Maybe not anymore, but Curtis was once overrated.


I touched on this a little bit in my last post, but figured we should delve deeper into why Kevin Curtis, and his 2007 season, has been overrated here in Philly.

First, let's remind everyone of the end result. With 77 receptions, 1,110 yards and six touchdowns, Curtis set or matched career bests in every major category. Many people began talking about Curtis as a borderline No. 1 receiver with numbers like that, but it didn't take a lot of investigative work to find that those numbers are a bit skewed.

Those numbers are the direct result of three very good games, and then just average numbers the rest of the way. He found a way to stay consistently average, and was able to pad his stats against some very bad teams.
(For his complete 2007 gamelog, click here.)

Let's take a look at his three best games from the 2007 season.

Week 3 vs. Detroit: 11 receptions, 221 yards, 3 touchdowns

Week 5 @ New York Jets: 5 receptions, 121 yards, 1 touchdown

Week 12 vs. Seattle: 6 receptions, 111 yards, 1 touchdown

In 2007, Detroit was 31st in pass defense, the New York Jets were ninth, and the Seahawks were 19th.

His only other game with a touchdown came in Week 15 in a six reception, 78 yard effort against the New Orleans Saints. A team that, by the way, was 30th in pass defense that year.

It's safe to say that good games are expected against bad defenses like Detroit, Seattle, and New Orleans. The Jets game was before that defense was able to get into a groove in the latter portion of the season, but it's impressive numbers against a pretty good passing defense.

So if we still figure in the Jets game, because I'll give credit where credit is due, and the Saints game in the sake of fairness, but throw out the Detroit and Seattle game, his 2007 numbers look like this:

61 receptions, 778 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

Is it an awful statline to have? Of course not. However, it's not quite the makings of that No. 1 receiver now, is it?

Add in the fact that, with those two games thrown out, he only has one game of 100+ yards, no games of double-digit receptions and, in fact, no game with more than seven receptions, and you have the makings of a very average season.

It's not a bashing of Curtis as a receiver -- in the right situation, as in St. Louis, he can be very effective -- but as a No. 1 or even No. 2 receiver, he just doesn't fit the bill.