Plaxico
10 Games / 9 Starts
35 receptions
454 yards
13 yards per catch avg.
4 TD's
Hixon
16 games / 7 Starts
43 receptions
596 yards
13.9 yards per catch avg.
2 TD's
There are those that say those stats don't matter because after Plax went down, Hixon didn't do anything in our last six games...
Hixon's last six games at #1
@ Washington: 5 catches, 71 yards, 14.2 avg., long of 18
Philly (his worst): 3 catches, 30 yards, 10 avg., long of 17 (one HUGE drop)
@ Dallas: 6 catches, 60 yards, 10 avg., long of 19
Carolina: 4 catches, 71 yards, 17.8 avg., long of 40
@ Minny: 4 catches, 62 yards, 15.5 avg. 23 yard (TD)
Philly: 2 catches, 37 yards, 18.5 avg., long of 32
Plaxico's last six games as a Giant (I'll make it 7, because Plaxico didn't start against Pitt)
Cincy: 3 catches, 45 yards, 15 avg., long of 28
@ Cleveland: 4 catches, 58 yards, 14.5 avg., long of 25, TD
San Fran: 3 catches, 24 yards, 8 avg., long of 14, TD
@ Pitt (did not start): 3 catches, 15 yards, 5 avg., long of 8
Dallas: 3 catches, 34 yards, 11.3 avg., long of 22
@ Philly: 1 catch, 17 yards, TD
Baltimore: 3 catches, 43 yards, 15.7 average, long of 21
I also threw out his last game vs. Arizona because he really didn't play at all, even though he started. He may have played one series.
Okay, so now, the averages.
Hixon's per game average over the last six games
4 catches per game
55 yards per game
.16 TD's per game
Plaxico's per game average over his last 7 games
2.85 catches per game (less than Hixon)
33.71 yards per game (significantly less than Hixon)
.428 TD's per game
Keep in mind, that both Hixon and Plaxico had monster games, Plaxico vs. the Skins, and Hixon vs. the Seahawks that are not included, so you get a better look at the overall view. Believe it or not, Plaxico was becoming somewhat non-existant well before he shot himself.
There seems to be a strong opinion here, some would say fact, that the team dropped off BECAUSE of the loss of Plaxico. I think these stats dispute that. There is also a strong opinion that Plaxico being double covered was what opened things up for the rest of the offense. That may be true, but it should be noted that Eli threw for the most yards (301) against Washington w/out Plaxico, and we ran for the most yards of the season (over 300) against Carolina.
I think the main thing that sticks out here are the TD's. Hixon is really good between the 20's, and moves the chains. However, where Eli really missed Plaxico was in the redzone. I think this supports the argument that we don't really need a "stretch the field" reciever as much as we need a "big redzone target". I think a trade for Tony Gonzalez would create the exact same double coverage and mismatches that we got with Plaxico Burress down inside the 20.
Overall, I think Hixon gets a lot of the blame for our late season collapse, with some of you going as far to say that our recievers are number 3's or 2's at BEST, and that they've already hit their ceiling. I would argue that Hixon can in fact be this team's number one, and could quite possibly be a very good one. Having a 6'5 WR is not the only way to get mismatches and double teams.
Therefore, I'm going to go with myth. Big, overblown myth.
Flame on.
I just want to see us exercise some patience and perspective. I want to see what our talented WRs can do given an entire offseason of reps and coaching out of Plax and Toomer's shadow. I think we'd be pleasantly surprised, I really do.
It's quite another to implement an entire scheme that's going to last you over a season. I mean, you have mini camps, OTA's, and an entire training camp to do that.
Plax's numbers weren't that great by any means but what he brought to the offense was on and off the stat sheet. Thats why we need that #1 WR
Look at Hixon's shoulders, he must have the smallest shoulder's I've ever seen on a football player. His frame is very small, where does he have more room in his frame to gain weight without losing speed.
Only reason Hixon looks bigger is cause he's shorter than Pinkston. They both weighed the same weight, but Hixon is 6'2, Pinkston 6'3. Pinkston had more mass on his body for his weight to fill up
This has been a very good football thread including posts from both sides.
As usual, I believe the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
We certainly missed Plaxico. He's a physical freak and scares the hell out of DCs.
We spent two years developing tendencies that were ripe to be changed and those changes would have exploited defenses.
Suddenly, we were left with a different identity, with inadequate time to develop a new identity, a new set of tendencies and consequently we struggled.
Take away a team's security blanket and they all struggle.
But, the big question is whether we can win long term without him or another physical freak at WR.
My opinion is yes and I believe that most of BBI is going to be bitterly disappointed by Saturday night.
For the record, I have no insight as to what the staff is thinking, but I have a strong hunch there will be a change to the offense even if we trade for Edwards.
Our identity is going to change from less individual matchups on the passing side, to more of a "create space" scheme.
If that's the direction we indeed take, I'll write a post clarifying the difference between the two philosophies.
I don't see this quote from Jacobs as being the same thing. I could be wrong, but I don't see why the front office would tell him to say that they didn't have enough time to alter their offense.
That direction would be welcomed by me, regardless of what happens this weekend.
We can change our team to suit the strengths of what we have, and when that's in place, that will be harder to defend.
Our identity is going to change from less individual matchups on the passing side, to more of a "create space" scheme.
What in Coughlin's 13 year Pro resume(with the exception of the expansion year)leads you to believe that he will depart from his #1 WR oriented Offense that opened up everything for his O's through the years?
I just don't see him changing all that much...Tweaking? Sure, but his O has been dependant on a #1 forever...Why is he suddenly going to change? There's no attitude or tone to my written words here, just an honest question that I have yet to receive a reasonable answer to IIRC..
You can tell the difference in their build clear as day, if you look at their arms. Hixons arms are twice the size of Pinkstons. They are not built the same.
And of course it was easier. But they (Eagles coaches and players) weren't just stating the obvious, they were scared to death of Plax and for years couldn't find a way to stop him, and they basically were saying our offense wasn't very difficult to stop without him, not that it was just a little "easier". They put that extra man in the box and dominated the LOS
We didn't throw the ball into the endzone alot from what I remember. Everything was like parallel or short of the endzone with the intention of our guy supposed to break tackles and score that way. One play I remember was in the Pittsburgh game where we were in the redzone and throw to plax 1 or 2 yards from the LOS, and expected him to break tackles to score, but we were forced to kick a FG. When we did score, we finally threw to Boss into the endzone, where he was wide open. I def. want to see more of that, and even sprint or rollout, like Eli did in the first game. No one was open so he dove in.
But I expect us to use that draw play, which is designed very well, and worked wonders. I think we can get better production with Bradshaw with the skill set he has over Ward. So I am interested to see that this season.
So, the Eagles got us. It just wasn't our year. But they are one team, not the entire NFL.
Ask Washington if we were easier to defend w/out Plaxico when Eli put up three hundy on em'.
We exploited it and rightfully so. However, after reviewing the season, I think we became to damned reliant on that mismatch. I believe the staff will come to the same conclusion.
Remember Coughlin's offensive tenet...balance. We became unbalanced and he's going to change something regardless who lines up at X.
We can not allow ourselves to become so reliant on one player, unless that player is a QB. It's unavoidable in that situation.
This is all opinion. I've received no tidbits this year to back anything up.