Criticism of Denver's WRs
A recurring theme on here since the Houston loss has been never-ending criticism of Eric Decker's "drops," Thomas' unreliability/not dragging his feet, etc. There are some things I can criticize these guys for: Eric Decker's punt return "decision" (though this duty is not his usual job), his slide, etc. I'm not going to comment on those. However, for the people ranting and yelling about the drops and so forth, I'm sorry to be blunt, but you simply are not watching the games or understand it.
A "drop" is not an official stat on nfl.com, but many sites record this. Guys like Finley, Brandon Marshall, Witten, Victor Cruz, Wes Welker, Laurent Robinson, etc all have the same or more drops based on the sites I have looked at. Many catches are not easy and would be dropped by many NFL receivers. Needing to make an insane jump ball over a defenders head and landing without the ball is not a "drop." A safety jumping in front of a ball and deflecting a pass does not count as a "drop." The deflected ball that went to Dreesen in the end zone is not a "drop" but rather a pretty tough short bullet pass between defenders. Eric Decker had one real "drop" in Houston's game...the one immediately prior to him making a good 22 yard catch along the sideline in the second quarter. I welcome anyone to show me video evidence of another example, or to cite the play (I have Game Rewind so I can watch it). Maybe he had two...I'd be welcomed to be proven wrong. All I know is he is tied for #10 in receiving yards in the league.
Thomas did have some drop issues, but has already established himself as one of the more dominant receivers in the NFL. It happens to everyone, and as much as it's frustrating to see passes dropped, it happens to everyone and Denver is not exception. Terrell Owens had issues with this on slant routes, and Braylon Edwards had drop issues. Yet no one was complaining after they single-handedly can take over a game. Dragging your feet along the back of the end zone is not a trivial task. He was inches away from being two-feet in bounds and either thought he had those few inches or couldn't fully drag his feet. There's no evidence it had anything to do with some fundamental lack of effort or ability on his part. At least one commenters said "they have almost given up on DT." Sorry, but you just don't understand football, and I welcome you to point to another person that Denver could sign who would have a larger impact.
I realize people are frustrated but Eric Decker and Thomas are widely regarded (by people who know what they are talking about) as a rather legitimate WR duo, and a young one that can be here for a while. It is even more frustrating to see frustrated people blame non-issues. I fully suspect that within a few years they could be one of the best in the league with a good QB. Our losses most certainly did not have anything to do with these guys and their ability to perform. Much more fundamental has been the chemistry between players and the pre-snap/post-snap "reads" (e.g., responding to the defense's play with an appropriate counter-play). Our lack of talent is simply not the issue on offense, so please stop complaining if someone dropped a ball that wouldn't have changed the game anyway, and start cheering on the team that you are supposed to be a fan of.
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Originally Posted by BaileyTheBest
