Death to Google Ads! Texans Talk Tip Jar! 🍺😎👍
Thanks for your support!

Andre Johnson

Marcus

Marcus

Windmill cancer survivor
Contributor's Club
From the NFL network -

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000079704/article/is-andre-johnson-declining-for-houston-texans

The Houston Texans' offense is known for its "Big Three" ... but is that really the case anymore?

Quarterback Matt Schaub is playing at an All-Pro level, and Arian Foster is entrenched as the NFL's preeminent workhorse back. Wide receiver Andre Johnson is supposed to complete this trinity. He hasn't carried his share of the weight through five games.

Johnson was largely neutralized Monday night by the New York Jets' Antonio Cromartie, a good, but not great, cornerback. NFL.com and NFL Network's Michael Lombardi wrote in his latest "Front Office View" column that Johnson "does not look like the same player."

Wrote Lombardi: "Johnson cannot run, burst or make sharp cuts, which has been the case since his hamstring injury."

Johnson's decreased production supports Lombardi's opinion. Through Week 5, Johnson has 17 receptions for 286 yards and two touchdowns. By way of comparison, here was Johnson's statline through five games in 2009, the last time he played 16 games: 28 receptions, 437 yards and four touchdowns.

Johnson still can produce, but at 31, it's fair to wonder if his best days are behind him.
Click to expand...

Now granted, these are just opinions from the NFL network, but over the years, Mike Lombardi has been pretty fair with the Texans. But I myself was kinda surprised that Schaub couldn't find AJ on a night when Revis wasn't playing.
 
Its fair. In my eyes, AJ is not even close to the receiver he was in the past. The injuries he has suffered (and the resulting surgeries) have really taken their toll.

He is still a good receiver, just no longer great.
 
Marcus said:
From the NFL network -

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000079704/article/is-andre-johnson-declining-for-houston-texans



Now granted, these are just opinions from the NFL network, but over the years, Mike Lombardi has been pretty fair with the Texans. But I myself was kinda surprised that Schaub couldn't find AJ on a night when Revis wasn't playing.
Click to expand...

As much as it sucks to admit it, he's right to a degree. Big players show up in big games and 'Dre all but disappeared on Monday night. Those 2 gimme balls he dropped should have never happened. That was him, not Schaub. 'Dre looked pretty frustrated with the way that he was being covered. He was looking defeated after one play where he was in the back of the end zone. He should have made adjustments to his game since Cromartie had a good game plan coming in.

I'm not saying he doesn't have anything left in the tank, but he is on the decline. He's 31 and that's no spring chicken in professional football. Losing a step at his position is detrimental to his game & the team. I'm not saying bench him, but we better have his heir apparent on the roster or draft him next year.
 
Mike Lombardi said that.

The next time he gets something right about the Texans will be his first time.

He's a generalist that has a terrible feel for the Texans...often what he writes is completely off base.

As for these comments, I'm not sure how he can judge that from the games to date. The Texans haven't had to target AJ much because they've had so many leads, playing against bad offenses that they need to take few risks against. They are also not playing him as many snaps, working the new guys in.

So that combo of things means few needs to unleash AJ this season so far. There was a little bit in the Denver game, mostly because they were facing the Peyton, wanted to get some points on the board, maybe take a few more risks.
 
Instead if blaming Andre or any particular player it sure seems Texans have yet to find their rhythm. This offense is pedicated on timing & so far either teams have found a way to be desruptive or it's still early in the season. Watch the film it doesn't lie, can anyone say this is a well oiled machine? The defense has played ahead of schedule now without Cushing this will cause a drop off on defense, so I'm hoping the offense regains both timing & rhythm Andre included.
 
In my opinion, Lombardi's right, Andre definitely isn't the same, and probably will never be what he was.

But that doesn't matter, because we're 5-0 still.

Andre has given us his entire NFL career, years of spectacular seasons of the best WR in the league. And now it's the rest of the team's turn to carry him, and that's what's been happening so far.

