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Colts Receivers: Late Season Evaluation

Flash7

By Flash7
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Flash7 Team Captain

Flash7

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With two games remaining and a ticket to the playoffs, I wanted to get your thoughts on the Colts receivers late in the season. I remember coming into the season that many on the forum thought that we may have had a top-5 receiving corps. Now it would be good to reevaluate that thought. 

 

1. T.Y. has been sensational this season. He's clearly been our #1 receiver and he continues to produce. I have no worries about T.Y., (while keeping an eye on the hamstring).

 

2. Reggie Wayne- He's been so reliable for so long, but lately it appears that father time, the knee, elbow, and triceps injury has caught up with him. Rick Venturi has made the argument that he should be our #3 receiver, behind Moncrief. Currently, Reggie is lined up against the opposing team's #2 defender, which hasn't been a favorable match-up for the Colts. Reggie's inability to stretch the field is allowing for defenders to compress the field, taking away from intermediate throws and affecting our run game.

 

3. Moncrief- The number of plays for Moncrief have gradually increased. This is both good and bad. It's good that he's demonstrated an ability to play, and play well; however, it also means that the Colt's plans to have a play maker in Nicks hasn't panned out as expected. 

 

4. Nicks- Hakeem seems to have trouble with separating from defenders. He doesn't have the explosion he once had and Luck seems to rarely target him. There is definitely a lack of chemistry there, but I am glad to see that Nicks had a good game against the Texans.

 

So, overall, it appears that we went from thinking that we have 3 #1 options (T.Y., Wayne, Nicks) to having T.Y. ( a true #1 option), an up and coming, electrifying, rookie (Moncrief), a declining Reggie, and a some what ineffective Nicks. I think we have a good enough corps to make a deep run. We have, however, shown issues to get off of "press man" coverage.

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crazycolt1 Ring of Honor

crazycolt1

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I never thought id say it.. but time for reggie to move on.. hes a legend here but his play has become a liability.. looks like nicks out there.. absent

You could be right but let's wait and see. Maybe the age has caught up to him but it could be just his health. With Mocrief stepping up it could be time for Reggie to become a possession receiver?

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RockThatBlue Practice Squad

RockThatBlue

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I know this is really late in the year to say this, but I don't know if I've given up on Nicks. My opinion of him chafed significantly after the Texans game. Perhaps he turns up big come playoff time, especially with Reggir struggling

Why did your opinion on Nicks change? He had what, two catches last Sunday? I'll give you that he had a nice TD but he was still practically invisible after it like he usually is.

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John Dee Walk On

John Dee

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All we need to do is activate a WR from the PS for the rest of the year...that only gets us up to 5.

Of course Coach Chuck will have to reduce one of the half-dozen extra guys he has managed to add on D at the expense of the O.

I would like to see the kid out of Illinois get in the game..  Langford?   He is small but he can play.   And RUN

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NewColtsFan Ring of Honor

NewColtsFan

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Remember when everyone said T.Y. Wasn't a true number 1? Look how that turned out.

 

And look how New England had no trouble taking him right out of the game.

 

And Cleveland took him out of the entire first half.

 

Many of those comments about TYH were from last year.    And TYH is much improved from last year. 

 

But a great defense can still take him out.   

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jvan1973 Ring of Honor

jvan1973

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And look how New England had no trouble taking him right out of the game.

And Cleveland took him out of the entire first half.

Many of those comments about TYH were from last year. And TYH is much improved from last year.

But a great defense can still take him out.

a great defense can take away what ever they choose to. The other guys have to step up in those games

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Flash7 Team Captain

Flash7

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And look how New England had no trouble taking him right out of the game.

 

And Cleveland took him out of the entire first half.

 

Many of those comments about TYH were from last year.    And TYH is much improved from last year. 

 

But a great defense can still take him out.   

We are too T.Y. dependent. 

 

Defenses will double team T.Y. knowing that Wayne is not as effective as before his injury. This has made it very difficult for Luck. Since the NE game, teams have played press-man coverage against the Colts. Wayne, and Nicks have had a hard time with this, and that's why Moncrief's playing time has increased. He's fast enough and agile enough to beat the man-press coverage and get open, and he can also stretch the field, opening up the middle for Fleener.

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Defjamz26 Ring of Honor

Defjamz26

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And look how New England had no trouble taking him right out of the game.

 

And Cleveland took him out of the entire first half.

 

Many of those comments about TYH were from last year.    And TYH is much improved from last year. 

 

But a great defense can still take him out.   

