Griff Whalen needs to see the field more as a WR

[RockThatBlue]

Keep him off special teams, but he needs to be in the offense more. He never drops anything, and he made some huge clutch catches last night. Yes, he made those catches against a clearly softer defense, but he kept getting open which is more than we can say for our other receivers and Luck has a ton of trust in him.

[bap1331]

Love that guy. Always thought he deserved a chance. Even on the sideline he's a good sport. He brang frank gore a towel to dry up from the rain. Those type of people bring the team together. The ones who don't get a chance but do everything they can to help the team.

[CR91]

whalen would be a 100 catch wr in the pats offense

[Jdubu]

I agree but some people get so wrapped up in the 4.3 speed guys or the 6-5 guys that those guys who play hard and have no flash don't get shots because of the measurables. Griff is a guy who gets open and catches balls, he is a gamer but not flashy. Our staff can't evaluate a playmaker if they had a flashing neon light above the head and a mega phone announcing it. You need possession guys to compliment your speed guys and your red zone area guys. I just don't get how they evaluate their players around here anymore.

[Dustin]

That's just what we need, a center taking snaps at WR. I wouldn't put it past Pep Hamilton.

[John Waylon]

He's not bad, but he's no elite WR either. Let's reign in the expectations for him.

We've gone some years without an Aaron Moorehead/Roy Hall/Mike Hart. (Stanley Jean-Baptiese and Tim Fugger tried real hard, but never made that fever pitch so they only get an honorable mention.)

We should strive to keep it that way.

[ProblChld32]

He got a gift from the refs last night on that 4th down conversion. Other than that he has really great hands and has a knack for finding a way to get open. 

[csmopar]

Keep him off special teams, but he needs to be in the offense more. He never drops anything, and he made some huge clutch catches last night. Yes, he made those catches against a clearly softer defense, but he kept getting open which is more than we can say for our other receivers and Luck has a ton of trust in him.

 

 

            

 

Just last week, everyone wanted him cut and banned from the NFL...now suddenly people want him in the game MORE......... thats down right comical. 

[JColts72]

No he doesn't. he should not even be on the team.

[JColts72]

               

 

Just last week, everyone wanted him cut and banned from the NFL...now suddenly people want him in the game MORE......... thats down right comical. 

Fickle fans for sure here.

[csmopar]

Fickle fans for sure here.

 

 

I'd go with batty......

[Narcosys]

He's not bad, but he's no elite WR either. Let's reign in the expectations for him.

We've gone some years without an Aaron Moorehead/Roy Hall/Mike Hart. (Stanley Jean-Baptiese and Tim Fugger tried real hard, but never made that fever pitch so they only get an honorable mention.)

We should strive to keep it that way.

 

Noone is saying he is elite.  There are only high hopes for him because he is under utilized.

[aaron11]

i think how we played him last night was about right.  he should be no higher than  4th on the depth chart, maybe third while dorsett is out.

[JColts72]

He can hike the ball on punts to back up secondary players like he did recently.

[RockThatBlue]

whalen would be a 100 catch wr in the pats offense

Not sure I'd go that far, but the pats would certainly use him a hell of a lot more.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

It does seem like when he's on the field, defenses are far more concerned with Moncrief, Hilton, and AJ. Whalen is typically running around uncovered, and he does tend to catch everything thrown his direction. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to take a page out of the Pats book and utilize him like a Welker/Edelman type.

 

Considering that every single completion from our offense last night seemed like a miracle, I can't see how it would hurt anything. And when Whalen's on the field, it's apparent that he and Luck have a very high comfort level.

[DougDew]

Whalen is a number 4 WR who will see playing time upon injury to another WR.  He is reliable.  He is also a reliable returner, but when he tries to do too much running with the ball he tends to hang it out there.  That's when he seems to fumble.

 

TY, Moncrief, Dorsett, and Whalen w/b a good stable of WRs for the future.  One more bigger physical guy would be ideal for a 5 man staff.

[Flash7]

I wanted to start a similar topic.

 

When Luck had Reggie Wayne, he had a reliable receiver that knew how to get open on short and intermediate routes. That is what Whalen provides. He is not particularly fast, but he is shifty and can get open. He is the reliable receiver that Luck can depend on.