Andre's more frustrated about it than anyone else, you can see it on his face. He'll likely continue to decline. But you can guarantee he'll have something special left in the tank for when it matters most this season.
 
I think it's hard to say what's going on. I certainly don't think Lombardi has the necessary information to say AJ is in decline. Enough to suggest it's possible? Sure. As as has been pointed out the team just doesn't rely on him the way they once did but when he's needed he's been there, at least up until this year. This year he's mostly been quiet and we can't say yet whether it's because of AJ or because of the way the games are shaking out. The Texans seem to be trying to keep him healthy for the stretch run and they seem to be doing it by using all their other weapons. I don't see what's wrong with that other than that it creates the situation we're in now where everyone wants to know what's wrong with AJ.
 
FINALLY. I was waiting for Lombardi to anti-jinx him. First he called the D soft last year, now he'll say "Dre is done, it's time.
 
Doc called this one as soon as he found out the procedure that Andre was having done. He said that there was a good chance he would never get his explosion back.
 
If his production doesn't improve, would the FO be justified in asking him to take a pay cut next season? For a team with salary cap issues it'd be hard to continue paying him at an elite level when his play on the field doesn't translate....
 
TheIronDuke said:
If his production doesn't improve, would the FO be justified in asking him to take a pay cut next season? For a team with salary cap issues it'd be hard to continue paying him at an elite level when his play on the field doesn't translate....
Click to expand...


No they wouldn't. Until they find someone even close to his talent level he is the best we have. And please don't say Lestar Jean.
 
beerlover said:
Instead if blaming Andre or any particular player it sure seems Texans have yet to find their rhythm. This offense is pedicated on timing & so far either teams have found a way to be desruptive or it's still early in the season. Watch the film it doesn't lie, can anyone say this is a well oiled machine? The defense has played ahead of schedule now without Cushing this will cause a drop off on defense, so I'm hoping the offense regains both timing & rhythm Andre included.
Click to expand...

Schaub has been money thus far, so I won't say a word about the pass game. I think the run game averaging less than 4 yards a carry is the biggest "problem" right now. There hasn't been much to bicker about when it comes to throwing the ball, but running the football is not top notch currently.

As the season wears on, the run game will get better, and the offense will kill ever more. This is why good teams don't peak in October.
 
Texn4life said:
Doc called this one as soon as he found out the procedure that Andre was having done. He said that there was a good chance he would never get his explosion back.
Click to expand...

i seem to remember that as well. andre opted for the short term fix with a reduced effectiveness long term. he certainly has looked a lot slower and shows zero explosion. what i'm having more trouble with is he doesnt seem like himself in less physical ways, almost looking dejected out there. he even said as much week 1 if i remember correctly.
 
I don't care what writers say,especially Lombardi. Dre is still better than a majority of the WRs in the NFL. Has he lost a step? Sure. Hes still one bad dude though. He is and always be my football player ever.

AJtransparent3-1.png
 
Andre was targeted 10, 4, 4, 6, 6 times so far with 2 red zone targets and one conversion for a TD.

His total targets are down from his average weeks 2-5, which is likely a result of defenses taking away AJ in favor of our TEs whose targets are up this year on average, and Kevin Walter, who has almost twice as many targets as this time last year.

We'll see how the next games go.
 
TheIronDuke said:
If his production doesn't improve, would the FO be justified in asking him to take a pay cut next season? For a team with salary cap issues it'd be hard to continue paying him at an elite level when his play on the field doesn't translate....
Click to expand...

Ryan said:
No they wouldn't. Until they find someone even close to his talent level he is the best we have. And please don't say Lestar Jean.
Click to expand...

If you don't think Rick Smith has the stones to make AJ the next salary cap casualty, you must not remember what he did with Demeco Ryans.
 
