Homer: Getting to know receiver Pierre Garçon

[themurf]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, receiver Pierre Garçon caught a combined 114 passes for 1,549 yards with 10 touchdowns for the Indianapolis Colts. He wasn’t the go-to weapon, but he put up respectable numbers while catching passes from a first ballot Hall of Famer.

But before anyone thinks he was simply a mediocre receiver who benefited from an elite quarterback, take this into consideration — Garçon’s numbers actually improved last season without Peyton Manning. While catching passes from a collection of nobodies, the 25-year-old finished the season with 70 catches for 947 yards and six touchdowns — all of which either set or tied career bests.

This might explain why the Washington Redskins rewarded the fifth-year pro with a five-year contract worth $42.5 million (with $20.5 million guaranteed, including an $11 million signing bonus), despite the fact that he’s only finished a game with 100 yards receiving six times in his four NFL seasons.

“You can see Garçon, you know, he’s a big time receiver,” said head coach Mike Shanahan. “You can see his power, his strength, his quickness, his speed since he’s been here. It’s very, very obvious.”

By the time Garçon signed with Washington, the Redskins had already made their bold move to land the second-overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft to ensure they landed quarterback Robert Griffin III. Surprisingly, Garçon said that move had little to do with his decision.

“It was not much of a factor,” he said. “It was more of they wanted me to be on their team and they wanted me to be a part of this organization, wanted me to help them get a Super Bowl victory and stuff like that. I knew both teams were going to get good quarterbacks, but as a player, it doesn’t matter what quarterback, you just need to go out there and do your job and play your game. ”

Garçon was then asked to elaborate on how the decision was made to sign with Washington.

“Before, at like 4 p.m., you don’t know who’s really in the mix until they call you,” Garçon said. “You know, the first person to call you really kind of gets it.But also there is a factor, an eliminating factor, of what team you really don’t want to go to, what team you don’t really want to be in, what city you don’t want to be in. But it was just kind of a first come, first serve.”

Think about that for a moment — there aren’t many other professions out there, where you wake up one day with absolutely no clue who you’ll be working for and where you’ll be calling home.

“It was overwhelming, you know,” he said. “You never really know who wants you, but it is overwhelming and it’s kind of stressful cause everybody’s calling, you’re trying to please everyone and give everyone a chance and try to talk to everyone, but it’s pretty tough to do. You just have to be friendly, it’s your decision and just live with it.”

Of course, the Redskins have been accused of overpaying mediocre talent via free agency on more than one occasion over the years. How much pressure does Garçon feel to avoid joining that list?

“I just, when I go out there and play, I try to play hard every time and make a play every time,” Garçon said. “Every time we’re out there on the field, I’m put out there to make a play so that’s what I really do every time I get out there on the field, even if its preseason or when I was backing up [former COlts receivers] Marvin [Harrison], Reggie [Wayne], or in practice you know things like that. It was just going out there and making plays. The more plays you make, the team gets better, and they see the better you are as a player and as a team.

“At the end of the day, its football,” he continued. “You know, anytime you play in the league, there’s pressure. If you’re a sixth-round pick or if you’re a first-day free agent, you know it’s pressure no matter what. Everybody has their own pressure. Free agents just have to go out there and make plays, do this and give it your all every time you play and that’s all you can do. There’s no real pressure.”

While he might not have signed with the Redskins simply because of Griffin, it’s still got to be exciting to see such a young and talented quarterback in the lineup, right?

“RGIII’s a great quarterback,” he said. “He’s got a very strong arm. He’s athletic. He is picking up on the playbook very quickly. Actually, I have to pick up on the playbook and get better at that too, but he has a very strong arm and once he gets everything down pat, he will be a very dangerous quarterback.

“He has a lot of leadership,” Garçon continued. “He’s learning. He is learning just watching from experience, watching the offensive line. You know, we have a lot of leaders out there, watching from Santana [Moss], you know he’s a great leader. He’s learning, watching how those guys do it, he’s following the system very well.”

Anyone who watched Washington’s stagnant offense last season knows just how bad guys like Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth were at getting yards after the catch. This is one of the areas where Garçon feels he’ll definitely help his new ballclub.

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[LetThePointsSoar]

Nice write up, murf. Really liking these intro pieces you're putting together. There also just seems to be a common theme in every piece I read of a whole lot of togetherness & optimism heading into this year the likes of which we haven't seen in quite some time. Exciting stuff.

[SWFLSkins]

I think this is going to be one of the better veteran pick-ups the Redskins have ever had. He is not old and is just hitting his potential. It certainly appears that we plucked this apple from the tree at just the right time and with the right pieces around him.

[MWAI]

ya know...Michael Irvin never made the Pro Bowl until he had a QB. Garcon has been a background player for the last 4 years, as he has played behind Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. Plus he was not always the 3rd choice because Peyton Manning had other receivers as well like Dallas Clark. Only last year did he emerge as a number 2 receiver and that was without Manning and with Reggie Wayne still getting most of the throws. I personally think Garcon is somewhat better than a number 2 receiver and he will require double coverage at some point which will open up the slot receiver as well as the tight ends on this team.

