Harvin has star, No. 1 wideout potential
Adam Schefter answers readers' questions nearly every day in his blog. Thursday, he's turning his attention towards questions about NFL offenses. Have a query of your own?
Submit it here.
Q: Percy Harvin is my pick for offensive ROY this season. He was all over the place at Florida and has showed a lot of that versatility this year with the Vikings. How do you see the rest of his career panning out? Will he ever be a No. 1 receiver or will he stay in that jack-of-all-trades role?
-- Seth (Tallahassee, Fla.)
A: Good question, Seth, and I don't know the answer just yet. What I would tell you is that Harvin is going to be a star for years to come. Anyone who makes the type of impact that Harvin already has as a rookie is destined for great things as long as he keeps working hard and remains focused. If he does that, I'd bet he can be a No. 1 receiver.
Q: The Wildcat made headlines last season but seems to have dropped off a bit this year everywhere but in Miami. Why is it that the Dolphins seem to be the only team capable of running that formation on a consistent basis? Is it a personnel issue, or just a matter of them committing to it like no other team has?
-- Chris L. (Reno)
A: You hit on both the key issues, Chris. Miami has the right personnel and it is committed to it -- and don't forget Dolphins quarterbacks coach David Lee, who worked with the Wildcat at Arkansas and brought it with him to Miami. Lots of reasons -- but let's now see how it goes without
Ronnie Brown as its quarterback.
Q: I agree that teams with top QBs are the most likely to be set for the next five years. But you mentioned the "deep" 2010 draft without remarking that this projects to be a TERRIBLE quarterback draft. All the top prospects are spread offense guys or have questions about body type, arm strength, reading defenses. This will likely be a bust draft for QB, so I can't see any of the "bad" teams with heavy top-round selections filling their QB gap. Do you hear anything different from scouts/GMs?
-- Greg (Cleveland)
A: Greg: I've heard various people who are high on Washington's Jake Locker and Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen, and also positive things about Texas' Colt McCoy and Florida's Tim Tebow. Then there's still Sam Bradford, who has questions about his shoulder but not his talent. Don't think it's entirely bereft of quarterback talent, not at all. But it just might not be
Eli Manning-
Philip Rivers-
Ben Roethlisberger, that's all.
Q: The old adage says you need a strong running game and a staunch defense if you expect to win in the NFL, but the Colts, Saints and Patriots' first move is usually to try and blow teams out through the air (and their point differentials are all more than +100). Is that bit of conventional wisdom becoming outdated?
-- Morgan (Baltimore)
A: Think so, Morgan. More and more this is becoming a passing league. The top teams in the league all have great passing offenses. And I go back to
the comments that
Rex Grossman's father, Dan, an ophthalmologist who practices in Bloomington, Ind., gave this week to the Chicago Tribune -- and he was dead on:
"I believe that the NFL is a passing league," Dan Grossman said. "It has been for the last 20 years. Chicago continues to use the phrase, at least Lovie Smith continues to use the phrase, 'We get off the bus running.' I think they need to abandon that concept. Running is obviously a very important part of the offense. But the best teams in this league are prolific passing teams. And they have been for years. You can't name me a really great team in the last 10-20 years that hasn't had a passing component that was a very important part of it. And for a team to be effective at passing, you have to build your offense around your quarterback. You have to commit to the quarterback: 'You're our guy.' And then you have to build the offense around the quarterback. Not the other way around. You don't bring your quarterback in and say: 'We're going to get off the bus running. But on third-and-10, you've got to come through for us now!'"
Q: The Eagles offense has looked like the best in the NFL at times -- like no defense could ever stop them. Other times, they look like the Browns. And sometimes they seem to do great (like in the game against the Chargers: McNabb 450 YDS) but still can't do enough for a win. Some say the O-line is the problem, but McNabb was barely touched by SD and they still lost. Some say the run and short yard situations are the issue, but the Eagles have always been pass heavy and terrible in short yard situations. Now we have people saying the problem is the coaches' play calling. What do you think is the real problem with the Eagles offense?
-- Ted (Philadelphia)
A: Ted: That is more complex than Dostoevsky. Wow, I don't even know where to begin. More important, neither do the Eagles. To me, it starts up front. The Eagles offensive line already has given up 22 sacks, two more than it did all of last season. If there's a problem up front, usually there's a problem that shows up elsewhere in the offense. But if I had an absolute answer, I'd be working for the Eagles, not ESPN.
