Who are our top 3 receivers right now?

[NewColtsFan]

9 hours ago, Imgrandojji said:

Ignoring TE and RB, which is the real answer, which of our WR specifically are our top 3 right now?

 

We have TY, but one receiver on his own is vulnerable to being neutralized by a good secondary like the one we faced last night.  We need that quality WR2 and WR3 if we want to compete at the highest level.

 

So where are they?

 

And please don't say Funchess.  We have no idea what Funchess is.  We signed him based on a career year 2 years ago and he has barely played for us.  you're not a reliable WR option if you can't stay on the field. To me looking at the stats Funchess looks like an overpromoted depth wideout, should be WR3-4.  Until Funchess gets on the field and shows us what he can actually do he doesn't count.

 

The fact of the matter is that our WR depth is just scraping along on one side or the other, depending on the given week, of Just Barely Adequate. 

 

We are asking Brissett to be decisive and make tight throws to guys with career catch rates just barely better than a coin flip who are not getting separation from the secondary.  Dunno about you guys but from my perspective... that's a lot to ask.

 

  If the best we can do for a WR2 right now is the undrafted Zach Pascal, what business do we have demanding that our QB throw up a prayer to this WR unit?   This team isn't capable of the long strikes we all yearn to see out of Brissett.  It's simply not how our roster is built right now.

 

If we want to compete for a Superbowl this year, if that's really on the table in Ballard's mind, then we need not one but 2 new quality veteran receivers.  Not projects, not prospects, RECEIVERS.  As in people who can get open and catch at least 2/3 of their targets, not freaking half like Pascal, Ebron and Funchess. Andd those are our 3 BETTER options right now

 

If we can't get better prospective targets four our starting QB I'm not gonna blame that QB for having the occasional bad day at the office.   Our WR corps isn't even good, much less good enough to allow the QB to carry the team.  If you ask me Brissett has done an amazing job of getting anything out of this (outside of TY) hilariously bad attempt at impersonating a WR unit.

 

I don't like to badmouth Ballard, but if he really rolls into the playoffs with nothing better than this at WR, and we don't make noise in the playoffs -- it's on the GM.  Not the team, not the players, not the coaches, not the situation. 

 

It's Ballard's job to get us the weapons we need to compete.  We don't have them right now in the WR unit.  And it's up to Ballard to correct that.  Now.  Not next year, not this offseason. Now.  We are competitive NOW and it's time for the GM to step up and compete.  We have the assets to complete this team.  All we need is to use them.

 

If he'd rather hoard picks to try to win the 2024 Superbowl instead of the one right in front of him, that's a mark against him as a complete GM.

I always love when someone asks the question in the title...    and then spends 12 paragraphs answering his own question with the only answer he really cares about.

 

Have fun!

 

[jbaron04]

4 hours ago, Chloe6124 said:

That’s another thing Reich has done wrong. Why can’t is Ebron only getting 22 snaps a game. He is one of your best playmakers. His snaps need to go up to about 40.

Idk I just feel the TE position as a whole should be more involved in the passing game , 

[MPStack]

2 hours ago, Mitch Connors said:

 

I agree Metcalf has been better but I would add that if Russell Wilson was the Colts QB and Brissett the Seahawks I think those numbers look wildly different for both WRs.

Ask T.Y.! Worst numbers of his career thus far.

[Imgrandojji]

2 hours ago, csmopar said:

to be fair, Campbell hasn't played in the same number of games due to injury as well.  granted he needs to step it up but lets not forget the extra games padding those stats.

And to be fair, if you're injured what are you not doing?  Well for a start you're not producing.

 

Health can be a reason to be patient with a young player but only up to a point.  If a guy can't stay on the field sooner or later you factor that in and you have to decide what that means, whether you run with the guy and hope he improves his ability to be a football player, or whether it's time to move him down in the depth chart or  reduce his rule to ease the physical strain on him, or whether it's time to cut bait.

