Why is Garcon no longer the deep threat that he was in Indy?

[Qdeathstar]

His best season in Indy was when Manning missed the entire season due to injury, so that's not the issue.

pfffft, facts. Who needs 'em

[NickyJ]

Garcon seems like he's got the most reliable hands in our crew, aside from Grant. He has decent speed, but I speculate that coaches want to use his reliability and speed closer to the line. D-Jax is our deep threat, so not a whole lot of point to putting two out there. Then again, I'm just using my unpolished eyes, so there could be something else to it.

 

Maybe a big misjudgement by me, but the way we're using him reminds me of Jabar Gaffney.

[Alexa]

The coaches need to call more deep passes. Kirk has the arm. See Jackson's 80 harder against Philly last year.

[London Skins]

Much has been made about the skins being without our #1 deep threat, DJax. But Garcon was a deep threat during his time in Indy, so why hasn't he had many deep receptions during his time here? There have been a few, such as his catch vs ATL in 2013, his longish catch vs SD in 2013, and his long catch @PHI last year, and him being open deep in the 1st preseason game this year, heck you might even throw in the time on Thursday when Cousins underthrew him just enough for the DB to get a hand on the ball, but there just haven't been very many.

 

Why is that? Has he lost a step? Based on some of his angry runs after the catch, it doesn't seem like it, but maybe I'm wrong? Are we just not sending him deep very much? If not, why not? Is he getting open deep, but the QBs just aren't seeing him?

 

It comes down to who is on the other side of the field as well as the QB.  In Indy there were so many weapons, the D couldn't afford to put safety help over the top on Garcon, so as soon as he was past his CB the ball was coming his way. Different here, as no-one is drawing coverage away from him.

[Audible_Red40]

Just watch our offense.  It's not set up to take the handcuffs off and/or to go deep.  Look around the NFL and look at lesser name guys going deep, both at the QB position and the WR position.

 

Teams are not afraid to open it up.  For some reason it looks like this team is.

[MartinC]

I'm not sure Gracon has ever been a consistent deep threat. His career numbers are all around 11 to 13 yards per reception. He had one year at Indy with 16 yards per reception but that was on 47 catches were a few long ones can pump up the average.

 

Hes an excellent possesion guy who is great with the ball in his hand. He runs like a running back not a receiver when he has the ball. Hes not a guy who is going to stretch the field for you though. 

[Snagletooth]

For a team seeking to develop with a physical identity.  I don't see us moving on from Garcon.  None of the other receivers bring that.

[NoCalMike]

It's not so much about him being a deep threat or not as it is about him not going on routes that result in him catching the ball in space.

 

What he did really well when he first got here in 2012 was run these crisp routes to where once he caught the ball, there was always space between and the closest DB, so he had room to run a lot after the catch.  It doesn't mean the route itself was a deep down the field route, but Garcon ended up way down the field because of the YAC.

 

What those kind of routes also require though is a ball that is delivered on a bee line.  If the ball is not zipped to the WR then it gives the DB time to close the distance and instead of a 30 yard gain it ends up being a 12 yard gain.

 

Lately it looks like he has been relegated to these very short hook routes where he catches the ball and has to try and bull rush over a defender right in front of him for the extra yard or two, and he is good at that two, but I'd like to see him put into more of those crossing patterns again.

[wit33]

I never really thought he was a take the top off type guy coming in. He obviously excels at RAC, and as some have mentioned struggles a bit with high pointing or tracking the deep ball. 

 

I think only way Garcon returns next year is with a pay cut. At this point, he's a good #2 WR. With all that said, there's no argument to what he brings to the table each game. 

[SlinginSammy HOF '63]

The receivers in Indy had a guy names Peyton Manning making their careers into HOF careers. He should've followed Peyton to Denver. Reggie Wayne and Harrison were great receivers by themselves, but Manning just gave their career stats a shot of steroids.

[TheItalianStallion]

I'm not sure Gracon has ever been a consistent deep threat. His career numbers are all around 11 to 13 yards per reception. He had one year at Indy with 16 yards per reception but that was on 47 catches were a few long ones can pump up the average.

 

Hes an excellent possesion guy who is great with the ball in his hand. He runs like a running back not a receiver when he has the ball. Hes not a guy who is going to stretch the field for you though. 

 

I dunno, I just rewatched the videos from his game logs from 2009-11, and while he wasn't on the level of DJax or anything, he was still good for several deep balls per year during that stretch. During his time here, I only count a total of 2-3 times where he took the top off the D: ATL 2013, @PHI 2014, and maybe SD 2013. He was getting behind defenders at least some of the time in Indy, while he has rarely done that here.

[TheItalianStallion]

Debatable as to whether it counts as "deep," but he did catch a lengthy pass this past Sunday.

 

I would've been curious to see what he would've done had he not dropped that pass that resulted in the INT. That was one of the few instances where he actually would've had some room to run. We would've seen if he can still run angry.

[Drastik]

It seems like the current regime prefers him to be a position guy. 

 

I remember with the Shanahans, Garcon was getting 30-40 yard gains somewhat consistently (although some of them came off quick slants out of the read-option). 

 

It seems like over the past 2 seasons, the team doesn't feature him in that kind of role anymore. Hard to blame them when you have a healthy Djax though.

[Warhead36]

Garcon has never been a deep threat. Ever. People just remember that one TD bomb he caught against us in 2010 and think he was some speed threat. He's always been a possession guy.

[Koolblue13]

I've never thought of him as a deep threat.

[RandyHolt]

We make Garcon run 2 yards downfield, and then run 30 yards across the field. 

