Knox vs Bennett (1 Viewer)

[underdogger]

This is a highly debated topic. Many think of Knox as emerging as Eddie Royal. Simply, I dont see it.

I like Bennett the most here. Especially in PPR leagues. Knox will be a roller coaster ride while Bennett should be more steady. We all know Bennett and Cutler went to the same school and last week Bennett posted a nice gm. I expect more of the same vs DET.

Those who like Knox, what do you like besides his speed? He seems like a nice 3rd WR/slot guy but am I missing something here?

 

[BobbyLayne]

Early trends seem to indicate Earl is more of the possession WR, Knox more of a RZ threat. I don't know what to make of Hester - seems like a square peg they keep trying to sledgehammer into a round hole.

 

[drfeelgood]

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...&hl=bennett

 

[Knobs]

Targets each week:

Bennett: 13 - 2 - 4

Knox: 4 - 9 - 3

Hester has 19 (tied for the lead with Bennett) and Olsen has 18. I'll give it another week but I tend to think this is going to be spread around if nobody steps it up soon.

Early results seem to indicate Cutler locked onto Marshall because Marshall is a damned good wr who can get open a lot. The guys in Chicago...eh...not so much.

 

[scrumptrulescent]

It's heavily debated since it's too soon to tell. Everyone's debating their opinions.

Early results seem to indicate Cutler locked onto Marshall because Marshall is a damned good wr who can get open a lot. The guys in Chicago...eh...not so much.

I believe Olsen is the closest thing to Marshall in Chicago. I think his stock will rise over the year. (Again, just an opinion)

 

[Jayrod]

The real answer between these two is nobody wins out. One will have a better season, but not by much.

Bennett will likely get more snaps and targets, but Knox will score more per target putting them neck and neck for the season. I don't see the Bears making either of them a permanant #2 while making the other sit. The rotation has been working and will likely continue.

Also, Knox has been returning kickoffs and will likely not get a more prominant role because of it unless Bennett or Hester are injured. (The Bears took Hester off KO's last year because he is the starting WR and took Manning off KO's this season because he is the starting FS) But because of his explosiveness, Knox will continue to get looks on offense.

 

[otis68]

I drafted Bennett, and dropped him for Knox after week 2 after watching replays of both of them (and Sims-walker, who I picked Knox over). The kid catches the ball with is hands, and is tenacious. I'll take the speed, aggressiveness and fundamentals over the college roommate. May be wrong, but I love the way he plays and I think he'll be a solid WR3 by mid-season.

 

[MCguidance]

I really like Knox, and think he could be a sneaky play, but with Cutler spreading it around, it will be a roller coaster, IMO.

 

[TitusIII]

Dynasty/Keeper leagues, Knox is the guy you want. He has the all-pro speed/hands, time will tell if he has the brain to develop into a true #1 over the next three years or so.

If you want to play it safe, go with Bennett. Reminds me of Bobby Engram, will probably put up around 600-800 yards in any given year during his time in Chicago.

 

[Bojang0301]

Long term I take both these guys... Hester really should go back to being a return specialist and then maybe use him out of a Wildcat formation.

 

[RudeDog]

Early trends seem to indicate Earl is more of the possession WR, Knox more of a RZ threat. I don't know what to make of Hester - seems like a square peg they keep trying to sledgehammer into a round hole.

Hester catches the ball well...as long as it isn't dropping in over his shoulder on a fly route.

 

[The Jerk]

Early trends seem to indicate Earl is more of the possession WR, Knox more of a RZ threat. I don't know what to make of Hester - seems like a square peg they keep trying to sledgehammer into a round hole.

Long term I take both these guys... Hester really should go back to being a return specialist and then maybe use him out of a Wildcat formation.

