a steal of a trade brought the Jets their ‘go-to guy’ ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

The best move of the Jets’ offseason came on the side of a field in South Carolina.

Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan was at Clemson’s Pro Day in March when he pulled Bears GM Ryan Pace to the side of the field and negotiated the trade that netted wide receiver Brandon Marshall for a fifth-round draft pick (the Jets also got a seventh-round pick back in the deal).That trade looks like a steal now as Marshall is putting together one of the best seasons a Jets wide receiver ever has. Marshall has 71 catches for 931 yards and nine touchdowns, putting him on pace to finish with 103 catches for 1,354 yards and 13 scores. The Jets single-season records are 93 catches (Al Toon in 1988), 1,434 yards (Don Maynard in 1967) and 14 touchdowns (Art Powell in 1960, Maynard in ’67).

Even if Marshall’s pace slows, it looks like a sure thing he will be the Jets’ first 1,000-yard receiver since Jerricho Cotchery in 2007.

“Brandon is our go-to guy,” quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said Monday. “He’s a great playmaker. He seems to step up every time we need a play. His football IQ is so high, which is really helpful for a quarterback. That being said, sometimes he’ll tell me my read was wrong or I need to throw it somewhere else. Sometimes the football IQ is too high. He’s not supposed to know some of that stuff as a receiver.”The chemistry between Marshall and Fitzpatrick would make Walter White proud. The two clicked on Sunday when Fitzpatrick saw the Dolphins covering Marshall with just cornerback Brent Grimes. Marshall finished with nine catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns.

There were not many questions about Marshall’s ability when the trade was made. Despite a down year in 2014 due to injuries, Marshall’s record of productivity was clear. There were questions about how he would fit in the locker room and in New York, but Marshall has not been a problem for the Jets, who have been impressed with how hard he works and how he is often the first one in the building in the morning.“He brings a great passion to the game. He works hard every single day whether it’s in practice or in a game,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s always up and in high spirits. He’s a great leader for us, not just because of his passion for the game but because he shows up every day ready to work.”

If you wanted to find one criticism of Marshall this year, it has been the drops. He has eight drops, according to Pro Football Focus. Only Mike Evans and Amari Cooper have more, according to PFF. But if Marshall ends the season with close to or more than 100 catches, you can live with a few drops.The duo of Marshall and Eric Decker has given the Jets production from the receiver position they have lacked for years. They have combined for 17 touchdowns this year, the most by a Jets pair since 1998 when Keyshawn Johnson (10) and Wayne Chrebet (8) had 18.

This week, Marshall will try to continue his pace against a struggling Giants pass defense. Marshall is embracing the intracity rivalry.“Because it’s two teams in the same city, it’s definitely a rivalry,” Marshall said Tuesday on SiriusXM. “We definitely want to be known as the best team in New York and we have to go out there and fight for that this weekend.”

>    http://nypost.com/2015/12/02/a-steal-of-a-trade-brought-the-jets-their-go-to-guy/

[Jetsfan80]

@dbatesman

[AFJF]

A little bit late to the party on this one?  I'm sure these articles were being written during the off season and through the first few weeks of the season.

Either way...best move by Mac in his first season.

[nj meadowlands]

I was doing some clumsy profootballreference researching yesterday... in 1998, Keyshawn had 10 TDs and Wayne had 8.  Both were over 1000 yards.  I didn't check every year, but I'm certain you'd have to go back to the Toon/Walker days to find anything in the past 30 years that was as good as that season.

Right now, through only 11 games, Marshall has 9 TDs (931 yards) and Decker has 8 (700 yards).  They are already one of the best single-season WR tandems in NYJ history.  

[nj meadowlands]

Follow up:  1986 - Walker and Toon had 12 and 8, respectively.  In 1969, year after SB, Sauer had 8 and Maynard 6.

[Jetsfan80]

I was doing some clumsy profootballreference researching yesterday... in 1998, Keyshawn had 10 TDs and Wayne had 8.  Both were over 1000 yards.  I didn't check every year, but I'm certain you'd have to go back to the Toon/Walker days to find anything in the past 30 years that was as good as that season.

