Holian

I am one who thinks Anquan is a good, not great receiver. What I mean is that he is not a great receiver from a traditional standpoint. He is not a guy who is going to get deep very often. He is not overly quick. He is not a tremendous route runner. I do however, think he is a tremendous athlete who is simply not used properly in the Dennis Green 3 reciever offense.

I decided to go back and watch some games from that wretched 2003 season and what caught my eye other than the fact that the Cards were horrible, was the way they used Boldin. The offense was built around his unique talents. They lined him in the slot. They sent everyone else out deep and had Boldin drag accross the middle. They put him in motion. They gave him opportunities to run reverses. In other words, they put him in position to be the best player possible and he shined.

What I see this year is a guy who is frustrated. He doesn't shine with the same fire he did in the past and I think its because he isn't used properly. It bugs me that he doesn't show the same passion as a blocker, doesn't show the same excitement when a teammate gets a touchdown, dogs it late in games.

The new coach needs to use Boldin in ways that best utilizes his talents. I wouldn't even list Boldin as a wide receiver. He would simply be an athlete. If I was offensive coordinator, I would line him up at tailback, fullback, H-Back, even quarterback on certain occasions. Run him on reverses and give him the option to pass (he was a tremendous high school quarterback). Put him back on punt returns and let him do his thing returning punts.

In many ways he reminds me of Bryant Westbrook. The Eagles are master of getting Westbrook lined up against guys he can make look silly (linebackers, safeties). The Cards should do the same with Boldin. If they do this, I think he becomes a superstar.

phillycard

i don't know about all that Holian. I'm okay with a few plays here and there, having Q take an inside handoff, or a shovel pass or something but the gadgetry I don't think would be too beneficial to the team or Q. The eagles are in a unique situation with Westbrooks versatility. He makes up for a lot of shortcomings in the passing game yet can still run the rock. BTW, I wish I could find the draft post I made that year pleading for us to take him out of Villanova. We blew that one big time man.

Russ Smith

Don't forget, Anquan 2003 was BEFORE his knee surgery. He'd had the one in college of course but I think he's had 2 since then, and it seems to me he's bulked up.

I said it last year and I'll say it again now, if I had to criticize Anquan under penalty of death about the one thing I'd say is I wish he'd drop 10 pounds and get a bit quicker.

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SightsSoundsBach13

red desert

Your point, and Holian's, is well taken.

D-Dogg

Boldin in the slot, matching up on LBs and Safeties is a Pro-Bowl lock and secures HOF status (of which he is on pace). The way he is used right now is not correct. Very few slants and drag routes are run with him as the primary. On the VERY few occasions we run reverses it is with Fitz, not Q and that is wrong, IMO because those end up with the runner usually isolated against fewer people and Q can break single tackles with ease.

He's kind of the bizarro Westbrook...the way they use him in the passing game though he is a RB should be looked at more with Q, who isn't a RB but can run pitchouts, draws even, and be dangerous motioning from the backfield like he has in the past.

Q is a force that we are only using about 60 percent of the potential of.

dreamcastrocks

Myth: As good as Boldin is, he is an average route runner. Good route runners can create distance between him and the defender. Boldin does not do that.

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Divide Et Impera

I agree with the threadstarter. Boldin whould be used all over the field in all types of roles. You know? I wish he was the holder for FG/XP kicks. If he were in that role, the D would always have to be on its toes as he could run or pass on a fake from that role....

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dreamcastrocks

Agreed. He should be used more. And should line up in the backfield 5-10 times a game.

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Mulli

I would settle for throwing to him before the start of the third quarter. Baby steps.

Holian

So is it really an issue of the Cards not throwing to him the first or second quarter, or is it that Boldin simply can't get open as often when teams are playing tighter coverage early in games when the game is close? I don't think its a coincidence that the majority of his receptions come when we are 2 touchdowns behind. Not a knock on Quan, just a fact.

If we keep Quan at wide receiver the rest of his career, he will continue to post 90-100 catch seasons, continue to get 1000 yards and be a fine player. I think if the new staff gets more creative with Boldin, he can become more of an impact guy and a guy who determines our won/loss record more than he currently does.

Mulli

If they don't fix the OL, we will get the joy of seeing Q, tackled in the backfield.

JeffGollin

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D-Dogg

I too would like to see us use Q to throw some passes as well. LDT threw two TD passes this year...Q used to be a QB and even QB'd in the Sugar Bowl.

With Q, I'd LOVE to see a coach be really creative with using him...and I think that is something that Q would be very into doing. It sure would make us more dangerous, and keep defenses on their toes. We are very vanilla, yet we have a playmaker we are only using a part of the potential of.

Holian

Russ,

I agree 100% in regards to the weight gain. In 2003, Boldin looked so much more elusive and explosive. I watched the Green Bay game and was amazed at how agile he looked back then compared to now. In some ways he reminds me of how Jamir Miller played as a rookie (240 lbs.) compared to his weight later in his career (265 lbs.). The rookie Miller was tremendously fast, while the veteran Miller was still very good, but not nearly as agile and explosive.

It seems now Boldin catches that slant and just looks to run over somebody and hope to get extra yardage, but the 2003 Boldin would have caught the slant, made a guy miss and looked for the big gainer.