Introduction to Reception Perception
By: Matt Harmon
June 4th, 2014
June 4th, 2014
The renaissance, the scientific revolution, the mid 2010s’ wide receivers; if ever we were in a golden age of the receiver position, its now. There is an incredible amount of talent among the wide receiver group in the NFL right now. The disparity between the types of players having success is quite notable as well.
Chief among the receivers in today’s NFL is Calvin Johnson. Megatron has a chance to be the best receiver to ever play, and he’s right in the prime of his career. Other stalwart veterans such as Andre Johnson, Brandon Marshall and Larry Fitzgerald are still getting it done. The next wave of high-end receivers like Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas and Julio Jones are established as top 10 players. Jordy Nelson and Antonio Brown rose to become critical pieces of their team’s passing attacks. Michael Floyd, Alshon Jeffery and Keenan Allen are young, potential stars are in the midst of breaking out. The current receiver crop is so crowded that highly productive players in the Pierre Garcon and Victor Cruz mold rarely get mentioned in these discussions. Even the great enigma of Josh Gordon casts a cloud over the ranks of these phenomenal receivers (pun semi-intended). Don’t forget, the 2014 NFL Draft’s wide receiver class was widely regarded as one of the deepest ever. Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins and their peers will only improve the golden age of wide receivers.
The current receiver trend is a real treat for those who love watching the games. It is the individual matchups, and the failure or ability to exploit them that decide the outcome of football games.
Many say the game is won and lost in the trenches. It’s true that the hard fought battles between offensive and defensive linemen are really interesting. However, my favorite matchup is how the wide receiver works to free himself from coverage. It’s a precise and smooth art form.
The great Michael Scott once explained a similar concept in comparing football as rock and roll to basketball as jazz:
Chief among the receivers in today’s NFL is Calvin Johnson. Megatron has a chance to be the best receiver to ever play, and he’s right in the prime of his career. Other stalwart veterans such as Andre Johnson, Brandon Marshall and Larry Fitzgerald are still getting it done. The next wave of high-end receivers like Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas and Julio Jones are established as top 10 players. Jordy Nelson and Antonio Brown rose to become critical pieces of their team’s passing attacks. Michael Floyd, Alshon Jeffery and Keenan Allen are young, potential stars are in the midst of breaking out. The current receiver crop is so crowded that highly productive players in the Pierre Garcon and Victor Cruz mold rarely get mentioned in these discussions. Even the great enigma of Josh Gordon casts a cloud over the ranks of these phenomenal receivers (pun semi-intended). Don’t forget, the 2014 NFL Draft’s wide receiver class was widely regarded as one of the deepest ever. Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins and their peers will only improve the golden age of wide receivers.
The current receiver trend is a real treat for those who love watching the games. It is the individual matchups, and the failure or ability to exploit them that decide the outcome of football games.
Many say the game is won and lost in the trenches. It’s true that the hard fought battles between offensive and defensive linemen are really interesting. However, my favorite matchup is how the wide receiver works to free himself from coverage. It’s a precise and smooth art form.
The great Michael Scott once explained a similar concept in comparing football as rock and roll to basketball as jazz:
The battle in the trenches is like the aggressive punch of rock and roll. The speed and moves that wide receivers utilize to get open is much like the downbeats of jazz. The subtleties of the position often get lost in the haze of easily spotted traits like size and speed.
With that, for the rest of the offseason Backyard Banter will focus on putting this great crop of receivers under the microscope. Reception Perception will summarize a receiver’s 2013 season through charting, figures and film analysis. I won't be able to study each and every snap from the season. Instead I will look at their four best and least inspiring statistical games from 2013 and assess how they’re doing what they’re doing so well.
With time constraints, there is no telling how many receivers I’ll get to before the season starts. I’ll start by checking off some of the players listed in this introduction. If you’d like to see a player featured on Reception Percentage, drop me a line on Twitter or vote at the poll below and I’ll bump them up the queue.
Hopefully, Reception Perception can cast further glory on a position that is currently one of the strongest in the NFL. We’ll also learn just what these receivers are doing well. It should help us understand the position and how the new wave and old guard are thriving in the league. As always, please give feedback and enjoy.
The Methodology:
Route percentage:
Success rate against coverage:
Run blocking success:
Reception Perception charts other parts of the position (such as where receivers line up, drops, and yards after contact) but those are fairly self explanatory.
NEW ADDITIONS:
The Success Rate vs. Coverage (SRVC) and PPR Points totaled (PTS) on each route:
With that, for the rest of the offseason Backyard Banter will focus on putting this great crop of receivers under the microscope. Reception Perception will summarize a receiver’s 2013 season through charting, figures and film analysis. I won't be able to study each and every snap from the season. Instead I will look at their four best and least inspiring statistical games from 2013 and assess how they’re doing what they’re doing so well.
With time constraints, there is no telling how many receivers I’ll get to before the season starts. I’ll start by checking off some of the players listed in this introduction. If you’d like to see a player featured on Reception Percentage, drop me a line on Twitter or vote at the poll below and I’ll bump them up the queue.
Hopefully, Reception Perception can cast further glory on a position that is currently one of the strongest in the NFL. We’ll also learn just what these receivers are doing well. It should help us understand the position and how the new wave and old guard are thriving in the league. As always, please give feedback and enjoy.
The Methodology:
Route percentage:
- Every viable receiving route a player runs is charted. The only routes that are not included are those performed on running plays and screen passes to other players. The basic route tree is the principal baseline, with screen and other (off-script and option routes) added on.
Success rate against coverage:
- Players' success against zone and man coverage are charted separately. A player is either marked open or blanketed on a man coverage play based on whether they are viable option for the quarterback. The same is done for either open or lost in zone coverage. Success rate versus press coverage is also charted. Where beat press or jammed are the two options. A success is charted when a receiver "gets open" against the coverage. Creating separation, enough for the quarterback to have a reasonable target for the quarterback, is marked as a success. The only plays that are automatically given as success to the receiver are instances where a receiver is obviously held or interfered with (called or not). These plays make a big difference to an offense, and signify a receiver winning yards for his team by forcing the defensive back to hold him.
Run blocking success:
- Its not an aspect of the position that is focused on, but blocking matters for receivers. And Reception Perception takes it into account. Not all running plays are charted. A receiver's block must have a consequential effect on, and take place in the vicinity of a run play to get charted as a victory or defeat.
Reception Perception charts other parts of the position (such as where receivers line up, drops, and yards after contact) but those are fairly self explanatory.
NEW ADDITIONS:
The Success Rate vs. Coverage (SRVC) and PPR Points totaled (PTS) on each route:
- This measurement was designed for the one game Reception Perception studies. They allow us not only to see a receiver's fantasy football impact, but also where they win as a route runner in further detail. The hope is these figures assist in predicting a receiver's future play, while giving an in-depth look into how they've been performing.
- These new additions can be found in my Reception Perception series articles on Footballguys.com
- Here are some examples of the newly added charts:
Players Currently Featured on Reception Perception at BYB:
Vote for or suggest the next player you'd like featured on Reception Perception
Which WR should be featured on Reception Perception next?
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