Right now, through only 11 games, Marshall has 9 TDs (931 yards) and Decker has 8 (700 yards).  They are already one of the best single-season WR tandems in NYJ history.  

Follow up:  1986 - Walker and Toon had 12 and 8, respectively.  In 1969, year after SB, Sauer had 8 and Maynard 6.

Even when factoring in how much the game has changed, it seems pretty clear this duo is already more impressive than Keyshawn and Chrebet.  Walker and Toon are still fairly safe though, unless Marshall and Decker do this together for 2-3 years.

[dbatesman]

@dbatesman

29th in DYAR, 40th in DVOA, 7 drops, 3 fumbles

[Jetsfan80]

29th in DYAR, 40th in DVOA, 7 drops, 3 fumbles

-0.7 % DVOA makes him about an average receiver this year.  Not bad for a 5th round pick.  He's also helped make Decker (9th in DVOA) have a highly productive year by drawing all the defensive attention.

Black and Decker.  Best Jet duo since Walker-Toon.

[nj meadowlands]

29th in DYAR, 40th in DVOA, 7 drops, 3 fumbles

1st in STFU and 15th in GFY

[Jetsfan80]

Per DVOA, Decker (9th) and Marshall (40th) are also an equal or better WR duo this year than the following:

 

* Randall Cobb (45th) and James Jones (27th)

* Calvin Johnson (12th) and Golden Tate (55th)

* Vincent Jackson (23rd) and Mike Evans (43rd)

* Amari Cooper (37th) and Michael Crabtree (47th)

* Odell Beckham (28th) and Reuben Randle (20th)

* Demaryius Thomas (56th) and Emmanuel Sanders (46th)

* TY Hilton (53rd) and Donte Moncrief (25th)

 

As well as the duos in Seattle, Atlanta, Cleveland, Houston, Buffalo, Tennessee, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, Baltimore, San Francisco, St Louis, Minnesota, and Carolina.

That makes Decker-Marshall the 11th or 12th best WR duo in the NFL this season, per DVOA.

[RutgersJetFan]

He's also helped make Decker (9th in DVOA) have a highly productive year by drawing all the defensive attention.

I understand where you think you're going with this, but this is not how DVOA works.

[The Crusher]

+1 for Breaking  Bad reference.  

 

Brandon is like having a hot chick who is absolutely incredible in bed but every so often gets upset and tries to stab you when you are sleeping.  So with our history of receivers I suggest we just sleep with one eye open.  

[Ex-Rex]

Put Marshall up against smurf DB's and he shines like the sun. Let's see how he performs against the Giants angular DB's. If he still produces then I will call him a top WR, otherwise he is JAG who has big games here and there. And drops the ball more than anyone would like.

[RutgersJetFan]

Per DVOA, Decker (9th) and Marshall (40th) are also an equal or better WR duo this year than the following:

 

* Randall Cobb (45th) and James Jones (27th)

* Calvin Johnson (12th) and Golden Tate (55th)

* Vincent Jackson (23rd) and Mike Evans (43rd)

* Amari Cooper (37th) and Michael Crabtree (47th)

* Odell Beckham (28th) and Reuben Randle (20th)

* Demaryius Thomas (56th) and Emmanuel Sanders (46th)

* TY Hilton (53rd) and Donte Moncrief (25th)

 

As well as the duos in Seattle, Atlanta, Cleveland, Houston, Buffalo, Tennessee, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, Baltimore, San Francisco, St Louis, Minnesota, and Carolina.

That makes Decker-Marshall the 11th or 12th best WR duo in the NFL this season, per DVOA.

Again, I understand where you think you're going with this, but this is not how DVOA works.

Less importantly, you're using one metric without the other, which gives a poor overall picture of the year anyone is having. As in, yes, Megatron is 12th in DVOA, but 4th in DYAR. Nobody really ever just uses DVOA on its own. More importantly, DVOA is not meant to measure duos, it is a composite score that distributes credit on an individual basis to individual players on individual plays.

