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The case for Marty Booker


The Waterboy
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A mention was made of Marty Booker on the Free Agent Forecast this week, but it was buried deep among some other wide receivers, many of whom are sure to briefly pop out for a good game, fade away, or remain maddeningly inconsistent.

 

Booker intrigues me however, perhaps more than any other, due to the past highs and subsequent lows of his career. So I took a closer look.

 

He's currently 31, which is by no means a spring chicken, but it isn't quite at the 33-35 range which usually spells the final decline of the human body and most NFL wide receivers.

 

Going back to the beginning, you find that Booker had career years in 2001 and 2002 with the Bears. This was in the first Chicago renaissance of the 21st Century, with Jim Miller in full form. Dick Jauron at the coaching helm.

 

Booker in Chicago:

2001- 100 catches, 1071 yards and 6 TDs.

2002- 97 catches, 1183 yards, 8 TDs. Made the Pro Bowl.

2003- 52 catches, 715 yards, 4 TDs.

 

Unfortunately for Booker, he fell off a cliff in 2003. I can't find a real reason why this happened, other than Jim Miller was gone, and at QB was a messy rotation of Chris Chandler, Kordell Stewart, and Rex Grossman. The wide receiving corps was relatively the same, and the play of the team, great in 2001, lousy in 2002, mediocre in 2003 seemingly had no effect on Booker's production. It should be noted that 2003 was also not quite the fall off that it looks. Booker was out for three games, which had he played, could have put him near 1000 yards once again. Still, 2003 was definitely a step back.

 

Anyway, in 2004, Jauron left Chicago, Booker left for Miami, and there his career has gone straight into a tailspin.

 

-The 2004 Dolphins had AJ Feely and Jay Fiedler taking turns at QB, with a sprinkling of Sage Rosenfels on the side. This resulted in no 1000 yard receivers, and basically a three similar ho-hum outputs by Booker, Chris Chambers and Randy McMichael.

 

2004

Booker, 50 catches, 638 yards, 1 TD

Chambers, 69 catches, 898 yards, 7 TDs

McMichael, 73 catches, 791 yards, 4 TDs

 

-In 2005 Miami found a new coach in Nick Saban, and some stability at QB in Gus Frerotte, who nearly missed passing for 3000 yards. This led to Chris Chambers finally having the season we were all waiting for. It would stand to reason that Booker would finally get back on his horse and see the same kind of output, but he disappointed:

 

2005

Chambers, 82 catches, 1118 yards, 11 TDs

Booker, 39 catches, 686 yards, 3 TDs

 

This shoots a serious hole in any theory that Booker is worth his salt and stands to rebound under Trent Green in 2007. However, it may help to consider that in addition to having to share possession-type catches with McMichael, 2005 also saw Wes Welker make his mark and siphon off a great number of passes:

 

2005

Welker, 29 catches, 434 yards, 0 TDs

McMichael, 60 catches, 582 yards, 5 TDs

 

-In 2006, Frerotte was out, and another QB rotation fiasco (Culpepper-Harrington) was ushered into Miami. This led to the four receivers sharing the number of passes even more evenly, with a big hit to Chambers' numbers.

 

The total passing yards by all QBs in 2006 was actually an improvement over 2005, but the changing of the man under center had to affect any ability to create rhythm and rapport among any QB-WR/TE combo. Interestingly enough, Booker had a resurgence, and ended last season as Miami's top receiver in yardage and touchdowns, despite playing only 14 games.

 

2006

Booker, 55 catches, 747 yards, 6 TDs

Chris Chambers, 59 catches, 677 yards, 4 TDs

Wes Welker, 67 catches, 687 yards, 1 TD

Randy McMichael, 62 catches, 640 yards, 3 TDs

 

-2007, That brings us to today, and unable to glean any concrete reason for why the career of Marty Booker went from the Pro Bowl to mediocrity related to health, team play, the one thing that stands out for me is the play of his quarterbacks and his lack of rapport with any one of them.

 

From looking at the specifics, it might just be that the lack of any decent and stable passing QB has hurt Booker for the past 4 years running, from Chandler-Grossman-Slash-Fiedler-Feeley-Culpepper-Harrington-Lemon. Certainly Booker has had some good games here and there, so he's shown he's capable, but even better receivers like Roy Williams and Chris Chambers have showed great inconsistency with these QBs throwing them passes.

