Arkansas Bengal Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 AFC North Q&A: Is A.J. Green the best receiver in the AFC North? Today's question: The AFC North lost some quality receivers in Josh Gordon and Torrey Smith, but standout receivers remain in Antonio Brown, A.J. Green and Steve Smith. Who's the best? Jeremy Fowler, Pittsburgh Stealers: Green looks like the best receiver, and often plays like one. But the two-year performance Pittsburgh’s Brown just put together gives him the overall edge on Green. Averaging nearly 120 catches and 1,600 yards since 2013 is absurd. Perhaps Green could post similar numbers if Ben Roethlisberger were his quarterback, but that’s hardly a guarantee. Green is an enormous talent, easily a top-three-to-five receiver. But he struggles with certain matchups, averaging 32.5 yards per game in his past four games against Browns cornerback Joe Haden. Brown has 30 straight games with at least 50 receiving yards. I’d take that consistency over Green’s raw ability and playmaking. Green is entering a contract year, so don’t be surprised if he becomes the AFC North’s best after 2015. He’s too pure of a receiver to be down for long when healthy. Jamison Hensley, Baltimore Ravens: Yes, and that’s a big compliment considering Brown has caught 36 more passes than anyone else in the NFL over the past two seasons. But you can’t discount the quarterbacks throwing them the ball. Green’s production would be significantly better if he were catching passes from a more accurate quarterback. Before last season, Football Outsiders indicated that Andy Dalton hit Green in the chest less than 45 percent of the time (the league average was 50 percent) and Green caught 38 percent of his passes on throws above his neck. You can make an argument that Green is the most gifted receiver in the NFL. He’s also clutch. Against the Ravens, I watched Green tie a game in 2013 on a 51-yard Hail Mary grab and then beat them in 2014 on a 77-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. He’s a special player. Pat McManamon, Cleveland Browns: No, but he’s awful close. Trying to determine who is better between Green and Brown is like debating LeBron James and Steph Curry. Both are great, for different reasons. Green is immensely talented. He can go after any ball, and usually get it. He has great hands, runs great routes and is a tremendous player. But by his standards he had an off season in 2014, missing three games and catching 69 passes for "just" 1,041 yards (numbers comparable to his rookie season). Brown was sensational, leading the league with 129 receptions for 1,698 yards. Right now, Brown is the better player. http://espn.go.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/17693/afc-north-qa-is-a-j-green-the-best-receiver-in-the-afc-north Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Should I just go ahead and move this to the Mega Dalton Thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Brown. Had the better season. His team won the division going 2-0 over the Bengals he went over 100 in both against the Bengals with big special teams contribution. Green fumbled on the final drive sealing the division for Brown's team. Green didn't have a bad season at all. He gets credit for 13 games. But effectively it was 11 as he left early in two (Atlanta, Denver). Against Jax he was working his way back as we limped through a victory against an overmatched dog at home. He did go over 200+ against the Stealers in 1 game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Yes. And you can drop "North" from the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.B. Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 LOL. AJ would have the best goddamn numbers in the league playing with an arm like Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 I'd take Green over Brown, but I can't really argue with the people who rank Brown higher. They are both elite talents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumetti Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 AJ would have HOF numbers every year if he had an elite QB. After 4 full seasons together, Dalton STILL can't hit AJ in stride deep. THAT is why I think so lowly of Dalton, that he's never gonna get better. A good QB would be in synch with a WR like AJ. So, no, AJ isn't the best in the AFCN because he doesn't get the CHANCE to be the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|kennethmw| Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 AJ would have HOF numbers every year if he had an elite QB. After 4 full seasons together, Dalton STILL can't hit AJ in stride deep. THAT is why I think so lowly of Dalton, that he's never gonna get better. A good QB would be in synch with a WR like AJ. So, no, AJ isn't the best in the AFCN because he doesn't get the CHANCE to be the best. That's a lot of bullshit, and you know it. He cant hit him in stride, except when he does, and sometimes even when he doesn't, playoff game? AJ is a great athlete and a great WR, but it isn't like he's shown more leadership than Dalton. They both have left a little something to be desired. Hopefully, they both perform their A games more often this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 AJ would have HOF numbers every year if he had an elite QB. After 4 full seasons together, Dalton STILL can't hit AJ in stride deep. THAT is why I think so lowly of Dalton, that he's never gonna get better. A good QB would be in synch with a WR like AJ. So, no, AJ isn't the best in the AFCN because he doesn't get the CHANCE to be the best. Some one doesn't watch many games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBeaverHunter Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Sanu hit's Green in stride better than Dalton does.