Eating my words, giving props where its due- kamar aiken

[Inqui]

boldin is the all time most overrated raven, and it's quite irritating. He was relatively near the tops in drop percentage every year and never even sniffed 1000 yards

Like I said in the other thread, Boldin was the ultimate case of "go out on a high and leave the audience wanting more" (albeit not by his own choice). He never got the chance to regress back to the mean after his godlike SB run (say what you want about Joe, who deserves all his praise for that run because he was great, but so was Boldin).

[Bltravens]

Sorry to say, but Boldin dropped his fair share of balls here. I'm not sure I think the comparison of Aiken to Boldin is necessarily appropriate, but this comment bothers me because Boldin dropped his fair share. He had a critical drop against (I believe) Pittsburgh in the playoffs that could've won us the game. I just don't like how Boldin is practically given god-status around here.

Everyone drops balls, that goes without saying, Boldin did drop one in Pittsburgh but that wasn't exactly an easy catch.  How many times have we watched Aiken get hit in the chest with no one in a 3 yard radius of him?  

He's not a #2, plain and simple.

[GrimCoconut]

Everyone drops balls, that goes without saying, Boldin did drop one in Pittsburgh but that wasn't exactly an easy catch. How many times have we watched Aiken get hit in the chest with no one in a 3 yard radius of him?

He's not a #2, plain and simple.

Not an easy catch? It hit him square in the hands. Not sure it gets any easier.

Btw I don't disagree about Aiken dropping balls. He had a real problem earlier in the year especially. He caused that stupid fumble and interception, too, IIRC

Edited December 5, 2015 by GrimCoconut

[rmw10]

Props to Aiken for sure.  I still view him as more of a #3 type of guy, but he's definitely one that I want to keep around for next year.  I feel like I can't say the same for any of the other WRs on the roster right now other than maybe Jeremy Butler, and to a lesser extent, Chris Givens.

[Kid87]

I think Aiken and Perriman could be like a Clayton/Mason combo.. I like Butler too but it's a little earlier for me to say that lol. And Boyle reminds me of Heap a little bit.Gilmore is such a Physical TE.

[Bltravens]

Not an easy catch? It hit him square in the hands. Not sure it gets any easier.

Btw I don't disagree about Aiken dropping balls. He had a real problem earlier in the year especially. He caused that stupid fumble and interception, too, IIRC

Wasn't he forced to kind of half dive/fall over to grab it because Flacco had to throw it down?  That's the one I'm thinking of at least.

[Deflated Football]

Aiken has been force fed the football since SSS went down. That's why his numbers have been inflated. He would've been on our practice squad in 2012 and I would only like him back next season as the number four at best.

[JoeyFlex5]

Let me reiterate the part where I said he'll be a good number3 moving forward. I keep seeing people say "but he's nothing more than bla bla" yeah I know, and I even stated that, pretty plainly.

[GrimCoconut]

Wasn't he forced to kind of half dive/fall over to grab it because Flacco had to throw it down? That's the one I'm thinking of at least.

Man, I'll be honest--it's been a while and I just don't remember anymore lol. I remember it hitting him in the hands at the goal line or close to it and he just dropped the ball. Just looked like bad concentration on his part.

I think Aiken is at best a #3, but he's not bad and he's worth keeping around. He did have an unimpressive start to the year.

[Bltravens]

Man, I'll be honest--it's been a while and I just don't remember anymore lol. I remember it hitting him in the hands at the goal line or close to it and he just dropped the ball. Just looked like bad concentration on his part.

I think Aiken is at best a #3, but he's not bad and he's worth keeping around. He did have an unimpressive start to the year.

Ya thats the one, no doubt he should have caught it though no argument there, its what we signed him to be able to do in those situations.

Edited December 6, 2015 by Bltravens

[jdynamite]

Catches and yards have to go somewhere! And the league has made passing much much easier these days.

I still can't stand any comparison of Aiken to Boldin it's laughable. Aiken seems to have a lot more heart and determination than Brown, he's played hard... The only way I could give any thoughts of him as a possible future #2 is if he someone how finishes the season with 1200 yds which would mean he goes on a tear for the final few weeks.

[PerpetuallyBored74]

Aiken has developed into an excellent #3 WR who can step in and be serviceable as a starter, even as a #1 if his OC gameplans to his strengths. Which we are seeing now.

Butler has the potential to develop into the same type of WR, and it's good to have those types of WRs for depth.

We are lacking a true bona fide #1 with SSS done for the year. But then we have lacked one since Mason was catching passes from McNair.

We really need to learn how to draft WRs, even if it means poaching the Steelers scouting department. They seem to draft quality WRs at will. i really wanted Martavis Bryant back in that draft.

[GrimCoconut]

Catches and yards have to go somewhere! And the league has made passing much much easier these days.

I still can't stand any comparison of Aiken to Boldin it's laughable. Aiken seems to have a lot more heart and determination than Brown, he's played hard... The only way I could give any thoughts of him as a possible future #2 is if he someone how finishes the season with 1200 yds which would mean he goes on a tear for the final few weeks.

That's not exactly fair. 1200 yards would be a very nice season and would make people think he could be a #1 WR. I honestly, would be happy if he had 800 yards as a #2. That would be respectable. That's what Boldin put up when he was here and would also be close to what Torrey put up here.

[CalvinSmoke]

Is he still earning respect or nah?

[GrimCoconut]

Kamar Aiken has been the small glimmer of light in this dark season. Well, there are other glimmers. He's one of the brightest ones, though. At least in my opinion he is!

[K-Dog]

Did he get hurt today?

