The Next Great Receiver?
 

Bowe's renewed focus is turning talent into elite production

If you haven't been paying attention to the Kansas City Chiefs, then you are missing out on the emergence of one the league's great receivers.

Dwayne Bowe is in the midst of a sensational streak, which has pushed him into rarefied air. He has a league-leading 14 touchdown receptions, including 13 in the past seven games, putting him on pace to challenge Randy Moss' single-season mark of 23 scores. He also ranks fifth overall with 885 receiving yards and is tied for the fourth-most receptions (14) over 20 yards.

While those impressive statistics are obvious signs of Bowe's arrival, it has been the transformation of his game over the past year that has convinced me he is worthy of entering the conversation about the next great players at the position.
Bowe chasing history
Dwayne Bowe scored three more touchdowns in Week 12, bringing his season total to 14. Find out what exclusive company he is trying to join in our milestone tracker.

» Pieces falling into place for Bowe
» Vote: Should Bowe make Pro Bowl?

Bowe, who was the Chiefs' first-round selection in the 2007 draft, entered the league regarded as a big, physical receiver with outstanding tools. Although he spent most of his collegiate career struggling with drops and a suspect work ethic, he overcame those deficiencies to have a strong senior season at LSU. Bowe finished as one of the top receivers in the Southeastern Conference in nearly every category, and he capped his impressive year at the Senior Bowl.

Bowe dominated the likes of Aaron Ross, Michael Griffin and Brandon Meriweather in practices, and flashed big-play ability as a potential No. 1 receiver. The Chiefs gambled on that upside when they nabbed him with the 23rd overall pick. He immediately paid dividends by leading all rookie wideouts in catches (70), receiving yards (995) and touchdowns (five). He followed that with a solid sophomore campaign, topping the 1,000-yard mark while finishing 10th in the NFL with 86 receptions.

With two strong seasons under his belt, Bowe was expected to take another step when Todd Haley took over as the coach last season. Haley arrived with an impressive resume after tutoring Terrell Owens, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald to Pro Bowl honors as an offensive coordinator or receivers coach at his previous stops. Fitzgerald, in particular, rose to prominence as the league's top receiver under Haley, so it was natural to assume that Bowe would grow into a dominant player in Kansas City.

However, the relationship got off to a rocky start when Bowe reported to workouts overweight, and he underwhelmed Haley with his casual approach to practice. The coach demoted Bowe from the starting lineup during the 2009 preseason for his lack of discipline and conditioning. Haley then challenged his young star to maximize his potential by working on his craft on a daily basis.

Even though the results didn't show up initially because of the Chiefs' scattershot offense last season, Bowe has experienced a rebirth under Charlie Weis. The crafty offensive coordinator has catered the passing game to fit Bowe's strengths as a physical receiver with good running skills.

When looking at tape, I noticed that Bowe runs an assortment of in-breaking routes that allow him to use his superior size (6-foot-2, 221 pounds) and strength to overpower defensive backs. He is extremely productive running slants because he is able to fight through press coverage at the line. If defenders play from depth, Bowe's imposing size makes him nearly impossible to defend on the pattern. As he breaks in at a 45-degree angle, on his third step, he creates an impenetrable wall between the defender and the ball. Add in his exceptional arm length, and Bowe can extend to pluck balls away from his body to prevent defenders from breaking up the intended throw.

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Bowe's power and run-after-the-catch ability make him a dangerous weapon in the quick passing game. Not only does he prevent defenders from making plays on the ball with his size, but his knack for breaking tackles makes him a scoring threat from anywhere on the field.

While Bowe's natural athleticism led to success earlier in his career, it has been his improved attention to detail as a route runner that is separating him from the pack. He is showing a keen understanding of how to attack a defender's leverage to create space at the top of his routes. In looking at his touchdowns, I repeatedly watched Bowe work to the defender's outside shoulder to open up the inside on the skinny-post route. The "bang eight" is a big part of the Chiefs' passing game inside the red zone, and he has mastered the nuances of getting open on that route. From the initial stem to widen the defender to taking the right angle at the top of the pattern, Bowe's attention to detail has made the route an automatic score when the Chiefs dial it up.

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Given Bowe's emergence as a dominant receiver, the Chiefs have continued to find ways to put him in favorable situations. One of the tactics involves the use of motion to get him a free release at the line. Although Bowe possesses the tools to get free from press or cloud (Cover 2 corners attempting to force receivers inside with two-hand jams) coverage at the line, motion gives him an opportunity to use his momentum to gain a step or two on the defender early in the route.

