help out on them. Bottom Line, even if Cotch puts up 1000+ yards an 8-10 TDs, he still isn?t doing what a true #1 does, which is to open things up for other Guys. For Example, I expect Witten to have a significantly worse year, now that TO is gone, because Defenses can now focus on him more.
Agreed 100%. I think Cotch is one of the best #2's in the game but I just don't think he's physically imposing enough on any level to truly have to gameplan for. He's an excellent #2 possession receiver who can take advantage of single coverage provided by having someone opposite him. When double teamed, he's average and he's not helping out the other guys on the roster. Honestly, Keller more fits the mold of what we need more than Cotch does.
What do these numbers mean? 64 catches, 13.1 YPC, 8 TD's. 73 catches, 11.9 YPC, 6 TD's. 59 catches, 13.2 YPC, 7 TD's. 115 catches, 14.5 YPC, 12 TD's. 102 catches, 13.9 YPC, 14 TD's. 109 catches, 14.0 YPC, 15 TD's. Ok, I'll break it up so they can be seen in context: 1996 - Marvin Harrison with Jim Harbaugh throwing to him. 1997 - Marvin Harrison with Jim Harbaugh throwing to him. 1998 - Marvin Harrison (12 games) with rookie Peyton Manning throwing to him. 1999 - Manning to Harrison. 2000 - Manning to Harrison. 2001 - Manning to Harrison. Whether or not Jerrico Cotchery can become a dominant #1 WR depends almost entirely on whether or not Mark Sanchez can become a dominant QB. Here are the QB's that Cotchery has had throwing to him so far: 2006 - Chad Pennington. 2007- Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens 2008 - Brett Favre (injured for a third of the season) I'm guessing that Cotchery will do just fine as our #1 WR IF Sanchez works out and that he'll have issues if he has yet another broken down or not established QB throwing to him. Marvin Harrison doesn't make the hall of fame if He winds up with 3 other guys throwing to him over the last decade instead of Peyton Manning. BTW, the period when Coles was not in games overlapped with the period when Brett Favre was throwing the ball with a spike in his shoulder. You can't look at least year and try to figure out what it means for Cotchery's future. Many things were going wrong and a WR cannot fix that on his own, just help other people fix it if he gets an opportunity.
Right on the money man...Right on the money. Just like I said with my original post: Cotchery has been a starter for 3 years now and has made the best of it with three different QB's. What 26 year old talent can say the same? When Cotchery was a #1 WR and actually had an elite QB (Philip Rivers) He broke just about every record set by Tory Holt with NC State. Chad Pennington/Cotchery, 2006: 82 catches, 961 yards, 11.7 YPC, 6 TD's. Kellen Clemens/Cotchery, 2007: 82 catches, 1130 yards, 13.8 YPC, 2 TD's. Brett Favre/Cotchery, 2008: 71 catches, 858 yards, 12.1 YPC, 5 TD's. He's done all of that with a QB in Pennington who has one of the weakest arms in all of football after having two surgerys on his throwing shoulder. A career backup in Kellen Clemens who was starting behind a Horrid O-Line along with a Qb in Brett Favre who was on the down side of his career as a 40 year old freaking QB. Give Cotchery a Philip Rivers type of franchise QB (Mark Sanchez) And watch what he does as the #1 WR for the Jets, just watch.
Marvin Harrison's first 3 years as a starter= 196 catches, 2478 yards, 12.6 YPC, 21 TD's. Jerricho Cotchery's first 3 years as a starter= 235 catches, 2949 yards, 12.5 YPC, 12 TD's. Yeah, Cotch cant be a #1 WR with a really good QB.
I already pointed out, that it's not the #s that make a #1 a #1. Harrison was better at just about anything, when compared to Cotch, do you guys really think Cotch can do what Harrison did?
then of course theres also the fact that Peyton Manning and Harrison clicked in year 4 for Harrison. he averaged 117.25 receptions over the next four years, along with 13 TD's and 1593 yards. So yeah if you think Cotch can average those numbers over the next four years, than hell yeah we have an all-time great WR in Cotch. Chances are next to nothing that happens however. Also Cotch has trouble beating the top CB's on opposing defenses, many people will tell you this is the case. Cotch is one of the league's best #2's but he isnt quite good enough to consistently beat the top cb's.
First off, Peyton Manning is not a "really good QB." He's a great QB. He's one of the best to ever play the QB position. To assume Sanchez can play at his level (or even at the high level Phillip Rivers plays) is waaaay to optimistic for my tastes. As I have said before, I think the #1 WR on a team needs to elevate the level of play of his supporting cast by forcing the opposing DC to roll coverages towards him and constantly assign him double or bracket coverage. Cotchery does not have that kind of ability. He simply is not fast/tall/physical (though that one is close) to do this consistently. If you expect players like Clowney or Stuckey to develop and produce you need to give them the benefits of not being the focal point of the opposing defense. Cotchery does provide this. There is nothing wrong with being this kind of talent. I love Steve Smith on the Giants (as opposed to the asshole that plays for Carolina) and he is a very similar player. He has great hands, good quickness, runs great routes, and gets open. But he simply is not dangerous enough on the field to warrant being a #1 WR. He's still an excellent player (just as I think Cotchery is) but he is not #1 WR material.
Cotchery needs a decent receiver on the opposite side of the field in order to be successful. If he doesn't get one, he's in for a long year.
Keller is going to be challenged this year. The film on him is out and teams will start making adjustments. He also has either Sanchez or Clemens throwing him the ball now, not Favre. The fact that Coles is gone will probably result in Keller seeing more double coverages. If he is going to be a great player, this will be the year we see it.