I'm not sure where a lot of this Hester criticism is coming from. What I'm seeing is a player who is still learning the detailed points of wide receiver making several key catches in the first three games despite drawing the most attention of any wide receiver on the Bears. He's producing at a 70 catches and 1000 yards pace and has a realistic shot at 8 TDs. For reference, in standard "FBG" scoring, that would place him 15th based on last season's WR rankings, right between Reggie Wayne (1145-6) and Hines Ward (1043-7).He's running routes better and has made some difficult catches this season (see the comment about the "shoestring catch" in the player report on this past game at Seattle; the game recap omits Hester for some reason). I saw the TD in Seattle and that looked like a pretty good receiver to me.What exactly do you want from Hester?

 

[cvnpoka]

bennet is better in ppr. knox otherwise. knox is not a similar player to royal

 

[kdt]

this week knox wins because detroit cant cover deep

or hester

bennett dies this wk.

 

[jdswan922]

this week knox wins because detroit cant cover deepor hesterbennett dies this wk.

This is why Bennett wil thrive this week. They will have to respect the deep threat of Hester and Knox, leaving the intermmediate routes open.

 

[Two Deep]

Dynasty/Keeper leagues, Knox is the guy you want. He has the all-pro speed/hands, time will tell if he has the brain to develop into a true #1 over the next three years or so.If you want to play it safe, go with Bennett. Reminds me of Bobby Engram, will probably put up around 600-800 yards in any given year during his time in Chicago.

 

[bcr8f]

Whoever gets open. If one is annointed the #1 he will be doubled and not be open. In addition defenses will game plan to shut him down.

This will be a disappointment if anyone expects consistency from either. I too say Olsen.

 

[steelwind]

Quotes from the Bears coaches tell me that they see Bennett as the all around guy which actually bumps his value:

"Maybe the most impressive aspect of the wideout crew is its youthfulness. Devin Hester(notes) is the old man at 26, and he’s only in his third year of playing wide receiver in the NFL. Earl Bennett(notes) and Johnny Knox(notes) are both 22, and Bennett didn’t catch a pass last season as a rookie.

But the coaching staff didn’t lose faith in Bennett, especially considering his progress in the off-season learning the playbook and getting comfortable in the scheme.

“Earl had a history,” Smith said. “We had watched him quite a bit at Vanderbilt. We knew he had good hands. We knew he would work as hard as anyone to become the best possible player he could be, and that’s what he’s done.”

Bennett has been pigeonholed by some as a possession receiver, unable to stretch the field, but he’s already caught three passes of more than 20 yards.

“That’s what he did in college,” wide receivers coach Darryl Drake said. “You don’t become the all-time leading receiver in SEC history in three years if you don’t have the ability to do that. And that’s what he’s got. Sometimes you can’t force feed a baby. You have to let it grow, and Earl has grown.”

Bennett was asked to learn all three of the wide receiver positions in the Bears’ offense last season, which slowed his development.

Knox has been asked to focus on just one.

“We’re not moving Johnny around,” Drake said. “He’s locked in at one spot. He doesn’t have to do a whole lot, but at the same time he does have exceptional quickness and a great deal of ability. We’re just trying to take advantage of the things that he can do—not asking him to do too much—where he can go out and perform and play free. He doesn’t have to think, (he can just) react, and he’s been able to do that so far.”

 

[mbuehner]

Knox will score many more touchdowns. That's answer enough.

Knox has 2 red zone touchdowns, Bennett hasn't been targeted in the red zone yet. The TEs were targeted 8 times in the RZ, the RBs 4, Knox 3, and Hester 1. Bennett 0.

Knox is the big play threat as well as a red zone threat. Bennett is a throw to the sticks possession receiver. Its a no-brainer in a non-PPR league.

 

[el-gato-grande]

I think who wins here is Hester and the negative comments on him are misguided. I've seen every game he has played at the position and there has been definitely marked improvement this season over last season in his route running and his hands. Everyone has to remember that the guy is a converted defensive back and special teams player in college.

I think as defenses start to recognize Knox as more of a threat and Bennett/Olsen continue to do their thing underneath then that will open up things for Hester down the field. Then he will start to see more of those long TD opportunities that we all expected to see from the start.