 

Currently, who is filling in for this role? Andre Johnson? T.Y. Hilton? Mocrief? Johnson is fine in this role (but no connection with Luck yet), and I think Whalen can supplement him. T.Y. and Moncrief are both intermediate to deep threat receivers. We need a player like Whalen that can be depended on for short routes.

[DougDew]

He got a gift from the refs last night on that 4th down conversion. Other than that he has really great hands and has a knack for finding a way to get open. 

Nah.  He caught it.  Had the hand under it.

[RockThatBlue]

haha haha

Just last week, everyone wanted him cut and banned from the NFL...now suddenly people want him in the game MORE......... thats down right comical.

Yeah but none of that was me. I never wanted him cut. He's always looked good at WR. Even before this year.

[RockThatBlue]

It does seem like when he's on the field, defenses are far more concerned with Moncrief, Hilton, and AJ. Whalen is typically running around uncovered, and he does tend to catch everything thrown his direction. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to take a page out of the Pats book and utilize him like a Welker/Edelman type.

Considering that every single completion from our offense last night seemed like a miracle, I can't see how it would hurt anything. And when Whalen's on the field, it's apparent that he and Luck have a very high comfort level.

I'd like to see Lucks QBR when throwing to Whalen. Its probably pretty high.

[ProblChld32]

Nah.  He caught it.  Had the hand under it.

 

After watching it in slow motion replay it wasnt a catch his hand slipped and the ball def touched the ground. it was a gift. They needed to make up for that damn no call on the Pass interference on Dwayne Allen which stopped a sure TD. 

[Shive]

I was thinking the same thing OP. Whalen is a sure-handed security blanket for Luck. It seems like every time we need a clutch catch to convert, it's Whalen that's making those plays. Yes not an elite WR by any means, but he fits a role VERY well on our offense and is criminally underutilized. We didn't see him back on the field after that 4th down conversion and we really needed someone to move the chains in OT.

[HarryTheCat]

Never underestimate the value of a "possession receiver". That guy who has good hands and runs precise routes. That guy who always seems to be able find that little soft spot in a zone and gets just enough separation to be "NFL open" when you really need a few yards. The Colts have plenty of talented fast-movers who can burn up the turf, but a guy who can get you past the sticks on third-and-five is worth his weight in gold. If you use him, that is.

[mvbighead]

He's not bad, but he's no elite WR either. Let's reign in the expectations for him.

We've gone some years without an Aaron Moorehead/Roy Hall/Mike Hart. (Stanley Jean-Baptiese and Tim Fugger tried real hard, but never made that fever pitch so they only get an honorable mention.)

We should strive to keep it that way.

 

Moorehead - Decent football talent, little in terms of athleticism, good height.

 

Hall - Good physical talent, little football talent, poor durability

 

Hart - Good football talent, light in terms of athleticism, poor size characteristics

 

Baptiste and Fugger don't really fit this conversation, IMO.

 

For me, Whalen is a fairly good athlete.  I think people see him as undrafted and assume otherwise.  He's a 4.5 guy which is exactly what Wayne was (both recorded times as low as 4.45).  Not much else can be found on Wayne, but Whalen's 3 cone was 6.89, which is respectable (better than Sammie Watkins and Jordan Mathews).

 

Whalen has a good amount of football skill and as mentioned above, his physical traits are solid.  Thus far he has been durable.  The problem for me is that we're loaded at the top with receivers, and we continued to stack the deck, not leaving any room for him.  Personally, I feel that he should be more consistently placed in the slot role to give Luck that safety valve.  I'd simply like to see them rotate other WR positions to keep those guys fresh (Johnson/Moncrief/Hilton).

 

I think a lot of people just assume that the only reason Whalen is here is the Stanford connection.  I think he could be a bigger part of the offense, he's just not getting the chances.  When he has gotten chances, he seems to produce.

[mvbighead]

After watching it in slow motion replay it wasnt a catch his hand slipped and the ball def touched the ground. it was a gift. They needed to make up for that damn no call on the Pass interference on Dwayne Allen which stopped a sure TD. 

