Cobb or Freeman

[Packer Brother]

Better Packers receiver?

 

[Snoops]

Freeman hands down my favorite player growing up

 

[906Fan]

Not even close. Cobb vs James Jones would be a more fair competition.

 

[swhitset]

Freeman.

 

[LambeauLombardi]

Very similar careers. Great in their rookie deals, not so great after they signed their 1st big deal. Freeman had better career stats (Cobb got screwed on Elam cheap shoting him in 2013). Only real edge Cobb had on Freeman was he was more clutch.

Edge goes to Freeman because he was more dependable health wise and his peak was a little better than Cobb's peak.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

While I agree that Freeman was the better receiver the numbers suggest it should be closer than most of you think.

 

[Do7]

I'm gonna go with Cobb simply because he was utilized in more ways that Freeman was. Plus in terms of IQ I believe Cobb was a lot smarter. People remember the kick return in quick Montgomery caught the ball out of bounds which got them to the 40 yard line, but often forget Cobb was the first one to do that. Freeman was better going for jump ball, but what Cobb lacked in size, he made up with speed and mobility. Definitely one of the quickest players the Packers had.

 

[rmontro]

Another factor in Freeman's favor is that Cobb's career was kind of disappointing. People expected more out of him than he was ultimately able to produce. Or at least I did.

 

[sschind]

In many people's minds Cobb will be penalized for not playing up to his contract numbers. As WIMM says their numbers are not that far off.

games/rec/yds/avg/tds

Freeman 116/431/6651/15/4/57
Cobb 105/470/5524/11.8/41


I'd probably give the nod to Freeman but if you want to take Cobb you won't really get an argument from me. I think they may have had different roles and each was very good at doing what was asked of him.

 

[Do7]

In many people's minds Cobb will be penalized for not playing up to his contract numbers. As WIMM says their numbers are not that far off.

games/rec/yds/avg/tds

Freeman 116/431/6651/15/4/57
Cobb 105/470/5524/11.8/41


I'd probably give the nod to Freeman but if you want to take Cobb you won't really get an argument from me. I think they may have had different roles and each was very good at doing what was asked of him.

That's fair. I just think that you could use Cobb in more ways and whatnot.

Also on a random note, I'm looking at that quote down below of yours in regards to failure. That's a pretty good quote, where did that come from by chance?

 

[Dantés]

While I agree that Freeman was the better receiver the numbers suggest it should be closer than most of you think.

There's just a lot of anti Cobb sentiment right now because of his contract.

 

[RepStar15]

I hate comparing players of different eras. Numbers do lie when your talking about different decades. Antonio Freeman was a top 20 receiver of his era. Unfortunately, I do not think the same holds true for Randall Cobb.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Will always remember Freeman for this OT winning catch and TD over the Queens.

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[swhitset]

There's just a lot of anti Cobb sentiment right now because of his contract.

i’ve actually been a Cobb supporter .... I’d still take Freeman.

 

[brandon2348]

Dont even know why this thread is up.

Freeman

 

[OldSchool101]

Freeman. When he was on he had the ultimate focus. Always remember how astonished I was when watching this real time.

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[Do7]

Everyone is talking about the "He did what?" catch, and while that is impressive, let's not forget the amazing catch Cobb did regarding the Hail Mary, or the Game winner he caught against Chicago, or the kick and punt returns he converted into TD's. I just think Cobb throughout his career did more and was utilized in more ways than Freeman.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

i’ve actually been a Cobb supporter .... I’d still take Freeman.

Not quite the words I would have used.

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[GreenNGold_81]

Easily Freeman in my eyes... He played in the era where the secondary could play tough defense. Cobb had the potential to be a top 5 slot receiver in this league, unfortunately he'll now likely never live up to that billing. Freeman was also the #1 target for Favre. Cobb has always benefited from the top corners concentrating on someone else.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I hate comparing players of different eras. Numbers do lie when your talking about different decades. Antonio Freeman was a top 20 receiver of his era. Unfortunately, I do not think the same holds true for Randall Cobb.

