This was a literal hashtag from a player on a team making a lot of big splashes early in the NFL new year. I don’t want to call them out because it looks like I may be bashing the team and/or player. It won’t get the media play that Vince Young’s “Dream Team” did a couple years ago but it perfectly accentuates the issues with the NFL offseason. Everybody is trying to make waves in March, getting excited and not realizing that making waves in January is what counts. This isn’t a “KISS THE RINGS” argument, just a pet peeve of mine. Too many teams are focused on making the big splash and nabbing the big name, rather than getting a player that works with their team or system and going from there. Instead, they need to show their fans that they are trying and are going to take “The Next Step.” The perfect example of this is the Lions using their cap dollars to sign Reggie Bush.
The Lions used a stable of running backs last year, including Joique Bell, who they dubbed their “Closer.” Bell would come in at the end of games because of his catching ability and the fact that he represented a “change of pace” back option. Reggie Bush is touted as an above average pass catcher and an above average runner. The only issue is that Joique Bell represents essentially the same dimension of their offense.
Bush last year averaged 5.62 yards per target last year, which is not bad. His average yards after catch (YAC) was 4.73 per target, this means that Bush’s average target was just behind 1-yard from scrimmage (.89 yards from scrimmage to be precise). These are over 52 targets and 35 receptions—just about 67% of his targets were caught, but I’m sure his quarterback had something to do with it; especially considering that ProFootballFocus.com puts Bush at about a 3% drop rate for his career; one of the best at Running Back.
Bush would have been a great pickup for most teams who aren’t looking to run the football very often; an RB who can come out of the backfield and catch passes is becoming more useful in today’s pass-happy spread/west coast/whatever Chip Kelly ran with the pictures of Oprah and scallions at Oregon/now at Philadelphia. The only problem is that the Lions already had a Reggie Bush on their roster in the form of Joique Bell. Bell is a little bit beefier; 5’11” 220 lbs to Bush’s 6’ 200 lbs (both according to pro-football-reference.com), and they run a similar game.
Both backs appear much happier catching a ball in space and getting taken out by a defensive back or an outside linebacker than running the ball up the gut and getting taken out by a lineman (AKA having a fat man fall on you). Bush represents a decent commitment at 4 years, $16 million, but that money could have been better spent replacing vacating talent, such as Cliff Avril or Kyle Vanden Bosch.
Joique Bell is Reggie Bush minus the hype, the Heisman (oh wait) and the name recognition. Maybe if Joique could pry away a Kardashian from Kanye West or Lamar Odom, he could have gotten the nod as the Lions lead back going into this season.
The role in which Bush is meant to be used is clear; he is to run it sometimes, and catch it a lot. This is what I would do if I were the Lions and I had a Calvin Johnson as a target. So let’s compare Bell to Bush’s numbers outlined above.
Bell had 485 receiving yards on 68 targets, or 7.1 yards per target; better than Bush on more opportunities. Granted, Bell’s role as a “Closer” and the Lions propensity for losing last season, and the fact that the Dolphins decided Ryan Tannehill would throw to Bush, this naturally means that Bell had more opportunities. The thing is that Bell, on first glance, appeared to do more with his opportunities. Maybe this is an artifact of the pass-happy Lions offense, so let’s look deeper at the yards after catch per target and average point of reception, like we did with Bush.
Bell averaged just about 6.1 yards after the catch per target. This, again, trounces Bush; Bell was already on the roster, they just needed to give him a chance. For reference, Bell’s average point of reception was almost exactly the 1-yard line. Bush and Bell were given the same chances, and Bell did more with them. Now Reggie Bush has been brought in to become the feature back at $4 million a year and do worse what someone on their roster already did well.
Why did the Lions do this? Well, two years ago, they finally made the playoffs after decades of pure stink. Just godawful putridity. Last season they returned to pungent status by going 4-12 and ending up last in a division that featured Joe Webb: Playoff Quarterback. They had to convince fans in March that they need to stick with them until September. This is the Offseason Championship Syndrome.
Other teams have done it as well so far this offseason. The Dolphins, Broncos and Eagles (heck, even the Lions) are prepping themselves to have one of their players trip over their own tongues and call them a Dream Team, a la Vince Young and the Philadelphia Eagles before they drooled their way to an 8-8 record.
As an aside, I looked that record up on Wikipedia and it tells me that their big acquisitions prior to 2011 were: Nnamdi Asomugha, Ronnie Brown, Steve Smith, Donald Lee, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. With Asomugha, Rodgers-Cromartie and Jenkins looking otherwhere this offseason, none of those players currently wear a Philadelphia Eagles uniform. Neither does Vince Young. Funny how the NFL works.