The movement also gives Bowe a better release angle to avoid contact. With defenders unable to slow him down through physical force, he has been able to become a factor in the vertical passing game on deep sideline throws. The increase in deep balls has taken the passing game to another level and quietly made the connection between Matt Cassel and Bowe one of the league's best.

Bowe teased coaches, scouts and fans with his talent during the first three seasons of his career. However, an improved dedication to his craft under the watchful eye of Haley and Weis has Bowe on the verge of superstardom in Kansas City.

***click link at top for the videos

He's gonna need more consistency, over a number of seasons, before you can talk about being a 'great' receiver. But he's been the best receiver in the league as of late, that's for sure.

"Should Bowe make the Pro Bowl?"

Uh, why SHOULDN'T he make the Pro Bowl is the real question. We get no respect.

Jack Harry says the Chiefs should cut-bait.

Granted, this was after the Colts game, but Harry is still a tool and has been since I was a kid. The dumbassery begins @ :45<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="video" width="640" height="520" data="http://www.nbcactionnews.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=6448"><param value="http://www.nbcactionnews.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=6448" name="movie"/><param value="&skin=MP1ExternalAll-MFL.swf&embed=true&adSizeArray=1x1000,320x40,3x1000&adSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fad%2Edoubleclick%2Enet%2Fpfad x%2Fssp%2Ekshb%2Fsports%2Fjacks%5Fsmack%2Fdetail%3Bdcmt%3Dtext%2Fxml%3Bsz%3D%25size%25%3Bpos%3D%25po s%25%3Bloc%3D%25loc%25%3Bcomp%3D%25adid%25%3Btile%3D3%3Bfname%3Djack%25E2%2580%2599s%2Dsmack%253A%2D it%2Dwould%2Dbe%2Dnice%2Dif%2Dhaley%2Dwould%2Dadmit%2Dhe%2Dscrewed%2Dup%3Bord%3D849874495062977000%3 Frand%3D%25rand%25&flv=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enbcactionnews%2Ecom%2Ffeeds%2FoutboundFeed%3FobfType%3DVID EO%5FPLAYER%5FSMIL%5FFEED%26componentId%3D186506869&img=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia2%2Enbcactionnews%2Ecom%2F %2Fphoto%2F2010%2F10%2F11%2FJack%5FItd%5Fbe%5Fnice%5Fif%5FHa6bfb6164%2D1fdc%2D4118%2Da091%2D947b3956 e4690000%5F20101011205951%5F640%5F480%2EJPG&story=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enbcactionnews%2Ecom%2Fdpp%2Fspo rts%2Fjacks%5Fsmack%2Fjack%25E2%2580%2599s%2Dsmack%3A%2Dit%2Dwould%2Dbe%2Dnice%2Dif%2Dhaley%2Dwould% 2Dadmit%2Dhe%2Dscrewed%2Dup&category=&title=&oacct=&ovns=" name="FlashVars"/><param value="all" name="allowNetworking"/><param value="always" name="allowScriptAccess"/></object>

The man
 

Keep it going D Bowe!I was mighty pissed after the Indy game but I have always pulled for the guy.Always thought his drops were lack of mental concentration and maybe he has passed that.Still want Bowe and Cassel to produce at clutch time then we will know things are different.

:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL:

There were clutch moments last week in Seattle. People will freak out if they can't perform regardless of when it is, I don't get that. These players aren't supposed to be perfect.

Bowe doesn't need to catch Moss' record. Just passes. I was the biggest proponent of drafting him, and a little let down over the last two seasons. I just hope the Chiefs can win AFCW, as a team, with enough gas in the tank to get us through the first playoff game. IF we get to the playoffs.

This article is pretty spot on as for the analysis over the last few weeks. Bowe has been running much better routes.

This article doesn't mention the weak secondaries that he has been getting better separation from though.

I am not saying it is 'all' because of that. I saw him break down Champ Bailey a few weeks ago. And, the talks about them playing 'soft' was a joke. Baily was getting angry about getting beat.

Time will tell if the transformation has truly taken place or if this is a nice run in an otherwise average career.

Just goes to show that thinking your a bad ass coming out of college is not enough in the NFL. The bad ass's in the NFL work their butt's off to be bad ass's. Bowe has learned that I hope.

I wonder if there has been a more productive receiver through as many games Bowe has played in to this point.

I bet the list is very short if there is any list at all.

