Ironically, everything being said about Bess in this thread was argued about Wes Welker when he was going to the Patriots. Everyone was thrilled to let him go despite his work ethic and clutch plays because his stats in Miami included only one touchdown. A small minority of us felt it was a big mistake to let him go and knew he was under appreciated and undervalued. I think the minority called it right. I believe the same thing is true about Bess.
Welker didn't become a different player overnight, he just finally had a real coach, gameplan and QB. Bess has labored under Sparano, Henne, Moore and some of the worst game plans ever during the bulk of his career and has been clutch on 3rd down with a 10.7 yard average. Definitely not glamorous, but the same offense couldn't make Brandon Marshal look decent.
Trading Bess won't kill the team, but every time Luck finds a way to move the chains with him on fourth and long it will suck to remember he was a better weapon than we gave him credit for in Miami.
Give Bess another season with complementary weapons on offense, a real QB and respectable gameplan and I believe he will show up big...certainly bigger than any no-name 4th round pick this front office will end up cutting within three seasons.
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This is a very good post.
Wes Welker was not a playmaker when he was with us. As a matter of fact most of stats were inferior to Bess' stats. Welker became a playmaker because NE put him into the right system: QB, additional receivers which took coverage away, a superior OL.
If you compare Welker's stats (in his last year with us) with Bess' stats from last year you will be utterly surprised.
Bess played 3 games less (13) than Welker in 06/07:
Average Yards per catch: Bess 12.8 Welker 10.5
Average Yards per game: Bess 60 Welker 43
Longest catch: Bess 39 Welker 38
Catches for 1st downs: Bess 38 Welker 33
TDs: Bess 1 Welker 1
Yards after the catch: Bess 4.4 Welker 4.3
Total Yards: Bess 778 Welker 687
These numbers for Welker was worth something to the Patriots and they turned Welker into a TD and yardage machine. It is easy to sit here as an arm chair QB and say "oh there are so many more and better receivers out there". Sure there are but it was the same thing said about Welker in 2007. I hear all types of excuses for Tannehill. Oh how we need a deep threat and yada yada yada. A slot receivers can only be as good as the game plan, the QB and the surrounding talent.
I find it hilarious that the same people revel in Hilton and are using an Indy/Miami comparison as an excuse for Tannehill. Hey, I am going to use the same excuse as most of you used when Tannehill was compared to Luck. Reggie Wayne.
If you take Wayne away does any of you really think that Hilton and Luck would have been as equally successful as they were? If your answer is yes then I shall turn that around: what happened to Tannehill in 2012 then?
Bess is far away from being a playmaker but I find it absolutely absurd to claim a totally talentless offense to make an excuse for one player yet throw one of our most consistent players over the last few years under the bus because of some wet dreams for a college guy who has has some highlite films against defensive players who will never see the inside of an NFL Stadium unless they buy a ticket.
I like to see how Tannehill performs next year with Wallace, Gibbons and Keller as passing weapons. I give the same benefit of doubt to Bess and Hartline to see how they perform when the attention in the passing game is given to two other receivers.
Welker was already a more explosive player in Miami than Bess was ever going to be. Welker had a history of taking kickoffs back for TD's before he left Miami.
You won't see any 2nd round tenders for Davone Bess.
Was not and did not. See my numbers above and Welker had in three years with us only 1 TD kickoff return. That was in his first year when he was exclusively on special teams.