Perfect Example Of When Stats Lie
March 20th, 2011
Second only to the Bucs missing the playoffs last year for Joe on the sickening scale was when rookie wide receiver Arrelioius Benn went down late in the season with a knee injury. Joe was nearly sick to his stomach.
Benn played in one of those damned, gimmick spread-option offenses in college, which have zero comparison to an NFL offense. Hateful Bucs fans mocked Benn early because the guy was learning a brand new offense, much like learning a new language.
Once Benn began grasping an NFL offense, he turned into First-and-Benn. He lit up Arizona, lit up Washington and was about to become a force as a wide receiver, pulling attention off of fellow rookie wide receiver Mike Williams to compose a lethal air attack when Kellen Winslow was thrown in.
An alleged Bucs fan decided to pepper Disney blogger Pat Yasinskas, typing for the Stalinist outfit BSPN, all but claiming Benn is a bust and the Bucs need to look to add a receiver in the draft.
Calvin (Newport News, VA)
Hey Pat. Do you feel like the Bucs should consider looking at another receiver? I feel like Williams came along fine, but Benn didn’t have a great rookie season (2nd round pick, 395 yards 2 TD’s). I’m not saying replace Benn because he still has time to prove himself, but I wouldn’t say he’s above having some competition come in.Pat Yasinskas
Maybe take a shot on a WR later in the draft. But I’m not down on Benn all that much. He was starting to come on a little before he got hurt. Coaches still like him and they’ve got a few other guys there as well. I wouldn’t panic and draft WR early, but wouldn’t hurt to add another a bit later in draft.
Good Lord, does this guy in Virginia not have NFL Sunday Ticket? Did he not watch any Bucs games? The absolute only reason Benn may not develop is because of his knee, not because he’s a bust.
This is a perfect example of someone looking at stats and not putting the numbers in any context or perspective.
March 20th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
Agreed. Benn was really starting to come on before he got injured. I think people try to compare Benn to Williams which just isn’t fair. Williams had a ridiculous year and grasped the offense quickly. It just took Benn a bit longer to grasp it, but once he did he impressed me. Hell, even Dezmon Briscoe looks promising.
March 20th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
That guy is nuts, WR corps looks damn amazing, Williams, Benn, Brisco, Stroughter, Spurlock, even Parker looks like a good guy on depth!!! cmon man, that guy is a douche
March 20th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
That guy doesn’t know schnikes about football, I am sure most teams out there would give their left arms to get our WR corps, not only are they good, but they are young, hungry, and quick to prove that they are better than people are giving them credit for. Like I said before, it’s okay that people always try to bring down the team, I call it motivation. It’s apparent he didn’t see Benn the last few games before he got hurt, I about cried when I saw him go down and found out how serious it was. It’s okay, he is coming along in strides and I can’t wait till he kicks booty next season, provided there is a next season….
March 20th, 2011 at 6:59 pm
lord i wonder what people are watching sometimes, sure isn’t buccaneer football…
March 20th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
I’d consider Greg Little or Greg Salas if either is still available in the 4th round. WR isn’t a huge need, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring in another great receiver to keep the competition up tempo.
MW is a lock, and I’m pretty sure Benn will be when he gets healthy, but the knee injury could hurt his production this year. Stroughter is good depth, but he didn’t look like a solid #3 last year. Briscoe has great potential but has hardly played and therefore is still a question mark. Preston is a question mark as well. Spurlock is better than most give him credit for, and Stovall should never wear Pewter and red again.
A guy like Greg Salas could improve our depth by replacing our weakest link….probably Preston or Spurlock. Plus he could challenge to be the #1 slot guy. Talk about a tough blue collar guy that fights for every ball and every yard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH94OG2Fcko
March 20th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
@JDouble,
I have to agree with you on Salas. I’ve seen a lot of the WR’s from Hawaii, and he is the most impressive (even more so than Devone Bess). Good speed, excellent hands, and very very very strong (YAC). I don’t know if we need him, but I definitely wouldn’t be disappointed.
March 20th, 2011 at 8:06 pm
Yeah he’s a stud. I’d think a WR in the first 3 rounds would be foolish, but if we can get a guy that could end up being our 2nd best WR in the 4th round or later….well I’m all about the BPA so I’d grab him without hesitation. He could very well be a better option in the slot than Briscoe or Stroughter.
