06-02-2016, 03:09 PM
(06-02-2016, 02:53 PM)ochocincos Wrote: TD receptions may be the differentiating factor for those bashing LaFell but not Eifert. Eifert had 13 TDs and LaFell had 0. Both had practically the same number of targets (72 for Eifert vs 74 for LaFell), but LaFell only had 37 receptions compared to Eifert's 52 receptions. Now obviously not every target is fully catchable and therefore resulting in a drop if not a reception, but I think people may be thinking differently if LaFell had more receptions with that many targets.
So if a player is getting in the end zone far more often, that player may be far more forgiven compared to someone with very similar stats except for TD receptions.
The drops were an anomaly for LaFell and so were the lack of TDs. He had 7 TDs in 2014 (9 if you count playoffs) and 5 the year before that. Pretty much all of his drops happened in his first game off the PUP list. I think people are judging him too harshly for 1 game, and a season where he only played 11 games at less than 100% coming off a foot injury.
Feet are pretty important to WR's. So is timing, which he was probably lacking with Brady after such a long layoff.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