 

While Frerotte may have done a decent job under the circumstances in 2005 and clearly, Chris Chambers benefitted greatly, Booker's numbers were perhaps hurt by having to share catches with not just Chambers, but both Welker and McMichael, as well.

 

The key point now is that not only does Booker finally have a proven QB again in Trent Green, but the departure of Welker and McMichael may mean more looks coming Booker's way. Similar sharing with a 3rd WR and a TE doesn't look like it's about to happen with Ginn, Hagan, or the TEs on Miami's roster in 2007.

 

If Trent Green can stay healthy and develop a rapport with Chambers and Booker, it wouldn't be crazy to see a 1000 yard season out of Booker and 1200 or even better out of Chambers. Ronnie Brown has shown some great pass catching ability in the past weeks, but RBs don't usually catch more than 400-500 yards per year, unless they are named Brian Westbrook or Reggie Bush.

 

So Green staying healthy may be a big if..... but if it happens, it's definitely possible Booker might have a resurgence similar, but perhaps not on par with Muhsin Muhammad when he was in Carolina....a previously proven but slumping veteran.... in his 9th NFL season.

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This is an interesting opinion....do you feel that Booker is better than Dwayne Bowe?

Completely different WRs. Booker is a solid possession receiver on a poor team. Trent Green is averaging, what, 280 yards a game? Booker is gonna get his catches. In a PPR league he's a solid #3 WR with some upside as you never know when he'll catch that random TD.

 

Bowe is a talented rookie also on a poor team that could easily have no catches as he could have 7 catches for 100 yards and a score.

 

Want upside? Bowe's your guy. Want 12 points every week? Booker's your guy.

 

Just my two cents' worth.

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Completely different WRs. Booker is a solid possession receiver on a poor team. Trent Green is averaging, what, 280 yards a game? Booker is gonna get his catches. In a PPR league he's a solid #3 WR with some upside as you never know when he'll catch that random TD.

 

Bowe is a talented rookie also on a poor team that could easily have no catches as he could have 7 catches for 100 yards and a score.

 

Want upside? Bowe's your guy. Want 12 points every week? Booker's your guy.

 

Just my two cents' worth.

Thanks, with D. Jackson and the niners doing awful it makes for a hard decision.

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Thanks, with D. Jackson and the niners doing awful it makes for a hard decision.

I, for one, am somewhat surprised and rather disappointed in Alex Smith. The guy is a heady QB with a halfway-decent line, solid TE and decent option in Darrell Jackson and even Arnaz Battle has shown promise. But the Niner passing game has been absolute junk. I wouldn't toss D-Jax just yet - if that's what you're thinking of. That offense will start clicking eventually.... right?

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I, for one, am somewhat surprised and rather disappointed in Alex Smith. The guy is a heady QB with a halfway-decent line, solid TE and decent option in Darrell Jackson and even Arnaz Battle has shown promise. But the Niner passing game has been absolute junk. I wouldn't toss D-Jax just yet - if that's what you're thinking of. That offense will start clicking eventually.... right?

 

I sure hope so but right now they look play dreadful. I dropped davis in one of my leagues just because he is out for a couple weeks and I can't carry an extra TE through the weeks. I can always get buy on TE matchups week to week. I picked up Lee for Green Bay this week. I think it was a decent pick up.

 

Niners need to figure something out, until they can prove they can throw the ball they will put 8 in the box vs. Gore.

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I, for one, am somewhat surprised and rather disappointed in Alex Smith. The guy is a heady QB with a halfway-decent line, solid TE and decent option in Darrell Jackson and even Arnaz Battle has shown promise. But the Niner passing game has been absolute junk. I wouldn't toss D-Jax just yet - if that's what you're thinking of. That offense will start clicking eventually.... right?

 

 

I too was thinking of dropping Darrell Jackson and picking up Marty Booker. At least there is some consistently in Booker.

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I too was thinking of dropping Darrell Jackson and picking up Marty Booker. At least there is some consistently in Booker.

Every week I look at DJax on my squad I think of week one when he short armed a ball on the sideline and got leveled and he gets up and hit helmet looked to big for his head. I just shake my head and leave him on the bench. LOL

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This is an interesting opinion....do you feel that Booker is better than Dwayne Bowe?