Last edited:
AJ has dropped passes worth 120+ yds and 2 TD's so far, i.e. enough to close the gap on the stats Lombardi is using. That is where he has been off and it doesn't have anything to do with his legs or age. Throughout his career he has hit these little dropsy streaks and then he snaps out of it and starts making circus catches.
 
Texn4life said:
Doc called this one as soon as he found out the procedure that Andre was having done. He said that there was a good chance he would never get his explosion back.
Click to expand...

Scooter said:
i seem to remember that as well. andre opted for the short term fix with a reduced effectiveness long term. he certainly has looked a lot slower and shows zero explosion. what i'm having more trouble with is he doesnt seem like himself in less physical ways, almost looking dejected out there. he even said as much week 1 if i remember correctly.
Click to expand...



As I've posted before, the semitendinosus muscle which was released, may be small but it has been shown to contribute to explosiveness and stability of the knee.

Here are comments I posted in the past week.:

CloakNNNdagger said:
Besides significantly limiting the plays that they target him, if you notice his routes are essentially avoiding acute cuts/curls/change of direction. They are straight-line or gentle angles. In their game play plans they are definitely showing sensitivity to avoiding moves that will encourage recurrence of hamstring, knee and ankle problems, while trying to further protect him from further aggravating his ongoing groin problem.
Click to expand...

CloakNNNdagger said:
If you've watched AJ carefully this year, he has basically run straight line routes or routes with gently angles. You haven't seen his signature sharp curl back or acute cut angle routes. In this last game, he was ahead of his defender going down the sideline and Schaub threw short. AJ was looking back (as was the defender) and was fully aware that it was falling short right into the hands of the defender. Yet he made no attempt to stop acutely to go back for the ball to break up a potential interception.........an over the back move that he has always been known for in the past. And this is only one of many examples. All of these observations go to the question of knee stability, something that I voiced concern over following his injuries last year, specifically with the decision made to surgically clip the partially torn semitendinosus hamstring muscle (a small muscle shown to contribute to knee stability and explosiveness), in order to be able to get him back on the field for the playoffs. He appears to be avoiding maneuvers that require heavy side-to-side stresses on his knees. It seems like game planning for AJ is being designed to exactly use only certain types of routes.......again to avoid exposing his knee instability problem and its limitations, at the same time trying to protect him from major re-injury.

After 5 weeks, FootballOutsiders has him at only 28th in WR ranking, with Walter right there with him at 29th. (No other Texans receivers are ranked in the top 93) http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/wr
Click to expand...


I am certainly in no way advocating that we cast AJ aside. I am only saying that in order to be valuable, he may need to play within certain parameters due to presence of some physical limitations and for purposes of minimizing risk of re-injury. To date, his play and the play-calling seems to be consistent with the observations.
 
infantrycak said:
AJ has dropped passes worth 120+ yds and 2 TD's so far, i.e. enough to close the gap on the stats Lombardi is using. That is where he has been off and it doesn't have anything to do with his legs or age. Throughout his career he has hit these little dropsy streaks and then he snaps out of it and starts making circus catches.
Click to expand...

I know at least one of those TD drops was the result of the CB covering him hitting the ball with his foot and knocking it out of his hands at the last second. Either way I hope you are right, it seems like some of the drops this year are throws that Jacoby could have caught. AJ just looks different out there, his body language, some of the things hes said, hes just down on himself. Hope hes a Texan till he retires though, I wasn't happy with getting rid of Meco and I wouldn't be happy with cutting AJ either, money and cap room is one thing but players notice how you treat your former all-stars who have lost a step.
 
I expect Andre to bounce back in a big way against the Pack. Part of that is Andre. Part is the Pack pass defense.
 
He's been MIA...sucks but gotta call a spade a spade. All his greatness in years past has zero bearing on what he's done this year.
 
I've been saying that Andre just isn't Andre this year. He's definitely lost a step. But he's big enough, strong enough, and smart enough to still beat cornerbacks. Usually.

