05-27-2016, 01:00 PM
(05-27-2016, 11:47 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: People just misinterpret everything that happens on this board.
If I think MLJ is better than Lafell, it doesn't mean I don't think Lafell can put up 700+ yards and be a bargain. It means that if MLJ was here I think he would put up more yards and more TDs.
Lafell > Sanu, certainly, but Lafell came in to replace MLJ, not Sanu. I do agree with you that both teams overpaid for those guys, and I don't really believe this WR class was a strong one in FA this year.
However, I still believe the combination of Sanu + Jones would be a better fit THIS YEAR than Boyd + Lafell.
Of course MLJ + Sanu would be a better fit for 2016. LaFell is going to need a little time to get comfortable and Boyd is a rookie. We're comparing these two with a couple guys that spent 4 years in our system building chemistry.
That said, I don't think there's going to be much difference production-wise. 390 yards and 0 TDs (Sanu) should be easy to eclipse for Boyd. MLJ had 816 yards and 4 scores last year. I'm very confident LaFell can come close to matching those totals.
The biggest difference isn't going to be in production. We're probably going to see a few miscommunications early on. LaFell will probably have (literally) a couple more bounce of his hands. Not a huge deal at all. It might affect a small handful of drives. LaFell and Boyd could also have strengths that MLJ and Sanu didn't have. Boyd has better hands than Sanu. LaFell has championship experience and is bigger/more physical than MLJ.
I realize that there is potential for some drop off. I just think that people may be exaggerating how steep that drop off will be. At this point I have enough faith in the coaches and Andy Dalton to believe they will make the transition easier. I have faith that our scouts coaches, etc made the right choices in Boyd and LaFell. Just as they did when they drafted MLJ and Sanu.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
