The Best Of The West: Wide Receivers
by Andrew602 on Jun 15, 2010 3:05 PM MDT
in NFL Offseason/Free Agency
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PrintThe wide receivers in the NFC West have gradually increased in talent during the last two seasons, with the 49ers drafting Michael Crabtree and the Seahawks signing T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The Cardinals have steadily featured the top wide receiving corps in the NFL, and even with the loss of Pro Bowl-er Anquan Boldin, they top the list this week in the 'Best of the West' series. In case you missed last week's, we ranked the starting quarterbacks.
- Larry Fitzgerald & Steve Breaston - As long as Larry Fitzgerald is wearing Cardinal-red, the Cardinals will feature the best wide receiving tandem in the division. Fitz is an All-Pro wide receiver that carries himself with dedication and professionalism on and off the field. Steve Breaston will start with Boldin now out of the picture, seeing more time on offense and less time on special teams. He compliments Fitzgerald, with dependable hands and breakaway speed, and will prove the skeptics wrong next season.
- Michael Crabtree & Josh Morgan - This may come as an upset, but it's subjective to think that the 49ers will have a better wide receiving tandem than the Seahawks or Rams. Although Crabtree will only be entering his second season, he's a gamer and showed vast signs of improvement throughout the year last season. This time around, he'll be able to participate in camp and preseason to be prepared for a full season of play. Morgan is a lesser-known receiver in the league, but has soaked up tons of knowledge in just two seasons while increasing his catch and yardage total.
- T.J. Houshmandzadeh & Deon Butler - 'Housh' is approaching the end of his impressive career, but he can still offer some productive play for the Seahawks until that time comes. He scored only three touchdowns last season, but did so on a awful offense that had trouble scoring as a whole. With a healthy Matt Hasselbeck, T.J. may be in better position to make a splash in the NFC West in 2010. Behind T.J. are three capable #2 wide outs, but as it stands, I'd list Butler as the man. Deon Branch has suffered too many injuries at his age and Golden Tate will face a learning curve his rookie season. Butler showed some signs of promise his first year and could be a breakout receiver next season.
- Donnie Avery & Keenan Burton - Once again, the lowly Rams round out the group with Avery and Burton. Avery has been a tremendous presence on a poor team the last two seasons despite the lack of offensive firepower behind him. Be that as it may, it's difficult to place the "star receiver" tag on Avery, and that may not change for some time. Burton will get a chance to play healthy next season after only appearing in nine games last year. He still needs time to develop before he can be considered a legit starting receiver however.
The Cardinals are still the best receiving group in the division for now, but the race may be closer in a year or two. Two intriguing prospects to watch for are Early Doucet and Andre Roberts. Both have the capability to become starting wide receivers down the line, and with a little fine tuning, could become key contributors for the offense. How do you rank the wide receivers in the NFC West and will one of the division rivals ever overtake the Cardinals as the best?
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Fitz and Titz
Then everyone else.
Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan [I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].
I can't stand fair-weather/bandwagon fans, stick with your team, throughout the good and the bad. And don't switch to whichever team wins the Super Bowl each year.
Yeah, y'all still got this one by a mile
but Keenan Burton might not even make it out of camp. Our top two will likely be Avery and Laurent Robinson (until his leg disintegrates)
You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.
1.) Josh Morgan sucks, bro.
2.) Deon Butler’s role is mostly undefined at this point but it’s absolutely certain he won’t be a starting WR. In fact, depending on who you ask, he’s facing an uphill battle to become the 4th WR.
"Mayhap a hidden door lurks nigh. Let us search the environs."
In Andrew's defense
I think saying Morgan “sucks” is a bit strong. He became a starter in his second season and had over 50 receptions in an offense not exactly known for it’s passing prowess.
Who your second receiver will be is a mystery to most of us outside the NW, assuming anybody up there knows. That position hasn’t been a strong suit for you in how many years? Branch has been a bust, and who knows what you have with Tate at this point (for the Seahawks sake hopefully it isn’t someone who spends his career getting arrested for an addiction to maple bars). After Housh most of your WR’s look like #4’s.
He sort of became a starter as a rookie (Morgan)
But got a staph infection from the Raiders field (preseason) and missed time, he then came back around week 6 and had a great game against the Giants but got hurt again.
He stayed healthy in 2009 and was the starter.
The biggest knock on him is his awareness. I’ve seen him catch a ball for 8 yards on 3rd and 9 far too many times.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
by SportsChicken on Jul 15, 2010 11:29 AM MDT up reply actions
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