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Boldin on the decline? (1 Viewer)
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Chase Stuart
Footballguy
Boldin converted 64% of his receptions into first downs last season, slightly north of his career average. He set a career high in TDs and receptions per game, and had his second best season in receiving yards per game. As far as overall production goes, 89-1038-11 in 12 games is his second best season, IMO. Considering that brutal hit he took in the Jets game, his ability to come back and play at an elite level is impressive. He's one of the very best receivers in the game even if he's not a big play threat.
dansav
Footballguy
well said
The Shizzle
Footballguy
The man is a beast. 90% of receivers that took that hit I'm sure would of been out for at least 6 weeks. No way is he declining.
stevegamer
Footballguy
Technically, Brooks is correct, since Boldin has never been as good as his week 1, rookie year.
Practically, Brooks is incorrect, and he's not close.
Practically, Brooks is incorrect, and he's not close.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Plus, and this is going by what I saw, as I do not have the numbers handy, but the Cardinals seemed to throw a lot of short passes (which was their way of getting a few yards with short passes instead of trying to run the ball), and Boldin caught a lot of them, so that is naturally going to drag his YPC down. Not to mention that a lot of his TDs were from inside the 10-yard line (6 of them from inside the 5).
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Did Bucky forget that Boldin nearly had his head exploded this season?
Sounds like Bucky is making his argument solely on numbers and not what he's seeing on the field. Im not sure that anyone who watched Boldin this year would say he's on the decline.
Ozymandias
Footballguy
Obviously the emergence of Fitz has something to do with it too. But Boldin is still as good, and as dangerous, as he ever was.
A
awesomeness
Guest
emergence of Fitz? Boldin and Fitz have co-existed successfully on the Cardinals for the past 5 seasons.
stevegamer
Footballguy
Apparently, he missed the ridiculous hit Boldin took and recovered from really quickly. It's one of the rare instances were someone else taking a massive blow to the head makes someone else think poorly.
buck naked
Footballguy
He also looked pretty good going 70 yards for a TD with a bum hamstring in the Atlanta playoff game.
Jackal King
Footballguy
Obviously...Bucky must be trying to acquire Boldin in his leage.
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
I said this in the Philly thread:
He is a very nice slot receiver and I believe he is very close to the tipping point of his career.
Inspiration
Footballguy
Average yards past the line of scrimmage that the average reception was made by Anquan Boldin, sorted by year:
2003: 7.9
2004: 8.1
2005: 8.4
2006: 8.4
2007: 6.8
2008: 5.0
Is it really any surprise that the number of big plays have declined? His role in the Cardinals' offense has evolved significantly in the past two seasons with the emphasis on the spread attack, and Boldin is running shorter routes with the goal of simply putting the ball in his hands. Outside of a 2004 season limited by a knee surgery, his yards per target numbers have been consistent throughout his career (although 2 of his top 3 seasons in that regard have come in the past two seasons). I think Boldin is very close to reaching his potential, and I don't see him making any significant improvements as a receiver, but to say he is on the decline might be a bit premature.
2003: 7.9
2004: 8.1
2005: 8.4
2006: 8.4
2007: 6.8
2008: 5.0
Is it really any surprise that the number of big plays have declined? His role in the Cardinals' offense has evolved significantly in the past two seasons with the emphasis on the spread attack, and Boldin is running shorter routes with the goal of simply putting the ball in his hands. Outside of a 2004 season limited by a knee surgery, his yards per target numbers have been consistent throughout his career (although 2 of his top 3 seasons in that regard have come in the past two seasons). I think Boldin is very close to reaching his potential, and I don't see him making any significant improvements as a receiver, but to say he is on the decline might be a bit premature.
Chase Stuart
Footballguy
He ranked 3rd in the league in targets despite playing with maybe the best WR in the NFL. That says as much as anything about how good he is; Arizona goes out of its way to try and get him the ball as often as possible.
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
Or just maybe it means that someone else on the team gets a quite a bit of attention and Boldin is there to pick up the pieces. However the only way for that to be possible is for Boldin to play opposite one of the best WR's in the game.
gonzobill5
Footballguy
Go back to any number of threads from the middle of the year and you'll notice that the debate was raging about who was the real #1 between Fitz and Boldin, and who was making who better, with a pretty even split on both sides of the fence. Recent events will make people think Fitz is so much better, but I think the truth is that both players are elite talents with unique skills. Boldin's injury history worries me, and I think the possibility is real that we have witnessed his peak - but I don't see how you can dismiss his talent calling him a "very nice slot receiver" and claim that all he does is "pick up the pieces" for fitzgerald.Buddy Ball 2K3 said:
A
awesomeness
Guest
Boldin's best season was when Fitzerald wasn't on the team when he had 101 receptions, 1377 yards, and 8 TDs. Boldin's success is a result of his talent, not because he's on the same team as Fitzgerald.Buddy Ball 2K3 said:
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
So his best year was 6 seasons ago?
