Evans Happy Bledsoe Gone?

[Alexander]

http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/dan-pompei/20050612.html

• One of the people most pleased about QB Drew Bledsoe being in Dallas might be Bills WR Lee Evans. It seemed Bledsoe didn't look Evans' way often last season and was locked into throwing to WR Eric Moulds, especially early in the season. The Bills expect Evans to be more productive this season with QB J.P. Losman unafraid to throw to the second-year player. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Evans overtake Moulds as the team's leading receiver. . . .

This is one of the things that drove me crazy about Troy Aikman and even was a bit of a problem with Testeverde last year. Vinnie locked into Keyshawn Johnson far too often and a good portion of his interceptions came as a result of looking only his way when a big play was needed.

Hopefully Coach Parcells will be able to control this problem if it indeed exists.

 

[LaTunaNostra]

One of the people most pleased about QB Drew Bledsoe being in Dallas might be Bills WR Lee Evans.

Geez, this one is funny. Has Evans said anything at all about this..or is it just late offseason speculation/mind reading?


This is one that I feel compelled to stick up for Drew. When he has reliable receivers, he doesn't hesitate to spread the ball around. Doesn't hesitiate to throw to rookie receivers either, ie. Glenn's then-record in 96 of 90 catches.

In 02, Moulds had 100 receptions for 1292 yards and a 12.9 ave. His partner Peerless Price, caught 94 for 1252 and 13.3 ave.

Last year Moulds had 88 receptions for 1043 and 11.9 ave...clear to see how Evans was utilized..he caught 48 for 843, and a 17.6 ave. Evans had a pretty good rookie campaign, but at a position whern it typically takes three years to see impact, and learn all the routes, how to play defenses, etc, you can imagine how Moulds would remain the go-to.

Every QB locks on a security blanket to some extent. Eric Moulds is a Pro Bowl possession receiver talent, and I expect Drew looked to him last year much the way VT looked to Key.. But we don't know the progressions on each play, or the hot reads. If you get open, and don't drop the ball, Bledsoe will throw it your way.

I checked the stats for drops last year, and saw Moulds had 7, an inordinate number for him I think, as his hands are among the surest. Also noticed our old pal AB is once again at the top of the leader board. Eight drops on 58 receptions, but much better than his 10 for 39 in '03.

http://sports.iwon.com/nfl/stats/league/passesdropped.html

 

[ravidubey]

This is the media piling on Bledsoe which is a popular tac these days. It's a stupid comment, but Evans will likely blossom in spite of it because he will no longer be a rookie.

 

[dbair1967]

http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/dan-pompei/20050612.html

• One of the people most pleased about QB Drew Bledsoe being in Dallas might be Bills WR Lee Evans. It seemed Bledsoe didn't look Evans' way often last season and was locked into throwing to WR Eric Moulds, especially early in the season. The Bills expect Evans to be more productive this season with QB J.P. Losman unafraid to throw to the second-year player. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Evans overtake Moulds as the team's leading receiver. . . .

This is one of the things that drove me crazy about Troy Aikman and even was a bit of a problem with Testeverde last year. Vinnie locked into Keyshawn Johnson far too often and a good portion of his interceptions came as a result of looking only his way when a big play was needed.

Hopefully Coach Parcells will be able to control this problem if it indeed exists.

***? Evans was a rookie...he caught 48 passes for a 843 yds and 9 tds...since Bledsoe completed almost all of those, what the hell is talking about?...those are damn good numbers for a rookie, especially considering he only started 11 of the 16 games

as or you Aikman comment, dont agree with it at all...Aikman had 302 completions in 1992, Irvin caught 78, Novecek caught 68, Emmitt caught 59, Harper, Moose and Kelvin Martin all caught 32 or more...who did he lock on that yr? in 1993 Aikman had 271 completions, Irvin caught 88, Johnson and Emmitt both caught 50+, Novecek caught 44, Harper 36 and rookie Kevin Williams 20...Aikman had 233 completions in 1994, Irvin had 79, Smith 50, Johnston and Novecek 44 and 47, Harper 33...1995 Aikman had 280 completions...Irvin caught the most in his career, 111...Novecek and Emmitt both caught 62...K Williams caught 38, but was pretty hopeless as a #2 most of the yr...so who did Aikman lock on in those yrs? the numbers look like a pretty solid argument for spreading the wealth to me

I know you (or someone) will come back and say something about 96 and 97, but when your 2nd WR's are guys like Billy Davis and Stepfret Williams (or a washed up Anthony Miller) and you have no TE thats a receving threat to speak of, what do you expect?