[shuler82]

Put Marshall up against smurf DB's and he shines like the sun. Let's see how he performs against the Giants angular DB's. If he still produces then I will call him a top WR, otherwise he is JAG who has big games here and there. And drops the ball more than anyone would like.

a JAG 

 

[Jetsfan80]

Again, I understand where you think you're going with this, but this is not how DVOA works.

Less importantly, you're using one metric without the other, which gives a poor overall picture of the year anyone is having. As in, yes, Megatron is 12th in DVOA, but 4th in DYAR. Nobody really ever just uses DVOA on its own. More importantly, DVOA is not meant to measure duos, it is a composite score that distributes credit on an individual basis to individual players on individual plays.

I was under the impression it was essentially overall value per play?  Shouldn't that be the primary metric in that case?  And can't Decker be given praise for performing individually while also factoring in that he's generally facing # 2 corners?  The defenses we face certainly aren't treating Marshall like a replacement level/average receiver.

[RutgersJetFan]

I was under the impression it was essentially overall value per play?  Shouldn't that be the primary metric in that case?

Correct. No.

[prime21]

There was a lot of chatter here when the trade was made as with every move that make.  I thought it was a no brainier for the picks.

His impact on the field is tremendous.  Decker has also benefited by his presence on the field.

[RutgersJetFan]

 And can't Decker be given praise for performing individually while also factoring in that he's generally facing # 2 corners?  The defenses we face certainly aren't treating Marshall like a replacement level/average receiver.

Just saw the edit here. I think the argument would be to err on the side of probably not. The control variables for FO are pretty airtight, and at most they will admit that they can't fully separate a receiver from his quarterback. But given their standards of measurement and control, an adjoining WR is about as well-accounted for as you can get for now. Certainly possible that changes, of course, but probably not any time soon.

[Jetsfan80]

Just saw the edit here. I think the argument would be to err on the side of probably not. The control variables for FO are pretty airtight, and at most they will admit that they can't fully separate a receiver from his quarterback. But given their standards of measurement and control, an adjoining WR is about as well-accounted for as you can get for now. Certainly possible that changes, of course, but probably not any time soon.

Just seems odd to me that this is the way the numbers came out for the 2 receivers.  Marshall has had a lot of crucial drops, but so has Decker.  Marshall seems to always have 3 DB's draped on him, Decker usually has 1-on-1.  They're both mostly passing the eye test.  Yet there's a huge discrepancy between them by these numbers.

[kelly]

There was a lot of chatter here when the trade was made as with every move that make.  I thought it was a no brainier for the picks.

His impact on the field is tremendous.  Decker has also benefited by his presence on the field.

agreed !.. imho, our wr was lookin' pretty good...it was our QB dept. I was/am  concerned about   

 

cheers ~ ~

[RutgersJetFan]

Just seems odd to me that this is the way the numbers came out for the 2 receivers.  Marshall has had a lot of crucial drops, but so has Decker.  Marshall seems to always have 3 DB's draped on him, Decker usually has 1-on-1.  They're both mostly passing the eye test.  Yet there's a huge discrepancy between them by these numbers.

Despite the obvious observation that Marshall can be a physically dominant receiver when he's on, he has scored on the lower end with their numbers many times. With Marshall it's always been a matter of the drops, turnovers, and the math showing that he needs more opportunities than other highly paid receivers to make an equal impact on the conventional aspect.

Two things are worth noting if you're looking to be more optimistic about things: FO's numbers do not account for things like blocking and not being a douchebag, two things which Marshall has actually excelled in this year. Second, Marshall is on the verge of some pretty cool accomplishments. Unless I'm missing something I think he'll be the first WR ever to post consecutive 1,000 yard seasons with four straight franchises. And another year or two like this with the Jets and he may cross into the top ten in receiving TDs and receptions. Certainly a possibility he'll be in the hall of fame discussion.