WARNING: BELOW THIS LINE IS THE BEST THING THAT WILL HAPPEN THIS OFFSEASON
Player A is a slot receiver; he is about 5’10” and about 185 pounds. He is very undersized for his position and people often use the term “scrappy” to depict his play (this means he is white and not terrible). Player A played his college ball at Texas Tech and has had a fairly successful career as his team’s number one pass-catching option. It is not rare for him to rack up 100 yards receiving on 7 or so passes caught a game. Early in his career, Player A returned kicks and punts, but has stopped in the last few years over concerns with keeping him healthy. Player A was a free agent who signed a contract today, and will have one of the all-time great quarterbacks passing to him this season.
Player B is a slot receiver; he is about 5’10” and about 185 pounds. He is very undersized for his position and people often use the term “scrappy” to depict his play (this means he is white and not terrible). Player B played his college ball at Texas Tech and has had a fairly successful career as his team’s number one pass-catching option. It is not rare for him to rack up 100 yards receiving on 7 or so passes caught a game. Early in his career, Player B returned kicks and punts, but has stopped in the last few years over concerns with keeping him healthy. Player B was a free agent who signed a contract today, and will have one of the all-time great quarterbacks passing to him this season.
Do you know which is which? You shouldn’t, mostly because I copied paragraph A and changed “Player A” to “Player B.” Player A or B is Wes Welker, and player B or A is Danny Amendola. Welker has spent the last spent the last 6 seasons with New England, being Tom Brady’s number one option. Danny Amendola has spent the last 4 seasons in St. Louis, being the receiver Sam Bradford trusts most.
Today they both signed multi-year contracts. Early in the free agency period, it was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Wes Welker was deciding between the Patriots and the Broncos. Today, he told us that Welker would make his decision today. I, like most people, believed that the Broncos landing Welker was an outside shot. After all, Tom Brady recently restructed his deal to give the Patriots more cap room and Welker was a star in their system.
However, preceding the 2012 season, the Patriots slapped Welker with the franchise tag, paying him $9.5 million last year. Welker wasn’t happy that a long-term deal could not have been worked out between him and the franchise, leading to a bizarre falling out between Welker and Belichick that saw Welker benched in favor of Julian Edelman early in the season. As a Wes Welker owner in Fantasy Football, I was very up on the strangeness of his 2012 season. He eventually got his job back but today’s dealings make it clear that the damage was done between Welker and Belichick, and by proxy, the organization.
That $9.5 million dollars is roughly what the Patriots offered Welker over the course of two seasons today; they cited him being a product of the system and the vaunted “Patriots Way” (dumping players before they get pricy/old). This was a large pay cut and a slap in the face to Welker, who then turned around and signed a 2 year, $12 million deal with the Broncos to play alongside Demaryius Thomas & Eric Decker, with Peyton Manning throwing to the lot of them.
Adrmiral Duh could not be reached for comment, but Captain Obvious was able to tell us, “that’s a pretty good receiving corps.” Welker went from a good situation to a great one in Denver. He will lineup with two of the other twenty best Wide Receivers in the game in Thomas and Decker, and will get thrown to by the Evil Timeline Abed to Tom Brady’s Regular Timeline Abed, Peyton Manning. As Harrison put it, “Onstar, which receiver should I throw to?”
The Broncos are my preseason favorite to coast to the Super Bowl.
Welker’s reaction to the Patriots slap in the face isn’t my favorite part of the offseason; the Patriots counter-reaction is even more amazing. Danny Amendola is essentially a baby Welker and the player most thought would replace Welker if he split for free agency. He did just that, signing with the Patriots today after Welker agreed to terms with Denver. The part about this that I love so much is the terms of the contract. While not nearly as much money is guaranteed, on its face, Amendola was given $6.1 million dollars a year, compared to the $6 million a year the Broncos gave to Welker. As I put it earlier today, it’s like Belichick was negotiating with Amendola, had a goon whisper in his ear, then offer Danny $100,000 a year more than that. Billy then leaned back in his chair, took a sip from his beer mug, put his foot on the table and flicked an Ace at Danny Amendola. Belichick has a reputation as a grump and a grouse, and throwing more money at the poor man’s version of Wes Welker than the man himself received in light of their falling out last season is trademark Belichick. I love it and I can’t stop laughing about it.
And for those of you keeping track at home, yes, that was a Zybourne Clock reference. Imagine four white receivers on the edge of a cliff. The Patriots work the same way.
Day 2 of free agency was just as entertaining as day one. I focused on some central ideas in this, but I haven’t even scratched the surface of the nuttiness of NFL free agency. I haven’t touched on Wallace, Goldson, the rest of the crowded Safety market, and other moves to be made. Stick around and I’m sure I'll have some stupid opinions to spout at you in the near future!
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