03-31-2016, 11:45 PM
(03-31-2016, 04:09 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: It seems like most people are more excited about Dansby than LaFell and I'm really not sure why. Sure, I think Dansby was a solid pickup, but considering his age (34) and especially the position he'll play for us (SLB), I doubt he makes a serious impact. If he gets the same amount of snaps and duties as Lawson, Harrison and Hawk, then we can safely expect roughly 30 total tackles and maybe a fluke sack or INT. I think Dansby could be a big-time player in a bigger role, but I'm just not sure how he'll get a bigger role.
Now I think the people who are down on LaFell really seem to be judging him almost solely on last season. In particular his first game back from injury when he had a drop fest. It really hasn't been a theme throughout his career though, so I think it's really unfair to label him as having stone hands. According to SportingCharts.com, here's LaFell's drops by year:
2015: 6 drops on 74 targets (8.1%)
2014: 2 drops on 119 targets (1.7%)
2013: 6 drops on 86 targets (7.0%)
2012: 3 drops on 76 targets (4.0%)
2011: 2 drops on 56 targets (3.6%)
2010: 7 drops on 77 targets (9.1%)
Totals: 26 drops on 488 targets (5.3%)
Now compare that to the career totals of other Bengals (I included Greg Little because he's synonymous with drops):
MLJ: 6 drops on 215 targets (2.8%)
Sanu: 15 drops on 250 targets (6.0%)
Green: 23 drops on 705 targets (3.3%)
Little: 26 drops on 324 targets (8.0%)
So while LaFell's hands aren't quite as good as Green's or MLJ's, he's been better than Sanu and nowhere near as bad as Little. Hopefully this makes everyone feel a little better about his hands. Now as far as his production, everyone probably knows by this point that LaFell had a very good year for the Pats in 2014.
But he was also pretty productive in Carolina, where he averaged 638 yards and 4 TDs on only 72 targets in an offense that passed less than ours. He was 3rd in line for targets behind Steve Smith and Greg Olsen. Now I'm not saying that LaFell is a stud or that he's an upgrade. I'm just saying that I think people are underestimating him by saying he's not a #2, and I also think the drops have been exaggerated thanks to 1 game when he was coming back from injury.
Thoughts?
Interesting take considering 2 of the last 3 years he has been right there with Little in drop % as well as a 9% in 2010.
I'm excited about both signings for one simple reason - this team will head into the draft with no immediate needs for a starter on offense or defense. That's the sign of a well run roster.