 

 

I really don't know. There is a lot of risk to both. Bowe certainly has more long-term upside, and there are not a lot of other passing options in KC, save for Tony Gonzalez. If you're in a keeper league, Bowe is completely the better choice.

 

So far as Darrell Jackson, I'd far prefer to have him over either. He's just a better receiver at this point than either, and sometimes that's the one thing...the onyl thing you can count on. Too many variables exists that will make or break Booker, Bowe, or Jackson.

 

Serious risks to Booker.....tough passing schedule... loss or poor play by Green ...and perhaps Booker "just doesn't have it" or has "lost a step"

Serious risks to Bowe.....questionable QB situation, though Huard showed some sills last year, rookie WR learning the position, not a lot of veterns to take the pressure off (a la Colston 2006)...Herman Edwards

Serious risks to Jackson....Alex Smith continues to struggle...and injury, but he seems fine for now

 

Another thing to consider is that it is probably a good idea to have a good mix of veterans that chug out points for you, and some wild card rookies that could offer more upside. Huddle has mentioned this before.

 

So really the question is - are you better off with Dwayne Bowe or Greg Jennings/James Jones or are you better off with marty Booker or Bobby Engram? And if you have to pick just one, what are your other receivers like? If you have all rookies, maybe go for the Booker. If you have lots of vets, grab Bowe.

Edited by The Waterboy
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Booker has a few decent games each year, probably enough to keep himself on the fantasy radar. But picking which week is the one is very difficult. Plus, there isn't any untapped, hidden potential left in him. He isn't going to be any better than what he's already shown in the past.

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Booker has a few decent games each year, probably enough to keep himself on the fantasy radar. But picking which week is the one is very difficult. Plus, there isn't any untapped, hidden potential left in him. He isn't going to be any better than what he's already shown in the past.

 

That's exactly my point. He's shown two different people in the past, so will the real Marty Booker please stand up?

 

Is he an 1100 yard receiver that's struggled in less than optimal situations since 2003? Or an inconsistent 750 yard receiver that had two good years in 2001 and 2002 because of a great situation?

 

And if we're now again in great situation (for which there are reasons to believe we are) - then it shouldn't matter, 1100 is still attainable.

 

Or have other factors crept in....age, speed, difficulty in learning an offense, or an offense not matching his playability?

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If memory serves, he was the only thing in Chicago remotely resembling a WR in 2001. If Green can return to some kind of form and MIA can get the ground game going, I don;t see why the #2 in Miami can't make a solid #4 WR. A Mike Furrey kind of player, good for a very reliable 5 catches for 40-70yds, and if you're lucky, he might even find the endzone.

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A mention was made of Marty Booker on the Free Agent Forecast this week, but it was buried deep among some other wide receivers, many of whom are sure to briefly pop out for a good game, fade away, or remain maddeningly inconsistent.

 

Booker intrigues me however, perhaps more than any other, due to the past highs and subsequent lows of his career. So I took a closer look.

 

He's currently 31, which is by no means a spring chicken, but it isn't quite at the 33-35 range which usually spells the final decline of the human body and most NFL wide receivers.

 

Going back to the beginning, you find that Booker had career years in 2001 and 2002 with the Bears. This was in the first Chicago renaissance of the 21st Century, with Jim Miller in full form. Dick Jauron at the coaching helm.

 

Booker in Chicago:

2001- 100 catches, 1071 yards and 6 TDs.

2002- 97 catches, 1183 yards, 8 TDs. Made the Pro Bowl.

2003- 52 catches, 715 yards, 4 TDs.

 

Unfortunately for Booker, he fell off a cliff in 2003. I can't find a real reason why this happened, other than Jim Miller was gone, and at QB was a messy rotation of Chris Chandler, Kordell Stewart, and Rex Grossman. The wide receiving corps was relatively the same, and the play of the team, great in 2001, lousy in 2002, mediocre in 2003 seemingly had no effect on Booker's production. It should be noted that 2003 was also not quite the fall off that it looks. Booker was out for three games, which had he played, could have put him near 1000 yards once again. Still, 2003 was definitely a step back.

 

Anyway, in 2004, Jauron left Chicago, Booker left for Miami, and there his career has gone straight into a tailspin.

 

-The 2004 Dolphins had AJ Feely and Jay Fiedler taking turns at QB, with a sprinkling of Sage Rosenfels on the side. This resulted in no 1000 yard receivers, and basically a three similar ho-hum outputs by Booker, Chris Chambers and Randy McMichael.

