Does Reggie Wayne have any deep speed left?

[Kent 228]

I'm trying to rank my WRs, and I've been able to land Wayne the last two years and like the guy, but it looks like he's slowing down.

 

He caught a bomb tonight, in blown coverage, and labored to get downfield totally uncovered.

 

I dunno, he just looks like he's running in a swamp. Has he lost a step he can't afford to lose?

[gunnergip 0]

The guy who can't afford to lose a step is Torry Holt imo. At any rate, the only comment I can give is that Wayne has no one pressing him (at least not that I know of and Gonz. is bonafide #2) so he will be in there no matter what. He could also maintain value by becoming more of a possession receiver w/ breakaway speed as oppose to a true deep threat like Marshall, Moss, or Smith. Indy's schedule + Peyton Manning means Wayne will have every opportunity to finish in the top 5 of receiving in standard scoring leagues.

[RoadLizard 73]

The guy who can't afford to lose a step is Torry Holt imo. At any rate, the only comment I can give is that Wayne has no one pressing him (at least not that I know of and Gonz. is bonafide #2) so he will be in there no matter what. He could also maintain value by becoming more of a possession receiver w/ breakaway speed as oppose to a true deep threat like Marshall, Moss, or Smith. Indy's schedule + Peyton Manning means Wayne will have every opportunity to finish in the top 5 of receiving in standard scoring leagues.

 

Yeah, I agree. Reggie never had big speed but he did have separation skills. Meaning, a quick move here and there allowed him to shake off coverage and get open deep even if only momentarily. Moss just blows by people. Reggie has to work at it but since he runs good routes and has worked with Manning for years I like his upside. Last year was sort of a let-down for him but I see a bounce back year. Figure 1350 yards and 8-10 TDs with no problem. His TDs could also be higher than my estimate with some GL opportunities which he does get.

[SMC17 0]

Yeah, I agree. Reggie never had big speed but he did have separation skills. Meaning, a quick move here and there allowed him to shake off coverage and get open deep even if only momentarily. Moss just blows by people. Reggie has to work at it but since he runs good routes and has worked with Manning for years I like his upside. Last year was sort of a let-down for him but I see a bounce back year. Figure 1350 yards and 8-10 TDs with no problem. His TDs could also be higher than my estimate with some GL opportunities which he does get.

 

Granted I don't believe that Reggie has elite deep speed but my first thought when he caught that pass last night was OMG he's wide open. It looked to me like the safety had the angle on him and he was setting him up/looking for blockers so he could cut back into the endzone. I also thought to myself that Reggie didn't look to keenly at being smacked in the mouth last night. He wanted to save the violence for the real season.

[dirtywhiteboy01 0]

Granted I don't believe that Reggie has elite deep speed but my first thought when he caught that pass last night was OMG he's wide open. It looked to me like the safety had the angle on him and he was setting him up/looking for blockers so he could cut back into the endzone. I also thought to myself that Reggie didn't look to keenly at being smacked in the mouth last night. He wanted to save the violence for the real season.

 

 

 

I noticed the same thing....Wayne looked slower than me on that catch. Let's hope he was just running at preseason speed.

[nobody 2,085]

I was chalking it up to him trying to showboat a little. Meanwhile the safety is probably fighting for his job and went balls out to try and catch him.

[helmetcreator 0]

I don't take too much stock in pre-season performance. I still take Wayne pretty high up there as long as Manning is his QB. Its not like Harrison had amazing speed, and I still rated him pretty high as well.

[Ray_T 600]

Yeah, I agree. Reggie never had big speed but he did have separation skills. Meaning, a quick move here and there allowed him to shake off coverage and get open deep even if only momentarily. Moss just blows by people. Reggie has to work at it but since he runs good routes and has worked with Manning for years I like his upside. Last year was sort of a let-down for him but I see a bounce back year. Figure 1350 yards and 8-10 TDs with no problem. His TDs could also be higher than my estimate with some GL opportunities which he does get.

Good posting.

 

Wayne never was a huge Burner. it was his hands, route running skills and separation skills that made him valuable in the past, and I cannot see this changing. If he loses a step, it wont affect him the same way it would affect someone whose game is based purely on speed.

[Gepetto 999]

He scored a touchdown on that play anyway with a nice slow down and side step.

