Who is "Chad Jackson?"

[alvinnf]

LOL, b/c what's more objective than judging a player who has the misfortune of battling injuries for his first two years in his career.

:bricks:

Come back after he's been healthy for a season and tell us if you think he's no good. And please do not reply with the "oh, he's injury prone and made of glass!" crap, the guy tore his ACL and came back faster than most do.

You know other thanthe injuries there has been questions surrounding his ability to learn the offense and his overall maturity. I also think it's funny that his rookie year while "injured" he was on the field at times only as a blocker on running plays, just running plays. So apparently his injury procluded him from being able to make sight adjustments and read the defense. Furthermore, I dislike players that train themselves into an injury such as tweeking a hammy by trying to get their dollars up at the combine. You know all that is ancient history, I hope he has a great year and a long career, but rught now he's further behind Bethel Johnson in both production and reliability. I hope I eat crow, crows...

 

[bradmahn]

What do we know about Chad Jackson? He was widely considered the best WR prospect in the 2006 draft; he has really impressive measurables: size (6-1 215), speed (4.32 40), athleticism (38 1/2" vertical, 4.03 20 yd shuttle, and 6.74 3-cone), college production (at multiple positions, lined up in the slot and outside), great hands (won the hands competition in the WR drills prior to the draft), and in June mini-camps of '06 it was reported that he looked exceptional in team drills. All of this was known in his first year.

What do we know about Jackson that we didn't know about him his rookie season? Nothing, other than that it has been reported that he and Randy Moss became close last season. We don't have any idea how the mental progression has gone for Chad Jackson, nor do we know what the coaching staff thinks of him. What we do know is that he has all the potential in the world, potential to be a much better receiver than Deion Branch or Donte' Stallworth and certainly Jabar Gaffney.

Is he injury prone? How can a player be injury prone if he has only been injured twice, both in the span of six months? Please, expound.

As to the designations of receivers one, two and three: Jackson, even as the "fourth" receiver off the bench, has an opportunity to catch forty plus balls, regardless of whether or not he platoons with Gaffney. He will have the opportunity in training camp, and throughout the season, to win the third starting receiver role. If he progresses as I think he can with a full offseason working out with the team, coupled with the wealth of knowledge at his fingertips with three of the top offensive players in the league around him,* expect Jackson to be a starter when week 1 comes around.



*Tom Brady, the best and quite possibly most cerebral QB in the NFL; Randy Moss, the best WR in the league and, not coincidentally, the smartest receiver Belichick has ever coached; and Wes Welker, the best slot receiver in the game, certainly capable of seeing exactly what Brady sees and responding to that in a way that allowed him to catch 112 balls

 

[Metaphors]

As to the designations of receivers one, two and three: Jackson, even as the "fourth" receiver off the bench, has an opportunity to catch forty plus balls, regardless of whether or not he platoons with Gaffney. He will have the opportunity in training camp, and throughout the season, to win the third starting receiver role. If he progresses as I think he can with a full offseason working out with the team, coupled with the wealth of knowledge at his fingertips with three of the top offensive players in the league around him,* expect Jackson to be a starter when week 1 comes around.

I agree with you, but I find the use of numbers for receiver positions to be annoying (generally, not directed at you). People use the numbers in different contexts to support whatever they are talking about.

Do the numbers reflect the number of catches? Then Moss is a #2 receiver and KC/Philly don't have a #1 "receiver".

Do the numbers reflect a position on the field like X, Y and Z? That makes Welker a #3 receiver.

Do the numbers reflect skills, contract terms or some other subjective evaluation? TJ and CJ in Cincy would love that.

The numbers are generally worthless anyway but when discussing WR roles they just get plain confusing. What is the difference between a #2, #3 and #4 when discussing CJack? The amount he gets on the field? That is subject to the gameplan that day. The number of catches he gets? He sure won't be a #2 in that case, but catches depends on many factors not known ahead of time. Whether he starts or not? Depends on the formation to start the game.