But I think it's eating at him. I think he's starting to lose confidence and he's starting to press. That's why he's dropping passes he normally would have caught.

We need one or two of the young receivers to step up and start producing to pull up the slack. I think this offense could be insanely good if we could see that happen.
 
Hervoyel said:
I think it's hard to say what's going on. I certainly don't think Lombardi has the necessary information to say AJ is in decline. Enough to suggest it's possible? Sure. As as has been pointed out the team just doesn't rely on him the way they once did but when he's needed he's been there, at least up until this year. This year he's mostly been quiet and we can't say yet whether it's because of AJ or because of the way the games are shaking out. The Texans seem to be trying to keep him healthy for the stretch run and they seem to be doing it by using all their other weapons. I don't see what's wrong with that other than that it creates the situation we're in now where everyone wants to know what's wrong with AJ.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The Texans don't need to ride AJ like they stole him to win games. This just means your team is better and hopefully he will be healthy for the post season.
 
Lucky said:
He had a pretty good game on opening day.
Click to expand...

This is true however Kendall Wright has more catches and yards.

Let that sink in. Kendall. Wright.



His peers in yardage right now are:

Jordy Nelson - 5 games
Lance Moore - 4 games
Kendall Wright - 6 games
AJ - 5 games
Santonio Holmes - 4 games
Dez Bryant - 4 games
Andre Roberts - 5 games
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
I am certainly in no way advocating that we cast AJ aside. I am only saying that in order to be valuable, he may need to play within certain parameters due to presence of some physical limitations and for purposes of minimizing risk of re-injury. To date, his play and the play-calling seems to be consistent with the observations.
Click to expand...

I'm uneasy, for the lack of a better word, about the fact that the offense is limited somewhat by AJ's apparent limitations in his route running. And I can certainly see why AJ would be bothered by the kid gloves treatment. I never realized it was that bad.
 
PapaL said:
This is true however Kendall Wright has more catches and yards.

Let that sink in. Kendall. Wright.
Click to expand...

And their rushing total sucks.

I expected Andre to permanently lose a step after the muscle tear, but there are other factors involved here. One is the fact that Schaub's options have improved. Another is that Andre hasn't shaken some rust off. During the Monday night game, his legs weren't the problem when he dropped passes. His hands were. He'll get that fixed.
 
ThaShark316 said:
Schaub has been money thus far, so I won't say a word about the pass game. I think the run game averaging less than 4 yards a carry is the biggest "problem" right now. There hasn't been much to bicker about when it comes to throwing the ball, but running the football is not top notch currently.

As the season wears on, the run game will get better, and the offense will kill ever more. This is why good teams don't peak in October.
Click to expand...

there is no "on the money" when the timing is off that is my point. Not just on Andre or Schaub, the OL or opposing teams defensive scheming the mis-direction is not so mis-direction anymore, teams are picking up on it & the throws are under pressure & sooner than planned. Maybe the cb's recognize the play so they engage & lock on sooner extending the play? Probably a combination of all the above but the game plan must adjust to allow structure to flow smoother. Like Kubiak said, he's got to find a way to get Andre the ball more, so look for it. Plus if you can't hurt the other team throwing it teams will stack the box & take away the run.
 
My top 10 in order.

1. Calvin Johnson- Having a down year but still the best, no doubt.
2. Larry Fitzgerald- Still producing with inept qb's.
3. A.J. Green- The only guy that rivals Calvin in talent.
4. Roddy White- Still the best reciever in Atlanta.
5. Andre Johnson-Fading? or just not putting up numbers due to running game
6. Reggie Wayne- Back to stud #'s with a solid Qb.
7. Victor Cruz- Many thought he was a one hit wonder, but still producing.
8. Wes Welker- As consistent as they come.
9. Percy Harvin- Elite talent, becoming an elite Wr.
10. Brandon Marshall- Back with Cutler and putting out stud #'s.