[Hiro]

What I really like about Garcon is that he put up his best numbers without Peyton Manning, which shows he stepped up during the worst QB situation in the entire league.

His size/speed combination also makes him appear as a guy who could be a true #1, and not just a one-trick speedster. I love the pick up.

[Dick Edds]

excited to see Garcon play in our offense, I think he is going to help this team out tremendously! Enjoying these write-ups Murf, keep em coming! HTTR!

[Kindred]

What I really like about Garcon is that he put up his best numbers without Peyton Manning, which shows he stepped up during the worst QB situation in the entire league.

His size/speed combination also makes him appear as a guy who could be a true #1, and not just a one-trick speedster. I love the pick up.

To me it's more likely that Manning had his favorite go to receivers and thus Garcon might not have always been the first, second or even 3rd choice. When they put another QB in there with no preset favorites, his numbers went up, which is probably more indicative of his abilities.

[Koolblue13]

I wish he cared more about being a Redskin, but whatever. He is a good WR and I think he'll have a great career here.

[FrFan]

I was impressed by his stats with Painter, and now with RG3 those two might shred opposing defenses.

[Hitman21ST]

I was impressed by his stats with Painter, and now with RG3 those two might shred opposing defenses.

Having Hankerson, Morgan, and Davis will make it really hard for defenses to decide who to stop. We might not have world-beaters at receiver, but all of pieces (seemingly) fit nicely into place on the Redskins puzzle.

[TSO]

I really love the way we've went about acquiring Free Agents under Shanahan and Allen. It's refreshing to see that, instead of acquiring older guys who've made their entire careers on other teams and were/are bonafide superstars in their respective systems, we're projecting younger guys who will BECOME that as Redskins in OUR SYSTEM.

I'm really impressed with our scouting on both college and pro levels and fully expect Pierre to truly make his career as a Redskin.

---------- Post added June-4th-2012 at 01:19 PM ----------

I wish he cared more about being a Redskin, but whatever. He is a good WR and I think he'll have a great career here.

I'm sure he will begin to when he becomes who our staff projects him to become as a Redskin.

I think Pierre Garcon will end up just like Santana Moss for us. A young guy who was depth on his former team but then became a top performer in the NFL as a Redskin. It's sad to know that Moss is one of the only (is he the only?) players to do that here in a decade.

[panel]

I think Garcon will be a close #2 WR for us this year. I actually think Moss will end up being our most productive WR this season. But I think we have 3 WRs in this offense that should be getting a lot of time. I am not sure who that #3 will be, I have a feeling it will either be Armstrong or Morgan. I don't think Hankerson is ready yet.

---------- Post added June-4th-2012 at 04:39 PM ----------

IIt's sad to know that Moss is one of the only (is he the only?) players to do that here in a decade.

Laveranues Coles played well for us while he was here, that was within the decade.

Rod Gardner also put up some production for us. He put up 1000+ yards in 2002 (but that was 10 seasons ago).

[Hitman21ST]

I think Pierre Garcon will end up just like Santana Moss for us. A young guy who was depth on his former team but then became a top performer in the NFL as a Redskin. It's sad to know that Moss is one of the only (is he the only?) players to do that here in a decade.

Would you consider Fletcher young when he signed with us?

I think Hall would come the closest though.

[wit33]

It seems like he really did not care who he signed with, but more about who gave up the most money. I understand this is the case for all free agents but show us some excitement. At the end of the day, it what it is. Hopefully, he will produce for the skins for years to come.

[TSO]

Would you consider Fletcher young when he signed with us?

I think Hall would come the closest though.

Both were fairly established though and Flech wasn't young... but, yeah, Hall is a decent example.

---------- Post added June-4th-2012 at 04:01 PM ----------

Laveranues Coles played well for us while he was here, that was within the decade.

Rod Gardner also put up some production for us. He put up 1000+ yards in 2002 (but that was 10 seasons ago).

Not sure you understood my post/criteria.

[Hitman21ST]

Both were fairly established though and Flech wasn't young... but, yeah, Hall is a decent example.

Fair enough. You did say depth and it's really hard to find an example like that. To be fair though, wasn't Garcon the #2 guy for the Colts last year?

[TSO]

Fair enough. You did say depth and it's really hard to find an example like that. To be fair though, wasn't Garcon the #2 guy for the Colts last year?

Yes... but that was his first year as such, right? He's always been third or worse... I may be wrong. He's still certainly "up and coming" in my mind.

[Enter Apotheosis]

If you talk to any Colts fans about Garcon they'll talk about his propensity for big drops... but he's an undeniably talented guy and is the kind of vertical threat we've been lacking.

Yes... but that was his first year as such, right? He's always been third or worse... I may be wrong. He's still certainly "up and coming" in my mind.

He's been starting as the #2 since 2009.

[icbmayday]

Great article... I though we overpayed....I just hope he can live up to his contract

[rk3025]

He will shine with RG3.

Pierre is the piece we have been looking for.