What's Your Confidence Level For Josh Morgan?
by James Brady on Jul 6, 2010 11:00 AM PDT
in San Francisco 49ers News
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PrintSo far I've taken a look at Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Glen Coffee for these posts. Every player so far except for Glen Coffee has averaged mostly in Very High and High ratings. I'm really intrigued in this next guy though. As always, let's hope for realistic and settle for crazy bias, because I'm OK with that.
Morgan, ever since his first training camp, has been viewed as a player with a lot to offer the team. He hasn't exactly been great for us, the best thing he's done in a 49er ruin has simply been always being one step away from a breakout season and a late-round fantasy tease. Not to be too blunt about it, but that's what it is for now.
He's a great blocker, but beyond that what skills he actually brings to the receiving game are hard to pin down. At times he'll seem like a burner, but at times he'll seem like he's slow when he's caught from behind. At times he'll seem like he has surefire hands, but to counter that he'll drop it because it "came down like a punt". You get where I'm going with this.
Still, he's been decent, good enough for his draft status, better even - and he'll probably have this year as his last year to "break out" before 49ers fans start clamoring for a replacement. I know there are those here on Niners Nation who firmly support Josh, and I know there are some who don't see anything special. I suppose I'm somewhere in between. For me, I think about him - and it's completely possible that he can be a great receiver. Then I watch him and I just don't see a whole lot there. So yes, I'm placed firmly in the middle as far as his actual receiving talent goes.
But what's your confidence in him? Is he a great number two? A solid number two? Could he be a number one receiver, or should he not even be a starter? Make the jump for my confidence criteria...
Very High: Morgan benefits from a stable situation at the wide receiver position and becomes a very reliable number two guy. Morgan gets 1000 yards or just under it as the number two WR behind Michael Crabtree. We'll win a couple games because of him.
High: He will develop as we expect, and his season can still be classified as "breakout" even without reaching something like 1000 yards. He'll get around 700 hards and be praised as a very "complete" receiver due to his blocking ability. Again, will snare a couple touchdowns.
Medium: Morgan will play largely like he does now. He won't be spectacular, and at times will be invisible, but it will still show. Maybe even good enough to have a "breakout" season in 2011. Somewhere around 500 yards, a touchdown or two and he will look the same as he does.
Low: He'll regress, and lack of passes even thrown his way will contribute to it. He can't survive in the league as a number two receiver putting up what he does and he'll be the conversation piece for the 49ers faithful.
Very Low: Ashley Lelie
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Medium.
We need a better #2 WR. He’d be good enough as a #3.
"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self improvement, about being better than you were the day before." ~Steve Young #8
high
i say this because the man is pretty good at blocking downfield…and he’s a pretty consistent reciever. i dont see why he wouldnt be our #2 and a very solid #2 at this point.
A man's life is described either by his actions, words, or even the people who he loves and loves him.
High
As a lifelong Virginia Tech fan Ive watched Josh for many years and was really pumped he became a Niner. His athleticism is ridiculous, he blocked more kicks at Tech than anyone else in his class. He shared go-to status with Eddie Royal, another pretty nice player (understatement). I think if Alex can start hitting his 7 yard out routes Josh could be a more athletic Tai Streets to Crabs’ Rice.
I would vote High if there was an actual poll.
VD and Crabs are going to have a strong year and get all the attention from defenses, so Morgan will be open and get plenty of catches including 2-5 TD’s.
I can't wait for Mango's sig to say "0 days to go".
I think that he perfectly represents the state of our pre-2010 receiver corp ...
What the hell does that mean? The guy is a sixth round draft pick … and that’s probably about right for his skill level. But what does it say about the competition when a sixth-rounder can become your #2 receiver from early on? Josh is a good blocker (for a WR), isn’t a particulary good route-runner, has OK (not above average in any way) receiving skills, but is terribly inconsistent, which should not be unexpected given his talent level. IMO he got and has the job because we didn’t have anyone else who was any better — Arnez Battle (a college QB), Antonio Bryant, Bryan Gilmore, Darrell Jackson, Bryant Johnson, Brandon Jones, Ashley Lelie.
This says a lot more about the past WR roster than Morgan. Hopefully we are beyond all that now! Given the substantially improved present cast of WRs, one of two things will happen:
(1) Josh will step up and become a lot more consistent and dependable THIS YEAR, and thus retain his position;
(2) He will not do so and his playing time will be substantially diminished as he’s passed by by the likes of Ginn, Hill, Williams, and maybe even Ziegler.
My present confidence rating for Morgan is Low/Medium.
by 49erFanSince1950 on Jul 6, 2010 12:27 PM PDT reply actions
Amen.