 

That's the markings of a great receiver though. When the opposing team schemes to stop you, it means you're a threat. That's what makes T.Y. a legit number 1. And you can't blame him for getting limited by a great scheme/player(s). That's what usually happens. Only receiver that is virtually unstoppable no matter how you attack him is Megatron. Any receiver can be stopped on any given Sunday though. Doesn't mean they're not legit. Are all the receivers Vontae's faced this season not number 1's considering how he's bottled them up?

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DougDew Ring of Honor

DougDew

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I'm afraid the WR corps is actually one of the biggest weaknesses going into the offseason.  This is in contrast to it being a strength last offseason.

 

We can only count on TY and Moncrief....and Moncrief really hasn't established hiimself.

 

The colts need to find a midrange vet FA to complement the 2 youngsters.  Gavin mentioned signing Cecil Shorts from the Jags in another thread a while back.  I think that option would be a good fit.

 

I would not want to rely upon the draft, since that would just be another young guy to develop.  But, if a WR that would perform as well as this years rookie 1st round WRs have performed was there at pick 20 something, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger despite the needs on defense.

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IndySouthsider Hall of Famer

IndySouthsider

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I'm afraid the WR corps is actually one of the biggest weaknesses going into the offseason. This is in contrast to it being a strength last offseason.

We can only count on TY and Moncrief....and Moncrief really hasn't established hiimself.

The colts need to find a midrange vet FA to complement the 2 youngsters. Gavin mentioned signing Cecil Shorts from the Jags in another thread a while back. I think that option would be a good fit.

I would not want to rely upon the draft, since that would just be another young guy to develop. But, if a WR that would perform as well as this years rookie 1st round WRs have performed was there at pick 20 something, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger despite the needs on defense.

Cecil Shorts are you kidding. Pass on that. Rather resign Nicks of shorts is the best we can get.

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theanarchist Walk On

theanarchist

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I never thought id say it.. but time for reggie to move on.. hes a legend here but his play has become a liability.. looks like nicks out there.. absent

He's playing hurt. With several injuries not just one. Lets remember that Reggie tore his ACL mid season last year. Reggie will know when to hang them up but right now, going into the playoffs I'd go to battle with Reggie Wayne because he's an old war horse and when it counts he'll be there.

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theanarchist Walk On

theanarchist

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I'm afraid the WR corps is actually one of the biggest weaknesses going into the offseason.  This is in contrast to it being a strength last offseason.

 

We can only count on TY and Moncrief....and Moncrief really hasn't established hiimself.

 

The colts need to find a midrange vet FA to complement the 2 youngsters.  Gavin mentioned signing Cecil Shorts from the Jags in another thread a while back.  I think that option would be a good fit.

 

I would not want to rely upon the draft, since that would just be another young guy to develop.  But, if a WR that would perform as well as this years rookie 1st round WRs have performed was there at pick 20 something, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger despite the needs on defense.

I don't think it will be a weakness. If Reggie retires then yes, we need a complimentary player to Moncrief and TY. Reggie is playing hurt and he's only a year removed from ACL surgery but this could be his swan song no doubt about it. I have a lot of faith that Moncrief is going to be a real good receiver and all he needs is the reps. We'll be solid at receiver if not real good there, jmo

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theanarchist Walk On

theanarchist

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Like I said, He was a possession receiver, Could he run some? sure but he was never a burner, He always had great hands for the most part and he became a great route runner

I think Reggie was more than that. More than a possession receiver. He didn't have the extra gear that Marvin and TY have but he had good speed even for the NFL. I put Reggie right up there with the top receivers of all time. He has something like 85 or 90 TD's

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ColtStronger Walk On

ColtStronger

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Great analysis, but if I must nit pick, although Allen and Fleener aren't WR's they're a huge part in our passing game, and you must add them to this equation.  If no TE's available, then you would see alot more targets to Moncrief and Nicks. 

 

TY:  No analysis needed really BUT he is one of the best WR's in the league, and continues to show us why.

 

Reggie:  People always have a short term memory... He's been banged up since Cincy but early on in the season, he played very well, beside of TY (great duo)

 

Moncrief:  Started out a secret weapon, but has made some noise.  He doesn't get a whole lot of snaps because his age, but for his role, he has played extremely well.