[Ras66not99 0]

Reggie doesn't look like a burner, but he does seem to manage a long TD here and there.... I remember he had a big TD vs Pitt last year or the year before which won me a game.... he caught that bomb in the Super Bowl... then last night.... I dunno he just never appeared to be a burner, but sneaks in his long Td's on occasion....

[9-Route 0]

no concern here.

 

stately "wayne manor' has never had elite speed, but as noted, has always had 1] enough speed, 2] great separation [moves]. learning in indy from/with manning and harrison, he has always sold those in-fakes and leans with impeccable body language to get by corners and wait for the timely bomb from manning off the play action fake. he does indeed have several notable long TDs on his resume---SB season vs redskins, SB vs bears, last yr vs steelers, last yr vs chargers [manning quick snap while cromartie was talking to sideline], playoffs vs denver earlier this decade [he posted 221-2, but i recall they were catch and weaving runs].

 

he is in the middle of his prime for a wr, so absolutely no worries about his speed [or lack thereof].

 

[look for this season to mirror 2007 production ~100/1500/10 ]

[pittnthat 0]

I have had Reggie since his rookie year in a keeper league. Watched every snap he ever played on the ticket and while I think he is a great wr, he has no nose for the end zone.

He runs out of bounds near the goal line a ton and never pulls a Boldin where he plows his way in.

[Texansfan 0]

Wayne is underrated this year IMO. I rank him 4th after the big 3 of Fitz, Andre, Moss.

 

I'll take his consistency with Peyton over Calvin Johnson, Steve Smith, Greg Jennings, etc.

 

His numbers will only go up this year with Harrison gone. I don't buy the "Wayne getting extra attention bit". Indy has too many weapons for defenses to focus on Wayne.

 

They focus too much on Wayne, Peyton can make some no name WR shine...

[Ray_T 600]

Wayne is underrated this year IMO. I rank him 4th after the big 3 of Fitz, Andre, Moss.

 

I'll take his consistency with Peyton over Calvin Johnson, Steve Smith, Greg Jennings, etc.

 

His numbers will only go up this year with Harrison gone. I don't buy the "Wayne getting extra attention bit". Indy has too many weapons for defenses to focus on Wayne.

 

They focus too much on Wayne, Peyton can make some no name WR shine...

I'm not buying it either.

 

Wayne was already getting treated like the #1 WR for the last 1-2 years. This year will be no different.

 

and the other receivers in Indy are all good enough to catch the ball when open, so if you double cover one person, Manning will see it and either find one of the other receivers or make a perfectly placed throw so his man can get it and the coverage cannot. He has that ability.

 

the smarter move on defense is to try to put extra pressure on the QB to force bad throws. Most of the teams that have any form of success on defense against Indy have often used this strategy

[P Park Pimps 1]

Dammit, I took Jennings over Wayne last nite

 

Will I regret it?!?

[Ray_T 600]

Dammit, I took Jennings over Wayne last nite

 

Will I regret it?!?

I doubt it.

 

they are both good players, and I'd bet the difference in stats will not be huge between these two players.

 

I personally would prefer to have Wayne but this is more due to personal preference than anything. Jennings is another good WR with a good QB tossing him the ball in a good offense.

 

I had him ranked 3 slots lower than wayne in my rankings, but all 4 players (Wayne & Jennings being 2 of them) were so close in my stats projections that I can easily believe that any one of them could be substituted for any one of the others with minimal difference to the bottom line.

 

when looking at these situations, I have a tiebreaker rule I use:

 

1) if I have the QB of one of the WR's in question, rank him at the bottom. no need adding risk by having a WR and his QB on the same team. One gets hurt, the numbers for both are affected.

2) go with the guy who has the better QB. (thus the reason I prefer Wayne)

 

either way, I dont think you have much to worry about.... you have a good player, and youre doing fine.

[Boston Three Party 6]

I'm trying to rank my WRs, and I've been able to land Wayne the last two years and like the guy, but it looks like he's slowing down.

 

He caught a bomb tonight, in blown coverage, and labored to get downfield totally uncovered.

 

I dunno, he just looks like he's running in a swamp. Has he lost a step he can't afford to lose?

 

Drafting RW over Rhoddy White makes me smile this year, big time.

 

And I'm talking about getting Rhoddy. Not RW.