Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on May 07, 2024, 04:35:06 PMBut I couldn't agree more that "perception is reality" and perception always trumps facts and data...and Slayton has been called a pass dropping WR, so every drop screams to fans that the player is worthless, damn the facts. And you are also right that Slayton is not targeted as often as the stars of the game. And he will be targeted less now that we actually have a WR room to share the passes...and Nabers will get the bulk of them. Hopefully, some talking head doesn't call him a "pass dropper" or it will follow him throughout his career, even when he has a higher percentage of caught passes than other studs of the game
This is why the "eye test" needs to be subjected to the fact-checking of stats. Especially the eye test as applied by untrained amateur fans with emotional involvement, or even an ostensible professional observer. I remember a Monday Night game when Eli threw a sideline pass to Mario Manningham that was out of bounds and Cris Collingsworthless went on and on for the rest of the game about how it was Mario's fault for not leaving more room between himself and the sidelines. And that turned into a bit of a narrative, going forward, about Mario. Fortunately that didn't stop Mario from making the greatest sideline catch for the Giants when it counted.