I believe we went through this earlier this off season when we discussed Cobbs worth, and disregarding his rookie season Cobb has always line up more than 85% of the time in the slot position in the regular season. Things might be different this year around, but he has never proven he can be anything but a slot guy. Hopefully that will change this year.
Originally Posted by: lolleren
Good catch lolleren! Need to work on my memory skills...haha
Though not sure “I think I read he played 40% of his snaps outside” constitutes a “contention;” one told by M. Rodney not to post hate on Packer Notes anymore might think so...LOL
At any rate, let’s do some research: Cobb got 62% of his snaps as a rookie [HA! I knew I read that somewhere] and since 84, 97, 87 and 87.
Last year, Cobb was 91% in slot in first half and 83% in 2nd [He had about 20 more snaps from backfield in 2nd half]. This was a function of Boykin being more suited for the outside and Addams being initially immersed playing outside and then by midseason Addams grasping more of the Y playbook. This allowed Cobb to play more outside when match-ups dictated. If Cobb was just a slot guy, his slot snap % would have stayed the same as Adams worked to perfect his play outside.
When the season starts Cobb will be playing inside mostly because it's best for the O, not because he wouldn’t be great outside. If White is 3rd starter, they’ll be able to do a lot more moving around for match-ups so Cobb will get less snaps in slot. If Monty starts as he did w/ 1s yesterday, they're gonna keep him at one position [outside], unless he’s some kinda wiz bang prodigy and Cobb. Jennings playing more than 1 position, accounting for his dismal 43% catch rate, was not good for the O in 2006.
1. MM's philosophy, and most offensive minded coaches, is to get your best WR on their worst CB. Most teams' 3rd and 4th CBs cover the slot, so having Cobb on those guys creates a favorable mismatch.
2. Cobb's best suited for the slot as his height makes a few outside routes a little harder to hit; he's fearless in traffic and Cobb is our most
dynamic route and YAC runner. MM dont want Cobb's options limited by sidelines.
3. Sans Jordy, Cobb will definitely play inside most of the time. He's now AR's security blanket. That special communication between QB and WR is most devastating in the slot [see Brady-Welker], it's harder to jam/disrupt the timing; there's more options to find a hole; he's 20 yards closer to the QB, and its easier for QB to see the center of the field.
Cobb playing a lot in the slot is not statement about his ineffectiveness playing outside. Cobb can simply do it all.