Martellus Bennett has 15 catches this season.

[chuffly]

Wasn't Vernon Davis a bust before this year?

With all that said, Marty B has been a major disappointment this year. He may not be getting a lot of opportunities, but some of that is because he isn't doing a lot with the opportunities he has been getting.

 

[wileedog]

Phillips' catches very well could come down to defenses not respecting him as an option. I'm pretty sure if they thought he could do real damage, they would shut him down. Bennett gets a lot more defensive attention on the field than Phillips does.

LOL, why in the world would I pay more than minimal attention to a 2nd year TE with 15 catches?

 

[vta]

He's a backup to one of the best in the game.

 

[burmafrd]

Bennett did it to himself with all the self promotion. He has made it seem that he cares more about tweating then playing. And that is his fault. You are supposed to make your rep as a player first.

 

[bbgun]

He's a backup to one of the best in the game.

Indeed he is, which explains why we took him in the sixth round and not the second. Oh wait.

 

[Hostile]

Sometimes I think I'm all alone on an island not giving a dang about individual stats as long as the team is winning. I'm drinking coconut milk and listening to the surf. The only time I really care about individual numbers is when milestones are reached. Like Witten climbing up the TE receptions list. Or Romo setting team yardage, attempts and completion records. I think we've become too married to fantasy football production and lose sight of the important stat and that is winning.

 

[ethiostar]

Wasn't Vernon Davis a bust before this year?

With all that said, Marty B has been a major disappointment this year. He may not be getting a lot of opportunities, but some of that is because he isn't doing a lot with the opportunities he has been getting.

I can't call him a bust yet but i do believe he has regressed some this year. Davis IS the guy in San Fran so he get all the opportunities there. At the same time, if Marty would have taken advantage of his opportunities earlier this season he would be getting most of the reps that are now going to Phillips. I hope he comes back strong out of the gate and stay hot next season. In the meantime, i would like to see him used some around the goal line.

 

[Everlastingxxx]

More of John Phillips less of MartyB or whatever he is calling himself these days. Maybe in ten years he will mature and actually contribute to the ball club.

 

[joseephuss]

I am not disappointed or surprised with 15 catches. He was always going to get few opportunities in this offense. I thought some of the grand expectations being thrown around about his potential production this year in the pre-season were not realistic.

I am a little disappointed in that he has not taken full advantage of the few opportunities he has gotten. He has dropped a few he should have caught. Romo also has missed him a few times, but there have been some easy catches he just missed.

I am very pleased with his blocking and despite what I read on here I am pleased with his attitude. He looks like a good team mate out there on the field.

 

[JBond]

There have been several articles by Bob Strum that talk about the effectiveness of the "12" and "22" packages and his role in those packages. Apparently according to the articles he is doing what is asked of him for the most part. He has had a couple of drops but so has every player on the team. He is rarely the main target for Romo because of how effective Witten and Austin have been. Those who want to complain about his 15 catches need to remember how many catches Austin had in the previous 3 seasons combined. It is way to early to give up on this guy.

 

[chuffly]

I can't call him a bust yet but i do believe he has regressed some this year. Davis IS the guy in San Fran so he get all the opportunities there. At the same time, if Marty would have taken advantage of his opportunities earlier this season he would be getting most of the reps that are now going to Phillips. I hope he comes back strong out of the gate and stay hot next season. In the meantime, i would like to see him used some around the goal line.

Oh, I agree that he has regressed some. When I watch him play, he reminds me of Roy in that he never looks like he's where he is supposed to be in his routes and he's not doing a great job of catching the ball. Those aren't good things if you want to catch the ball a lot, and he's going to have to do some soul-searching in the offseason to decide if he wants to put in the work to correct those things. My only point was that I'm finished prematurely labeling players busts after striking out on Miles Austin and Mike Jenkins (well I didn't quite label Jenkins a bust but I definitely underestimated him). I'm not saying everyone here is labeling Marty B a bust, but a few people seem to be hinting at it.

 

[Alexander]

Sometimes I think I'm all alone on an island not giving a dang about individual stats as long as the team is winning. I'm drinking coconut milk and listening to the surf. The only time I really care about individual numbers is when milestones are reached. Like Witten climbing up the TE receptions list. Or Romo setting team yardage, attempts and completion records. I think we've become too married to fantasy football production and lose sight of the important stat and that is winning.