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Some one doesn't watch many games. Fred, this is an incorrect comment. Above in the article one of the beat writers refers to AJ Green's performance against Joe Haden. IF people are watching the games that is more on Dalton than Green. Dalton has been very inaccurate against the Browns. While I would argue against the point that AJ isn't putting up HOF numbers because he is currently carving out a HOF worthy career. Dalton along with AJ's health play a role in him putting up super elite seasons that could lead a conference or league in receiving yards. That's what Brown did last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Well, Joe Haden has never sniffed the playoffs but we're all still waiting for AJ Green to make a play in the playoffs as good as the one Brown made as a rookie 6th round pick. In fact, in the playoffs the biggest plays involving AJ Green are the ones he hasn't made....including the dropped bomb he has only himself to blame for. Also, Brown has made the Pro Bowl both as a WR and a punt returner. The latter screams extra value, as does the size of his current contract when compared to Green, who of course wants a much bigger deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Fred, this is an incorrect comment. Above in the article one of the beat writers refers to AJ Green's performance against Joe Haden. IF people are watching the games that is more on Dalton than Green. Dalton has been very inaccurate against the Browns. While I would argue against the point that AJ isn't putting up HOF numbers because he is currently carving out a HOF worthy career. Dalton along with AJ's health play a role in him putting up super elite seasons that could lead a conference or league in receiving yards. That's what Brown did last year. I agree that Roethlisberger is a better QB than Dalton, but claiming that Dalton never hits Green in stride while Ben always hits Brown in stride is just silly. It is hard fro ANY quarterback to hit a receiver on stride on a deep pass, but I have seen Dalton do it. Last year Dalton was MUCH more accurate than Roehtlisberger on passes thrown more than 30 yards past the line of scrimmage. Dalton was 8-19 while Ben was just 9-31. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalRugby Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Brown has the edge right now, we can say it is due to the QB, surrounding team, durability, showing up on the big stage when it counts, whatever. He is getting it done and AJ is still waiting to take that next step as a top WR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 I agree that Roethlisberger is a better QB than Dalton, but claiming that Dalton never hits Green in stride while Ben always hits Brown in stride is just silly. It is hard fro ANY quarterback to hit a receiver on stride on a deep pass, but I have seen Dalton do it. Last year Dalton was MUCH more accurate than Roehtlisberger on passes thrown more than 30 yards past the line of scrimmage. Dalton was 8-19 while Ben was just 9-31. Dalton's inconsistent performance and ball placement does hinder AJ Green's overall numbers. Brown has an advantage over Green because he has a better play creating QB throwing him the ball. Specifically against Haden as noted above, Dalton's bad throws has robbed AJ Green the numbers to provide proof to people that don't watch the games that he can beat a top level CB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.B. Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 The only people here that say otherwise are the same people who look for literally any reason to excuse Amanda. Uh...uhhh......ITS AJS FAULT TOO! lmao spare me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|kennethmw| Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 The only people here that say otherwise are the same people who look for literally any reason to excuse Amanda. Uh...uhhh......ITS AJS FAULT TOO! lmao spare me The only people that think he's the greatest are the ones that believe Andy is the only one to blame. Please spare us from your ignorance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Last year Dalton was MUCH more accurate than Roehtlisberger on passes thrown more than 30 yards past the line of scrimmage. Dalton was 8-19 while Ben was just 9-31. Just another fact that will be completely ignored by Team Eeyore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Brown has the edge right now, we can say it is due to the QB, surrounding team, durability, showing up on the big stage when it counts, whatever. He is getting it done and AJ is still waiting to take that next step as a top WR. Yeah, this. The bomb that AJ dropped in the playoffs would have been a perfect example of the pass hitting him in stride. And although it wasn't a playoff game tthe pass that he caught and then fumbled against the Steelers, thereby giving them the division title, was also perfectly delivered and in stride. Yet somehow the Amanda crowd finds a way to make excuses for those types of failures while at the same time claiming the same ones who mention AJ Greens painfully pedestrian production in the playoffs are the same ones who defend Dalton. Seems to me it's fair to question why NONE of the Bengals best players, offensive or defensive, have played well in the playoffs....including the player the offense is actually built around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 The only people here that say otherwise are the same people who look for literally any reason to excuse Amanda. Uh...uhhh......ITS AJS FAULT TOO! lmao spare me A lot of truth to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Just another fact that will be completely ignored by Team Eeyore. Team Eeyore doesn't care about stats like that, we just know that once the playoffs start....we will lose. We also know Big Ben will raise the Lombardi trophy one more time while we keep waiting for that elusive playoff win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Team Eeyore doesn't care about stats like that, we just know that once the playoffs start....we will lose. We also know Big Ben will raise the Lombardi trophy one more time while we keep waiting for that elusive playoff win. You should be stripped of your Red Foreman avatar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 You should be stripped of your Red Foreman avatar. Come on hair...sarcasm. I am the team Eeyore spokesman...not a member. The members all thought they would screw up trying to get their point across so hired me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Maybe this year Ben will finally learn how to throw a great downfield ball like Dalton does! JK - I don't care what that stat says, I have eyes. Roethlisberger has more arm strength and accuracy for throwing downfield. We've all been watching him do it for ten years or whatever, and any claim that Andy is as good or better than Ben at it is complete baloney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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