100% agree. In comparison to what we had before, he’s alright. But that’s it. He’s not a true #2 WR in terms of talent or consistency. He’ll get his chance this year, but expectations should be realistic. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him lose his starting job to one of the other wideouts.
"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self improvement, about being better than you were the day before." ~Steve Young #8
by Young_To_Rice on Jul 6, 2010 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Antonio Bryant could have been a #1
If he didn’t have a diva problem.
Coach Boone: And who's team is this, Gary? Is this your team? Or is this your daddy's team?
Bertier: Yours.
Coach Boone: Now get on the bus. Put on your jacket first and then get on the bus.
Hang over ....
… their hang ( On’s ) … you wish they were over …Ha …!!
Gotta love a woman that wear's knee pad's to work ...!!
i think high is fair
he makes plays, and misses some (that pass did look like a punt). again his lack of production is a product of like play(smith never makes it through to his 3rd option) and smith’s panic that sets in as soon as he takes a snap. hopefully all that is more smooth this year, and we get some more consistent production. 700yds 4 tds
Any way ...
… vote medium . but pray he has a High level stat’s this year …!!
Gotta love a woman that wear's knee pad's to work ...!!
I have high expectations for him
I think he’ll get around 600-700 yards and 4-5 TDs. Last year he had 527 yards and 3 TDs with an anemic offense. With a better offense I can see him improving by 10%.
People forget that he’s only a 6th round draft pick, and he’s already blown away all expectations for a 6th round pick.
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
There's a reason...
He was a 6th round pick. His ceiling just isn’t going to be that high most likely. Sure, there are players that outperform their draft position, but it’s a rarity and Morgan’s already done that w/ his production. I think your notion of a 10% improvement is doable and seems optimistic w/out being absurd and thinking Morgan is the 2nd coming of John Taylor.
"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self improvement, about being better than you were the day before." ~Steve Young #8
by Young_To_Rice on Jul 6, 2010 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't think anyone has expectations higher than that
But you shouldn’t think a player is better than another just because of where they were drafted. There have been many first round QBs who have not been half as good as other QBs drafted after them like Tom Brady (6th), Jeff Garcia (undrafted), Kurt Warner (undrafted), Warren Moon (undrafted), or even Tony Romo (undrafted).
by ZeroOneInfinity on Jul 6, 2010 5:24 PM PDT up reply actions
Sure, everybody realizes this
but those are the exceptions. They happen maybe once or twice every draft which isn’t exactly something you want to hang your hat on.
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
I'm still think a player should be given a fair chance no matter where he is drafted
You can expand this to almost any position. Dixon should not lose the backup job to Coffee just because Coffee was drafted higher than him. Or if there is only one spot left for a CB and the choice is between Adams or Stoudamire, Adams should not win that spot because he was drafted and Stoudamire was not. Just because a player is a sixth round draft pick does not mean they have limited potential.
by ZeroOneInfinity on Jul 6, 2010 8:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Sing will always...
evaluate based on performance, talent, and desire. Draft position will not guarantee anyone a spot on the 49ers—see Bear Pascoe. My only contention is that greatly outperforming one’s draft position is very rare—for every example you cite as a late round steal, there are plenty of guys who did absolutely nothing. Sure, there are also plenty of players who were drafted in the early rounds and were either busts or simply mediocre players. In this case, though, we’re specifically talking about Morgan—a 6th round pick who’s played better than his draft position but whose ceiling is most likely lower than some fans seem to believe.
I’m all for giving him a chance to show his full potential, I’m just emphasizing a realistic assessment of his true abilities. If he finishes w/ similar #‘s to last year then that’s good production from a 6th round pick, but who cares because it’s not good enough for a #2 WR—a position the team needs more from in order to be great. On earlier Niners’ teams w/ lesser talent, he’d keep his job w/ decent production and consistency, but no more. Sing is going to do his best to separate the average from the great and as a fan I’m all for that approach. Let everyone compete regardless of pedigree and may the best player win.
"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self improvement, about being better than you were the day before." ~Steve Young #8
by Young_To_Rice on Jul 6, 2010 9:16 PM PDT up reply actions
He was a 6th round pick because he played in a run-based offense
That never showcased his receiving abilities.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
by SportsChicken on Jul 7, 2010 2:31 AM PDT up reply actions
High
I think he’ll have somewhere around 650 yards and 3 TDs.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
Medium...BUT
I would settle for lower if it means that Ginn turns into the burner he had the promise of being when first selected in the draft and steps up to #2 himself…that would be a good tradeoff for me…but realistically I say Medium.
There was no poll because I'm an idiot at 4 AM.
:[ Oops. Odd though. I missed a poll, Fooch went in and put one up. Then he missed one, and I went in and put one up. Now I missed another. So look for Fooch to miss one next.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
I got ya covered
I’m the poll master (get your thoughts out of the gutter you nasty people).