Honorable mention: Dwayne Bowe, Julio Jones, Mike Wallace, Marques Colston, Hakeem Nicks (Would be in top 10 if not injured so much).
 
Last edited:
CloakNNNdagger said:
As I've posted before, the semitendinosus muscle which was released, may be small but it has been shown to contribute to explosiveness and stability of the knee.

Here are comments I posted in the past week.:

I am certainly in no way advocating that we cast AJ aside. I am only saying that in order to be valuable, he may need to play within certain parameters due to presence of some physical limitations and for purposes of minimizing risk of re-injury. To date, his play and the play-calling seems to be consistent with the observations.
Click to expand...

Alright Doc, I'm sure there is credence to your diagnosis but I don't think that's why they aren't throwing to Andre as in years past. I think it's as simple as this:

The "engine" that powers the 2012 edition of the Texans' offense is the running game, not the passing game as in years past. Back in 2009 & 2010 when Schaub kinda HAD to pass he averaged 298 & 273 yds/game, respectively. This year he's averaging 231 yds/game. And Schaub's QB rating is still up around 99-100 so it's not like he sucks.

Given that Foster, so far, is averaging over 100 yds/game plus whatever Tate gets to chip in (25-25 yds maybe) why pass?

I just think Kubiak has taken a lesson from Parcells: build a formidable running game and a strong defense. Let that running game grind down the opposing defense and pass just often enough to keep them from piling 8-9 guys in the box. Depend on your strong D to give you the ball back with 3-&-outs or turnovers and get back to work grinding the down with your running game.

I don't think there's much wrong with A.J. I think his numbers are down due to the success of Foster, Tate, and the O-line.

Thoughts?
 
I think what concerns me more than the speed and route running - or lack thereof - is the dropped passes. Now, that is so not Andre. I thought it was because they were holding him out of practices so much that the chemistry between he and Schaub was disappearing
 
Man, the guy has one "off" game and he's hot mess all of a sudden?

I guess we forget the Broncos game when he caught a crucial pass late in the game to extend the dive and burn a ton more clock for us.

Cromartie did a great job of defending him, that doesn't make AJ a lesser WR.

He's going to bust off a big game. I'm not saying he is the same guy as pre-2011, but guys come on...he's still got enough goods to be lethal out there. His double move is still catching DBs unaware.
 
rmartin65 said:
Its fair. In my eyes, AJ is not even close to the receiver he was in the past. The injuries he has suffered (and the resulting surgeries) have really taken their toll.

He is still a good receiver, just no longer great.
Click to expand...

He can't blame the surgeries for the uncharacteristic drops; the one against the Jets was incredible.

I think Andre plays alot on confidence; right now, he's lacking in that department. He and Schaub will have to play through this; he may not get back to being the Andre of years gone by due to the reasons the Doc posted above; he can still be a formidable weapon.
 
Last edited:
Cromartie basically shut down AJ last week, but he did also have some help if you recall that real easy little pass that AJ dropped when he was wide on one play ?
Some WRs like Rice and T.O. play at a high level into their mid 30s, others fall off very rapidly around their 30th BD and it's looking more and more like the latter is the case for the greatest player to date to wear a Texans' uniform.
Now I sure hope I'm wrong about this, but we'll see ?
 
AJ has been rather luke warm this season so far, even still he's better than most recievers in the league and I'm still happy as hell he's a Texan. :)
 
ObsiWan said:
Alright Doc, I'm sure there is credence to your diagnosis but I don't think that's why they aren't throwing to Andre as in years past. I think it's as simple as this:

The "engine" that powers the 2012 edition of the Texans' offense is the running game, not the passing game as in years past. Back in 2009 & 2010 when Schaub kinda HAD to pass he averaged 298 & 273 yds/game, respectively. This year he's averaging 231 yds/game. And Schaub's QB rating is still up around 99-100 so it's not like he sucks.

Given that Foster, so far, is averaging over 100 yds/game plus whatever Tate gets to chip in (25-25 yds maybe) why pass?

