Decker has flourished because he is not our WR1 as he was brought in to be last season. With that said, it isn't a knock/take away of his skill set at all.
This is from an online article. I personally think that a lot of these former players turned football experts get on my nerve. Another one I don't like is Heath evans, his bias for the patriots gets really old. Eric Decker takes the high road when it he gets a chance to fire back at ESPN’s Mark Schlereth, telling everyone to just move on from what the former Broncos lineman had to say. On Friday, Eric Decker undoubtedly would have preferred fielding questions about the Oakland Raiders and his Jets debut, but instead was asked to address some noise coming out of Denver. Mark Schlereth, a three-time Super Bowl-winning lineman for the Broncos and Washington, and now an analyst for ESPN, ripped Decker on Thursday, saying the wide receiver was “a marginal No. 2 (receiver) at best” and that “New York will go crazy watching him be covered 1-on-1 and incomplete passes, throwing his arms up, begging for flags.” Decker took the diplomatic approach in defending himself. “I’m not going to get into a battle of who says what or how you feel about what. He said what he said and he’s entitled to his opinions. Let’s move on,” Decker said. “If I get into that kind of war I would stress myself out over what people say. I’m confident in my ability, I’m confident in this team and I’m going to let my talking be on the field. That’s really what will, in time, prove itself.” Still, Schlereth’s opinions come at an alarming time for the Jets, who would love to be optimistic after acquiring Decker and running back Chris Johnson during the offseason to improve a team that finished 25th in total offense last season and 31st in passing yards per game, just seven yards above the Buccaneers. Upon hearing Schlereth’s comments, Rex Ryan appeared ready to pounce before being rescued by Jets PR. Though he was a bit more subdued than he might have liked to be, the coach still got his point across, while also praising Schlereth’s side business. “You know I’d fire back at this dude. He was a great player, there’s no question. And by the way he makes some darn good salsa. I’m just going to give him some props on it. I’m not going to say he has bad salsa because he had great salsa. And he was a fine player . . . even if the Eagles used to get after him. . . .” “I just remember something (Schlereth) said about (Ravens All-Pro defensive tackle) Haloti Ngata when he came up that just shows he’s not 100% on his opinions on players,” Ryan said. “I don’t want to directly quote him, but he (said Ngata) was on the ground more than grass was, really average, doesn’t play hard, something like that. But I think Haloti has been pretty decent through the years.” Ryan then turned to defend Decker, whom he believes is the leader of a vastly improved receiver corps. “I feel better about this receiving group than I did any (time) last year. And it starts with Eric Decker,” Ryan said. “Having him was a huge gift for us in the offseason. He’s been terrific here. He brings leadership and experience . . . but I also like the improvement of David Nelson and Greg Salas. Part of that is the fact that they’ve been here all through camp, where last year we kind of got them off the streets so to speak. I’m impressed with our receiving group, and it’s probably as strong a group as we’ve had in quite a long time here.” While Decker had 87 receptions, 11 touchdowns and 1,288 yards last season for the Broncos, he no longer has future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning throwing him the pigskin. But the Jets, including their new No. 1 receiver, have been unwavering in their support of Geno Smith, insisting that the second-year quarterback has grown markedly since his rookie campaign. “He’s a young guy, and I’m really impressed how sharp and how knowledgeable he is,” Decker said. “I’ll tell you this,” added backup quarterback Michael Vick said. “I guess they had him ranked 32nd (among quarterbacks)? That won’t be the case. Through all of our hard work and what we’ve set out to accomplish, that number may jump times five.”
And because Geno Smith isn't throwing him the ball. He's flourished every year he's been in the league aside from his rookie year.
The biggest reason Decker is having such a good year is Brandon Marshall...... He's back to being the 2nd receiver, it's a lot like Calvin Pryor...... He was out of position last year...... I can tell you this year there's a lot of Denver fans that wish they had kept Decker over DT......
Decker may not be a top #1 but playing as a #1 last year he had more yards than the top receiver on 12 other teams while having Geno throw him the ball. The team had the 6th lowest attempts per game and Decker was 35th highest in targets in the league. To me that is pretty damn impressive
He may have more TD's then Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Demaryius Thomas, Antonio Brown and Jordy Nelson but the difference in coverage is notable! I don't think he's underated at all - He's a damn good #2 especially in the slot & over the middle.
I think Decker would still have a good season if he played on the outside more. He's a sneaky deep threat too and we haven't really utilized that with Fitz as our QB. If a strong armed QB started, I bet you would see Marshall in the slot more and Decker on the outside.
where can i find the fe full interview of this http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-gameday/0ap3000000604023/NFL-Media-s-Big-Heads looks great
Decker was never brought in to be a true #1 dominant WR. He was brought in because he was better than any WR we had in a long time.
Doesn't drop passes would imply 0 drops. 3 drops is 3 drops too many when you are getting paid 7 million + a year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Is it? I'm not saying he isn't good because he is, but him and Marshall both drop balls in key situations. Let's not kid ourselves here.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Marshall has 8 drops. He drops passes pretty regularly. Decker doesnt. Decker also takes many more hard hits than Marshall does. Every WR drops passes sometimes. But this is one year that no one should have anything negative to say about either one of these guys.
I couldn't be happier about the production from the two of them. I just feel if you are getting paid millions to catch a ball, you really shouldn't be dropping any of them.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