Welker is a slot/Y receiver. Gaffney is really not well suited outside so he likely falls here too for his primary responsibility...as well as opposite Welker in the 4-wide set.

Moss is a split end/X receiver. Gets him away from the clutter and forces a defense to shade his side of the field or else leave the CB in a physical mismatch on an island. Washington likely fits in this role as well.

CJack is a flanker/Z receiver. Set off the line, sometimes in motion to attack multiple areas of the field quickly.

There are just rough designations, not hard-n-fast rules. I would like to see Moss off the line and in motion more this year. If CJack doesn't step up, you will likely see Gaffney as a flanker, just like he did replacing Stallworth late in 2007.

The point is...CJack is trying to claim the flanker role and it is his for the taking. Nobody knows if he will take the next step and claim the job. Whatever the case, assigning numbers to WR roles should probably be accompanied by an explanation of the point you are trying to make. Saying CJack is a #2 receiver may or may not make sense depending on your definition.

 

[bradmahn]

I agree with you, but I find the use of numbers for receiver positions to be annoying (generally, not directed at you). People use the numbers in different contexts to support whatever they are talking about.

That is a great point. In actually typing up that post I found myself adjusting what I meant by the numbering of the receivers. I was mostly thinking in terms of the base offense (which, while still subject to change as per the game plan, I think is safe to assume has become a three receiver set, or some derivative of that). I most assuredly would not have been able to address it in terms of the X, Y, and Z roles, though, so that was good that you broke that down.

 

[Metaphors]

That is a great point. In actually typing up that post I found myself adjusting what I meant by the numbering of the receivers. I was mostly thinking in terms of the base offense (which, while still subject to change as per the game plan, I think is safe to assume has become a three receiver set, or some derivative of that). I most assuredly would not have been able to address it in terms of the X, Y, and Z roles, though, so that was good that you broke that down.

I got your meaning from the context of the post. I'm actually hoping for more 2-TE sets with DThomas and Watson. I think it gives the Pats offense more balance with the run and pass protection, as well as providing more screen/dumpoff options against the blitz.

You are likely right about having 3-wide as a "base" formation. In that case, I see CJack as building on some of the things he did well in 2006...WR screens, drag routes, skinny post (sometimes taking those deep as he did on one TD). Belichick also toughened him up a bit by giving him a good number of blocking assignments on run plays in '06, which also makes him a good fit on the same side as Welker.

I'm very positive on CJack this year for all the reasons you mentioned earlier. Hopefully he will be healthy enough to capitalize on the opportunity he has.

 

[Chad Action Jackson]

You know other thanthe injuries there has been questions surrounding his ability to learn the offense and his overall maturity. I also think it's funny that his rookie year while "injured" he was on the field at times only as a blocker on running plays, just running plays. So apparently his injury procluded him from being able to make sight adjustments and read the defense. Furthermore, I dislike players that train themselves into an injury such as tweeking a hammy by trying to get their dollars up at the combine. You know all that is ancient history, I hope he has a great year and a long career, but rught now he's further behind Bethel Johnson in both production and reliability. I hope I eat crow, crows...

First, I want to address this "maturity" B.S that we as fans continually say like we know what goes on with the team. A few reporters thought he was immature and than we just run with it like we came up wit the idea on our own. We have no idea if CJack is or was immature but would it really be that much of a surprise to Pioli and Bill if a 20 year old was still a little immature. While I'm on the subject of immaturity it's amusing that we bash on a kid like CJack when he's done NOTHING wrong expcet get injured. Learning the offense is another story. The Patriots have brought in several wide recievers who had good numbers before they got here and they couldn't learn the offense. Does the name Donald Hayes mean anything? You guys all make it sound like playbooks are os easy to learn and that everyone should learn them within a day. Thats just stupid. CJack doesn't have to learn just the X position but it was widely reported that the Patriots wanted him to learn X,Y, and Z positions. This is the equivalent of learning 3 seperate playbooks as each position has different responsabilities. So maybe he learned Y but not X or Z yet. So what? Who cares? Give the kid time. I bet he knows it now