BTW, one other thing. On the FBG YTD Stats for Fantasy Points/Receiving Yardage, Hester currently ranks as the #10 WR. That is mostly due to his two scores, but I really don't see that changing. He will continue to be targeted down field due to his speed.

Why does it have to be one of these guys over another? I think eventually it will be Knox and Hester on the outside and Bennett in the slot.

 

[DoubleG]

Some things to keep in mind as this situation continues to unfold (and keep in mind that all the pieces of this offense are still learning to work together):

1) Cutler is not being asked to do what he was asked to do in Denver (the comparisons to Marshall or Royal don't carry much validity, imho)

2) I would give the nod to Bennet in PPR. He and Cutler do have a repoir of sorts from college and Cutler seems comfortable throwing him the ball - even in tight coverage.

3) Every week is different - and the Bears WRs all have their strengths and weaknesses. My point is that Cutler seems to have little issue with spreading the ball around and hitting whoever is open on the given play - whether its Hester, Olsen, Bennet, Knox, Dez Clark, Forte, Peterson, K. Davis, etc. I think this willingness on Cutler's part to hit whoever is open is a function of 3 things: 1) The Bears WRs all being fairly average in ability. 2) Cutler's continual maturation as an NFL QB (yes, I think he is going to get even better) and 3) The way the Bears offense is designed.

4) The Bears still haven't focussed much on the running game. Part of this has been due to their ineffectiveness at it. Part has been the fact that they played the Steelers in week 2 and were behind 13-0 early in the Seattle game. Part has been the fact that Ron Turner is still trying to figure out how to use Cutler. Honestly, part has been poor O-line play (Yes, Pace and Frankie O-My-Hell, I'm looking at you) As the weather gets worse, and the need to establish the running game becomes more prevelant, I expect to see more of a foccus on the rushing aspect of the offense. As such, some of the receiving numbers could take a hit.

5) Aromashodu has been slowed by injury since the start of the season. He may factor in somewhere along the pecking order as well.

As I said, I'd take Bennet in PPR leagues. I think Knox is more of a hit or miss type guy. Knox definately has the ability to put up big numbers - but only if he's on the field more. Obviously if Bennet goes down to injury or some such, Knox is a must-have. I don't feel the same way about Bennet. He's a nice posession guy who will probabloy land you (on average) 6 to 7 catches + 50-80 yards receiving/game with an occasional score.

 

[jobarules]

maybe im wrong but i didnt see knox on the field much vs SEA

 

[Sonny Lubick Blowup Doll]

 

[otis68]

maybe im wrong but i didnt see knox on the field much vs SEA

Did you look in the endzone?

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Somebody above has this stat:

Targets:

Bennett: 13 - 2 - 4

Knox: 4 - 9 - 3

Now, when I saw that first game I already had Bennett and I was encouraged, but I thought that Knox kid looked explosive, a real playmaker.

Next week the targets swung the other way, and I picked up Knox, dropped Bennett.

Bennett has no TD's, not sure about red zone targets but someone above has it at zero.

Even if I'm in a PPR league, I'd rather have the guy that can put up the big play and get the scores.

And to me 6 targets in 2 weeks for Bennett doesn't justify him as a PPR grab, but 2 TD's in 2 weeks from Knox does strike me as something good.

The Detroit game looks awfully tempting as a start.

 

[Banger]

Somebody above has this stat:Targets:Bennett: 13 - 2 - 4Knox: 4 - 9 - 3Now, when I saw that first game I already had Bennett and I was encouraged, but I thought that Knox kid looked explosive, a real playmaker.Next week the targets swung the other way, and I picked up Knox, dropped Bennett.Bennett has no TD's, not sure about red zone targets but someone above has it at zero.Even if I'm in a PPR league, I'd rather have the guy that can put up the big play and get the scores.And to me 6 targets in 2 weeks for Bennett doesn't justify him as a PPR grab, but 2 TD's in 2 weeks from Knox does strike me as something good.The Detroit game looks awfully tempting as a start.

and he was a hair from scoring on a 60 yard bomb in game 1. He was just nudged out around the 10 yard line or so.

 

[kutta]