Let's continue to beat the dead horse known as Anthony Gonzalez

and I don’t think its a dead horse if everyone and their dog wants to debate it. This is very much the Reggie vs. Andre debate we had going in the season last year. Production and efficiency vs. Physical tools.

I agree that Pierre is the number 2 guy going into camps, but if Gonzo is healthy and 100%, I believe he WILL beat out Pierre and reclaim his rightful place at the top of the Colts depth chart.

You finally posted something that actually reflects the reality of the situation. Garcon probably has a lead on Gonzo because Gonzo is coming off an injury! Thank you! For once you didn’t put something like “Garcon has developed faster,” or “Garcon is the better receiver,” or “Gonzo is injury prone and a bust,” you actually stuck to reality and finally said it like it is. Gonzo is injured, or coming off an injury. There will be a battle, and thank god for that. I’m glad you started listening to other people BBS. Thank you for finally correcting your mistakes.

is a beast when he gets the ball in his hands. there is no other reciever on our team who can take on tacklers and make people miss like him. he also has sick deep threat ability. i would like to see the colts use gonzo along with garcon in order to both keep gonzo healthy and give garcon a breather after sprinting down field and taking on tacklers.

…you mean Wayne, Garcon, Collie, Gonzo and Clark…

Yikes.

Bodden vs Wayne – Wayne
McCourty/Wilhite vs Garcon – Draw
Butler vs Collie – Draw, leaning towards Collie
Springs vs Gonzo – Springs
McGowan vs Clark – McGowan

I still call that a 270 yard, 2 TD, 1 INT game.

I don’t listen to much Indy Sports Radio, but people are telling me Colts fans keep calling into radio shows talking about how the Colts should trade Gonzo. Is that true?

I think we’ll certainly see it some time this year, but it makes Peyton very vulnerable to any kind of good pass rush and doesn’t really provide too much of an advantage over the usual sets.

To me, it’s not an issue of whether the opposing team has a weak secondary – no team’s secondary is good enough to cover those 5 (or any group of 5, really) over a very long time. That’s just the nature of the offense’s built in advantage.

To me the usefulness is more about what kind of pass rushers they have. If they’ve got guys like Allen or Freeney who can beat anyone straight up any time, the 5 wide wouldn’t help.

I just wonder what kind of advantage it’d even give us. It’s not as if keeping Addai in the backfield eliminates a receiving threat. He’s often able to get wide open with some space around him after contributing a useful block first. That little safety valve is always very nice to have. With 5 wide, you lose that block, plus there’s probably still going to be a route run that is short / safety valve-esque, so it’s really not that big of a deal.

I guess where I see the value is that you can really start to manipulate the defense, and thus run routes that almost guarantee that you’ve got one guy getting single coverage in whatever area of the field you want. If you know for sure he can outrun his guy, you can just lob it up there and not worry about a safety coming over. Or you can set it up so that Garcon gets some space to run after a catch without too much danger of getting hit hard… big chance for a long run. Stuff like that is interesting. But again, I still wonder how different that is from the norm. If Addai comes off the field, they just swap a DB for the LB spying on him.

Where I think this would really benefit us would be if Peyton could run a bit. Then they’d be in a dime defense with nothing up front really, and if there was still a running threat, they’d be really vulnerable to it.

The uber-brilliant Matt Williamson of the more uber-brilliant Scouts Inc. over at ESPN agrees with you that Garcon should start. That is probably the biggest signal that Gonzo will start. He is NEVER right.

In reality, I just want the better player out there. In my opinion, Gonzo is the better player, but if Garcon proves himself to be that, then start him. Training Camp will do this anyway.

Except for the fact that no one is listed as a starter. Anyone who disagrees simply doesn’t know what he is talking about.

But in this article I will side with BBS.

Marvin Harrison came back off a serious injury and started, only because of who he was, not because of any other reason.

For example, Roy Hall was very talented, very gifted, but couldn’t stay healthy. He was not going to start over Marvin Harrison, even an over the hill Marvin Harrison.

People point out how Garcon was beaten out by Collie in the preseason as the Slot WR. What people I think often overlook is that Garcon is more of an outside WR. Yes, as a WR you should be versatile and capable of playing any position on the line. However, some players are trained/built if you will with certain modes in their game.

Randy Moss can line up in the slot, but he rarely ever does. Why? He’s a burner, not an across the middle kind of guy. Moss is a deep threat, not a possession WR.

I’m basing my comments with regards to this post on my viewing sample of the WRs on the field. Am I wrong? I could be. However, this is what I think. Collie and Gonzo while fast WR’s, are more possession WR’s than down field threats. They certainly can break for hellacious yards after the catch, as evidenced by games both players have had.

However, Garcon is the one wildcard in that he can break deep at a moments notice. Is he still raw? Absolutely. The kid came from a Division III school and could not compare to the level of training/programs that both Collie and Gonzo came from. Collie coming from a pass happy school, and Gonzo coming from a very efficient West Coast style offense.

Ultimately, I’d much rather see Gonzo in the slot as I feel he offers the best mismatch on the field, even better than Clark depending on who we play. Also, with Gonzo possibly sidelined when the season begins, how do you decide when to play him? What happens if the Colts go 12-1 and Collie/Garcon are playing lights out?

Gonzo is a great player, a fantastic teammate, and a player I want on the field. However, the only person I can see getting knocked off the field as a starter would be Collie. Garcon’s position is secure as long as he performs as good as he did last year.