Just a season ago, it was commonly reported that Finley had the best hands on the team. His physical attributes are self-evident.
There really is no reason why he couldn't be as dominant as some of the guys we saw this year.
I honestly think part of his "problem" is he is on a team that likes to spread the ball around. The other part is he is used in so many ways and maybe he just hasn't mentally gotten that part down yet. He is used all over the field. He had to block a lot when the line was having their issues. Then they got cute and had him blocking + releasing. He is in motion. He is in the slot. I mean, yeah, he should be able to make that his advantage. But maybe he simply hasn't got it all yet. Rodgers and Flynn both said it took multiple years to "get" this system and Finley missed a whole year pretty much last season.
Yes he drops some easy ones. Yes he gets tagged as dropping some that were very difficult. But he is running some pretty intricate routes and Rodgers has his share of misplaced balls at times.
Finley was a let down this year, I agree. But I also feel very confident in that if he goes somewhere else he may turn out to be a value buy next year. Heck, if he stays there and just works on improving the catches just a bit, he is a top 5.
He was a top 10 THIS year and was in the same group as vernon, gates (although he DID miss time), Witten, and Gonzo. That's great company. If he improves his drops by just 25%, he is a top 5 catch guy and flirts with 1000 yards.
All in all, Finley hurt himself by having some big drops; buts that also suggests that the team was willing to use him in some big opportunity situations. Like I said, just a 25% improvement and he would be ahead of every TE on the list, sans Gronk and Graham who both had all-time great seasons. Part of Finley's "problem" was that he disappointed in a year where the league was captivated by two guys that are very similar to him so he draws a tough comparison.
Finley's "disappointment wasn't any more that what people expected of Witten or Clark (obviously a different situaiton). People just tend to overreact.
But its not truly his ability that is in question, as many are alluding to. I guarantee if we wake up on morning in April and read that Finley signed as a FA with San Diego or Carolina or Detroit (and the incumbents there moved somewhere else, etc), then people would be drooling about Finley.
Conversely, after watching this year, if Gronk or Graham went to Green Bay, people would know they have to temper their expectations. If Graham and Finley traded teams, we all know Finley would be unstoppable having Mr. 70% accuracy throwing it a foot over every DBs head to finley 12 times a game. Much of this is situational more than it is an indication of finley's ability.