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority
but but but
what if i dont want to??? haha
A man's life is described either by his actions, words, or even the people who he loves and loves him.
I didn't even think about that before I read your parentheses
It seems you’re the nasty one.
HA!
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
by SportsChicken on Jul 7, 2010 2:32 AM PDT up reply actions
It's funny how that works though
because if he was saying that out loud, everyone would have gotten it right away. So is the difference that we see the word “poll” instead of “pole” that stops the brain from immediately going to a dirty thought?
by ZeroOneInfinity on Jul 7, 2010 8:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Dude!
Even your wife snickered at that! LOL
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Jul 7, 2010 12:18 PM PDT up reply actions
Jasson Hill should be the #2
Morgan is ok but he’s afraid of the big play and he jus drops the ball 2 much for a wideout.
by SFniner_Hitter on Jul 6, 2010 7:10 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I hope...
Hill steps up and performs because I’d like to see him as the #2. I just don’t think Morgan is consistent enough to keep his job.
"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self improvement, about being better than you were the day before." ~Steve Young #8
by Young_To_Rice on Jul 6, 2010 9:33 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I just don’t think Morgan is consistent enough to keep his job.
He’s a receiver. And he’s not elite. He’ll disappear in games, this happens. Now, I hope somebody steps up (and that includes Morgan) who can play capably across from Crabtree. Hill, Morgan, Ginn, Zeigler, whoever. Don’t care.
Morgan was fine last year. He wasn’t great, and his starting job isn’t etched in stone, but it’s certainly his job to lose. I don’t see him losing it. It’d be fantastic if he does (because that means somebody stepped up in camp), but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fantastic if he keeps it.
Trust me, learning english isn’t a waste of time. It is actually sort of useful.
-randolphforpresident
by Dubs fan in Boston on Jul 7, 2010 5:04 PM PDT up reply actions
How many dropped balls did he have last year?
I remember exactly 2.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
by SportsChicken on Jul 7, 2010 2:32 AM PDT up reply actions
Eh alright..
I don’t have too many expectations from him. I voted medium. I expect him to have a very similar year like last year, but saying that I wouldn’t be surprised if he put up 6-8 touchdowns. On a side note. Ive finally decided to sign up here after following this site for the last 2 years.
Wow, it took you that long to break down and join the party?? Welcome. But yeah I agree with you. There weren’t many expectations of him when he started his career, so when he started opening some eyes at least of the team and local fans, that was very much a plus. He’s been pretty consistent if nothing else in his first couple seasons, that’s pretty much what most fans would hope for. He’s our #2 WR, but it wouldn’t surprise me if at any time someone could step up and surpass him.
40 days to go. . .
It took Josh Morgan?
Odd. Either way, welcome! To.. active posting.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
Twitter me and what not.
I'd love to see the WR corps sort itself out and have Morgan at 3 or 4 and
returning kickoffs. He was solid on kickoffs last year.
They're called RUNS for a reason.
He was great on kickoffs
Close to like a 30 yd avg.
I think he was better than Ted Ginn…….
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
by SportsChicken on Jul 7, 2010 2:33 AM PDT up reply actions
Morgan
doesnt have the speed to be a real threat to return one to the house. 30 yd. average? where in high school?
There's this website
It’s called “nfl.com”. If you go there, you can do a player search to find Josh Morgan’s statistics. If you actually looked, you’d notice that he averaged 28 yards/return.
You can also do this cool thing where you go to their “stats” section and look up who had the best kick return average. If you go there, you’ll notice that Morgan was the 10th best kick returner overall, and the 7th best kick returner who returned more than one kick.
Pretty cool, eh?
Trust me, learning english isn’t a waste of time. It is actually sort of useful.
-randolphforpresident
by Dubs fan in Boston on Jul 7, 2010 5:10 PM PDT up reply actions
I would say any combination of Morgan, Ginn and Williams on KR’s would be amazing. The best scenario for me would be Ginn & Morgan on KR’s, Williams on PR’s. I had really high hopes (just about anyone who saw his highlight reel would have) for Vann, but now I’m not so sure how what he did on the college level will translate to the NFL. Looks great on film, but it’s a long way up from division I-AA. Still deserves a look though in preseason. Who knows, he could all of a sudden dazzle and earn his way on the PR team.
39 days to go. . .
bottom line is
TO is better than Josh Morgan and could add something to the offense and Josh could learn from him. Sing can handle him if he needs to. The guy is one of the best of all time and if he has one good year left why not get it from him if the price is right? He is a bigger threat after the catch than Bruce ever was. This young group of receivers could learn from him
Can't wait to see ..
the response on the confidence for Hill, Ginn and baby Kyle. :-)
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Jul 7, 2010 12:25 PM PDT reply actions
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