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
My point is this. Fitzgerald is the better WR and if people really have to discuss this than I will assume they just do not know much about football other than fantasy stats. Fitz is the player defenses game plan against, he is the player that draws double and even triple coverage. To say that Boldin does not benefit from that is like saying Welker does not benefit from Moss. As I said in my other post Boldin would be a number one for many teams. However I do not feel he would be a dominate #1 and because of all of his issues I believe he is at the tipping point of his career. I am not saying its the end for him, just saying I see more downside than I do up side over the next five years of his career.
Banger
Footballguy
considering that this will be his 7th season it's not a big stretch to think that he'll be levelling off/going down a bit from here.
Former NFL WR and scout.
agreed
lord_helmet
Footballguy
Was he any good at either of those jobs ?
trader jake
Footballguy
"Lies, damned lies, and statistics."Not sure about scouting but he was never an impact player. I think he was on the Bills for a few years.
lord_helmet
Footballguy
Maybe everyone would be better off, if he just gave up football all together. I wonder why he lost his scouting job
A
awesomeness
Guest
Pretty much. Though, If he didnt take that shot to the head from Eric Smith this past year likely would have been Boldin's best year. I'm not too sure what it is you are trying to argue. In a latter post you say "My point is, Fitzgerald is the better WR". I dont think anyone would disagree with you with that statement. But to say Boldin's success is only because Fitzgerald takes all the attention from their opponent's defense, is incorrect.
switz
Footballguy
It is one thing to argue that Fitz is a better WR, entirely different to argue that Boldin is a) not good, or b) not game planned against. When you claim DCs wouldn't/don't game plan against Boldin, you show your ignorance in big neon letters.
Actually, statistics indicate that Fitz hurts Boldin more than helps him. When Fitz isn't in the game Boldin is much better statistically. You could even argue that Fitz benefits from Boldin's presence. And if you watched games you would see times where Boldin draws the double coverage and Fitz is open because of it. And the fact that Boldin put up MONSTER numbers when Fitz wasn't even on the team would indicate he's not putting up numbers merely because of Fitzgerad's presense. But hey, let's not let facts get in the way of a really ignorant argument.
Wow... what a bold statement. A player 7 years into his career is possible near the downside... you're like Nostradamus. Boldin would be #1 for probably 27 or 28 of the 32 teams out there... seriously name the better WRs - Fitz, Marshall, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson... not too many that would keep him out of the #1 spot on a team....
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
Look up a few of these WR's and see how they did after their 7th year in the league:Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, Isaac Bruce, Chris Carter and I could go on and on. WRs do not die at 28. As for the WR's that I feel are better than Boldin...
To name a few: AJ - Fitz - Moss - Owens - Calvin Johnson - Brandon Marshall - Steve Smith - Greg Jennings - Reggie Wayne
As I said he would be a #1 on many teams, I just do not feel he would be a dominate #1. Here are the negative facts that everyone ignores.
- Has 4 seasons where he has missed games due to injury for a grand total of 16 games
- He has a career average of under 13 yards per reception
- Barely averages 6.6 tds per year
- Is among the league leaders in fumbles at his position
Edit --- I think Boldin is a slightly better version of Hines Ward who I also do not believe was ever a dominate #1.
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Chase Stuart
Footballguy
1) Why is YPR important? More yards are better than fewer yards; more catches are better than fewer catches. It makes sense to divide things like passing yards by pass attempts for QBs, but why divide two good things by each other? And if YPR *is* important, why isn't a low YPR ratio better than a high YPR ratio?2) He's got 20 TDs in his last 24 games with Warner as the starter. I think that's more telling of his TD ability than what he did in 2004 with Josh McCown. Don't you?3) He does fumble more often than you would like and he does have some injury questions. I agree these are concerns.
lord_helmet
Footballguy
From everything I have ever heard/read about Boldin, he has alot to offer other than just catching the football. He is the kind of guy that always works harder than everyone else, he leads by example and constantly raises the bar. On the field he is a real weapon, who is better at getting YAC than Anquan Boldin ? Not many. Who wouldnt want this guy on their football team ?
Buddy Ball 2K3
Footballguy
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