re: What our offense is missing...

quote:

---

And I'm not playing your silly guessing games.

---

Presenting facts to show that perceptions are often different from reality is silly? Well. Ok.

Since you asked, here are the same three receivers with catches by running backs removed. I'll also take the guessing out.

Calvin Ridley has caught 43% of all passes thrown to WRs this season.

In 2010, Julio Jones caught 38% of all passes thrown to WRs.

In 2014, Amari Cooper caught 49% of all passes thrown to WRs.

I chose those years because they were the last season for both Cooper and Jones and, like Ridley, the apex of a college career that ends with being taken in the first round of the NFL draft (which is all but sure to happen for Ridley next spring). It also just happens to be a sample set involving three different offensive coordinators.

We are relying on Ridley for 5% more catches than Jim McElwain relied on Julio Jones and 6% less than Lane Kiffin relied on Amari Cooper - who caught half of all passes thrown to WRs his last season at Bama.

The reason all three of those guys catch so many balls is actually pretty simple. They're all first round NFL talent, so only the dumbest of OCs won't have them as the first or second look on every pass play. Since they're first round NFL talent, far more often than not they're going to be open and will catch the ball when it is thrown to them.

You don't have a problem when your first-round WR is catching a lot of passes. You have a problem when he ISN'T catching a lot of passes.