Remember when Aaron Rodgers came back from a broken collarbone and beat the Bears with a 48 yard touchdown on 4th and 8?
Remember last year, when the wild card game against the Giants was really tight and then, as time expired before halftime, Rodgers threw an amazing hail mary touchdown?
That was awesome, too!
Remember the Bears game a few years ago, when Rodgers rolled out on 3rd and 10 before the end of the second quarter to throw his record 6th touchdown in the first half?
Oh man, I love that one!
What about that heads-up 12 yard score (against a defense with 12 men) to wake the team up after falling down 11-0 on the road against the Redskins in that big come from behind road win in the 2015 wild card round? The 16 yard strike to set up the Packers go-ahead score in the Cowboys playoff game last year? The big 26 yard play on 4th and 2 to set up a go-ahead 4th quarter touchdown against the 49ers in the 2013 playoffs?
Man, those were all great Aaron Rodgers highlights.
They were also all great Randall Cobb highlights.
It’s funny, Randall Cobb has been a clutch receiver his entire career. He’s been a big play guy since his first game when he had a cross field catch and run for a 32 yard touchdown ran a kick back 108 yards to the house right after the Saints pulled within a score.
On third downs, he’s a go to guy because he had a great feel for the markers. On broken plays, he comes up big because of his hustle and awareness in the scramble drill.
He’s a guy who wants to win and makes clutch plays to get his team there.
When he was a free agent, fans moaned and wailed for his re-signing and got it after he made his first Pro Bowl in 2014. Cobb was paid at the top of the market for slot receivers, and rightfully so.
But since then, he only had 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2 years.
So effing what?
This ain’t fantasy football!
The Green Bay Packers don’t pay their players to get good stats, they pay them to be a part of a program that wins. That’s what Cobb does.
You want stats?
How about this: ProFootballFocus reports that Cobb’s WR Rating (the QB rating of passers when they throw to him) since 2012 is 116.2 – third best in the NFL (behind #2 Jordy Nelson – see how it’s a team thing?). Cobb has been rated as a top 25 receiver in 4 of the last 5 years (because he missed most of 2013 with a broken leg). Also, in 60 catchable targets last year, do you know how many Cobb caught? All of them – 100% – top-rated hands in the league!
“Yeah, b-but qb rating is a dumb stat and-and receivers aren’t supposed to drop balls – touchdowns win football games!”
No, touchdowns win fantasy games and that means nothing.
You’re not gonna get 12 touchdowns a year from a slot receiver, especially when his teammates on the outside are Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams – also known as #1 in the NFL in touchdowns and #2 in the NFL in touchdowns.
But wait, there’s more: now that Marty Bennett is in town, Cobb might get even fewer touchdowns!
So should we ask him to take a pay cut?
Randall Cobb is one of, if not the, best slot receiver in the league. He does everything he can, including returning kicks and playing running back (at 5’10” 190), to help his team win. If that doesn’t translate to big stats, no one who matters (i.e., coaches and players – not fans) cares.
If you don’t like his stats, don’t draft him on your fantasy team.
Better yet, quit playing fantasy football altogether and appreciate the game for what it truly is – a breathtaking orchestra of the most physically gifted athletes in the history of mankind moving in 22 different directions at the same time, trying to move a ball 300 feet, where effort and inches are immeasurable in value – not a stat alert on your iphone.
Randall Cobb earns his paycheck and gives the team a better chance to win. So shut the f#ck up about pay cuts.