Spotlight - WR Laveranues Coles, Washington Redskins
|
Posted 9/4 by Jason Wood and David Yudkin, Exclusive to Footballguys.com
|
Jason Wood's Thoughts
First let me dispel I myth I keep seeing in relation to the Redskins
Joe
Gibbs is not a run/run/run coach. What made Gibbs one of the best coaches in
the league was his ability to adapt to whatever his personnel was best suited
for; remember this is a guy who won three Super Bowls with three different starting
quarterbacks and running backs. Amazing.
Specifically, you'll note that Gibbs has enjoyed years where his teams passed
a ton (witness 1988) while other years he's run a ton (witness 1983), but personnel
and opposing defensive schemes will go a long way in determining what the 2004
Redskins look like game-by-game.
Joe Gibbs
|
Rushing
|
Passing
|
Year
|
Team
|
TotPts
|
TotYds
|
Run%
|
Pass%
|
Att
|
Yds
|
YPR
|
TDs
|
Com
|
Atts
|
Yds
|
YPA
|
TDs
|
INTs
|
1979
|
SD
|
411
|
5,806
|
47%
|
53%
|
481
|
1,668
|
3.47
|
25
|
338
|
541
|
4,138
|
7.6
|
24
|
25
|
1980
|
SD
|
418
|
6,620
|
46%
|
54%
|
509
|
1,879
|
3.69
|
18
|
350
|
594
|
4,741
|
8.0
|
30
|
26
|
1981
|
Was
|
347
|
5,900
|
50%
|
50%
|
531
|
2,157
|
4.06
|
19
|
307
|
525
|
3,743
|
7.1
|
19
|
22
|
1982*
|
Was
|
190
|
3,208
|
55%
|
45%
|
315
|
1,140
|
3.62
|
5
|
162
|
253
|
2,068
|
8.2
|
13
|
9
|
1983
|
Was
|
541
|
6,390
|
58%
|
42%
|
629
|
2,625
|
4.17
|
30
|
278
|
463
|
3,765
|
8.1
|
29
|
11
|
1984
|
Was
|
426
|
5,691
|
55%
|
45%
|
588
|
2,274
|
3.87
|
20
|
286
|
485
|
3,417
|
7.0
|
24
|
13
|
1985
|
Was
|
297
|
5,766
|
53%
|
47%
|
571
|
2,523
|
4.42
|
20
|
280
|
512
|
3,243
|
6.3
|
13
|
21
|
1986
|
Was
|
368
|
5,841
|
47%
|
53%
|
474
|
1,732
|
3.65
|
23
|
276
|
542
|
4,109
|
7.6
|
22
|
22
|
1987
|
Was
|
379
|
5,820
|
51%
|
49%
|
500
|
2,102
|
4.20
|
18
|
247
|
478
|
3,718
|
7.8
|
27
|
18
|
1988
|
Was
|
345
|
5,882
|
42%
|
58%
|
437
|
1,543
|
3.53
|
8
|
327
|
592
|
4,339
|
7.3
|
33
|
25
|
1989
|
Was
|
386
|
6,380
|
47%
|
53%
|
514
|
1,904
|
3.70
|
14
|
337
|
581
|
4,476
|
7.7
|
24
|
17
|
1990
|
Was
|
381
|
5,694
|
49%
|
51%
|
515
|
2,083
|
4.04
|
16
|
301
|
536
|
3,611
|
6.7
|
22
|
22
|
1991
|
Was
|
485
|
5,820
|
55%
|
45%
|
540
|
2,049
|
3.79
|
21
|
261
|
447
|
3,771
|
8.4
|
30
|
11
|
1992
|
Was
|
300
|
5,066
|
50%
|
50%
|
483
|
1,727
|
3.58
|
10
|
272
|
485
|
3,339
|
6.9
|
15
|
17
|
Avg
|
391
|
5,884
|
50%
|
50%
|
524
|
2,021
|
3.84
|
18
|
296
|
516
|
3,863
|
7.5
|
24
|
19
|
In my view, Laveranues Coles is a stone cold lock to finish among the top 10
fantasy receivers provided one issue gets resolved: his bum toe. Last year Coles
played with a broken toe, and it's yet to heal properly. With training camp
in full bloom, it looks like Coles will need to play in pain again this year
and get the toe surgically repaired next offseason. Can he play with the injury?
Well, it didn't stop him from racking up 1,200 yards last year, so I see no
reason to hold it against him this season unless the pain worsens. Coles agrees,
saying just recently, "[the] toe is fine," adding, "The pain
I do have I can live with it. It's not slowing me down."
