Here is where we disagree. When it came crunch time like needing 8 against Baltimore AJ delivered. But Kubiak didn't ask for him to do that. He had Arian leading the league in TDs and he had Walter and TEs wide open. It was a design thing.
Coaches lean on players that can score. If AJ were all that special at scoring (not under Capers or O'Brien either, BTW), Kubiak would have leaned on him. That's not to say he couldn't score, but it's not something he was especially adept at, a la Jerry Rice, TO, Cris Carter, Tony Gonzales, Tim Brown, or any one of at least a dozen other WRs I can name. Given the choice as a coach to take my chances with AJ or Arian Foster, I'd stick with Foster too. When the field gets short, there are really only a few receiving plays that work, and those just weren't AJ's strong suit. Hell, hand the ball off to AJ and he probably has a better chance. The man had unparalleled power at the WR position.
Over the course of a 13-year career, the cream rises to the top. AJ rose to the top in most situations. The red zone wasn't one of them. I won't say Kubiak couldn't have called his number more frequently, because it was often a frustration of mine as well, but if AJ had shown he was the type of red zone threat that you think of when you think of Calvin Johnson or Randy Moss or even TO, then Kubiak (or Capers, or O'Brien, or even Pagano) would have called his number a bit more. Think of all the categories in which AJ ranks among the all-time leaders. There are at least 40 WRs, a few TEs, and several guys who played multiple positions ahead of AJ on the total TDs list. I mean, he's
well behind guys that will never sniff the HOF.
Some guys just excel at different things.