Now Alvin, I find it funny that you apparently only remember him being on the field as a blocker. It's amusing because I can recall directly off the top of my head 5 different occasions where they had him run straight down the field or straight down the field and cut to the middle. Each time of which, he got his hands on the ball and either made a great catch or almost made the catch. Now about his "blocking" ability, maybe the reason he was out there is because he was one of our better blocking wide outs. He's 6'2 and strong as hell, so why would it be surprising that they would want him blocking? Let's not be totally naive here people (i know it's hard for some of you who just love to bash people even though u'll never achieve their success).....About the combine, well than your an idiot...Every one does their best when going in for a job interview which is what the combine is. It's one big physical interview, so who isn't going to study (practice) that much harder. Your right though, kids shouldn't study for the SAT's or any other test because it might make them forget something else. God forbid anyone would train for the olympics or anything. We wouldn't want to upset the great Alvin and in turn make a little more money for ourselves. Oh My God what a novel concept, people who live in America want to make more money for themselves. Oh and by straight numbers, technically he is "behind" Bethel Johnson but people need to remember that Bethel played 2 years and still sucked. I'm going to give chad the benefit of this year and I guarantee he makes you look like a complete idiot. I'll end this by saying that I'm glad we dont have some of you making decisions for the Patriots because we would never win another super bowl and you'd all cut rookies after one season if they didn't play like a pro bowler. And if you dislike players who improve themselves to make more money than you should hate the entire team cause thats what they all do. Every player is trying to get better in order to make more money, thats just how it goes big guy.

 

[BradyManny]

Do the numbers reflect a position on the field like X, Y and Z? That makes Welker a #3 receiver.

Do the numbers reflect skills, contract terms or some other subjective evaluation? TJ and CJ in Cincy would love that.

The numbers are generally worthless anyway but when discussing WR roles they just get plain confusing. What is the difference between a #2, #3 and #4 when discussing CJack? The amount he gets on the field? That is subject to the gameplan that day. The number of catches he gets? He sure won't be a #2 in that case, but catches depends on many factors not known ahead of time. Whether he starts or not? Depends on the formation to start the game.

Welker is a slot/Y receiver. Gaffney is really not well suited outside so he likely falls here too for his primary responsibility...as well as opposite Welker in the 4-wide set.

Moss is a split end/X receiver. Gets him away from the clutter and forces a defense to shade his side of the field or else leave the CB in a physical mismatch on an island. Washington likely fits in this role as well.

CJack is a flanker/Z receiver. Set off the line, sometimes in motion to attack multiple areas of the field quickly.

There are just rough designations, not hard-n-fast rules. I would like to see Moss off the line and in motion more this year. If CJack doesn't step up, you will likely see Gaffney as a flanker, just like he did replacing Stallworth late in 2007.

The point is...CJack is trying to claim the flanker role and it is his for the taking. Nobody knows if he will take the next step and claim the job. Whatever the case, assigning numbers to WR roles should probably be accompanied by an explanation of the point you are trying to make. Saying CJack is a #2 receiver may or may not make sense depending on your definition.

Nice post. Objective and well thought out. If CJ is the receiver the Pats hoped he'd be when they drafted him, then he fills that flanker role perfectly. The notion that he is just a burner is crazy given what he did in college. IMO, CJ has the versatility that Stallworth lacked, and the versatility needed to attack the parts of the field left open due to defenses paying attention to Moss or Welker.

 

[sebman2112]

Nice post. Objective and well thought out. If CJ is the receiver the Pats hoped he'd be when they drafted him, then he fills that flanker role perfectly. The notion that he is just a burner is crazy given what he did in college. IMO, CJ has the versatility that Stallworth lacked, and the versatility needed to attack the parts of the field left open due to defenses paying attention to Moss or Welker.