I just think Kubiak has taken a lesson from Parcells: build a formidable running game and a strong defense. Let that running game grind down the opposing defense and pass just often enough to keep them from piling 8-9 guys in the box. Depend on your strong D to give you the ball back with 3-&-outs or turnovers and get back to work grinding the down with your running game.

I don't think there's much wrong with A.J. I think his numbers are down due to the success of Foster, Tate, and the O-line.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I won't even try to argue that factors like our success with the running game and having other receiving options haven't potentially lent itself to Andre being left with less targets. However, the observation, at least to date, of his routes not being explosive and apparently significantly devoid of his signature sharp-cutting ins and outs, hitches and hooks, is none-the-less valid. These characteristic patterns in the past, allowed Andre to be "money," especially on 3rd and necessary yardage. There were times this season that the Texans needed those same important 3rd downs converted with minimal risk of turnover and seemed to shy away from what was once believed to be almost a "sure thing." The season is still young, and I have no problem if you wish to consider my observational comments "young" as well.

passing-tree1.jpg


the_route_passing_tree.png
 
Marcus said:
If you don't think Rick Smith has the stones to make AJ the next salary cap casualty, you must not remember what he did with Demeco Ryans.
Click to expand...

BINGO!!

That means our team has gotta do everything in their power to make it to the top this year, if they want AJ to be there with them!! Yes, AJ needs to do his part, and I believe he will, but, his time is running out. RS will see to that. He has no loyalty when it comes to the heart and soul of our team. It's all BUSINESS to him. BUT, I guess that's his job.

As for the topic of the thread, AJ has been nothing but a CLASS act for this organization. I truly believe that WHEN the day comes that AJ believes he can no longer be a productive member of our team, he willl be the first to say so. Until then, I will continue to have faith that for this year, the best is yet to come. Kubiak, Wade, and Dennision have a plan that has been set in motion. NOW, we just gotta believe they can follow through. IMHO, they're not stressing out over AJ this early in the season. Save him for the big games, which start with the Ravens! JMO!!
 
I dont know if it has anything to do with the injuries he had over the past few years. He says that he is healthy. I heard recently he was having slight groin issue.
Look, Andre is not getting any younger. He is not the Andre we had back a few years ago.
I still think he has some good years left in him.
I think having Jean back is going to open things up for Andre. Andre likes to run the slant routes and would rather have someone else run the post routes.

Also, the Texans have such a diverse way they can attack you.....with Foster and Tate running the ball for over 50 percent of the plays
That leaves less throws to go around.
Daniels has really blown back up this year. He is playing at a probowl level I think. This is leading to less throws to Andre.
Andre is also usually taking 2 defensive players with him still I think.
So someone is going to be open or single coverage.

I know Andre can still make the big play when he is called upon.....
I hope he breaks the 10,000 yard mark Sunday......:texan::play::fans:
 
Last edited:
Blake said:
What does that have to do with the price of watermelon in Africa?
Click to expand...

Great insightful post.

You are the company you keep. He use to be up there with the Megatron and Fitz. Now, due to injuries age whatever, look who he is with. He's made plays 1/5 weeks. I love him as much as anyone else here but something is up.

I'm not so inclined to blame the offense. It's the same offense he's been in since Kubiak got here; now the weapons have improved. To me that means he's not always going to have a S over top because they do have to respect the run and the TE/FB catching passes.
 
Teams are putting a safety over the top on Andre... that's why you see this:

RK PLAYER .................. REC TAR YDS AVG TD
10 Calvin Johnson, WR ... 29 . 43 . 423 14.6 1
11 Percy Harvin, WR ...... 38 . 48 . 407 10.7 1
12 Dwayne Bowe, WR .... 31 . 57 . 402 13.0 3

17 Torrey Smith, WR ..... 19 . 32 . 370 19.5 3

23 Larry Fitzgerald, WR .. 30 . 53 . 337 11.2 2

28 Julio Jones, WR ......... 26 . 46 . 313 12.0 4
29 Owen Daniels, TE ...... 23 . 33 . 311 13.5 3

42 Andre Johnson, WR .... 17 . 31 . 283 16.6 2
Click to expand...

When your TE compares favorably to most of the big WR names of the year, it tells you 1) defenses are committed to taking away AJ and 2) AJ may be less able to beat double teams.

Let's see how the rest of the year shakes out before we put Andre in mothballs.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
I won't even try to argue that factors like our success with the running game and having other receiving options haven't potentially lent itself to Andre being left with less targets. However, the observation, at least to date, of his routes not being explosive and apparently significantly devoid of his signature sharp-cutting ins and outs, hitches and hooks, is none-the-less valid. These characteristic patterns in the past, allowed Andre to be "money," especially on 3rd and necessary yardage. There were times this season that the Texans needed those same important 3rd downs converted with minimal risk of turnover and seemed to shy away from what was once believed to be almost a "sure thing." The season is still young, and I have no problem if you wish to consider my observational comments "young" as well.

passing-tree1.jpg


the_route_passing_tree.png
Click to expand...

I noticed on Schaubs int that AJ was running an out and up or 10 route. He rounded off the out part of the route so Cromartie didn't bite and was waiting on Schaub to throw the deep ball. AJ used to be able to go up and make plays even if he was covered. Not so much anymore.

I dont know why AJ is rounding his routes. It could be that his Hamstring/Groin/Knee/ankle injuries have caught up to him. Or it could've been that AJ just had a bad game.

But there's little doubt Gary has changed the way he's using AJ. Gary may be nursing AJ through the season so that he will be healthy for the playoffs. (Hopefully this is the case.)
 
OK, let's do a quick comparison here.

This year, so far, we have been targeting AJ on the average 6 times per game.
He caught 17 balls for 283 yards and 2 TDs in 5 games.

In 2010, in 13 games, AJ was target an average of nearly 11 times per game.
He caught 86 balls for 1,226 yards and 8 TDs

Similarly, in 2009, in 16 games, AJ was targeted nearly 11 time per game.
He caught 101 balls for 1,569 yards and 9 TDs.

From basic math, if AJ is being targeted as much as he did in 2009, he would end up having a better year than 2009.

Is it because that AJ can't no longer get open that we don't throw the ball to him as much? No. I rewatched the Jets game (with the all-22 and end-zone views) and this is what happened:

- On the first four pass attemptes by Schaub, AJ was double-teamed on all four.

- On the fifth pass - the TD to OD - AJ was also wide open underneath on a speed out route (that requires a hard jab step to the inside before cutting to the outside); AJ's cut was sharp and he could have gained at least 10 yards. But since O.D. was so side open deep, Schaub went to him for the TD.

- On the sixth pass, Cromartie did a good job not biting on AJ's double move; Schaub threw the ball away.

- On the seventh pass, AJ was ahead of the receiver on a shallow crossing route, but Schaub went to Foster because there was a LB in the middle of the field at the time AJ crossed the middle of the field.

- On the eight pass, Schaub threw an INT when he tried to fit the ball into double coverage. This is the exact post route that AJ had ran a couple of times earlier and the coverage was exactly the same (double-team.)

- On the ninth pass, AJ was open with a stop and go move as the CB gave him plenty of cushion; Schaub already went to Casey underneath for 5 yards.

- He was not on the field for the next pass.

- On the eleventh pass, AJ was triple-teamed on a similar post route. Schaub went to Casey for 7.

- On the twelfth pass, AJ was wide open on a deep in route, but Schaub had already decided to go quickly to Foster underneath for a 17-yd catch and run.
His sharp cut on this route cannot be denied. He got a ton of seperation from the DB. He left Cromartie in the dirt just as OD did on the TD pass. This one could have gone for at least twenty yards.

....

And so on and so on... You get the drift.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top