MY Views On Reggie Wayne, And Why They Should Be Important, Front Page Or Not

Did you guys hear?  Reggie Wayne is non-committal about going to training camp.  I don't know if it has made rounds yet...

Reggie Wayne: 4 time Pro Bowler.  2 time All-Pro.  More importantly, he has 82 receptions, 1127 yards, and 9 touchdowns in 16 playoff games.  Compare that to Lee Evans, who has never made the playoffs or the Pro Bowl, Laveranues Coles, who has 1 playoff touchdown in 5 playoff games to go along with his 1 free vacation to Hawaii, and Nate Washington, who has never had more than 6 touchdowns in a season.  What do those three guys have in common?  They all are getting paid more than Reggie Wayne.

Sure, the Colts have a great front office and the Bills, Bengals, and Titans, ummm, do not, but Reggie Wayne is actually underpaid in today's NFL market.  Here's one thing that is being forgotten.  Reggie Wayne is not just a guy who plays a game on your TV every Sunday in the fall.  He's a person who pays bills and has to make a livelihood.  Sure, I'm not going to be crying myself to sleep over a millionaire not making even more money, but it is about being paid what someone is deserved.  Who here honestly thinks Reggie Wayne has not been a fantastic receiver for the Colts?  Hell, just last year he was leading all of the major statistical receivers a wide receiver could.  That's damn impressive.

You may say he has no leverage because the Colts are loaded at wide receiver.  I say, are they?  Let's look at this.  A 3rd year player who has iffy hands and isn't a great route runner, a 2nd year player who can really only excel in the slot, and a player coming off of a season-ending knee injury.  With all of this, there is also a top 5 receiver in the league who wants more money and who has been one of the best playoff players in the past decade.  One bad route doesn't change that fact.

You may say that 5.47 million dollars isn't bad.  I say, is it?  Look at what the franchise tag for this offseason was.  $9.521 million.  The franchise tag is the average number off the top 5 salaries for a certain position.  Reggie Wayne is a top 5 receiver, however he would not be in that group.  I know that you probably want to get paid by how well you perform, and so does Reggie.  He's working when he's out there catching touchdowns, and he knows he deserves that cash that he's asking for.

You might say Reggie helped mess up the Super Bowl and cost the Colts the game.  I can't disagree that he made a big mistake, but what about everything he's done in his first 15 playoff games?  He's been Manning's favorite target in the playoffs, and it shows.  In 16 games he has put up stats that would make him a Pro Bowler and possible All-Pro, and those are in the biggest games of his life.  That's clutch, and one bad route doesn't take away those 9 times he's put the ball into the endzone, including one time in the Super Bowl.

How about the possible lockout coming in 2011.  That would suck for players.  What would happen if you couldn't work for a year?  Reggie wants to make sure he'll be able to make it through this next year with the knowledge that a lockout won't seriously mess with his livelihood.  There was no outrage when Antoine Bethea didn't show up at OTAs.  Why?  He's doing the same thing Reggie did.

I've flip-flopped on this position bunches of times.  I've got reservations about paying a 32 year old wide receiver a lot of money, especially after seeing what happened to Marvin Harrison.  But there is no disputing that Reggie has earned more money.  He feels like he should get paid, and I don't disagree with that sentiment.  He's made big play after big play.  Remember this?

via www.bestsportsphotos.com

That was pretty cool, and it helped win Super Bowl XLI.  Why is the bad overshadowing the good?  The Colts know what they are doing, and Reggie is going to be playing in Week One.  To be honest, he doesn't need training camp.  He'll be fine.  I'd like to see him there, but I won't worry if he's not.  Because he's a great wide receiver.

Before I hit "submit" to post this FanPost, I asked yourself: "Would I be embarrassed to say this in front of strangers who were physically present in the room with me and could respond to my face?"  I say that I would totally say this, and I would want feedback on it.  I'm hoping to get that feedback and for it to be available.  I want to know what people say even if they think I'm a douchenozzle or if they think I am great.  This is just my opinion, and I like being able to share it.  Others should have the same rights, no matter how long they have been a member, whether it's since the RCA Dome was the home of the Colts or whether they joined yesterday.  That's what creates a community.  Everyone deserves a voice, no matter how unpopular it may be.

EDIT: I'd also like to point out this that I saw at the bottom of my post.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.

I believe this to be totally true.  I was once a writer here.  Now I'm not.  I don't feel less important at all.  I don't think my word became anymore important once I became a writer, nor did it get worse after I stopped being a front page writer here.  Just a thought...