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| Antonio Freeman |
Opposing defenses may claim to have the option of picking their poison, but a closer
look indicates the Packers’ prescription all comes from the same needle — the
arm of QB Brett Favre.
The argument that Favre is doing more with less than any quarterback in the league
holds up statistically. Of the 12 playoff qualifiers, no team had a less-productive WR
corps. Of the NFC elite, St. Louis, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Tampa Bay
each featured at least one wideout with 60 or more receptions and four of them had a
1,000-yard receiver — St. Louis had two — with the exception being the Eagles.
On paper, the Packers’ top target is TE Bubba Franks, who has a team-best 10
receiving touchdowns, including the playoffs. Starting wideouts Antonio Freeman and Bill
Schroeder had 52 and 53 catches, respectively, and neither reached 1,000 yards receiving.
"It all starts with Brett," said one NFC scout. "And really, if he
didn’t have (Ahman) Green, it might end there. That threat, that fear-striking
weapon, just isn’t there any more. They were at their best when he had (Robert)
Brooks and Freeman. Both of them could go deep, over the middle, whatever you needed and
then guys (TEs) like Keith Jackson and Mark Chmura were big, too."
In 1995, Brooks had the best season of his career and ranked eighth in the league with
102 catches, 1,497 yards and nine touchdowns as Green Bay went 11-5, falling one win shy
of the Super Bowl. But it was the first of three straight NFC Central titles and the birth
of a feared passing attack that would carry the Packers to great success. In ’96,
Freeman became Favre’s go-to guy, and along with pickup Andre Rison, made Favre
lethal in the pocket. The Packers defeated New England (35-21) in Super Bowl XXXI to close
out that season.
Three years later, Freeman’s streak of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons came
to a halt and the Packers missed the postseason in 1999 and 2000. The Packers fought to
9-7 last season and Green led the team with 73 receptions and it became clear that the
passing attack in Green Bay was struggling to get off the ground. Though the Packers
returned to prominence in 2001, with a 12-4 regular-season mark, Green was the team’s
top receiver (62 receptions) for the second season in a row and offensive coordinator Tom
Rossley had to find ways to make the passing game work.
"We had to throw the football to loosen up (defenses)," Packers head coach
Mike Sherman said. "If you look at the Tennessee game, (a 26-20 loss on Dec. 16), my
criticism there is not that we couldn’t run the ball, but we couldn’t throw
it."
Rossley calls the additional workload taken on by RB Green "balance," but the
lack of a playmaker in the passing game was transparent this season. In Green Bay’s
four losses, Green rushed for 63 yards or less three times, the other a 73-yard outing at
Minnesota when the Vikings took away Green in the passing game and harassed Favre in a
35-13 whitewash. Favre finished with 169 passing yards in that Week Six loss.
"We expected them to spread it out like they did," said 49ers coach Steve
Mariucci following Sunday’s playoff loss at Lambeau Field. "Their speed is
really with (Corey) Bradford and (Donald) Driver and that opens up a lot of other
avenues."
Favre lined up in shotgun formation or with four or more receivers on 18 of 29 pass
attempts. FB William Henderson had as many passes thrown his way as Freeman, and nine
different receivers caught a pass. In the redzone, Favre continued to eye Franks,
connecting on a 19-yard TD toss in the third quarter.
"We’ve got good receivers and a great running back," said Franks, whose
season-long TD catch prior to Sunday was six yards. "You can’t key on one guy.
It seems like they put me on the back burner, not respecting the TE position, and Brett
has been throwing it to me a lot. I’ll take it any way I can get it. Six points is
six points."
Sunday, when I asked a colleague in the Lambeau Field press box his opinion of the
Packers’ starting receivers, Freeman and Schroeder, he replied, simply, "worst
in their division." That is saying something. By season’s end, the Detroit Lions
lined up Johnnie Morton and Bert Emanuel as their starting WR tandem.
"We have good receivers," Favre said, adding that the offense is more
balanced than in years past because of Green’s emergence.
Good receivers?
One take on Freeman, and a nearly universal thinking, is that his best effort has been
on the shelf since he scored a mega-contract prior to the 1999 season. It came on the
heels of Freeman’s best season, one that saw him honored as a Pro Bowler, lead the
league in receiving yards and tie for second in TD receptions with 14. From 1996-2000,
Freeman ranked second in the NFL for TD catches with 50, trailing only Vikings WR Cris
Carter (57).
Comparing the former Pro Bowler to the rest of the field in 2001, 57 players had more
catches, 34 had more yards and 34 had as many receiving touchdowns, six, as Freeman. Those
are the types of numbers, or lack thereof, that should permanently etch Favre’s name
with the all-time greats. OK, Green upgrades the offense because he provides balance, but
who does more with less?
"I don’t think a quarterback can play any better," said Sherman after
Favre’s 22-of-29, 269-yard performance Sunday. "Some of the throws, he made
something out of nothing. That’s a Brett Favre-type of game."
Despite the lack of firepower, Favre’s 94.1 passer rating during the regular
season ranked him fifth in the NFL, his 32 touchdown passes good for a second-place tie
with the Niners’ Jeff Garcia. Overall, Green Bay’s offense ranked sixth, and it
wasn’t because of an improved rushing attack — 21st in the league
— but rather because Favre’s arm carried the Packers’ third-ranked passing
offense (235.6 yards per game).
Schroeder is still considered to be "developing." The chance of Green Bay
juggling its personnel at receiver prior to the 2002 season looks likely. The subtraction
of Freeman would lead to addition in either free agency or via the draft. If not,
Schroeder, Bradford, Driver and rookie Robert Ferguson may be the future of the position
for the Packers.
"I don’t have to answer any questions, I just have to go out and play
football," Freeman said. "When the ball comes my way, I catch it, run after the
catch, that’s it. I can’t control what is going to happen down the road. Right
now, I’m a Green Bay Packer. My team needs me and I’m going to be there for
them. When it’s all said and done, we’ll see how things shake out."
Schroeder (17.3 yards per catch) and Bradford (17.0) can both stretch the field, but
the likelihood of Driver or Ferguson developing into a steady possession receiver by the
start of next season is marginal at best.
"I’m always ready," said Bradford, who made a 51-yard reception to set
up Franks’ touchdown Sunday. "(Wide receivers) coach (Ray) Sherman told us it
was up to us today. Put it on yourself to go out and get it done."
"They’ll add somebody," an NFC personnel director said. "I think
they want to work in a few defensive picks, but they’ll take a receiver somewhere in
this draft. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a first- or second-round type. Mike
(Sherman) is conscious of the need for difference-makers. You want as many as you can
get."
Freeman made it clear he wanted to be a Wisconsin resident next season.
"You ask me to return a punt, I’ll return a punt," he said. "You
want me to run back a kick, I’ll run back a kick. You want me to go block for Ahman,
I’ll do that. Whatever they ask me to do. Be a receiver, of course. Winning creates a
whole new aura about an organization." |