 

Nicks:  I think most people had too high expectations of him from the start (because of his name).  He is a 3rd WR on a team who uses 2 TE's ALOT.  If you look at it from that POV, then you will see the unfair expectations.  Although I would like to see more games like he had against the Texans, he didn't really live up to his hype.  I think it is mainly because Nicks and Luck don't have good chemistry.  Luck seems to give up on players quickly because he has so many playmakers available.  I'm hoping Hakeem get the opportunity to bounce back with the remaining games played.  If his number is called and the ball placement is good (one thing that hasn't been there most of the season; chemistry) I say he has done what he has been asked. 

 

Fleener & Allen:  It seems like one of the two is always stepping up for us in just about every game.  It goes back and forth who will be making the bigger impact.  Very satisfied from what I've seen out of our young TE's. 

 

Final Analysis:  Our passing game is everything I thought it would be minus chemistry with Nicks, and sub par offensive line play (well I kinda figured it would be bad still), but you would see an offense firing on all cylinders if Luck and the staff could fix these 2 issues.  Just imagine if we had a good O line and could actually have a POWER RUN GAME (not the slashing Boom brings to the table, which is very impressive, but thats a sidepoint), and better pass protection.  Luck gets hit WAY more than he should.  It wouldn't be fair if he had a 7 foot circle in diameter (the pocket) like Brady, Rodgers, and Romo has.  We were #1 and as crazy as it sounds that's probably about 85% of where we could be after fixing some problems.

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John Dee Walk On

John Dee

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And look how New England had no trouble taking him right out of the game.

 

And Cleveland took him out of the entire first half.

 

Many of those comments about TYH were from last year.    And TYH is much improved from last year. 

 

But a great defense can still take him out.   

EXACTLY....  that is why I can not understand how  this staff can justify NOT playing DM over Nicks and Wayne...  they cannot get separation.   They just can't do it..   DM CAN in a big way and that totally changes how a team will address TY,  

 

It is really frustrating to me,  because it is OBVIOUS what this teams issues are.     SPEED.....    on both sides of the ball.

 

Dang Indy cars out TY and DM with Allen and Coby...       and Boom!   That is a group that can get some things done.. .  

 

I don't know..       I can't wait for the playoffs...     The time is now...   

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John Dee Walk On

John Dee

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I think Reggie was more than that. More than a possession receiver. He didn't have the extra gear that Marvin and TY have but he had good speed even for the NFL. I put Reggie right up there with the top receivers of all time. He has something like 85 or 90 TD's

Yes, exactly...  in fact lets look at both players careers...

 

the great Marv Harrison...    the DEEP threat...   Y/R   13.2  career

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HarrMa00.htm

 

 

Wayne...       Y/R   13.4  career  

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HarrMa00.htm

 

Outside of TD's ...  they are very much the same statistically.      And thinking back...  Marv was the "possession" guy for years..   How many times did we see Marv run the 6 or 7 yard curl or out for a 1st down?   A lot.  

 

Stats don't lie...  

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NewColtsFan Ring of Honor

NewColtsFan

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EXACTLY....  that is why I can not understand how  this staff can justify NOT playing DM over Nicks and Wayne...  they cannot get separation.   They just can't do it..   DM CAN in a big way and that totally changes how a team will address TY,  

 

It is really frustrating to me,  because it is OBVIOUS what this teams issues are.     SPEED.....    on both sides of the ball.

 

Dang Indy cars out TY and DM with Allen and Coby...       and Boom!   That is a group that can get some things done.. .  

 

I don't know..       I can't wait for the playoffs...     The time is now...   

 

DM is getting far more snaps than Nicks.    And has been for a number of weeks.

 

I think the main reason Nicks is getting snaps these days is Reggie's injury.    I don't think DM is losing snaps to Nicks.

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John Dee Walk On

John Dee

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True but he NEEDS to play EVERY down.      

 

Plain and simple.    Let RW get his start and then do what RV suggests, make him a 3rd down or long yardage specialist.   No shame in that.       Chuck and this staff have got to know what D's are doing to them.   They have too...  

 

yet they keep trying to make the same thing work week after week.       Wayne and Nicks are just too slow to help TY in any way.

 

And the last several games since NE RV hit it on the head...     teams are simply smothering this team.    They have ONE player to worry about on the edges.     That is making it easy for good teams.  

 

JMO....         I hope Indy comes out in the playoffs and totally does the opposite of what they have been doing.    But I don't know, this staff seems really stubborn.     

 

I don't know...??     Things will play out.

DM is getting far more snaps than Nicks.    And has been for a number of weeks.

 

I think the main reason Nicks is getting snaps these days is Reggie's injury.    I don't think DM is losing snaps to Nicks.

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