By Bill Barnwell
Football Outsiders

Before Week 6, Dwayne Bowe was treated like a punch line. Clips of him dropping a sure touchdown pass against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5 were splattered across highlight shows. The negative opinion of Bowe was so widely held that we had to use a disclaimer when we mentioned Bowe as a good start for fantasy players in Week 6, saying, "He can't drop everything Cassel throws at him."

Since that week, Bowe has been unstoppable. A devastating seven-game stretch has seen him go from punching bag to wrecking ball. Since that game against the Colts, Bowe has caught 49 passes for 733 yards and a whopping 13 touchdowns. Bowe made it to 589 yards in 11 games last season, and he had a total of 16 touchdowns as a pro coming into this season. On Sunday, he pummeled the Seattle Seahawks while having his biggest game yet, going for 13 catches, 170 yards and three touchdowns. He even made a nice weak-side block for Jamaal Charles on a fourth-down run to create a cutback lane and pick up huge yardage. Right now, everything is going Bowe's way.

So, we know Bowe has been good. After the Seahawks game, though, there's a question we've got to ask: Has any wide receiver ever been as good in a seven-game stretch or have we just witnessed history from what seemed to be an unlikely source?

If you include the strike-affected season of 1987, the answer is no. During that 15-game campaign, Jerry Rice had one of the greatest seasons by any player in NFL history, catching 22 touchdown passes in those 15 games. He finished that year with an incredible run, grabbing 16 touchdown passes over the final seven games. That included three three-touchdown games in four weeks.

Throw out the strike season, and Bowe's touchdown mark is unsurpassed since the AFL-NFL merger. His 13 receiving touchdowns in seven games are matched by one other player: Sterling Sharpe, who actually caught 13 in six games. Sharpe hadn't caught a touchdown in any of the previous four weeks before the stretch, and those six games were actually the final ones of his career, as a neck injury forced him into retirement at 29.

Bowe's other totals are impressive but not otherworldly. Marvin Harrison (2002) and Wes Welker (2009) are tied for the record for most catches in one seven-game stretch, each managing to grab 69 receptions during their record runs. Isaac Bruce was able to do almost a full season's work in seven games during the 1995 season. The St. Louis Rams receiver caught 60 passes for a record 986 receiving yards, with seven touchdowns. Bruce ended up with an incredible 1,781 receiving yards by the time the season was over, the second-highest single-season total in NFL history. (Rice finished ahead of him that year with 1,848 yards.) Harrison rode his awesome seven-game stretch to the league record for receptions in a single season, finishing with 143.

Can Bowe go for the record in receiving touchdowns? It's going to be awfully difficult. He now has 14 on the season, and with five games to go he'll need 10 more to get past the 23 receiving touchdowns recorded by Randy Moss in the 2007 season. The good news: His easy schedule continues next week, when he faces the 31st-ranked pass defense of the Denver Broncos.

Now, if we could just get a #1 receiver to play along-side of him, we'd be in business.

I get what you're saying, but sarcasm aside, I like the development of Verran Tucker.

He hasn't made a lot of catches, but he appears to have some talent, and in time may well be a reliable 2nd receiver on the other side of Bowe.

The coaching staff sure must see something in him.

I hope you're right, but I don't see it. Isn't he the one that dropped a TD pass against AZ? If I remember right, it was a perfectly thrown fade in the left corner of the EZ.

Milk, I was kinda talking about through ALL of his career starts.

3 1/2 years worth of starts.

40 starts
3491 yards
261 receptions
30 touchdowns
13.4 YPC

Those numbers are pretty impressive for a players first 40 starts.

They are beyond pretty impressive. They are top 5 all-time.

Did you happen to miss all the drops that Bowe has suffered from in his 2 1/2 years prior to the last 5 or 6 games?

He is Haleys new Breaston in the making IMO.

I know it was early when I said that the last time and its still early to make that claim, but the signs are starting to show up.

Kids gonna be a player.

Thats what I was asking.

If those were good for the top spot, or close to it....all time.

Haley. Wide receivers. 'Nuff said.

The fact is that a lot of receivers have had drop issues at some point in their careers.

It's been a problem for Terrell Owens throughout his career.

Jerry Rice had a few drops in his rookie season, and many were wondering if Bill Walsh had made a mistake in picking him 17th(?) overall.

Tory Holt had some drops in his rookie season.

The list goes on and on.

The question becomes, how do they respond?

Demaryius is light years better than any WR on the Chiefs squad.


FACT.

McDumbass. Video cameras. 'Nuff said.

Oh.

