When I came up with the idea to write a weekly post on the wide receivers I thought it would be fun. The wide receivers are awesome, it will be all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows! Then Saturday happened and sometime in between Jared Karstetter's second and third fumble I began to regret the entire concept.
To make matters worse, this is a trend not an isolated bad game. Here is a look at the receivers yards per target and drop percentage each week.
Week 1: 8.42, 6.45
Week 2: 12.88, 0.00
Week 3: 9.68, 13.16
Week 4: 8.05, 7.32
Week 5: 6.09, 11.76
Week 6: 5.05, 16.22
That week two performance against UNLV seems like ancient history. Since Pac-12 play began, the YPT have dropped each week while the drops have risen. Forget about contending for a bowl game, WSU will not win another game in the wide receivers keep combining for 5.05 YPT.
Player
Targets
Catches
Yards
Drops
1st Downs
YPT
Catch%
Drop%
1st Down%
Isiah Barton
15
7
63
3
2
4.20
46.67
20.00
13.33
Bennett Bontemps
0
0
0
0
0
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Henry Eaddy
2
1
3
0
0
1.50
50.00
0.00
0.00
Jared Karstetter
5
3
26
2
2
5.20
60.00
40.00
40.00
Isiah Myers
3
2
12
0
0
4.00
66.67
0.00
0.00
Bobby Ratliff
5
4
33
0
2
6.60
80.00
0.00
40.00
Gino Simone
0
0
0
0
0
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Kristoff Williams
0
0
0
0
0
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Marquess Wilson
7
5
50
1
3
7.14
71.43
14.29
42.86
WR Totals
37
22
187
6
9
5.05
59.46
16.22
24.32
If 15 targets for Isiah Barton seems like a lot, it's because it is. It's the most any Cougar receiver has been targeted in a game this season. Barton has played pretty well this season but it's probably not ideal for him to get twice as many targets as Wilson. Wilson was involved early with three targets on the first two drives but was targeted just twice in the second half.
The 5.20 YPT was only the third lowest for Karstetter this season (side note: ouch), but two drops and two fumbles on five targets makes his actual performance even worse than the charted numbers. On the bright side, it would be nearly impossible to be any worse against Oregon State...I hope.
Player
Targets
Catches
Yards
Drops
1st Downs
YPT
Catch%
Drop%
1st Down%
Isiah Barton
54
33
380
7
19
7.04
61.11
12.96
35.19
Bennett Bontemps
2
1
10
0
1
5.00
50.00
0.00
50.00
Henry Eaddy
9
4
35
0
1
3.89
44.44
0.00
11.11
Jared Karstetter
46
27
280
6
16
6.09
58.70
13.04
34.78
Isiah Myers
11
6
63
0
3
5.73
54.55
0.00
27.27
Bobby Ratliff
25
18
189
1
12
7.56
72.00
4.00
48.00
Gino Simone
4
1
20
0
1
5.00
25.00
0.00
25.00
Kristoff Williams
10
7
113
1
4
11.30
70.00
10.00
40.00
Marquess Wilson
53
36
688
5
25
12.98
67.92
9.43
47.17
WR Totals
214
133
1778
20
82
8.31
62.15
9.35
38.32
This chart used to be so much fun to look at. After the Colorado game the receivers were averaging a robust 9.68 YPT. Now, their numbers are only slightly above the NCAA average. Barton's poor game against Stanford dropped his season numbers to below average levels meaning currently Wilson is the only receiver with more than 10 targets to post an above average YPT.
Karstetter's YPT is almost a full yard less than the 7.0 he averaged last year, but it that is largely a result of his lower catch rate. His current catch percentage of 58.70 is a substantial drop from the 65.96 he produced in 2010.
Take Marquess Wilson out of this chart and the totals would begin to look really ugly.