 

God knows injuries are par for the course for football teams and generally speaking you could count the number of players who aren't nursing something on one hand in any given starting lineup.  I think we all noticed Brissett's knee last night, you can bet that will be monitored this week although I doubt he'll go on the injury report.  Just for an example. 

 

But if a guy has a career track record of being easily injured, and thus not being on the field for significant portions of the season, that has to be factored in when you consider his role on the team.  Probably the most obvious example of that in recent memory is Teddy Bridgewater, who got several chances to start but just could not keep himself on the field and now has evolved into what could best be described as an elite backup QB, similar to Nick Foles.

 

Personally my expectations of Parris Campbell start next year anyway.  He got hurt, came back, showed some good flashes then got hurt again.  This is beginning to look like a lost year for him and we really shouldn't count on him for much in 2019. 

 

With Cain ineffective and Campbell struggling to stay on the field, this is the big reason I'm anxious to see Ballard make a move.  Campbell shouldn't be cut or traded but we also shouldn't put a lot of expectations on his ability to play his ideal role either.

[TheMiz]

6 minutes ago, MPStack said:

Ask T.Y.! Worst numbers of his career thus far.

Of course Hilton's numbers are down. Every opponent knows he is the only receiving weapon, blanket him and there's no other options.

Does not help that the QB is not very good at going through progressions and seems to be incapable of throwing his receivers open.

[csmopar]

1 hour ago, Imgrandojji said:

And to be fair, if you're injured what are you not doing?  Well for a start you're not producing.

 

Health can be a reason to be patient with a young player but only up to a point.  If a guy can't stay on the field sooner or later you factor that in and you have to decide what that means, whether you run with the guy and hope he improves his ability to be a football player, or whether it's time to move him down in the depth chart or  reduce his rule to ease the physical strain on him, or whether it's time to cut bait.

 

God knows injuries are par for the course for football teams and generally speaking you could count the number of players who aren't nursing something on one hand in any given starting lineup.  I think we all noticed Brissett's knee last night, you can bet that will be monitored this week although I doubt he'll go on the injury report.  Just for an example. 

 

But if a guy has a career track record of being easily injured, and thus not being on the field for significant portions of the season, that has to be factored in when you consider his role on the team.  Probably the most obvious example of that in recent memory is Teddy Bridgewater, who got several chances to start but just could not keep himself on the field and now has evolved into what could best be described as an elite backup QB, similar to Nick Foles.

 

Personally my expectations of Parris Campbell start next year anyway.  He got hurt, came back, showed some good flashes then got hurt again.  This is beginning to look like a lost year for him and we really shouldn't count on him for much in 2019. 

 

With Cain ineffective and Campbell struggling to stay on the field, this is the big reason I'm anxious to see Ballard make a move.  Campbell shouldn't be cut or traded but we also shouldn't put a lot of expectations on his ability to play his ideal role either.

Well I don’t disagree. But we have a short sample , too short to say if he’s injury prone. Now CAIN on the other hand, really a bit disappointing with him although ACLs can take two years to be fully back to pre injury levels

[jvan1973]

1 hour ago, Imgrandojji said:

And to be fair, if you're injured what are you not doing?  Well for a start you're not producing.

 

Health can be a reason to be patient with a young player but only up to a point.  If a guy can't stay on the field sooner or later you factor that in and you have to decide what that means, whether you run with the guy and hope he improves his ability to be a football player, or whether it's time to move him down in the depth chart or  reduce his rule to ease the physical strain on him, or whether it's time to cut bait.

 

God knows injuries are par for the course for football teams and generally speaking you could count the number of players who aren't nursing something on one hand in any given starting lineup.  I think we all noticed Brissett's knee last night, you can bet that will be monitored this week although I doubt he'll go on the injury report.  Just for an example. 

