I heard Scarnecchia talk about number ones. So I asked, was a number one a big play guy or security blanket? Was a number one exclusively a stretch guy or could they be a slot guy. After someone I respected answered, I realized I wanted to hear what I wanted to hear. So thank you Ray Rauth for speaking your opinion. Ray doesn't like yes men, and I see why. So I realized on occasion, I need to learn to agree to disagee when it's not a question of morals.
A Stretch guy draws coverage down field and opens stuff up underneath. They catch the over the shoulder passes. They are typically good at contested catches which means they might not be the best at separating. Which means number one's as stretch guys occasionally have to be forced the ball. And because they have to run sprints so much, they also occasionally take plays off.
Slot guys have agility and acceleration. They're good at the underneath and intermediate stuff. They're good over the middle and especially in the quick passing game. They're also normally good at getting open off the snap. A number one slot is normally a possession receiver that's typically always open. But they're not always a head of the sticks so they have to be good at getting YAC. They're also often prone to injury due to taking so many shots across the middle.
When I was young I remember Joe Montana throwing to Jerry Rice. My father is a huge Niners fan. They had other guys but Rice was their speedy number one. He was the big play guy. He was what it meant to be the number one. In my teens, the 90s, my teens are a bit of a blur but I remember 2 pass catchers from the Bledsoe era. Terry Glenn who wasn't around long, and Ben Coates. Coates was the number one. From my memory looking back 20-27 years ago. Coates got a lot of check down and over the middle throws. He was Bledsoe's security blanket.
Rice and Coates were both number one targets, with very different skill sets. The 49ers also had Brent Jones but while he was a security blanket, he wasn't a number one. (A security blanket and a number one aren't always the same thing.). Just like although the Patriots had Agholor he wasn't the number one, Meyers was but Meyers was also a security blanket. Agholor got paid a lot of money to open up the underneath stuff. And when he was out, we say teams didn't care about Harry or Wilkerson trying to go down field and came up.
Getting another stretch guy in free agency or the draft could be helpful but so could a slot guy that can get open from the snap. I admit the Patriots need another stretch guy but I also think they need another reliable slot guy. And another pass catching back. Do the Patriots need a true number one, no. They can make due with a bunch of number twos and elite number threes.
However, a number one would or could be helpful but it all depends on the system fit. Change an offense for one player and it could mess up the entire offense. Don't change the offense to fit the player and the player suffers. Hence a declining Cam Newton couldn't operate the Patriots passing game and his passing stats and performance showed it.
So scheme fit is a must and if that means passing on a number one, so be it. The Patriots gotta do what's best for the team. Over the past 20 years, even thought some don't acknowledge it, the Patriots have had three number ones. Edelman, Welker, and Moss but it comes down to how one defines a number one. If one defines a number one as a big play guy, then the Patriots only had one. And it's disagreements that don't matter, no matter how important sports is or isn't to human civilization.
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