FYI Cobb ranks 21st in receptions, 26th in receiving yards and 20th in touchdowns since entering the league in 2011.

 

[sschind]

That's fair. I just think that you could use Cobb in more ways and whatnot.

Also on a random note, I'm looking at that quote down below of yours in regards to failure. That's a pretty good quote, where did that come from by chance?

I don't disagree. It wouldn't take much convincing to make me change my mind. I'd take both on my team in their prime and be very very happy about it.

I assume you mean this quote.

Failure as a result is an option ... Failure to try is not

I can't see it as I have signatures blocked and I forgot it was even there.

I think I first saw it from the owner of a reptile keepers website I have been a member of for years. I'm not sure where he got it and I was always going to ask but I never did. If I need to provide credit I'll say Rich Zuchowski.

I guess it just stuck with me as I was watching my nephews rise up the ladder in their various sporting endeavors. While I am not a proponent of the "everybody is a winner" and "everybody gets a trophy" mentality I do feel that the "winning is all that matters" mentality can be equally frustrating and detrimental to young children. Children do need to learn they can't always be the winner but they also need to know that that is OK. Putting forth your best effort is what is really important. Sometimes the other guy is just better.

Now maybe for adults making millions of dollars that seems a bit sensitive but I really don't care about them.

 

[Dantés]

i’ve actually been a Cobb supporter .... I’d still take Freeman.

That's totally fair and I don't doubt you. But at the same time it can't be denied that many fans look at players like Cobb and Matthews through poop colored glasses. As they've aged and declined, they've become net value losses because of their contracts. That heavily influences the way that people assess their careers.

For example, the other day I saw someone online say they didn't want to draft some edge prospect because they thought he'd just be another Matthews-- as if that would be a bad thing.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

That's totally fair and I don't doubt you. But at the same time it can't be denied that many fans look at players like Cobb and Matthews through poop colored glasses. As they've aged and declined, they've become net value losses because of their contracts. That heavily influences the way that people assess their careers.

For example, the other day I saw someone online say they didn't want to draft some edge prospect because they thought he'd just be another Matthews-- as if that would be a bad thing.

Fully agree and recognizing the full careers of both Cobb and Matthews and what their current value to the Packers is, isn't saying "resign them at whatever it takes." Fortunately the Packers are now the one in the drivers seat when it comes to the two players future in Green Bay.

 

[sschind]

Easily Freeman in my eyes... He played in the era where the secondary could play tough defense. Cobb had the potential to be a top 5 slot receiver in this league, unfortunately he'll now likely never live up to that billing. Freeman was also the #1 target for Favre. Cobb has always benefited from the top corners concentrating on someone else.

Funny I always recalled Freeman as more of the #2 but when I looked at the stats from back then his first 3 years labeled as a starter (1996, 97, 98) he was their leading receiver over Brooks by a fair amount. For the next three he was neck and neck with Billy Schroeder as far as stats. For the three years they were the top starters Schroeder had 4 more receptions and 164 more yards. That's pretty close for 2 WRs over a 3 year stretch. Usually one is on the way up and one is on the way down. Also interesting in the last two of those years Ahman Green lead the team in receptions.

I said Freeman before and I'll stick with it but I still wouldn't say easily.

That's totally fair and I don't doubt you. But at the same time it can't be denied that many fans look at players like Cobb and Matthews through poop colored glasses. As they've aged and declined, they've become net value losses because of their contracts. That heavily influences the way that people assess their careers.

For example, the other day I saw someone online say they didn't want to draft some edge prospect because they thought he'd just be another Matthews-- as if that would be a bad thing.

The old "what have you done' for me lately". We remember how bad players perform when they made a ton on money but forget how good they were when they were comparatively cheap. Even for the new contract Cobb wasn't awful relative to his cap hit for the first two years (2015, 2016) Looking at their overall contribution to the Packers without changing anything and saying "I wish we never had them" or "I'm glad we did" I'd say I'm glad we did in both cases.

 

[PackinMSP]

"what have you done for me lately" is a good point

But consider guys like Favre and Brady who play(ed) for pretty much "cheap" considering production