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It's not easy catching on at wideout

Sporting News, The, Oct 7, 2005 by Dennis Dillon

Like the children in the adage, rookie wide receivers are frequently seen but rarely heard. The initial NFL experience for wideouts can be filled with hard knocks. Growth spurts are sporadic, and few mature quickly.

From 1995 through 2004, NFL wideouts produced 208 1,000-yard performances. Rookies accounted for only five of them: Joey Galloway (1995), Terry Glenn ('96), Randy Moss ('98), Anquan Boldin (2003) and Michael Clayton ('04). But for every Clayton, who caught 80 passes for 1,193 yards and seven touchdowns for the Bucs, there are a plethora of Michael Jenkinses, who had seven receptions for 119 yards and no touchdowns for the Falcons last season.

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It's a steep step from college to the NFL. The game is much faster.

Cornerbacks are smarter and more physical. Defenses are more complicated. And getting open--a receiver can't catch a pass without learning how to do it--is a lot harder.

"It took me about eight weeks to really realize what was going on around me," Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce recalls of his 1994 rookie season. "And eight weeks in the NFL is a long time."

There are good reasons why receivers who soared in college have trouble getting off the ground in the NFL

Jagged edges. Some receivers aren't products of collegiate pro-style passing attacks. Vikings rookie Troy Williamson is known for his speed, but he played in a run-oriented offense at South Carolina.

A player's fundamentals could be lacking. He might not run precise routes. He might not know how to position his body to shield defenders and make catches. The one technique most rookie receivers lack is the ability to beat press coverage by cornerbacks.

"They're going to hit you in the chest; they're going to disrupt your route," says a former NFL college and pro scout. "You have to be quick, you have to be strong, and you have to play with some power. If you don't have those things, you're going to struggle."

Crafty corners. One thing Jenkins noticed in his rookie season about some cornerbacks was their eyes. They tended to peek into the offensive backfield to see whether the quarterback was taking a three-, five- or seven-step drop. That allowed the corners to anticipate routes and react more quickly.

"You've just got to be really conscious of working back to the ball and getting there before they do," Jenkins says.

In college, a receiver might face an elite cornerback once or twice a season. In the NFL, most teams have a premium corner, and many have two. Top NFL corners disguise coverages, read routes and force adjustments in pass patterns--in other words, they make life miserable for fledgling wideouts.

Codependency. Players at positions other than receiver don't necessarily have to have good players around them to excel. A star corner on a bad defense can shut down his opponent's best receiver. An elite left tackle on a weak line can neutralize the league's top pass rusher.

But a wide receiver can't gain yards and score touchdowns unless he has the ball in his hands. And the ball has to be delivered to him by the quarterback. If the quarterback doesn't think that receiver is going to get open, he has two, three or sometimes four other options.

There also is a matter of trust. A receiver must build chemistry with his quarterback--and then be in the right spot at the right time. "If the coverage dictates that you get the ball, you have to be where the quarterback expects you to be," Bruce says. "He doesn't want you to fool him."

Rookie receivers don't put up big numbers because they often don't get opportunities to make plays. Even if they get playing time, they might get only a handful of passes, if that, thrown in their direction during a game; a running back, by contrast, usually gets 20 or more carries. That's one reason rookies accounted for 19 of the 175 1,000yard rushing performances in the past 10 years.

"It's a challenge," Jenkins says about a receiver making a splash as a rookie. "I wouldn't say it's easy, but it can be done."

It just isn't done often.

speed reads

In our rush to fling accolades at Randy and T.O., we too often overlook the performances of outstanding receivers with lower profiles. Jimmy Smith's game-winning play in overtime reminded us that, at 36, he still has it. Smith tightroped down the left sideline and maintained his balance long enough to reach across the goal line, completing a 36-yard touchdown that lifted the Jaguars over the Jets.

Do Brett Favre and the Packers miss wide receiver Javon Walker? Of course. But they might miss former guards Mike Wahle (now with Carolina) and Marco Rivera (now with Dallas) even more. Not only did Wahle and Rivera give Favre protection inside, they helped open holes for Ahman Green. In three games, Green has rushed for 58, 54 and 58 yards.

The Cardinals were the trendy preseason pick to win the NFC West. Three losses and no victories later, they are staring up at the other three teams in the division. Arizona has a lot of offensive weapons, but those weapons will keep misfiring like faulty sparkplugs until they fix their problems in the line.

It's not easy catching on at wideout

Sporting News, The, Oct 7, 2005 by Dennis Dillon

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