The Randall Cobb Experiment will kick off eventually. But since this email full of Cobb inquiries keeps mounting, let’s get the talk started. After all, a helter-skelter free agency period is around the corner. James Jones — a steady, if not overwhelming receiver — has been an important piston in Mike McCarthy’s offense. If he leaves, Cobb will be counted on in some type of role offensively.
We know he’s a versatile receiver, a Wildcatter, a guy that should wake up a return game that’s been dormant for a decade. But how quickly can Cobb gel with Aaron Rodgers, a timing-based quarterback?
Kentucky wide receiver coach Tee Martin is confident Cobb's learning curve will be short.
“He’ll mold into the type of receiver they already have,” Martin said. “Green Bay has a core of hard-working, tough guys that make plays and are exotic in what they do. I think he’ll fit right in.”
It’s never easy for rookie wideouts, lockout or no lockout. Maybe that’s why Ted Thompson has made a habit of taking wide receivers at the top of nearly every draft. Year One production has wavered:
* 2008: Jordy Nelson (2nd round, 36th overall) — 33 rec., 366 yards, 2 TD
* 2007: James Jones (3rd round, 78th overall) — 47 rec., 676 yards, 2 TD
* 2006: Greg Jennings (2nd round, 52nd overall) — 45 rec., 632 yards, 3 TD
* 2005: Terrence Murphy (2nd round, 51st overall) — 5 rec., 36 yards (suffered career-ending spine injury in fourth game)
With top guns in place, similar numbers would be sufficient from Cobb. It remains to be seen how Mike McCarthy re-incorporates Jermichael Finley into the offense. Surely, he has spent plenty of hours this offseason trying to solve that Rubik’s Cube.
If Jones leaves, Cobb presumably sees action in the slot. He’s undersized. Cobb isn’t nearly as physically imposing as Jones. But Martin credits Cobb for making the plays that go unnoticed by the naked eye, the on-the-fly adjustments that made a difference. Cobb sat in on nightly coaching meetings regularly, providing occasional input on the overall game plan. Once, his direct input proved genius. A lot of coaches were right-handed, Martin explained, and that affected their approach to X's and O's. So in the meeting, Cobb mentioned that he was left-handed and could burn Georgia's defense a totally different way schematically.
On Saturday, the play resulted to a touchdown.
As a "second quarterback on the field," Cobb totaled 1,017 receiving yards, 424 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns his senior year. On run plays, Martin said that Cobb knew who was blocking who. And on pass plays, he targeted where the blitzes were coming from and acted accordingly. In any West Coast hybrid, that's essential. Maybe that’s what most encouraging. The Packers’ offense is built on tic-tac-toe cohesion.
“The game slowed down for him,” Martin said. “He was seeing everything. He was reacting to things that only come with maturity and only come with a guy who has mastered that level of the game.”
Martin would know. He struggled at the next level. After doing something Peyton Manning could not at Tennesse — win a national title — Martin flamed out after two pro seasons. The complexity of the game was totally different.
That won't be a problem for Cobb, he says.
“You’re not getting a Ferrari. You’re getting a F-150,” Martin said. “That’s what Hines Ward was for us in Pittsburgh. He was a guy that wanted to bring it every day. He enjoyed the physical and mental challenges of the game.”
JSO wrote: