Welcome back to “NFL’s Believe It or Not.” This week, I will focus on controversial comments from T.Y. Hilton, Odell Beckham Jr., and Ron Jaworski.
T.Y. Hilton
I will start with Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, who recently said that the Colts have “three No. 1 receivers.” Those receivers include Hilton, veteran Reggie Wayne, and newly-acquired receiver Hakeem Nicks. Hilton is a young playmaker for the Colts, and he had a fantastic year last season. Reggie Wayne has been a dominant force for the Colts for many years, and despite his advanced age, he is still certainly a threat. A legitimate case can be made for both of those receivers as No. 1 receivers. Hakeem Nicks, on the other hand, hasn’t been a No. 1 receiver in years. He had two poor seasons in a row with the Giants, and they didn’t even want to bring him back in free agency because of his constant injury and attitude problems. The Colts managed to pick him up for only $3.5 million this offseason. Would a No. 1 receiver haul in only three touchdowns in the last two seasons combined? No way.
Odell Beckham Jr.
Next up, New York Giants rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. discussed the Giants new offensive scheme under Ben McAdoo, saying, “It has potential to be, if not the best, one of the best in the league if you have a receiving corps like we do and a great quarterback along with the backfield and the tight ends and much improvement from the offensive line. I don’t see anything but being one of the best in the league this year.” During their two preseason games, the Giants offense has looked stagnant. While the receiving corps looks promising, many questions still remain. The biggest question is Eli Manning. If he can return to his 2011 form, the Giants should be very good. But if he throws another 27 interceptions, the Giants will struggle tremendously. Besides Eli, the Giants don’t have a proven tight end and they have a few questions on their offensive line. We’ll have to see how the offense looks when the players learn the new offensive scheme better, but so far they are not even close to one of the top offenses in the league.
Ron Jaworski
Finally, ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski made another ridiculous quarterback statement, this time about Cardinals rookie quarterback Logan Thomas. He praised Thomas after watching his first preseason game, saying, “You plug this tape in, this guy projects to me as an All-Pro.” He also claimed that Thomas was the best rookie quarterback he has seen so far this year. Thomas had a solid appearance in his first preseason game, but let’s not get carried away. He was a fourth-round pick, and most analysts felt that the Cardinals reached on him even at that point. He had an inconsistent collegiate career at Virginia Tech, and his decision-making was highly questionable. Last year, he threw for 2,909 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. During his junior year, he threw for 2,976 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. Throwing all of those interceptions against collegiate defenses does not bode well for his chances against professional defenses. Ron Jaworski went a bit too far this time.
Make sure to leave your own comments below and come back next Thursday for another edition of “NFL’s Believe It or Not.”
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