Well, the Patriots reportedly plan to limit Moss' reps this year, and they did overwork him a bit last year (he was on the field for almost every snap each game). So, they will need someone to help out more this year, and hopefully Chad can be that player.

 

[Metaphors]

Nice post. Objective and well thought out. If CJ is the receiver the Pats hoped he'd be when they drafted him, then he fills that flanker role perfectly. The notion that he is just a burner is crazy given what he did in college. IMO, CJ has the versatility that Stallworth lacked, and the versatility needed to attack the parts of the field left open due to defenses paying attention to Moss or Welker.

:yeahthat: said in much fewer and better words than my rambling post.

 

[Triumph]

To be injury prone, one usually has to get small recurring injuries. Jackson has had 2 injuries. His hamstring, which was never fully healed from prior to the combine he participated in and his ACL, which was hurt during kick coverage during the ACFFG. How is that injury prone?

You don't come back in 6 months from an ACL and be fully healthy. Even Jerry Rice, who did, ended up blowing it out again.

Jackson has had 3 seperate injuries.

 

[sebman2112]

Jackson has had 3 seperate injuries.

Please explain....

I know he strained his hammy (which wasn't fully healthy for the majority of his rookie season), then suffered an ACL tear in the AFCCG vs the Colts. He didn't sustain any injuries during the 2007 season, and durability was considered one of his strengths coming out of college.

 

[pats1]

Please explain....

I know he strained his hammy (which wasn't fully healthy for the majority of his rookie season), then suffered an ACL tear in the AFCCG vs the Colts. He didn't sustain any injuries during the 2007 season, and durability was considered one of his strengths coming out of college.

He had a groin injury late in 2006:

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2006/12/inactive_analys_23.html

 

[Triumph]

He had a groin injury late in 2006:

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2006/12/inactive_analys_23.html

Thats right. INJURY PRONE.

 

[Triumph]

I read that pre draft some Pitt Steeler front office types were interviewing Jackson and his cell went off. Jackson took the call and made the people from the Steelers wait.

Needless to say, Pitt wasnt drafting Bethel Johnson II.

 

[oldskool138]

No Pats player has gotten more praise for doing nothing than Chad Jackson.

There, I said it.

 

[BradyManny]

He had a groin injury late in 2006:

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2006/12/inactive_analys_23.html

The groin injury was related to the hammy. It's really boiled down to the nagging hamstring problems and the ACL. To me, that's just bad luck, not being injury prone.

 

[dhamz]

No Pats player has gotten more praise for doing nothing than Chad Jackson.

There, I said it.

Agree 100%

 

[RayClay]

I read that pre draft some Pitt Steeler front office types were interviewing Jackson and his cell went off. Jackson took the call and made the people from the Steelers wait.

Needless to say, Pitt wasnt drafting Bethel Johnson II.

They drafted Santonio Holmes. He was arrested twice in twenty five days. Ha ha way to make a point

 

[RayClay]

Is this the crystal ball thread?

We'll know more about him in two weeks than we do now, why speculate?

He's mostly been injured and when not has been in a receiver corps in a period of flux.

First year, trying 3 veterans to get 2 receivers. You know BB doesn't even want to bother with rookies in those situations.

Second year he's recovering from an ACL, 2 year full recovery for skill position players. Think they wanted to sit Moss and Stallworth or let him fully recover?

It amazes me how people get in a lather about players who are injured instead of waiting for them to show what they've got.

He'll either contribute with his great athletic ability this year, or he'll be cut when his contract expires. Relax, have a beer and leave the crystal ball to Miss Cleo.

 

[RayClay]

I still like Chad Jackson and believe in his potential. Maybe I just like lost causes. But I'm willing to give him another year before cutting the cord.

I disagree. He should have sewed that damn ligament himself and got in there last year.

A little HGH and we could have sat Moss and Stallworth so could get some snaps instead of rehabbing, which is for ****ies anyway.

More important than getting Brady work with Moss and Stallworth is solving this mystery.

BTW, what right does Seymour have to injure his knee? Somebody needs to look into this.