Celek gets mention for dropped passes
Did Brent Celek have a problem with dropped passes in 2009? According to one statistical analysis, the answer is yes.
Celek gets mention for dropped passes
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Brent Celek has received plenty of positive pub this offseason.
Coming off a 2009 campaign in which he blew away expectations (76 catches for 971 yards and 8 TDs), he's quickly emerged as one of the faces of this young Eagles' offense.
But Celek got a mention earlier this week for something not so flattering: drops.
Our friend over at Football Outsiders, Bill Barnwell, made me aware of a post he put up yesterday, examining league-wide drops during the 2009 season.
According to the FO's crew of game-charters, Celek tied 49ers tight end Vernon Davis with the most drops in the NFL last season with 12.
The only other receiver with double-digit drops was Kansas City's Dwayne Bowe.
Barnwell took a look at combined numbers from 2008 and 2009. During that period, Celek dropped 11.3 percent of the passes thrown to him, the second-highest percentage among tight ends, behind only Donald Lee.
A couple notes from my perspective here.
One is that number of drops varies depending on which site you're looking at. For example, STATS.com also keeps the stat, and acccording to them, Celek had nine drops last season, not 12. According to Pro Football Focus, Celek had eight drops. Given the relatively small number we're dealing with, a drop here or a drop there can really make a difference in percentages.
Also, I went through my Man Up pieces to remember when Celek suffered his thumb/hand injury. Here's what I wrote after the Eagles' Week 12 win over the Redskins:
I think I caught the play where he got injured. Celek caught a ball over the middle early in the third quarter, and then was hit. The ball popped loose, but he held on. After that, we saw him really struggle, although give Celek credit for his toughness.
He had just two catches the following week. I'm not trying to make excuses for the guy, but that should be taken into account.
Getting back to Barnwell, another stat his crew tracked was unforced errors. These errors were defined as ones when the receiver was "Uncovered or up against the vaunted Hole In Zone." By Football Outsiders' count, DeSean Jackson led all receivers in this category with four unforced errors last season.
So what's the bottom line here? Celek and Jackson are among the few sure things on the 2010 Eagles. They are both playmakers, and based on the old eyeball test, they more than made up for the drops last year with spectacular plays.
Still, I always like to see how the Birds stack up in the different statistical categories that Football Outsiders measures.
Become a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
I don't recall Eagles receivers dropping many well thrown balls last year either Sheil. McCoy had a few, but not many from the WRs/TEs. Celek, Jackson, and Maclin all have good hands. They should make Kolb look good next year.— dragoon6- John Madden once said that Donovan McNabb's passes are so bad that even the defenses can't pick him off. Don't blame the receiver - Every one McNabb has ever had here dropped a lot of passes.— mikegdj
- what consitutes a dropped pass? if mcnabb was throwing them at their ankles and they drop it that shouldn't count.— cheesesteak17
Jason Avant has the best hands on the team. I still remember when he made that 1 handed catch when the Eagles played the Chargers Last Year.— briandawkins20- There were plenty of passes that hit receivers in the hands and were dropped. In Celek's defense, the more balls thrown his way, the more drops he will have. Not that NcNabb didn't have the habit of throwing low, but I'm not going to blame him for all passes dropped, just like I don't blame him for all games lost.— PhillyFanSouth
McNabb's Gone! Maybe it's time to move on and look to the future. Hopefully Kolb can live up to expectations, if not there's always Vick!— EZG1
Comment removed.- Mikedgj brings up a solid point. Macnabb makes the receiver work hard to catch the ball. Almost too hard. Like they were trying to play possession football using the pass. Instead of the run. Probably because MacNabb had a big contract incentive to keep his PA's to INT ratio low..Because we all know the Birds are all about throwing the ball. In case we haven't noticed duhhhhhh...This article is just off season paddidellsquat. Celek is solid.The Eagles need to work on a running game the rest of the league respects and maybe they'll get somewhere in 10'— MJPD345
There's no way Braylon Edwards didn't lead the NFL in dropped passes- that one open bomb that hit him in the face and dropped for the NYJ last year was classic.— kjuggs77- Donavanhasarealteamnow stop posting on this site no one cares— Egomark
- redskinshavealoserqb, the story says Celek dropped 12 passes. Hardly a ton. On the other hand, your boyfriend threw most of his dropped passes to worms, who do not have arms. Redsiins will finish below Eagles this year and I am not expecting much from the Birds.— mike l
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
Celek had reliable hands until McNabb threw a bullet from 25 yards directly into Celek's reach and he hurt his hand. McNabb throwing 40 yard bullets without taking anything off is another reason why this team failed. Celek would have been a Pro Bowler if McNabb wasn't so jealous and stop throwing 100 mph balls to him from 30 yards away. McNabb also didn't like to work the middle which Kolb will do. Kolb will put that lead that ball towards the middle and demand that his WR catches it even if he leads him into a LB. McNabb has held this team back due not taking advantage of his weapons. D-Jax is built for slants over the middle and Kolb will take advantage of that fact. Even McNabb lobs are too strong just like that bullet lob that he threw to D-Jax 2 years ago against the Redskins that D-Jax dropped in the endzone to lose the game. That was McNabb's fault for throwing a 50 yard bomb with that much velocity on the downward arch. With Kolb's fluffy soft passes we will never have to worry about another dropped ball. Plus if anyone does drop a ball Kolb will be there right in their face to square them away instantly because that's what "real" leaders do. With Kolb leading this team Maclin, D-Jax, Celek and McCoy will all make the Pro Bowl. Wolf Out!- haha, nice one wolf. And DooDoo, I saw your air guitar in D.C. So move there because you seem to have more fun bashing McNabb than rooting for the Birds, and that's not what real fans of the team do. I think moving DMac was an inevitable move, too, but your doodoo act is getting real stale in Philly, man. Have fun in D.C.— goeagles87
Follow
Sheil on Twitter. And become
a fan of Moving the Chains on Facebook.
Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for even more Birds
coverage, including app-exclusive videos and analysis. Download it here.