 

But if a guy has a career track record of being easily injured, and thus not being on the field for significant portions of the season, that has to be factored in when you consider his role on the team.  Probably the most obvious example of that in recent memory is Teddy Bridgewater, who got several chances to start but just could not keep himself on the field and now has evolved into what could best be described as an elite backup QB, similar to Nick Foles.

 

Personally my expectations of Parris Campbell start next year anyway.  He got hurt, came back, showed some good flashes then got hurt again.  This is beginning to look like a lost year for him and we really shouldn't count on him for much in 2019. 

 

With Cain ineffective and Campbell struggling to stay on the field, this is the big reason I'm anxious to see Ballard make a move.  Campbell shouldn't be cut or traded but we also shouldn't put a lot of expectations on his ability to play his ideal role either.

Good lord,   are you an author in your spare time?    You spent that entire post saying Campbell is a rookie and has been hurt.    Thanks John Feinstein 

[Imgrandojji]

3 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

Good lord,   are you an author in your spare time?    You spent that entire post saying Campbell is a rookie and has been hurt.    Thanks John Feinstein 

No an author would know that brevity is the soul of wit

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

16 hours ago, Imgrandojji said:

Ignoring TE and RB, which is the real answer, which of our WR specifically are our top 3 right now?

 

We have TY, but one receiver on his own is vulnerable to being neutralized by a good secondary like the one we faced last night.  We need that quality WR2 and WR3 if we want to compete at the highest level.

 

So where are they?

 

And please don't say Funchess.  We have no idea what Funchess is.  We signed him based on a career year 2 years ago and he has barely played for us.  you're not a reliable WR option if you can't stay on the field. To me looking at the stats Funchess looks like an overpromoted depth wideout, should be WR3-4.  Until Funchess gets on the field and shows us what he can actually do he doesn't count.

 

The fact of the matter is that our WR depth is just scraping along on one side or the other, depending on the given week, of Just Barely Adequate. 

 

We are asking Brissett to be decisive and make tight throws to guys with career catch rates just barely better than a coin flip who are not getting separation from the secondary.  Dunno about you guys but from my perspective... that's a lot to ask.

 

  If the best we can do for a WR2 right now is the undrafted Zach Pascal, what business do we have demanding that our QB throw up a prayer to this WR unit?   This team isn't capable of the long strikes we all yearn to see out of Brissett.  It's simply not how our roster is built right now.

 

If we want to compete for a Superbowl this year, if that's really on the table in Ballard's mind, then we need not one but 2 new quality veteran receivers.  Not projects, not prospects, RECEIVERS.  As in people who can get open and catch at least 2/3 of their targets, not freaking half like Pascal, Ebron and Funchess. Andd those are our 3 BETTER options right now

 

If we can't get better prospective targets four our starting QB I'm not gonna blame that QB for having the occasional bad day at the office.   Our WR corps isn't even good, much less good enough to allow the QB to carry the team.  If you ask me Brissett has done an amazing job of getting anything out of this (outside of TY) hilariously bad attempt at impersonating a WR unit.

 

I don't like to badmouth Ballard, but if he really rolls into the playoffs with nothing better than this at WR, and we don't make noise in the playoffs -- it's on the GM.  Not the team, not the players, not the coaches, not the situation. 

 

It's Ballard's job to get us the weapons we need to compete.  We don't have them right now in the WR unit.  And it's up to Ballard to correct that.  Now.  Not next year, not this offseason. Now.  We are competitive NOW and it's time for the GM to step up and compete.  We have the assets to complete this team.  All we need is to use them.

 

If he'd rather hoard picks to try to win the 2024 Superbowl instead of the one right in front of him, that's a mark against him as a complete GM.

draft picks in many cases take a few seasons to develop, we have many in that catagory

 

[Imgrandojji]

8 hours ago, DEFENSE said:

draft picks in many cases take a few seasons to develop, we have many in that catagory

 

That's true, but I don't know if a team with a wide open contention window should be content to sit back and let the grass grow. 

 

We do need to bring in talent if we want to make a push this year, and personally, I think this team has every chance to do that, IF we get a couple more weapons at WR.

[GRUMPY OLD MAN]

51 minutes ago, Imgrandojji said:

That's true, but I don't know if a team with a wide open contention window should be content to sit back and let the grass grow. 

 

We do need to bring in talent if we want to make a push this year, and personally, I think this team has every chance to do that, IF we get a couple more weapons at WR.

i agree, we need some proven talent, wide receiver, pass rusher, and defensive back

 

[MPStack]

58 minutes ago, Imgrandojji said:

That's true, but I don't know if a team with a wide open contention window should be content to sit back and let the grass grow. 

 

We do need to bring in talent if we want to make a push this year, and personally, I think this team has every chance to do that, IF we get a couple more weapons at WR.

Do you think getting a couple more WR would equate to last seasons passing stats for JB?

 

If that’s the case I’d be all for it, because he’s got the O-Line and a good run game supporting him. 

[shasta519]

I agree this team could use help at WR...and I am not nearly as high on Funchess making an impact. 

 

I would have had no issue giving up a late 4th for Sanders...who I think would fit this offense very well. There are other options...but I don’t see Ballard paying up in trade.

 

I think something to consider...Reich doesn’t really have a history of getting major production out of WRs. He likes to spread the ball around...and the TEs and RBs get targets as well. But I would like to see more.

[Mr.NotSoCreative]

On 10/28/2019 at 4:23 PM, Four2itus said:

For the life of me, the impatience by fans with young WR's is astounding. 

There are quite a few young WRs in the league making quite an impact for their teams. Hollywood, Metcalf, Brown, Im sure there is more. Us normal fans see that and wonder why our guys cant do that. 

[coming on strong]

On 10/28/2019 at 5:52 PM, NewColtsFan said:

I always love when someone asks the question in the title...    and then spends 12 paragraphs answering his own question with the only answer he really cares about.

 

Have fun!

 

i think the point of the post is to ask others, what they feel are the colts best 3 wrs.   he is giving his opinion to start off the post.

[coming on strong]

since we are not playing paris much we should move hines to slot .  hines is amazing at creating separation . 

 

Also ebron gets good separation we need to play him more .   He got limited due to drops but the last couple games has played well no drops.  our wrs struggle to get open .

[HectorRoberts]

Campbell is a rookie that has played 5 games so maybe we can cut him a little slack.

 

Funchess seemed to have built a very solid relationship with brissett in training camp so I have high hopes for his return soon. 

 

Rogers is trash..... I don’t trust him, he drops everything, I was really pulling for him to be axed this offseason

 

Pascal is great as a run blocker that can catch the ball pretty well too.

 

Cain is a tricky one..... we all had such high hopes this offseason for him but he not really met those expectations yet. I believe like Campbell he just needs a little more time to grow as a player.

 

My rank of our wr room goes

 

Hilton

Funchess

Pascal

Cain

Campbell

The ball boy

the cheer leaders 

Everyone else 

Chester “stone hands” Rogers

[WarGhost21]

I understand the point of this article, and in response it’d have to be Hilton, Funchess (Looked good early when he played), and Campbell. It doesn’t matter if they are healthy or not, that’s the ranking based on raw talent. If we are only looking at healtht players, it’s Hilton, Rogers, Pascal IMO. 

 

However, some of the comments raised serious questions for me. I know this is a decent year to make a push based on injuries to conference opponents, but the Patriots are still there and we don’t have the talent to beat them 9 times out of 10. As much as it seems to be a good year to contend, it’s really not. Therefore, why waste assets that we can use to be better set up for the next decade once Brady is retired and the AFC is flung wide open. I’d much rather wait and keep filling holes, amassing talent, and contending for multiple years than go all in on one year when it’s not even that great of a chance that we make it anywhere. Ballard knows what he’s doing, it’s up to us fans to trust him