Edit b/c not sure how to cut and paste and make it look ok!
"How about Bowes terrible hands. In a career year in every category, Bowe dropped a total of 6 passes....and at least 2 of those were in the Monday night monsoon opening weekend. Among the league leader in drops? are you just making stuff up? Wes Welker dropped 13 passes last year and Bowe didn't even show up in the top 25. Not sure how that is among the league leaders."
Making it up? Let's look at the facts. Ever since his time at LSU the knock on Bowe has been his hands. That's ok, though, and certainly did not/will not keep him from being a dominant WR - Terrell OWens proved that. Not really sure what qualifies as a "dropped pass" for statistical purposes - IMO it's about as relevant as passer rating for a QB. However, in 2008 Bowe was 2nd in the NFL in drops.
In 2009 Bowe was the league leader in dropped passes and he only playedd 11 games!! If you watch Bowe, his hands are average at best. It's just not his strong point, but as I said, he still is a dominant WR overall.
2008 -
http://sports.myway.com/nfl/stats/passesdropped.html - Bowe was second in the NFL to Braylon Edwards in drops. Yuck.
2009 -
http://ffarmory.com/main_blogs/2009-dropped-passes-stats - league leader despite missing 11 games
Since when does Bowe have good or even average hands?
"[Cassel] Had a great year? He had an OK year, but I would attribute that more to Bowe. Cassel spent the season force feeding passes to Bowe despite how tight the coverage was. Cassel can in no way be compared to Rivers."
Oh, c'mon! No one is comparing Cassel to Rivers. Cassel did, however make the Pro Bowl with a 58% completion rate and a 27-7 TD/INT ratio! Hardly poor QB play - that was my only point. This is not a bad place for a WR to thrive.
"Also which WR do you think gets more attention from opposing defenses?"
Probably the same. Both are the #2 offensive weapons on their team - Charles and Gates take top honors, respectively.
Career catch %: Vincent Jackson 56.3%, Dwayne Bowe 55.8%.
Last two full seasons for each - 61% for Jackson, 54% for Bowe. Jackson was a "late bloomer" from a small school. Bowe was much more NFL ready.
"Really no debating that VJax is a better deep threat than Bowe? Philip Rivers(and likely also Gates) has alot to do with VJax higher ypc than Bowe. Jackson did average an impressive 17.7ypc last season. However, the two leading WRs in SD(in receptions) Malcolm Floyd, and Patrick Crayton averaged 19.4 and 18.4. By the way, Dwayne Bowe averaged 16.1 ypc, the next best player on the entire team didnt even hit 12."
Floyd and Crayton are strictly deep threats, not possession guys. Of course the ypc are higher. And, as you said, Rivers is a superior QB. Not surprising KC had no one else over 12 ypc - Bowe is the only quality WR rostered IMO. Not sure what these stats show, except Tony Moeaki and Dexter McCluster were rookies, and as the second and third (not counting RB's - Charles had 45 catches) they were not able to stretch the field.
"Saving the best for last. Rivers missed Jackson sorely in 2010?!?! Unless VJax gives really good hugs or something I'm not sure how Rivers missed him. Rivers had a career year and did it not only without Jackson, but also his starting left tackle and most importantly Antonio Gates.....along with most of his other wrs and starting rb for large chunks of time. I'm sure Rivers would have preferred him there, but to say he sorely missed him is the overstatement of the year."
Nope. Rivers year would have been better with VJax. He clearly is their best WR. No Charger passed 800 yards recieving. Give credit to Rivers for spreading the ball around - he's an elite QB.
"On top of that, did you ever think there is a reason VJax has never had more than 107 targets in a season? Other than the fact that Gates gets alot, because there isnt much competition for targets after that."
Well, over the course of VJax's career, LT and Gates got the looks and he was option 3. No need to force feed him the ball a la Bowe. In 2009, with LT gone, Jackson totaled 68/1167/9 in 15 games. His role was expanding. It's unfortunate we did not get a chance to see his growth in 2010 with River's "career year" as you call it. I expect in 2011, either in SD or elsewhere, Jackson shows exactly what he can do. IMO he's an elite talent.
"Edit to add that I do think Jackson is a good WR, I just dont think he is clearly better(if at all) than Bowe. If I had to pick which one was more talented I would take Bowe, but its close."
Agreed. VJax is in the top 10, Bowe is not. But it's close. On a personal note, I enjoy the debate - you know your stuff. I just disagree but that is what makes the hobby fun!