Josh Gordon

[azcatz11]

I think this is one of the 'what if's' in modern football. You had an elite athletic WR with the prototype body who posted almost 1,700 yards in 2013.

I think a lot of us thought this was Randy Moss 2.0 (a la Patriots) but he's been very disappointing. I think it's a substance abuse issue personally but it's just sad to see what he would've done without that.

I guess my point is these WR's don't come around that often

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[gobears81]

I think there's a lot of things. Maybe substance abuse is still happening, I'd like to think not. But he has barely made it on the field for the last five years. There's not many players that miss a full year and come back as effective, but just being able to get on the field after five years is an accomplishment. Also, some of the geriatric QBs in the league such as Drew Brees slow down as the year goes on. Tom Brady has had some great games over the past few years, but he's also showing signs of slowing down and now he doesn't have Gronkowski. Aside from his first couple of games this year, and probably dominating in the playoffs, I think this is going to be the year that you see him in the bottom half of the league for most of the season. Plus, the Pats like to mix up their playbook so you could have one receiver go for 100-yards one week and 10 the next.

[skones]

What's missed here is the volume he received in Cleveland out of sheer necessity. He was playing on a 4-12 ball club where guys like Brandon Weeden, Jason Campbell, and Brian Hoyer, were hucking the ball all over the field because they were playing from behind so much. That Browns squad threw the ball 681 times that season, a number Tom Brady hasn't touched in a single season his entire career. Josh Gordon received 159 targets that season.The only other half way legitimate receiving threat was Jordan Cameron who had 900 yards and never eclipsed 500 in any other season. Gordon got target volume on being a physical specimen. That's not enough on the Pats. He falls behind when it comes to the nuances of the position, namely route running.

[Dr Positivity]

Not just the substance abuse but the reasons for the substance abuse, probably has spent a lot of time in unhappiness which makes it harder to reach his full potential