Plus his style of play is something fans would fall in love with. He doesn’t wait for the ball, he takes it. He doesn’t run out of bounds or slide to avoid contact, he makes you stop him. Like MW he is also an eager and aggressive down field run blocker. Some team will probably take him before the 4th imo.
With Greg Little….I actually like him as a Tight End better than a WR. He reminds me of Shannon Sharpe in both size and ability.
March 20th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Honestly, I think Benn has a chance to put up numbers just as good as Mike Williams if not better in the next couple years. I don’t think Benn is quite as good at going up and making circus catches but I think he’s better at beating press coverage because of his strength and build. They should compliment each other really well and should be interchangable at flanker and split end. The combination of those two on the edges with Winslow working the middle should cause fits for OC’s across the league, hopefully for many years to come.
Briscoe, Spurlock, Stroughter, and Parker make WR an afterthought this offseason. We now have franchse caliber players at all the major positions across the board on offense. When has this team ever had that before?
March 20th, 2011 at 10:38 pm
Benn had FLASHES of brilliance but come on people – where’s the accountability? Joe wrote that Biggers had a great year – statwise, but when it comes to Benn Joe ignores the stats!!!
Just a little bit HYPOCRITICAL aren’t we?
At the end of the season Brisco and Parker looked great and guess what? they didn’t have the time on the field that Benn did. I’m sorry but for a 2nd round pick Benn was a disappointment. I don’t care what system the kid played in college a route is a route – run it; unless you’re REALLY DUMB!
Benn has trouble with seperation from the defenders. He runs strong but can he hang onto the ball going across the middle? He didn’t look like he could out-jump the defenders like Williams. He wasn’t a deep ball threat and I’m not sold on his downfield blocking.
I’m not going to call Benn a bust but i will say this – he didn’t live up to the billing of a 2nd round WR and his job as a WR starter next season, assuming there is one, isn’t set in stone – Williams job is secure
March 20th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
“Benn has trouble with seperation from the defenders” – Mr. Lucky
Completely wrong…
I bet you Freeman would agree with me.
March 20th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
“Williams job is secure” – Mr. Lucky
/thanks Yoda
/see also “sky is blue”
/you don’t say?
March 21st, 2011 at 1:05 am
Okay guys, I’m going to go ahead and take this one….
Mr. Lucky,
Are you serious with that post, or are you displaying sarcasm that I’m just not catching? For your sake, I hope you are joking.
Joe dismisses Benn’s stats because he came on late in the season, so he’s not going to have 1000 yards receiving. He barely played until the middle of the season. Surely you can understand that.
What exactly did you expect from a 2nd round WR in the NFL? Compare him to Golden Tate (the other 2nd round WR) – 227 yards. How about Demaryius Thomas? 283 yards. Even Dez Bryant and Brandon Lafell didn’t do much better than Benn. I guess they are all disappointments too.
To say a route is a route and you must be dumb if you can’t learn it is one of the most ignorant statements I have ever read on this board (and that’s saying a lot when Thomas is a part of this board). You have no idea what the hell you are talking about. First of all, all of the terminologies are different. It’s like me talking to you in Japanese, and expecting you to understand everything I say, even though you have only spoken English your entire life. You ever heard an NFL play call before? They don’t draw pictures in the dirt, and they don’t say “go long”. Second, the types of routes run in a spread offense are completely different from a pro offense. So no, a route is not a route. Third, you are defended differently in a spread offense versus a pro offense. That takes gettig used to. Finally, Benn’s position (Z) is far more complex than Williams position (X). For you to say that he must be dumb if he can’t learn it quickly is an insult to their profession, and all that it entails. It’s one thing to study and learn the offense, it’s another thing entirely to process that information when bullets are flying. If you don’t understand that, then you never played team sports beyond pee-wee.
Trouble separating from defenders? Yeah, whatever. Ask Arizona and Washington about that. Like HGO said, ask Freeman. It’s the MF’ing NFL, if you have an arm’s length of separation, you are wide open. When exactly did he drop a ball going down the middle. I’ve watched every game twice, and I only recall him dropping one ball, and it was on the outside (against SF I believe). I think you are confusing him with Williams, who dropped quite a few over the middle. And how would you know he can’t out-jump defenders? In the regular season, he had zero opportunities. So how are such a good scout that you don’t even need to see an opportunity to determine he can’t do it? Did you watch him in warm-ups and make that determination? He did have one jump ball thrown to him in the preseason against the Texans, and guess what, he caught it for a TD.
