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Spotlight - WR Laveranues Coles, Washington Redskins

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
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