 

Shallow routes going sideline to sideline appears to be at the heart of our passing game. #80sWC

 

People talk about Garcon and DJax gone next year.... it's going to be ugly unless we can replace them. No, we are not replacing them internally. 

[justice98]

I actually think the toe he injured in 2012 has affected him. Because I remember him saying himself that it'd probably be something he'd have to deal with the rest of his career. You got a bum toe, it's gonna mess with you. From 2009-2012, he averaged 14 ypc. From 2013 to now, only 11ypc, and declining every year.

Was Garcon a deep threat in Indy? Here are his Yards Per Catch averages in Indy:

16.3

11.7

13.5

(didn't count Garcon's rookie season where he only caught 4 passes)

Just for comparison sakes, here are Desean Jackson's in Philly(they're the same age so its a pretty fair comparison)

14.7

18.5

22.5

16.6

15.6

16.2

I'm not sure what the cutoff would be for deep threat vs. non deep threat, but you would think if Garcon was a deep threat his YPC averages would be closer to Jackson's. He was only over 15 once and that was his first full year as a starting WR. His last two years in Indy are about on par with his #s here in D.C, where his YPC have been 14.4, 11.9, and 11.1 the last three seasons. 2012 it was probably inflated a bit due to read option leaving guys a lot more wide open downfield.

But you comparing that to the best deep threat in the league. There's a lot of real estate between a decent deep threat and DJax.

Compare 14 ypc to some of the best WRS in the league now that people would consider to have the ability to get deep.

Although, I will concede you'd probably need some advanced stat to show the difference between deep balls, and turning short or intermediate throws into big plays.

[Leonard Washington]

People talk about Garcon and DJax gone next year.... it's going to be ugly unless we can replace them. No, we are not replacing them internally. 

What are we going do to with the extra money?  Get more high priced, free agents? At some point, there is little football benefit of hoarding money.

 

Back to Garcon....This team has a hard time figuring out how to use talent.  I'm getting tired of seeing and hearing it but Kyle S. was the last OC that was able to do it regularly.  It's baffling that we rarely see a receiver or running back in a one on one situation, let alone green space! 

[Darth Tater]

Garcon was never really a deep threat. His specialty, at least in our offenses, has always been the YAC guy. This is why his performance in 2014 was so weird as you would think the D Jax could clear out the middle but Garcon dropped a full yard in YAC. The most likely culprits are a less than stellar run game, some bad blocking on WR screens and other short passes or QB accuracy issues.

[RandyHolt]

What are we going to with the extra money?  Get more high priced, free agents? At some point, there is little football benefit of hoarding money.

 

Back to Garcon....This team has a hard time figuring out how to use talent.  I'm getting tired of seeing and hearing it but Kyle S. was the last OC that was able to do it regularly.  It's baffling that we rarely see a receiver or running back in a one on one situation, let alone green space! 

And we finally see a little bit of green last week, and we had the drops.

 

I had high hopes for Garcon. While he has certainly met all expectations, he just seems to be forced into plowing through defenders more often than I would like. 

 

You are right though, our offense almost looks solved, or at minimum, grounded. Teams stuff the run, and are all over our receivers almost as much as they are over Morris. Garcon is heavily game planned against with DJax out, but he is one scrappy dude literally and figuratively fighting through the waves of defenders. I don't understand it completely though, its like we are gaming planning for crap pass pro, only its been great all year. 

 

Its high time to work the intermediate and deeper stuff and just live with the results. Garcon, while not a finesse go up and get it spectacular catch type, can certainly get deeper than he is. 

[Stadium-Armory]

We don't throw deep. All of our WRs are no longer deep threats including Jackson.

[justice98]

I think his first 2 years, he was as advertised. Probably a steal.

[Warhead36]

I actually think the toe he injured in 2012 has affected him. Because I remember him saying himself that it'd probably be something he'd have to deal with the rest of his career. You got a bum toe, it's gonna mess with you. From 2009-2012, he averaged 14 ypc. From 2013 to now, only 11ypc, and declining every year.

But you comparing that to the best deep threat in the league. There's a lot of real estate between a decent deep threat and DJax.

Compare 14 ypc to some of the best WRS in the league now that people would consider to have the ability to get deep.

Although, I will concede you'd probably need some advanced stat to show the difference between deep balls, and turning short or intermediate throws into big plays.

Here are the Yards Per Catch of the top 5 YPC of WRs this season:

 

21.4, 20.7, 20.1, 19.5 17.7

 

Here is 2014:

 

20.9(DJax), 17.9, 17.3, 16.8, 16.5

 

Now look at Garcon's #s. He isn't even close.

 

You'd have to go all the way down to like 30th to see WRs in Garcon's YPC range.

[justice98]

Here are the Yards Per Catch of the top 5 YPC of WRs this season:

21.4, 20.7, 20.1, 19.5 17.7

Here is 2014:

20.9(DJax), 17.9, 17.3, 16.8, 16.5

Now look at Garcon's #s. He isn't even close.

You'd have to go all the way down to like 30th to see WRs in Garcon's YPC range.

That's not exactly what I meant, but I didn't say it clearly. That's my fault. Those top 10 YPC guys are of the Torrey Smith, Kenny Britt, one trick pony variety. They're only in the league to run one route. Looking at the top 10, there's Mike Evans, and the two guys from JAX that anybody would really want.

I was more making an analogy to the likes of Amari Cooper, AJ Green, Alshon Jeffrey, Antonio Brown, Calvin Johnson who are in that 13-15 YPC area. Nobody would say they can't get open deep, but they don't spend the game running go routes.

[onedrop]

Garcon isn't as good as he should be because he tries to make every reception worthy of the highlight reel.