As long as the toe issue remains a non factor (keep you eye on Redskins training
camp reports), Coles has all the Ability and Opportunity needed to have a starring
role for your fantasy team and the Skins this year.
- QB Talent and Depth - Whether Mark Brunell or Patrick Ramsey start
the season, Coles benefits from having two capable quarterbacks on the Skins
roster. Either is capable of getting him the ball; and as he's shown the last
two years, he'll take if from there.
- Consistent Excellence - In three years of being a regular offensive
contributor, Coles has been a model of consistency. His yards-per-reception
has been 14.7, 14.2 and 14.7 in 2001-2003, respectively and he's scored 7,
5 and 6 touchdowns. As impressively, Coles managed to put up back-to-back
1,200 yard seasons despite changing teams, a rare feat.
- Ability to Make Plays on his Own - Coles was 3rd in the NFL in YAC
among receivers last year; generating 489 yards after the catch. He also tied
for 10th with 10 receptions of at least 25 yards; showing himself to be a
deep threat (Coles has sprinter speed).
- Plenty of Room for Improvement - Last year Coles was the 4th most
targeted receiver in the NFL with 165 targets. He converted 49.7% of those
into receptions; low for a player of his stature. However, the reason so few
of his targets turned into receptions was the preponderance of "bad throws"
as defined by Stats Inc. With Brunell and Ramsey playing in a Gibbs offense,
one has to assume Coles will see a higher quality of catchable balls.
Positives
- Coles is one of the more polished receivers in the game today; he's an excellent
route runner who explodes off the line and can pull in catches in traffic
or on deep out routes
- Joe Gibbs is a master of his craft, he'll make sure Coles is targeted frequently
as the team's best receiving threat
- Having amassed 1,200+ yards in back-to-back seasons despite changing teams,
Coles has shown that changes to his offensive supporting cast mean little
to his overall production
Negatives
- His broken toe clearly hurts, Coles was seen limping at halftime of the
Redskins' first preseason game; he'll have to play through the pain all season
- Coles has yet to catch more than 7 touchdowns in a season, he'll need to
improve on that in order to become one of fantasy football's elite receivers
- RB Clinton Portis will be the primary option on this team, unlike a season
ago when Coles was the top option
Final Thoughts
Some pundits worry that Clinton Portis is going to be option 1, 1a and 2 for
the Redskins this year; and that Gibbs will run the ball at every opportunity.
Yet a quick look at his illustrious coaching career reveals quite the opposite.
Portis will ABSOLUTELY be a huge part of what the Redskins do this year, but
so will Coles. Whether the team throws for 3,200 yards or 4,500 yards, Coles
is the team's best receiver by far and will see a ton of targets. As long as
you're comfortable with his broken toe (he seems to be), there's no reason Coles
shouldn't be on your short list of WR1s this year. If you like to amass RB depth
in the first rounds, Coles is an ideal first receiver to build your offense
around in the 4th or 5th round.
David Yudkin's Thoughts
One of these years, WR Laveranues Coles will have a season working with the
same coaching staff and player personnel. Unfortunately for him, this will not
be that year.
In 61 career games, Coles has had the pleasure of catching passes from Ray
Lucas, Vinny Testaverde, Chad Pennington, Patrick Ramsey, and Tim Hasselbeck.
This year, he will add Mark Brunell to that list. And in his 4 years of experience,
he's had 3 different head coaches (Al Groh, Herman Edwards, and Steve Spurrier).
Joe Gibbs will become Coles' 4th head coach in 5 seasons.
Needless to say, Coles has done very well considering the circumstances. Last
year, he became the first NFL player to post back-to-back seasons with over
1,200 receiving yards on two different teams. Historically, established WR have
typically dipped in production their first year with a new team, and Coles scored
160 fantasy points in both seasons (no points for receptions).
This year, Coles again will be in a similar yet foreign environment. Gibbs
returns from a 12-year hiatus after posting a 140-65 record (winning 3 rings)
with Washington in his first stint with the team. How well and what Gibbs will
do with the Redskins is anyone's guess, but suffice it to say that he has an
impeccable coaching record and will come up with a plan to get the Redskins
competitive. Over his career, Gibbs has changed the focus of the offense, roles
of key players, and the way he calls games based on the strength of his team
from year to year. Since he has become the coaching equivalent of an amoebae,
no one has much of an idea as to how he we adapt to the new game and how he
will shape the offense.
Part of the new "master plan" involved the acquisition of Brunell
and Denver super stud RB Clinton Portis. Many have pointed to the Broncos system
as the main reason Portis has posted some lofty numbers. But many forget that
Gibbs coached a handful of great RB, as well as some solid WR as well. In fact,
most people remember the Redskins as a dominant rushing team, but they had several
years where they were much better moving the ball through the air.
