Kaptain Poop said:
Gonzalez was a number one draft pick who waited his turn and played the slot reciever for two years - winning the superbowl one of those two. In his last season in the slot his numbers were similar to Garcon's season in the #2. IMO, Collie is the best of all three of them, but it is truly ridiculous that Gonzalez must now step aside to Garcon.
Through the years white recievers have filled in for injured black recievers and at times done outstanding. In every single instance when the black starter returned, the white fill-in was given a slap on the back, a "good job filling in", and sent back to the bench.
Sometimes they don't even get to play until the injured starter returns, the coaches endlessly search for some scrub to replace a good white player who is performing well. I remember in 1996. Robert Brooks, one of the Packers starting outside receivers hurt his knee halfway through the season at the beginning of a game against San Fransisco, Don Beebe stepped up and had 11 receptions for 220 yards, but was never considered good enough to be more than a "# 3 receiver and special teams guy"
Here is all I can find about the situation from a Packers site
"the preseason favorites were playing every bit the part...that is, until
#1 wide receiver Robert Brooks tore his right knee into two or three
pieces and went on the IR list. Like any GM after the trade deadline,
Wolf gave Mike Holmgren time to see if the team could compensate for the
loss.
But a 2-2 record dropped the team to 8-3 and doubts were beginning to
creep in. Don Beebe, so instrumental on special teams and as a #3
receiver,
was unable to play at the level of a starter, and the Packers'
offense began to sputter. With the trade deadline past, Wolf found any
options to upgrade the position very limited: most players available
off the street weren't going to outplay Beebe, and that wasn't going to
be good enough."
"Except for the troubled Andre Rison, he of the infamous burning house by
his ex-girlfriend only a few years prior. Off-the-field issues haunted him in Atlanta, and followed him to his
short stints in Cleveland and Jacksonville."
"But he was also the only receiver available that would legitimately
upgrade the receiving corps, and Wolf felt it was worth the risk to the
locker room. "
According to this site Rison was an instrumental part of why the Packers went on to do so well and won the Superbowl. His stats with the Packers for the last 5 regular season games were 13 catches for 135 yards, Beebe during that time, despite rarely seeing the field had 10 catches for 142 yards. Rison did a little better in the playoffs, averaging 46 yards per game, but not that much of an impact player.
Apparently they were searching for anyone to play outside receiver besides Don Beebe, who had 18 catches for 349 yards in the 3 games he was allowed to get significant time, ( btw they won those 3 games). The 200 yard performance was when he was lined up as the number 1 wideout, but I guess he "just wasn't good enough to play as a starter" but apparently Rison was, with his impressive 2 catches for 14 yards against Chicago, or his 1 catch for 7 yards against Denver, yes, that is how a true "starter" performs.
Edited by: snow 