[The Raven]

Kamar is the kinda guy that just needed reps to start figuring it out. He was terrible early in the season, but he's getting it together and making plays that wow me. He's definitely not a number 1, but he could be a half decent number 2 on his best day. Think he could turn out to be one of the best number 3's in the league (if that makes sense) if he continues this growth. He's really come around this season.

Edited December 14, 2015 by The Raven

[Deflated Football]

I have no doubt in my mind that Aiken will be kept after this year. However, it shouldn't be at the expense of true playmakers, specifically those who can stretch the field or have RAC ability. And we don't just need one of those guys, we need two or three of them. I could see us going after DeSean Jackson, Mike Wallace, Vincent Jackson or Roddy White as they will all be potential cut casualties and I can also see us targeting Brian Quick, Travis Benjamin, Rueben Randle or one of the guys from the Bengals as UFA's. Heck, I'd even look at Nate Washington. We don't need a superstar bonafide number one WR, but Joe needs a competent supporting cast. We have the RB's and TE's in place, now Ozzie has to stop going to the bargain bin for bandaids.

[GrimCoconut]

I have no doubt in my mind that Aiken will be kept after this year. However, it shouldn't be at the expense of true playmakers, specifically those who can stretch the field or have RAC ability. And we don't just need one of those guys, we need two or three of them. I could see us going after DeSean Jackson, Mike Wallace, Vincent Jackson or Roddy White as they will all be potential cut casualties and I can also see us targeting Brian Quick, Travis Benjamin, Rueben Randle or one of the guys from the Bengals as UFA's. Heck, I'd even look at Nate Washington. We don't need a superstar bonafide number one WR, but Joe needs a competent supporting cast. We have the RB's and TE's in place, now Ozzie has to stop going to the bargain bin for bandaids.

I agree. We may have to tender him at the second round level now. I'm not sure we can negotiate a cheap deal and I'm not sure it's in our best interest to do such after we've been burned recently

[Deflated Football]

I agree. We may have to tender him at the second round level now. I'm not sure we can negotiate a cheap deal and I'm not sure it's in our best interest to do such after we've been burned recently

I would let him walk but I don't think Ozzie will. He's been force fed the ball due to a lack of offensive weapons and his numbers are being inflated. I'm fine with him coming back as the 4, but he should never be put into a starting role. I look at the WR corps for the Steelers, Bengals, Cardinals and Packers and cry every time.

[Purple_City39]

I still can't eat my words on Aiken.  He's the #1 by default.  He's getting #1 WR opportunities with double digit targets in 3 of the last 5 weeks but he's still showing to be a #2.  We're still waiting for his first 100 yards game.  In fact, I'll put it into perspective.  Marlon Brown's single game high in yards and TDs are both still higher than Aiken's career high.  Brown set those highs as a rookie, Aiken's been in the league five years, has been getting #1 WR looks most of the season, and still hasn't surpassed or tied Brown's single game numbers.

 

Y'all can neg me but Aiken is still the #3/4 I thought he was when the season started.

[Deflated Football]

I still can't eat my words on Aiken. He's the #1 by default. He's getting #1 WR opportunities with double digit targets in 3 of the last 5 weeks but he's still showing to be a #2. We're still waiting for his first 100 yards game. In fact, I'll put it into perspective. Marlon Brown's single game high in yards and TDs are both still higher than Aiken's career high. Brown set those highs as a rookie, Aiken's been in the league five years, has been getting #1 WR looks most of the season, and still hasn't surpassed or tied Brown's single game numbers.

Y'all can neg me but Aiken is still the #3/4 I thought he was when the season started.

Agreed. I thought it was bad news when he came in to this season as the number three before BP went down, then I laughed when he became the number two, and now look where he is. We can't make this mistake again.

[GrimCoconut]

I think Aiken is best as a #3 but I think it's unfair to call him an average player and compare him to Marlon Brown or even say Marlon Brown is better.

Marlon Brown didn't have a great WR corps around him either, but let's put this into perspective. Yes, Aiken is getting a lot of looks but he has nobody else in the WR corps while Brown had Torrey Smith getting attention his rookie year. Who does Aiken have?

My point is this argument goes both ways. He's an above average player I'd say who's a good player but not great. I'd bring him back but I don't feel comfortable throwing money at him.

[Cville-Raven]

Aiken is a good receiver, especially in a #3 role, and we should absolutely bring him back next year. Also, he's better than Marlon Brown.

[Deflated Football]

Aiken is a good receiver, especially in a #3 role, and we should absolutely bring him back next year. Also, he's better than Marlon Brown.

Because having suspect hands, being slow and having no RAC ability makes a good slot receiver huh?

[Cville-Raven]

Because having suspect hands, being slow and having no RAC ability makes a good slot receiver huh?

So all #3s are slot receivers? lol ok. Also his hands aren't even that bad.

[Deflated Football]

So all #3s are slot receivers? lol ok. Also his hands aren't even that bad.

Well I wouldn't put him on the outsides. And the fact that you said his hands "aren't even that bad" proves that his hands are not great. I'm tired of these practice squad WR's that offer nothing but cheap contracts.

[Cville-Raven]

Well I wouldn't put him on the outsides. And the fact that you said his hands "aren't even that bad" proves that his hands are not great. I'm tired of these practice squad WR's that offer nothing but cheap contracts.

You keep setting the bar for the wr core among the best in the league. Hate to break it to you but that's probably not gonna happen. He's good depth.

[The Raven]

Because having suspect hands, being slow and having no RAC ability makes a good slot receiver huh?

 

Suspect hands, sure. Slow and no RAC ability? Lol no. Kamar has average speed and pretty good RAC ability.

[Deflated Football]

You keep setting the bar for the wr core among the best in the league. Hate to break it to you but that's probably not gonna happen. He's good depth.

We're not going to have the best WR corps in the league but we can surely do better than Kamar Aiken as the number three.