Look, you are entitled to an opinion, but you can’t say a bunch of BS and not expect to get called on it. This article was created because Joe was basically making fun of an ignorant fan for making an ignorant statement – probably not a good idea to back up the ignorant fan. I think you are guilty of expecting rookies to play like veterans, but it just doesn’t happen.
March 21st, 2011 at 3:49 am
Let’s hope injuries don’t plague this guys career.
March 21st, 2011 at 7:21 am
Hawaiian Buc,
Thanks for your great reply.
1. I’m NOT saying that Benn is a bust.
2. I am saying that when you compare Benn to Williams – Benn comes up short
3. The terminology anology – BOGUS. No i haven’t played beyond the college level. However, these kids are supposed to have college degree’s. It’s their FULL-TIME job to learn the routes and terminology.
Joe has certain players that he ‘favors’ and Benn is one of them. I just wanted to point out that when Joe points out how stats ‘lie’ he uses it to re-inforce HIS viewpoint/opinion.
You said I posted a lot of BS – really?
1. I stated that Benn didn’t get separation from defenders – I don’t recall seeing Benn 2-3 yards beyond the CB’s last year and in a ‘clutch’ Benn wasn’t the go to guy
2. I wrote for a round 2 pick he was a disappointment – now compared to other 2nd round WR’s maybe not but when 3rd rounder Mike Williams doubles Benn’s production I think I’m entitled to be disappointed…
3. I don’t recall the pre-season game you mentioned but I just don’t recally seeing Benn outjumping the defense like Williams did.
I DID write that Benn had good YAC but of course you only want to ATTACK someone who disagrees right?
March 21st, 2011 at 7:23 am
Oh BTW – your use of the term ignorant fan asking an ignorant question – excellent use of the word.
Ignorant = not knowing. your post was meant to educate.
March 21st, 2011 at 7:49 am
Benn is one of the guys who’s rehab is coming along nicely which is more than we can say for Huggy (setback) and Price (uncertainty) and McCoy (lets hope he doesn’t turn into Faine Jr. with the bicep).
When he comes back, there will be no doubts about his skills. His mental should be set already, he will know the system, terminology, etc. Then we can see what he has.
March 21st, 2011 at 8:31 am
Q: How do you know when you’re not really that big of a Bucs fan?
A: When you have to ask some douchebag on ESPN about your team.
March 21st, 2011 at 8:41 am
”Benn has trouble with seperation from the defenders. He runs strong but can he hang onto the ball going across the middle? He didn’t look like he could out-jump the defenders like Williams. He wasn’t a deep ball threat”
”1. I stated that Benn didn’t get separation from defenders – I don’t recall seeing Benn 2-3 yards beyond the CB’s last year and in a ‘clutch’ Benn wasn’t the go to guy”
Hey Lucky, this is the NFL bro…WRs very rarely get 2 to 3 yards of separation unless a defender trips and falls. So if you are expecting to see that you will always be disappointed.
He was the clutch guy several times, and he had 3 of Freeman’s 5 longest completions…so he was a deep threat. You are just mistaken buddy.
The only question on Benn is how the injury will effect him.
March 21st, 2011 at 10:17 am
I have no complaints about Benn or his rookie performance. Every rookie in the league came up short compared to Mike Williams. Benn made clutch catches in key games. Can we get back to bashing Barrett Ruud now?
March 21st, 2011 at 10:42 am
Snook pretty much nailed it…
March 21st, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Most of these Virginia fans still think that Clinton Portis is still the best RB in the league and not past his prime. They are still waiting for Mike Vick to sign up for graduate school and try to play for Va Tech again. Brain Dead. Even on P2P pirate coverage of the Pewtered Pirates I could see that Benn will definitely compliment Williams and be a stud in the near future.
March 21st, 2011 at 2:41 pm
Mr Lucky,
I’m not really attacking you, but when you are wrong, I’m going to point it out. You can’t compare Benny to Williams, different positions. Also, everyone develops at different speeds. That goes for every player at every position. Were you disappointed in Freeman in his rookie year? By the way, Freeman has said on numerous occasions that he didn’t really grasp the offense until this year. Is he stupid too? The terminology analogy is not bogus. Again it is one thing to learn the terminology; it’s another thing entirely to apply that knowledge on the playing field.
Your expectations are way out of wack, and to be honest, I’m surprised you admitted that you are comparing him to Williams, even though you choose to ignore every other Rookie WR’s production. So you are admitting that you expect the Bucs to have drafted 2 WR’s whose stats blow away every other rookie WR? Come on man, you are better than that.