When did dumbass opinion begin to equal fact?

Unfortunately, I saw them all. In my mind, it's one thing if a physical specimen with a storied college career has the dropsies. When it's an undrafted free agent rookie, I don't have the patience because I don't see the upside.

That said, I trust that Haley and Pioli know what they are doing. If he doesn't pan out, I guess we can try to pick up that Larry Fitzgerald guy.

Anyone outside of Bronco fans think this? Nope.

Here's betting that this guy isn't even a Broncos fan. He's just having fun.

Cause we're smarter. It's the mile high CO2.

Who?

It's a little early to draw any conclusions, but as someone else pointed out, the Chiefs staff sees something in Tucker.

He reminds me a little of Stephone Paige in his rookie season.

He runs a fade route well thats for sure.

How can you breath that thin air with your head stuck so far up your ass?

The Mile High Carbon Dioxide? Are you ****ing reeruned?

Great picture. Was that one of his 2 career touchdown catches?

I was thinking Joe Horn, but I'm too young to remember SP's rookie season.

Hey Awesome...what does 5% of your first round pick's career reception total look like?

Thanks

Bowe seems to be turning the corner and that's great news for this franchise.
Right now he's producing at a historical type pace. GREAT season by the kid and should earn him a trip to Honolulu. We need to check the cupboard for anything we might have left (ie. Tucker) before we go into next season.

Lol. ROFL


You all mad D. Thomas is just chilling bout to burn the Chiefs for the rest of his career.

Nothing personal, but you're coming across as pretty stupid. What you're saying right now reminds me of Raider fan a couple of weeks ago talking about how Chaz Schillens is better than Bowe. Don't be a dumbass.

Schillens? LOL.


But I'm just being honest. It's the god honest truth.

He's just trying to emulate his team's head coach.

Remember when there was an amazing receiver on your team and then McDumbass shipped him off to Miami? That was awesome.

First Ashley Lelie and now this? Will the string of great Broncos first round WRs never end?

lol wut?? /knowmo

What's amazing is that Haley seems to have gotten through to Bowe and gotten his head screwed on staright, while McDumbass just sends his receiver away.

That is pretty amazing.

@Pants The only Brandon I know is Brandon Lloyd.

@Saul Good ...Seriously? Really unrelated.

@milkman Maybe cause the dude is a lost cause and will only prove to be exactly that.

I used to dread having to face Cutler and Marshall twice a year for the next decade. If I were to wish for McDaniels to send me a check for $1,000,000, there's a pretty good chance that I'd be driving a Bugatti by Christmas. The guy does everything I ask him to.

Yeah, every player that has a problem with McDumbass is a lost cause.

Yeah, that's it.

@Awesome Aric Twitter is that way================>

LMAO

I know. That's awesome.

Got Darrent Williams murdered. 'Nuff said.

I have no idea of the details surrounding Williams death, so I I'll leave that alone.

But I do know that isn't the reason that McDumbass traded him.

The "lost cause" who has well over twice the receptions as your boy? Or over twice the yards? From QBs that can't keep their job week to week? Yeah. You guys made out great.

He started the conflict with the thugs and DW27 got hit by a stray bullet pretty much.

What did Cutler do, suggest that they switch to purple uniforms? That happened way before he got there...

I'm not questioning the dude is a beast. He's just a bit of a cancer.

Lol. I think they look purple too.

LOL, sure.

Do some research. IIRC Marshall was even sobbing his eyes out talking about it.

Well, that's the reality of the NFL. It's not like you can trade up to waste a first round pick on a guy just because he's a choir boy. (Unless, of course, I wish for McDaniels to do just that.)

B Marsh was a 6th or 7th round pick I think, and he is being replaced pretty well.

EDIT: Oh you're talking about Tebow. We'll see about him soon enough. Chances are he's going to be pretty good. People may think otherwise but other than that everything is leaning his side.

I did some research. Evidently, the thug who fired the shot didn't account for the thin air in Denver, and the bullet went right over Marshall's head.

Awesome Aric says "OH"

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5...esomearic2.jpg

So what I wanna know is where you got that pic. Is it actually you? I never seen it before on the internet.

Shoop'd up a pic I found of you

Where did you get the original pic?

From your facebook

Oh, heeeere we go.

:)

Oh, you mean from your digital camera of your Friday nights?

I thought so.

Yes last friday night I caught you trying to **** a real doll and posted it to your facebook.

You don't remember?

we got it from your mom eric.....yes we pulled a train on her and no she wasn't that good.