By Rich Cimini
One of the great things about pro football — and, really, sports in general — is how two experts can have different opinions about the same player. Take Eric Decker, for instance.
Obviously, the New York Jets think highly of Decker, whom they rewarded with a handsome contract to catch footballs for the next five years. On Wednesday, Rex Ryan praised Decker’s competitiveness, his route running and his leadership. The player they see on the practice field, Ryan said, is exactly what they expected.
“I think clearly he’s going to be a go-to guy in the fact that we know what we’re getting,” Ryan said. “This is going to be a guy that you can get him the ball in critical situations. You can get him the ball in the red zone. I think you can see that. Everybody can say [his statistics] are skewed a little bit because of [Peyton] Manning, and that might be true, but I think he did catch eight touchdowns when [Tim] Tebow was quarterback. I think that’s pretty impressive.”
Decker, in his first face-to-face interview with the New York media, said his two seasons with Manning were “incredible.” He credited Manning with making him a better professional by improving his understanding of the game and enhancing his preparation, tricks of the trade that Decker can pass along to his new teammates.
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