But an especially entertaining thread caught my eye today. I can understand South Carolina fans believing that they have a shot at the SEC East this year. I can even understand them feeling like they have a good chance at beating UGA in Columbia. But to see multiple Gamecock fans attempting to argue that USCe's second year wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is at least as good as A.J. Green?
I will not stand by and watch this atrocity unfold. I will make an unimportant blog post about it.
Aside from the obvious sentiment of most media and fans that Green is one of the best (if not the best) receiver in the country and his numerous awards, you can even just take a look at the stats from 2009.
South Carolina's Alshon Jeffery played in 12 games, with 46 receptions for 763 yards (avg. 16.6) with 6 TDs.
A.J. Green played in 10 (technically 9.5) games, with 53 receptions for 808 yards (avg. 15.2) and 6 TDs (while struggling through injury).
If you don't think it's fair to compare Jeffery's freshman season to Green's sophomore year, then here are Green's freshman stats (even better).
In 2008, Green played in 13 games, with 56 receptions for 963 yards and 8 TDs. PLUS he rushed 4 times for 61 yards.
Maybe stats and awards and general opinion aren't everything, and maybe (hypothetically) Alshon Jeffery is a better or equal receiver. Even if he was, how can fans honestly argue such a point with no evidence whatsoever to support their argument? Well, that is why the Rivals.com college football message board exists.
That's not a very good counter-point. In fact, your statistics actually back up the opposite point. Whether or not Green would have done better given more opportunities is purely conjecture. When you look at the stats, they had equal touchdowns and Jeffery had a better per-catch yardage total.
ReplyDeleteI'm not in the camp that thinks Alshon is of the caliber of AJ Green...but your statistics alone don't deny him the argument. Bring in statistics like "thrown to vs. catches" and you may start to develop that argument. Using the statistics you've given, I find that AJ Green caught 7 more passes, worth an additional 6.4 ypc, and zero extra scores.
That doesn't create a world of difference between the two, IMO.
Well, my goal wasn't to make a "counter-point" to prove that A.J. Green is the better receiver. My goal was to show that based on all of the evidence we have available, there isn't really a good way to argue that Jeffery is better or equal. Green playing in less games does matter, but I should have given a stat to better show that (although I agree that stats-wise, it is conjecture).
ReplyDeleteSince thrown to vs. catches stats are hard to find (if they exist), how about receptions and yards per game?
Jeffery: 3.5 rec/G and 58.7 yards/G
Green: 5.3 rec/G and 80.8 yards/G
Once again, not trying to show or prove that there's a HUGE difference between the receivers. Just that, based on opinion, awards, recognition, and stats, Green appears to hold the edge, and therefore (some) Gamecock fans are grasping for straws to argue their point.