The dude who led his conference in receiving for 4 years in a row, which I believe is still an NFL record.

(05-16-2021, 11:39 AM)schroomytunes Wrote: Simple to ask, who do you think was a better Bengal?

1) Chad Johnson

2) AJ Green

Chad, he was the best WR in the NFL for like 4 years straight.

Love AJ though, amazing talent, damn injuries caught up with him.

This is coming from a guy who didn't care as much for Chad's antics, but he was fun. Still is.

Like him even better now than when he played which is pretty crazy.

Love how he stands by our team.

(05-16-2021, 05:03 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: Chad was great and he's the choice, but give AJ Carson and AJ would win hands-down because AJ is more balanced.

Chad had arguably his best season with Jon Kitna at QB.

People always said Dalton forced the ball to AJ, but they also act like Dalton was a hindrance to AJ's numbers? You can't have it both ways. Theoretically, a better QB QB would've spread the ball around more.

As for which was more balanced, Chad had no weakness. He was better at tapping his toes than AJ. Better feet. Better quickness. Went over the middle a lot more than AJ. Plus he had great deep ball skills, which was AJ's strength.

Chad was the more well rounded WR, and just more skilled period.

(05-16-2021, 05:13 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Chad had arguably his best season with Jon Kitna at QB.

People always said Dalton forced the ball to AJ, but they also act like Dalton was a hindrance to AJ's numbers? You can't have it both ways. Theoretically, a better QB QB would've spread the ball around more.

As for which was more balanced, Chad had no weakness. He was better at tapping his toes than AJ. Better feet. Better quickness. Went over the middle a lot more than AJ. Plus he had great deep ball skills, which was AJ's strength.

Chad was the more well rounded WR, and just more skilled period.

Good points.

I sit corrected.  

(05-16-2021, 05:14 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: Good points.

I sit corrected.  

*stares blankly at post*
"sit" corrected

Oh.

Too close to call at this point. AJ was really consistent and clutch for us for a long time. Their stats are very similar. Chad is definitely the better route runner. If AJ can revive his career in AZ, he would end up with the better career. Chad did nothing after leaving.

Aj had Andy as quarterback.

(05-16-2021, 05:18 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: *stares blankly at post*
"sit" corrected

Oh.

I'm still laughing at my my own joke ten minutes later!



(It doesn't take a whole lot to amuse people with traumatic brain injuries! )

(05-16-2021, 05:18 PM)Bengalstripes9 Wrote: Too close to call at this point. AJ was really consistent and clutch for us for a long time. Their stats are very similar. Chad is definitely the better route runner. If AJ can revive his career in AZ, he would end up with the better career. Chad did nothing after leaving.

That's another reason why I pick AJ even though it has nothing to do with football: Chad's antics and the way he held out for more money (even though it was Drew Rosenscum's doing) just block out some of his great plays for me.  AJ just seemed more consistent.  Another thing is how Chad lost his cool in the locker room in the '05 playoff game and then when he sent Pepto Bismal (or something) to a team and then completely choked in the game or got shut-down.  I know he did things like that a lot and usually backed up his play but he didn't one time (at least) and things like that just put a damper on his entire career for me.

(05-16-2021, 12:16 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Chad, and I don't think it's really even a debate.  I think people forget just how elite Chad Johnson was during his prime.  He lead the conference in receiving 3 straight years which set an NFL record.

Take a look at his yardage rankings during this stretch of 5 years:

2003 - 4th
2004 - 6th
2005 - 3rd
2006 - 1st
2007 - 3rd

Now take a look at AJ Green's yardage ranks during his best stretch of 5 years:

2011 - 17th
2012 - 10th
2013 - 5th
2014 - 20th
2015 - 8th

Chad Johnson, without a doubt, was the better receiver during his era than AJ Green was in his.  Despite playing a decade earlier, when the passing game was entirely different, Chad Johnson has more yards and TD's than AJ Green.

And we haven't gotten to the the fact that the Steelers and Ravens teams Chad faced off against made their counterparts during the AJ Green years look relatively tame.  Chad went up against the in their primes Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs monster, historic defenses.  He went up against the in their prime Troy Polumalu and James Harrison Dick Lebeua lead Steelers defensives.

AJ Green had a fantastic career.  I'm not trying to diminish that.  And I know he missed a lot of games and he could have put up more numbers had he not.  But the numbers are right there.  What Chad did in his era was on an entirely different level than what AJ did in his.