David

 

[ravidubey]

... when your 2nd WR's are guys like Billy Davis and Stepfret Williams (or a washed up Anthony Miller) and you have no TE thats a receving threat to speak of, what do you expect?

The same kinds of years Bledsoe had in 2003 and 2004.

 

[SultanOfSix]

Latuna, stop using facts to disprove the media. It's not fair.

 

[Alexander]

***? Evans was a rookie...he caught 48 passes for a 843 yds and 9 tds...since Bledsoe completed almost all of those, what the hell is talking about?...those are damn good numbers for a rookie, especially considering he only started 11 of the 16 games

as or you Aikman comment, dont agree with it at all...Aikman had 302 completions in 1992, Irvin caught 78, Novecek caught 68, Emmitt caught 59, Harper, Moose and Kelvin Martin all caught 32 or more...who did he lock on that yr? in 1993 Aikman had 271 completions, Irvin caught 88, Johnson and Emmitt both caught 50+, Novecek caught 44, Harper 36 and rookie Kevin Williams 20...Aikman had 233 completions in 1994, Irvin had 79, Smith 50, Johnston and Novecek 44 and 47, Harper 33...1995 Aikman had 280 completions...Irvin caught the most in his career, 111...Novecek and Emmitt both caught 62...K Williams caught 38, but was pretty hopeless as a #2 most of the yr...so who did Aikman lock on in those yrs? the numbers look like a pretty solid argument for spreading the wealth to me

I know you (or someone) will come back and say something about 96 and 97, but when your 2nd WR's are guys like Billy Davis and Stepfret Williams (or a washed up Anthony Miller) and you have no TE thats a receving threat to speak of, what do you expect?

David

You can spout stats all you want to, but that was not what I was referring to. Of course if someone is open he will look in that direction. But I was referring to specific situations, not as a general rule of thumb.

That being when the chips are down, does he lock into a specific player--as Vinny did? Aikman did it with Irvin and Jay Novacek. If he needed a big play he went to Jay or Michael, not Alvin Harper. Testeverde did it with Johnson.

If Pompei is reporting the truth and Evans indeed was overlooked in favor of Moulds, that could be a potential problem. You couple that with the insinuations that Bledsoe does not check down as much as he should and the rumors that the Bill coaching staff was frustrated with his level of cooperation, you have more than enough to at least consider that it might become an issue. But like I said, hopefully Coach Parcells can control him.

As for the media "piling on" Bledsoe, I fail to see it that way. It is just that some Cowboy fans have convinced themselves that he is something that he isn't and they don't care for the potential reality that is---he really is not much of an improvement over what we got rid of in Vinny Testeverde.

 

[SultanOfSix]

That being when the chips are down, does he lock into a specific player--as Vinny did? Aikman did it with Irvin and Jay Novacek. If he needed a big play he went to Jay or Michael, not Alvin Harper.

Huh? I remember Aikman completing a pretty big play to Harper against he 49ers in the 1992 NFC Championship game. Aikman only locked on to Irvin when he didn't have a viable 2nd receiving threat and the team started to disintegrate during the Switzer and post-Switzer years.

 

[Doomsday101]

Evans could be singing a different tune once the season starts and there is a inexperianced QB back there

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Like dbair said, even if it were true, I wouldn't blame Drew. Rookies always start slow at WR, so it would be crazy to throw a bunch of balls to a rookie in the first half season of the first year of his career.

Of course, I'm sure Evans will tell you that he was wide open on all those plays... And we all know that wide receivers never overstate how open they were.

 

[Alexander]

Huh? I remember Aikman completing a pretty big play to Harper against he 49ers in the 1992 NFC Championship game.

Which, by his own admission, was a bit of an accident.

 

[Doomsday101]

Which, by his own admission, was a bit of an accident.

Only accident was that Harper was lined up where he expect Irvin to be but it was still a 3 step drop and he fired a bullet right into the mid-section of Harper.

 

[dbair1967]

Which, by his own admission, was a bit of an accident.

it wasnt Aikman's mistake...it was Irvin who decided to switch sides...Aikman read the play correctly and saw single coverage on Harper, and threw the ball to him

the problem with your take on Aikman is you say he "forced" the ball to Irvin and Novecek, when in fact you dont know if he did or not...it could be Irvin or Novecek got the ball in certain situations because they GOT OPEN...considering Aikman routinely completed 64-69% of his passes, its hard for you to argue he "forced" the ball to someone at the expense of someone else...Irvin and Novecek were all pros and arguably the two best at their positions when they were here...that happens for a reason you know...what happened when Harper left Dallas? he looked like a hopeless flop

David

 

[Fletch]

Evans could be singing a different tune once the season starts and there is a inexperianced QB back there

Exactly! The media is making this boy Losman out to be the second coming of Jim Kelly. The two latest Losman mentions that I have read have had Losman sounding really good. Reality is that Losman is a second year rookie. And the first game he played last year in spot duty was absolutely horrible.

