I'm a big fan of Doug Pappas's work over at NFL Pro Reference, and he recently ran Chris Chambers through one of his complicated formulas. His research finds that Chambers had more opportunities last season to make a reception than any receiver in the league. On average, Miami's No.1 got about 9.7 balls tossed his way. He caught about 3.4, which is quite low. This shouldn't come as a surprise. Chambers looked like a completely different player from his breakout '05 year.
So what do we make of this? Makes Chambers sound quite overrated, doesn't it? But let's state the obvious, he's had a variety pack of QBs, coaches and coordinators. Fine. Clearly, that carries some weight. However, I refuse to except the Eric Moulds Excuse -- the "He can't get open because he's always double-covered" excuse. Bullshit. Great receivers get open. Chambers, clearly, is not a great receiver, regardless of who sets up in the No. 2 spot or in the slot. I don't need another season to point out this fact.
Back to performance, if there is one player on the team worthy of the term "inconsistent", it's Chambers. His 2005 season looked like he had finally grown into his role as Miami's top receiver, only to disappoint last year.
Each year, we read in the regular season previews about his need to "step up" or "meet expectations" or "silence the critics". Well, dudes, Chambers is entering his seventh season. When do we stop expecting him to be a game-changer? Isn't it about time to stop using the "He's young. He'll get it" excuse?
That said, I want nothing more than Chambers to be grouped with the likes of Dolphin greats -- Duper, Clayton, hell, I'll settle with O.J. McDuffie. In my opinion, this season is his last shot to finally showcase all that talent we've been hearing so much about.
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