Fwiw, Chad is my favorite Bengal of all time so I'll admit to some bias.  But I really do think it is cut and dry.  He was an unbelievable talent.  And I'll warn people about putting Chase ahead of him early on his career just like I did with AJ.  Don't just assume someone will be better because they're current.  Surpassing Chad Johnson is going to be a tremendous challenge for anyone.

This is a great post. One thing I liked about it is the smart way it compared the players. Often times, people comparing players just compare the stats to each other. It's easier. And apples to apples? Right? 

Well, not for players from different eras. Rules changes. Emphasis on passing in recent years. Different number of games per year (12, 14, 16, 17).

The better comparison is how they ranked in the league during their careers. At their peaks. Was the player a league leader/top 3 guy? Or a top 10 guy?

It still is not perfect. Context is always needed. WRs who play for teams with more weapons or more balanced attacks will get less targets. Some are helped by their QBs more than others.

NE Patriots Chad or AZ Cardinals AJ?

Chad played in an era where we routinely had a fullback get a lot of playing time. Jeremy Johnson

Also Pitt and Baltimore defenses in Chad era where sick and loaded with future HOF'ers.

I love both but if you make me choose one it's Chad

For me, this debate tends to shine a light on Dalton's mediocrity. There really is no reason why AJ couldn't match Chad- but he never really could. He was a threat on isolated plays, made extraordinary catches and commanded plenty of attention. But his success always seemed predicated on Dalton being able to get him the ball.

And I know the stats don't always bear that out and it's more of a 'feel' thing- but it's still a thing. Andy was a game manager when you needed someone to take the bull by the horns. In that sense, Chad was a direct beneficiary of Palmer and, for that matter, even Kitna. I don't know if "alpha" is the right word for them but there was never any question that they were the ones dictating the offense. They weren't at the mercy of their headsets and constantly looking to the sideline for answers. Instead, they were in the huddle with their teammates and could adapt to changes on the fly. And if a player like Chad had the hot hand, they wouldn't overthink it: they'd keep feeding him.

I wish we'd seen prime AJ with someone else. I think it would have been a different story. We never found a way to capitalize on his gifts, least of all his maturity.

Chad had a 3 year stretch where he was the best WR in the league. 5 year stretch where he was Top-3 in the league.

There's a reason why Chad has All-Pros.

AJ had a real good Bengals career, but there is no question that Chad is the best WR in Bengals history.

While neither Chad Johnson nor AJ Green were anything close to Isaac Curtis — the original #85 — I’ll give the edge to Chad. He played against better secondaries and caught passes from Carson Palmer. AJ had some good chemistry with Andy Dalton; they were good together.

(05-16-2021, 08:30 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: While neither Chad Johnson nor AJ Green were anything close to Isaac Curtis — the original #85 — I’ll give the edge to Chad. He played against better secondaries and caught passes from Carson Palmer. AJ had some good chemistry with Andy Dalton; they were good together.

People keep saying that Chad faced better competition... I will grant that defenses were actually allowed to play in his day (though they weren't a generation apart as some make it sound), but a quick review of AJ Green's career highlights, and I'm noticing Champ Bailey, Aqib Talib, various members of the Legion of Boom, Peanut Tillman, Cromartie, Jimmy Smith getting beat... Those guys weren't slouches.

(05-16-2021, 08:39 PM)jason Wrote: People keep saying that Chad faced better competition... I will grant that defenses were actually allowed to play in his day (though they weren't a generation apart as some make it sound), but a quick review of AJ Green's career highlights, and I'm noticing Champ Bailey, Aqib Talib, various members of the Legion of Boom, Peanut Tillman, Cromartie, Jimmy Smith getting beat... Those guys weren't slouches.

Those are good points and don’t forget AJ Green owned Darrelle Revis. AJ owned property on Revis Island.

(05-16-2021, 08:42 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Those are good points and don’t forget AJ Green owned Darrelle Revis. AJ owned property on Revis Island.

I don't disagree that DBs could get much more handsy with Chad though... And nobody was defenseless for a good chunk of his career.

IF you came up with both players even all around, CHAD wins as he has an extra point kick to his name and a kickoff kick.

I get the nostalgia of saying Isaac Curtis was better than both, but the facts/stats just don't support it. Curtis' best stretch compared to his peers:

1973: 5th

1974: 13

1975: 2

1976: 13

1978: 68

Dude never cracked top 20 at any other point in his career.

Chad