 

[Alexander]

Exactly! The media is making this boy Losman out to be the second coming of Jim Kelly. The two latest Losman mentions that I have read have had Losman sounding really good. Reality is that Losman is a second year rookie. And the first game he played last year in spot duty was absolutely horrible.

But you appear to be implying that Losman has been unjustly complimented by a biased media. Conversely, poor Drew Bledsoe has been unjustly demonized.

I absolutely love it when people claim the media "is biased" just because what is being reported does not agree with their viewpoint.

All that has been said is that Losman is aggressive and competitive, just like Kelly. It did not say a word that he would be as good as Jim Kelly. And as for your point about him looking bad, he looked no worse than Drew Henson did, yet we have our own fans predicting greatness as well. It just figures.

 

[Big D]

Vinny lead the offense to a #1 ranking at 6-7 gmaes into the season. Yes he locked onto Key but that was after all of his options were depleated. Julius went down game one leaving no running game then Campell and Glenn go down leaving Keyshawn, Witten, and the rookies Crayton and Copper. He did what he could and it got Witten into the probowl.

I'm not saying Vinny is an all-world QB but when your gun has no bullets it hard to be a gunslinger. Lets see what Bledsoe can do with a adequate protection and a full clip!

 

[DLCassidy]

http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/dan-pompei/20050612.html

• One of the people most pleased about QB Drew Bledsoe being in Dallas might be Bills WR Lee Evans. It seemed Bledsoe didn't look Evans' way often last season and was locked into throwing to WR Eric Moulds, especially early in the season. The Bills expect Evans to be more productive this season with QB J.P. Losman unafraid to throw to the second-year player. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Evans overtake Moulds as the team's leading receiver. . . .

This is one of the things that drove me crazy about Troy Aikman and even was a bit of a problem with Testeverde last year. Vinnie locked into Keyshawn Johnson far too often and a good portion of his interceptions came as a result of looking only his way when a big play was needed.


Hopefully Coach Parcells will be able to control this problem if it indeed exists.

Evans didn't start the first five games. Should Bledsoe have been looking over at him on the bench? Adding Evans and McGahee to the starting lineup is when the Bills starting winning games (8 of last 11).

It will be interesting to see if Evans gets his wish how Moulds will react. He still thinks he's a top 10 receiver even though he no longer is and whines when he doesn't get enough balls.

 

[jimmy40]

This is the media piling on Bledsoe which is a popular tac these days. It's a stupid comment, but Evans will likely blossom in spite of it because he will no longer be a rookie.

Who are all these media that are piling on Bledsoe?

 

[Jersey]

This is one of the things that drove me crazy about Troy Aikman and even was a bit of a problem with Testeverde last year. Vinnie locked into Keyshawn Johnson far too often and a good portion of his interceptions came as a result of looking only his way when a big play was needed.

Yo Bozo, you must be the King of all Moron's to have any problems with the leader of 3 super bowl teams and perhaps the greatest team of all time.

 

[dargonking999]

But you appear to be implying that Losman has been unjustly complimented by a biased media. Conversely, poor Drew Bledsoe has been unjustly demonized.

I absolutely love it when people claim the media "is biased" just because what is being reported does not agree with their viewpoint.

All that has been said is that Losman is aggressive and competitive, just like Kelly. It did not say a word that he would be as good as Jim Kelly. And as for your point about him looking bad, he looked no worse than Drew Henson did, yet we have our own fans predicting greatness as well. It just figures.

Mo, the media is saying thatLosman will come up and lead Buffalo to the playoffs. THey are saying how he is the next greatQB, how he's gonna be bigger and bettter that Ben, BUt in reality this guy has played one game,(in mop up duty) and looked worse then henson did in the first half against chicago.

MEanwhile on the other end of the spectrum the media is making drew bledsoe to be the end of our team, sayign how we wont do anything because one.... ONE....even though this is a team game..One player is gonna stopp us from doing anything, because he's leading the offense, they dont care about the future pro bowl RB or the probowl WR, or the 4 out of 5 guys on OLthat are pro bowlers,

that my freind is biased and unjust