 

One hand slipped?  The ball didn't move.  He had two hands on the ball and while the ball did touch the ground it did not move.  There was not enough evidence (IMO) to overturn the call on the field.

[Jdubu]

i think how we played him last night was about right. he should be no higher than 4th on the depth chart, maybe third while dorsett is out.

Exactly, nobody who has any support for him has said he is elite. What we have said is exactly what you are saying. Role for him in spots and should never be your first option. But if you need a high % chance of a first down 5-7 yard pass caught in a tough spot, it's a good choice to throw to Whalen because if he is open, and he seems to find open areas, he will be more likely to catch it. I don't expect him to catch the ball and run through or around people for a TD, I expect him to just move the chains and that's all.

[ColtsLegacy]

He's not bad, but he's no elite WR either. Let's reign in the expectations for him.

We've gone some years without an Aaron Moorehead/Roy Hall/Mike Hart. (Stanley Jean-Baptiese and Tim Fugger tried real hard, but never made that fever pitch so they only get an honorable mention.)

We should strive to keep it that way.

Not one person even implied he's elite.

[NagelHausForge]

I have always liked Whalen.  And as many have mentioned, he isn't elite but he is consistent and that is more than many of our WRs have been thus far this season. 

 

If opposing defenses don't want to cover Whalen or want to let him run in a soft zone then by all means the Colts should utilize him that way. 

 

Luck obviously trusts Whalen and he out produced out highly paid #1 WR last night by far.

 

Always good to give a little credit where credit is due.

[DougDew]

One hand slipped?  The ball didn't move.  He had two hands on the ball and while the ball did touch the ground it did not move.  There was not enough evidence (IMO) to overturn the call on the field.

Definitely was not a gift.

[Douzer]

I've seen this any number of times in my 40 years of watching NFL football; he's undervalued. Stopwatch speed & quickness vs.  game speed & quickness is misjudged by flawed perceptions. Instincts, spatial awareness, route running, spacing in zones, body control, concentration, timing, etc. all matter as much, if not more than pure speed. Just look no further than Ted Ginn Jr.. IMO, of all the assets to judge, great hands will always be the most important skill a receiver can possess. That's why the position is called receiver not speeder.

 

The whole pattern is similar to the way Wes Welker was passed on by the Dolphins. The Patriots happily signed him, then beat the Dolphins like a drum by throwing TD's to him for years. Let's hope Whalen doesn't end up on the Titans for lack of judgment and spend the next 5 years spiking TD's in the Colts endzone. 

[John Waylon]

Not one person even implied he's elite.

If I may.

whalen would be a 100 catch wr in the pats offense

I guess now you'll tell me that 100 catches isn't that meaningful.

[CanuckColt]

Whalen sure is a valuable, reliable target on 3rd downs (and 4th downs) to move the chains...a much better option than Andre.  Whalen has that quick little move to get open and great hands.

[Coffeedrinker]

               

 

Just last week, everyone wanted him cut and banned from the NFL...now suddenly people want him in the game MORE......... thats down right comical. 

Were they the same people?  If not your post is kind of pointless.

[csmopar]

Were they the same people? If not your post is kind of pointless.

Actually...yeah some

[OhioColtsGirl]

I agree 100%. I've been saying this since preseason.

[Coffeedrinker]

Whalen sure is a valuable, reliable target on 3rd downs (and 4th downs) to move the chains...a much better option than Andre.  Whalen has that quick little move to get open and great hands.

Plus he knows how to get out of bounds... even when he doesn't actually get out of bounds.

[Coffeedrinker]

Actually...yeah some

Who?

[FRW]

I believe his name was Burt Burrell, a teammates of Mark Hermann's at Carmel and Purdue. No speedster, decent size, but great hands. All he did was catch passes and move the sticks. Helped Hermann win a state championship and go bowling at Purdue. Sometimes you just need a few guys who aren't superstars, but just help you win. I think Whalen is probably one of those guys.

[csmopar]

Who?

Go scroll thru the Whalen threads from last week....you'll spot plenty easy enough. I'm not gonna take the time to list them all here