I don't think anyone expected starter-like production out of Bennett.

But what they did not expect were five fewer receptions, five fewer plays of 20 yards or more, four fewer first downs, a decrease of four yards a reception and absolutely zero scores. That is not progress.

Brush it aside for the "big picture" but fact is, he has not contributed as much to the overall scheme as was hoped or even should realistically have been expected. He is still running the sloppy routes, dropping the passes and committing the penalties. Soon, it will become his trademark. But he can block well, so he has that going for him.

I do not get into statistics either as they do not impress me. But progression in a young player that has a reputation for being a tease, yes, I look for something to change from year one to year two. And for the better, not the worse, regardless of the difference in the team's performance. He is still running the sloppy routes, dropping the passes he does get and is still committing penalties. But we are winning and he blocks well, so he has that going for him.

 

[Texan_Eph89]

His mind is not in football.
Twitter, videos, etc...

 

[iceberg]

Roy Williams. Martellus Bennett.

"Well at least they can block."

If someone stated before the year they would have expected or been satisfied with this, they would have suffered a message board beat down.

i'd not be so quick to just end comarison there and call it a day.

bennett can and does catch when called upon. we've just not utilized the (2) TE set and when we do, it's TE #3 stepping up for the role of #2 TE. bennett still can be a #1 TE in this league, i do believe that.

but not here. he's more of a misused luxury and i cringe when now i think "bennett or cincy's #1..."

next year things could change and he's untouchable. but the problem with "untouchables" is there's usually times where people feel they can go because of "immediate" impact.

romo himself had a ton of non-believers this year. some of that warranted, some people just quickly file things and leave 'em alone till something dramatic changes perception.

in all however, i'd have let bennett go for that #1.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Martellus hasn't been the stud that we all hoped after all the preseason hype. But everybody cant be a superstar in this offense. The same applies to Roy. If we were struggling to move the ball, I'd be upset, I guess. But that hasn't been the case this season for the most part. In fact we broke the franchise record this year for most yardage.

There's only so many passing yards to go around. Everyone needs to ignore all the preseason hype next season. Accept the fact that Roy is a 700-750 yds WR. Martellus at best may catch 25-30 balls as long as Witten is a Dallas Cowboy. As long as the true star players in front of Bennett/Roy are healthy and producing, the team overall will be fine. Those guys just need to play their roles as complimentary players.

 

[Alexander]

Those who want to complain about his 15 catches need to remember how many catches Austin had in the previous 3 seasons combined. It is way to early to give up on this guy.

The big difference is the impression, not the raw production.

Austin himself had developed a fairly robust reputation for being oft-injured and dropping the football. But I think it is safe to say he progressed each year even heading into this one. He also was never regarded as a lazy oaf or a self-promoting all bark no bite player.

Bennett has backslided. And from a player with a reputation for not paying the price and doing the little things, it has to create some sort of negative impression.

 

[Galian Beast]

It takes time...

How many people wanted to call Anthony Spencer or Bradie James or Mike Jenkins busts....

Bennett and Scandrick are going into their 3rd year next year. Im sure they'll be much better.

 

[Alexander]

There's only so many passing yards to go around. Everyone needs to ignore all the preseason hype next season. Accept the fact that Roy is a 700-750 yds WR. Martellus at best may catch 25-30 balls as long as Witten is a Dallas Cowboy. As long as the true star players in front of Bennett/Roy are healthy and producing, the team overall will be fine. Those guys just need to play their roles as complimentary players.

We can have John Phillips do exactly what Bennett is doing with half the aggravation. Nobody likes to be teased.

 

[Alexander]

It takes time...

How many people wanted to call Anthony Spencer or Bradie James or Mike Jenkins busts....

Bennett and Scandrick are going into their 3rd year next year. Im sure they'll be much better.

Again, if Bennett's reputation and antics did not cloud the picture, he would get a lot more benefit of the doubt.

 

[Hostile]

There have been several articles by Bob Strum that talk about the effectiveness of the "12" and "22" packages and his role in those packages. Apparently according to the articles he is doing what is asked of him for the most part. He has had a couple of drops but so has every player on the team. He is rarely the main target for Romo because of how effective Witten and Austin have been. Those who want to complain about his 15 catches need to remember how many catches Austin had in the previous 3 seasons combined. It is way to early to give up on this guy.

ost:

I am of the opinion that Bob Sturm is smarter than many critics understand.