In 12 seasons, Washington receivers put up 14 total individual seasons with
1,000+ yards receiving:
- Charlie Brown: 1227 (projected due to strike) and 1225
- Art Monk: 1372, 1226, 1068, 1186, and 1049
- Gary Clark: 1265, 1066, 1229, 1112, and 1340
- Ricky Sanders: 1148, and 1138
In 1989, the Skins actually had THREE wide receivers with 1,000+ yards receiving,
as Clark (#7), Monk (#10), and Sanders (#21) all ranked among the Top 25 fantasy
WR.
Coles' biggest obstacle this year might be a nagging injury to one of his toes
that he suffered last year. The injury still hasn't healed and has had an adverse
effect on Coles' ability to plant, pivot, and cut so far this preseason. To
combat this problem, Coles has been wearing special orthopedic devices in his
shoes, but even that has not alleviated the problem. Surgery had been discussed
and ruled out (at least for now). Coles will likely continue to play with the
injured toe, and that might impact his numbers in the long run. Last season,
however, Coles scored fantasy 80 points in the first 8 games and 80 fantasy
points in the last 8 games, so his production didn't really change at all.
Positives
- Ranked as the #23, #13, and #13 WR the past three seasons in less than optimal
conditions
- Clearly the #1 receiving option in Washington and has had back-to-back 1,200-
yard receiving seasons under his belt
- Most productive player named Laveranues in any professional sport with the
possible exception of curling
Negatives
- Is the offensive big enough for Coles and Portis? Will there be enough top
tier production for the two of them in the same lineup?
- Coles' injured toe could stunt his production if it persists and cannot
be remedied without surgery
- May have to bounce back and forth between Ramsey and Brunell at QB if neither
one solidifies the #1 job
Final Thoughts
While the toe injury should be a concern, it should not be considered a major
injury. It's hard to imagine players in the locker room getting a lot of support
from teammates because they have a boo-boo on one of their toes. Worst case
scenario, Coles sucks it up and plays anyway with slightly limited mobility.
Slotting Coles in the pecking order of fantasy WR is a difficult thing. He
has done well in terms of yardage but has not yet proven to be a great TD scorer.
"Back in the day," as they say, Gibbs' WRs scored a lot of TDs when
there was not a great RB on the team. Conversely, the WR corps did not score
very often when there was a good RB. Clinton Portis would have to be considered
in the "good" category, so Coles again should struggle to get into
the end zone on a regular basis.
Quotations from the Message Board Thread
To view the entire Player Spotlight thread (there's a ton of fantastic commentary
in there), click here.
Repressed Dennis:
"Coles proved himself to be a gamer last year in my opinion - he played
with pain/injury, didn't collapse at the end of the year like some of the rest
of the team, did OK with Tim Hasselbeck as his QB, etc. He was also consistently
cited by the local DC media as being one of the hardest practice players on
the team and being inspirational to his teammates. That's the kind of player
that Gibbs has really liked in the past, and that has been successful for him.
While Brunell is not a stud fantasy QB, Jimmy Smith certainly has had a number
of good years working with him. I can see Coles posting numbers similar to some
of Smith's good years."
dj stouty:
"I don't buy the "he has to gel with a new QB and new head coach"
theory in downgrading Coles. Remember...he is the only wide receiver in NFL
history to have back-to-back 1,200 yard seasons with two different teams (and
subsequently different head coaches and quarterbacks.) If anyone can adapt to
a new system, coach, QB, Coles can. He is one of the rare WRs to actually prove
it."
beef:
"Gibbs has had very good passing teams in the past and his #1 WR has
done real well. He has never had a RB as talented as Portis and he will probably
post very nice numbers, but Wash will still need a solid passing game to help
them win."
Dolfan:
"The Redskins will certainly win more games with Joe Gibbs back in town.
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) many fantasy
owners see NFL success as ==> fantasy success. Not true!
The Redskins will do just what it takes to win games. With a running back
like Clinton Portis in the backfield, there is no need to risk average quarterbacks
giving up sacks and interceptions. Washington will run to set up the run this
year and pass just enough to keep defenses semi-honest."
Habeeby:
"Coles has talent no doubt, but with the addition of Clinton Portis
he may not be seeing a lot of passes. Because of his injury, he stays knocking
at the door of the top 10 receivers."
Laveranues Coles Projections
Source |
Rec
|
Yards
|
TDs
|
FntPts
|
Jason Wood |
80
|
1175
|
7
|
160
|
David Yudkin |
90
|
1300
|
6
|
166
|
Message Board Consensus |
83
|
1174
|
7
|
160
|
|