I strongly disagree with this point. We have guys that could be quality number 2 guys in Givens and Bailey. We have boom or bust guys in Britt and Quick who have number 1 potential. We have Tavon who can be a threat, but he isn't a prototype number 1. I do think he can be a star. And you have Pettis who is a good rotation player. You don't have 5 guys who can be stars.
Fro, why do you insist on putting labels on these guys? This team will never have a "#1 WR", and it doesn't need one. This point has been beaten to death. There are only a handful of teams who you can identify that have that kind of WR. And most of those, don't go to the playoffs.
It seems to me, that many in here are trying to look at the individual players and evaluate them against the other players around the league. Its an "apples and oranges" comparison.
The biggest key for this group, is how they fit in with the offensive scheme. Last year, they underperformed. But lets look at the reasons why.
1) they had no running game the first month of the season. Which impacted the types of coverages they saw.
2) once they shifted the overall approach and focused on running the ball, the passing game became more efficient albeit not as "dynamic".
3) Bradford goes down... and they go away from throwing the ball.... (avg 14 completions per game with Clemens)
If this team can establish the running game from the outset, they will force teams into more man coverage. Teams played tons of Zone or Combination Coverage against them last year, which limited the opportunities for "big plays" out of Givens, and more importantly Austin.
In games where teams did in fact play straight man, (Colts) and to a lesser extent Carolina, the big plays were there, and they hit them. Austin had his coming out party vs. the Colts all against single man coverage. Quick had his best game vs. Carolina, hitting on a couple of big plays against MAN coverage.
If teams are forced to commit to an 8-man box to try to stop the running game, they will have to play a "single high" safety, which will create opportunities, especially off play-action.
This regime has committed a lot of resources to this position. A position that by all accounts, is the hardest outside of QB to fully adapt to the NFL game. We have an entire unit of players who have 1-2 years of experience. It's pretty apparent they are more than comfortable with the concept of letting these guys develop into the players they were drafted to be.
The key for me, is whether or not Britt can show he is fully recovered from the knee injury. If he is, then he is the wildcard in this group. If he isn't, then Brian Quick needs to be given even opportunity to show he belongs. His biggest issue, IMO, is confidence. Him feeling confident enough in his own ability to prove he can play in this league, and gain the coaches confidence in that they will keep putting out there.
It also seems that people are over reacting to the Bailey suspension. He will miss 1/4 of the season. To panic and bring in another "body" in his absence is foolish, IMO. Ultimately, if
Bailey, Quick and Austin can establish themselves as the core receivers on this team, they will have more than enough to be successful.