 

2004

Booker, 50 catches, 638 yards, 1 TD

Chambers, 69 catches, 898 yards, 7 TDs

McMichael, 73 catches, 791 yards, 4 TDs

 

-In 2005 Miami found a new coach in Nick Saban, and some stability at QB in Gus Frerotte, who nearly missed passing for 3000 yards. This led to Chris Chambers finally having the season we were all waiting for. It would stand to reason that Booker would finally get back on his horse and see the same kind of output, but he disappointed:

 

2005

Chambers, 82 catches, 1118 yards, 11 TDs

Booker, 39 catches, 686 yards, 3 TDs

 

This shoots a serious hole in any theory that Booker is worth his salt and stands to rebound under Trent Green in 2007. However, it may help to consider that in addition to having to share possession-type catches with McMichael, 2005 also saw Wes Welker make his mark and siphon off a great number of passes:

 

2005

Welker, 29 catches, 434 yards, 0 TDs

McMichael, 60 catches, 582 yards, 5 TDs

 

-In 2006, Frerotte was out, and another QB rotation fiasco (Culpepper-Harrington) was ushered into Miami. This led to the four receivers sharing the number of passes even more evenly, with a big hit to Chambers' numbers.

 

The total passing yards by all QBs in 2006 was actually an improvement over 2005, but the changing of the man under center had to affect any ability to create rhythm and rapport among any QB-WR/TE combo. Interestingly enough, Booker had a resurgence, and ended last season as Miami's top receiver in yardage and touchdowns, despite playing only 14 games.

 

2006

Booker, 55 catches, 747 yards, 6 TDs

Chris Chambers, 59 catches, 677 yards, 4 TDs

Wes Welker, 67 catches, 687 yards, 1 TD

Randy McMichael, 62 catches, 640 yards, 3 TDs

 

-2007, That brings us to today, and unable to glean any concrete reason for why the career of Marty Booker went from the Pro Bowl to mediocrity related to health, team play, the one thing that stands out for me is the play of his quarterbacks and his lack of rapport with any one of them.

 

From looking at the specifics, it might just be that the lack of any decent and stable passing QB has hurt Booker for the past 4 years running, from Chandler-Grossman-Slash-Fiedler-Feeley-Culpepper-Harrington-Lemon. Certainly Booker has had some good games here and there, so he's shown he's capable, but even better receivers like Roy Williams and Chris Chambers have showed great inconsistency with these QBs throwing them passes.

 

While Frerotte may have done a decent job under the circumstances in 2005 and clearly, Chris Chambers benefitted greatly, Booker's numbers were perhaps hurt by having to share catches with not just Chambers, but both Welker and McMichael, as well.

 

The key point now is that not only does Booker finally have a proven QB again in Trent Green, but the departure of Welker and McMichael may mean more looks coming Booker's way. Similar sharing with a 3rd WR and a TE doesn't look like it's about to happen with Ginn, Hagan, or the TEs on Miami's roster in 2007.

 

If Trent Green can stay healthy and develop a rapport with Chambers and Booker, it wouldn't be crazy to see a 1000 yard season out of Booker and 1200 or even better out of Chambers. Ronnie Brown has shown some great pass catching ability in the past weeks, but RBs don't usually catch more than 400-500 yards per year, unless they are named Brian Westbrook or Reggie Bush.

 

So Green staying healthy may be a big if..... but if it happens, it's definitely possible Booker might have a resurgence similar, but perhaps not on par with Muhsin Muhammad when he was in Carolina....a previously proven but slumping veteran.... in his 9th NFL season.

 

since you took the time to type all this, i'll pick him up.

 

 

 

:D

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since you took the time to type all this, i'll pick him up.

:D

 

:D - Instinct says to do otherwise. My guts agrees with GIlthorp. But the more you think about the situation, the more you the logic says he may be in for an uptick.

 

The last time Green threw for 4000 yards in KC in his prime, there were two 1000 yard receivers on that offense. One of which was Eddie Kennison, the other Tony Gonzalez. Miami has Chambers, who certainly looks like he's headed for 1000 - but there is no Gonzo, no McMichael, no Welker - just Booker and a couple of nobodys (unless Ginn surprises us).

 

What I'm really betting happens is that Green gets knocked out with another concussion, and Cleo Lemon renders the whole debate useless.

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