Why the hate for ARE?

[NoVaSkins21]

name me a memorable wes welker catch. he moves the chains, he converts 3rd downs. but he doesnt put up big highlight reel plays. does that mean the pats fans hate welker cuz hes not randy moss?

Wes Welker basically is ARE, but the difference is that he actually does the things that ARE is supposed to do and does them consistently. Welker's PR abilities are not even close to ARE and I believe he may be shorter than ARE. I can remember more important ARE drops than catches. If you're trying to compare the two, it's not even close.

[Redskins:Victory_or_Death]

Wes Welker basically is ARE, but the difference is that he actually does the things that ARE is supposed to do and does them consistently. Welker's PR abilities are not even close to ARE and I believe he may be shorter than ARE. I can remember more important ARE drops than catches. If you're trying to compare the two, it's not even close.

Wes Welker is in the position he excels in - slot. I still believe ARE would be doing very well if he weren't being wedged in as the #2 WR.

[DCsportsfan53]

Don't get me wrong, no hate for him. I love his attitude, work ethic and personality. However, simply put, he's being paid and played 1-2 positions higher up the depth chart than his abilities warrant. It's not that I think we should cut him or he sucks, the problem is we need a real #2, we need someone from the WR ranks who can make tough catches over the middle with consistency.

Also, Randle El seems to have lost some of the quickness that made him such a dangerous punt returner and he too often gets swallowed up and taken out of a play by press coverage. Again, factors of him playing a role above his ability. I think he make some much, much more impactful contributions to the offense if he can play 3rd or 4th WR because that would mean there are two legit threats on the outsides.

In the NFL so much of the game is about matchups. As a WR, to truly be starting material you should be able to get open and make plays with consistency when presented with single coverage. As of right now (and throughout Gibbs second go) we have lacked a player not named Moss who can come close to fitting this description and it will limit our offenses potential heavily until it's corrected.

* On much a side note, this discussion always serves to remind me how good Portis is and how ridiculous some of the criticisms leveled his way are. Here's a guy who in 4 out of 5 years has toted the ball over 300 times, for at least 1200 yards, leaves absolutely everything on the field and is clearly one of, if not the, best blocking backs in the league. And that includes downfield as well as in the backfield. All this with an offense that, save 2 or 3 4-5 game stretches since he's been, has never had anything resembling a legitimate NFL passing game, has few dynamic weapons in the passing game and has usually had a very average OL. Think about that for a minute. If the passing game ever falls into place for any extended period of time, look out for 26, he'll be tearing the league up. :2cents:

[Dick Edds]

it must be the line's fault

[Portis for 6]

Remember the last time Santana had the ball on special teams?

6 points, as I recall.

Actually it wasn't he returned a punt against the Eagles I think? for like 40 yards but it was called back for holding. True Moss is a great return man, but we can't risk injury to him for returning punt all the time.

Trust me El didn't just wake up one day and forget how to return punts (though it seems). If thomas is ready to take the #2 WR I bet we will see the old El.

[CG]

maybe he doesnt wanna get hurt so he returns like a pansy and he was giving it his all in pitt?

That's kind of the way I feel about it. Guy definitely isn't the most physical receiver out there. He always ducks under the tackler and just goes down. I guess he never gets hurt, but watching him return punts like that just kills me.