I just got to thinking about how poorly Orton throws the long-ball, and how it affects the overall offense. That made me think, "What would Devin Hester's stats look like if he had a QB who could throw the long ball?"

 

-Lee Evans, who does nothing but catch the long-ball it seems, really benefitted from JP Losman throwin the longball. Insert Trent Edwards and the longball disappears.

-Remember what Randy Moss looked like with Daunte Culpepper?

-Remember how Marcus Robinson made Cade McNown look like a decent QB because the one pass Cade seemed to throw well was the rainbow deep ball?

 

Devin Hester finished the year with 45 catches, 580 yards, and 3 TDs. Suppose Orton could throw the deep ball with consistency. What would Hester have finished with? Anyone willing to do the research for this season to recall which passes should have been long-bomb TDs? I'm guessing there were about 6 or so plays where Orton's inability to throw deep costed Hester the TD. With garbage extrapolation, that puts Hester at 51 catches, 880 yards (50 ypc avg.), and 9TDs.

 

Is that really that unreasonable? Could that have easily happened? I can't go back to the games, and I don't remember the specific play by play well enough, but I bet it's pretty close to what could have been.

he's have at least 5 more TDs and 200+ yards easily. I cant recall how many times Hester was under or over thrown.

Actually, he finished with 51 catches and 653 yards (you missed the last game stats. I can think of 2 td catches he dropped. Maybe he has 2 to 3 more touchdowns if Kyle hits him. Don't forget Rex missed him wide open in the Titans game. Realistically, a we may catch 4 to 5 bombs max a year.

 

Peace

Actually, he finished with 51 catches and 653 yards (you missed the last game stats. I can think of 2 td catches he dropped. Maybe he has 2 to 3 more touchdowns if Kyle hits him. Don't forget Rex missed him wide open in the Titans game. Realistically, a we may catch 4 to 5 bombs max a year.

 

Peace

Improving the OL through the draft and signing Houshmanzadeh or trading for Boldin will open up the deep ball.

 

If we improve the OL, Forte will have plenty more holes and so the D might start cheating up. Then, we hit them deep for Hester.

 

Sign Houshmanzadeh and safeties start cheating up on slants for him as he's a possession guy. Boldin is a possession guy too but he can stretch the field. These 2 guys would make life easier for Hester and Orton (and Forte).

You could also ask what would his stats be like if he held onto balls & didn';t drop to the ground when Defenders came near him LOL

You could also ask what would his stats be like if he held onto balls & didn';t drop to the ground when Defenders came near him LOL

 

Obviously, but the point of the thread is that Orton can't throw the long ball with any sort of precision. If he could, I wonder how that would have changed Hester's stats, and as a consequence, changed various games this year.

Yes Orton can't throw the deep ball consistently & we need to bring in a QB either via draft or FA, but Hester is at best a #2 & we need a legitimate #1 also

Devin Hester needs a better qb and another raise.

 

It's Orton's fault he now sucks as a punt/kick off returner.

 

He's a SUPER STAR ! Pay Him More !!