Rod Smith vs Demaryius Thomas

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Javon Walker’s 1400 yard season was impressive.

[Kyousukeneko]

just for a throw back. Haven Moses, i think he was our first good WR i can remember.

[rst08tierney]

Rod never had a constant case of the dropsies

[FL BRONCO]

DT would rank 4th or 5th on my list of Broncos receivers. Rod is top 2 easy imo

[Butler By'Note]

Rod never had a constant case of the dropsies

He really did though, early in his career. He overcame that as his career went on, but he was dropping a lot of balls early on. 97 was his breakout year, he started every game and caught 70 passes for 1180 yards and 12 touchdowns, but his 70 catches were on 131 targets, which translates to a 53.4% catch rate. And he led the league in drops that year with 15. He also led the league in drops in 2000 with 17 of them.

I could only find data until 2016, and Thomas was generally in the top 10 for dropped passes but it was usually around 8 or 9. However he did lead the league in drops in 2014 with 10.

[Freyaka]

He really did though, early in his career. He overcame that as his career went on, but he was dropping a lot of balls early on. 97 was his breakout year, he started every game and caught 70 passes for 1180 yards and 12 touchdowns, but his 70 catches were on 131 targets, which translates to a 53.4% catch rate. And he led the league in drops that year with 15. He also led the league in drops in 2000 with 17 of them.

I could only find data until 2016, and Thomas was generally in the top 10 for dropped passes but it was usually around 8 or 9. However he did lead the league in drops in 2014 with 10.

Also, the "drops" with Thomas....It's a little skewed by fans. He caught a very large portion of his targets. Yes he had higher drops than some, but he also had a far higher catch rate than other players with drop numbers similar to his.

Bottom line, DT was flat out getting targeted more than almost any WR in the league when Peyton was here and while he had some "drops" he caught a huge percentage of the actual targets.

[FL BRONCO]

Also, the "drops" with Thomas....It's a little skewed by fans. He caught a very large portion of his targets. Yes he had higher drops than some, but he also had a far higher catch rate than other players with drop numbers similar to his.

Bottom line, DT was flat out getting targeted more than almost any WR in the league when Peyton was here and while he had some "drops" he caught a huge percentage of the actual targets.

I can say that DT made some of the most athletic and impressive catches.

[CanDB]

Not that this is a metric of greatness, but when I think of the really good/great players, I think about their success, their strengths, their continuous dedication and commitment. Sure, no one is perfect, but when I think of Rod Smith, it is in glowing terms, I loved DT, but as I think of him, I have scratched my head at times.....even though he has had a very high level career. But definitely, not the way I would think of Rod.

[Butler By'Note]

Also, the "drops" with Thomas....It's a little skewed by fans. He caught a very large portion of his targets. Yes he had higher drops than some, but he also had a far higher catch rate than other players with drop numbers similar to his.

Bottom line, DT was flat out getting targeted more than almost any WR in the league when Peyton was here and while he had some "drops" he caught a huge percentage of the actual targets.

That's true, in the 10 seasons Smith was a starting WR he was below a 60% catch rate in 5 of them. In 7 seasons as a starter Thomas was below 60% twice, and both were 59.3% so not far below.

I think Thomas also suffers a little from recency bias, people remember the drops because they happened recently, with Smith they only remember the highlights.

[Freyaka]

That's true, in the 10 seasons Smith was a starting WR he was below a 60% catch rate in 5 of them. In 7 seasons as a starter Thomas was below 60% twice, and both were 59.3% so not far below.

I think Thomas also suffers a little from recency bias, people remember the drops because they happened recently, with Smith they only remember the highlights.

Yup, 10 years from now, we'll be talking about DT and how he accumulated nearly 7,000 yards and 46 TD's in a 5 year span in awe and reverence...For now it's just "all he ever did was drop the ball"

It's not a knock on Smith because they played in different eras, but Smith's best 5 year period was 6,214 yards and 34 TD's. Still nothing to sneeze at, but DT was flat out balling when Manning was here.

[skeeter01]

Excellent points "Butler" & "Freeka" I've fallen in the category of those who speak who really don't know.....I stated Rod hands down.....but will leave by saying very close, loved them both. !!!
Some one should compare Wilson and Jackson at line backer, throw in Karl in the comparison as well

[Hph5]

He really did though, early in his career. He overcame that as his career went on, but he was dropping a lot of balls early on. 97 was his breakout year, he started every game and caught 70 passes for 1180 yards and 12 touchdowns, but his 70 catches were on 131 targets, which translates to a 53.4% catch rate.

Yes Rod did have a problem catching the ball in 97. I do remember calls to get rid of him because he "couldn't catch". I think a lot of those yards and touchdowns came on deep passes. He was a great deep threat when he had Elway.

[flosstein]

I can say that DT made some of the most athletic and impressive catches.

Nothing like DT on the backline of the end zone. And that was another great quality of his. His ability to keep his feet in play on those tough or athletic catches.

[samparnell]

just for a throw back. Haven Moses, i think he was our first good WR i can remember.

Don't forget Lionel Taylor who was Denver's first great WR.

[FL BRONCO]

[QUOTE=Butler By'Note;5796141]That's true, in the 10 seasons Smith was a starting WR he was below a 60% catch rate in 5 of them. In 7 seasons as a starter Thomas was below 60% twice, and both were 59.3% so not far below.

I think Thomas also suffers a little from recency bias, people remember the drops because they happened recently, with Smith they only remember the highlights.[/QUOTE]

That may very well be true. I personally am not judging by numbers, stats or any of that. I guess we are lucky to have had a few Great wide recievers here, and DT is definitely included. When I think of my top 5, I think of who I would want to trust with the play with the game on the line in a win or go home circumstance.. To me that is the true measure of who I think is the best. Receivers played in different eras, with different qb's and different rules so it is not exactly a fair judgement to go by numbers imo. We have had some very good receivers and some good qb's throwing to them. We had DT with Manning, Taylor/Tripucka, Rod had John of Course, Moses had Morton and then there was Marshall with Cutler. When I look back I feel very lucky to have gotten to see them all. If The qb were none of the above listed but regardless of who was playing qb or what era you were playing in and I and I had to rate them on just making the play regardless of what it took, DT would definitely not be listed in my top 3 and maybe 4. But that is not a knock cause he is in some amazing company and they all made many playse when we needed them.:2cents: