Ashley Coconut Fingers = Marcus Nash?

[Exile_In_SJ]

Ashley missed 4 catchable balls last night, and the last one really hurt, it would have kept the drive alive and perhaps allowed us to continue to run the clock out. Instead, he didn't come up big, he dropped it. He needs to step it up and make important catches, not just catches that are routine.

He's in serious danger of become like marcus Nash, a serious first round bust.

[illbroncsfn]

Exile- Your way off here. I totally understand your frustration, but Lelie is already twice the player Nash was. We're all frustrated, at least we have a very winnable schedule coming up!

[Exile_In_SJ]

I'm just wondering is he a bust yet. He may be twice the player Nash was, but that really isn't saying much, because I am not at all impressed with Lelie. He's had plenty of opportunity to make the big catch and more often than not he doesn't.

He needs to use that kid who caught the winning TD for NE as an example... an over the opposite shoulder catch for the score... use him as an example of how you become a big time receiver.

Lelie isn't Nash yet, but he certainly is close

[Exile_In_SJ]

And you can say the other receivers on the team drop important passes, Rod Smith being an example. He does, and it's infuriating, but Rod Smith also makes some incredible catches and makes them when it counts, Pittsburgh being the latest example.

Lelie has had plenty of opportunity to make the big catch and he's only made one that I can remember.

He needs to step his game up a few notches.

[Hulamau]

Exile_In SJ
Lelie is in a bit of a slump right now, but only two of the balls that he dropped last night were remotely catchable. The one in the 2nd quarter at the begining of the long drive that gave us our first TD he should have had that one for sure, but he made up for it with two third down catches on the same drive for 1st downs including the catch that made it 1st and goal and lead to the TD

The last pass was a tough ball low and outside, but he should have it anyway and usually does make those kind of catches.

The other ball you think he should have caught was rushed by Kanell under pressure and was way early and way outside. He couldn't even get a finger on it.

I think Ashley is just thinking and pressing too hard right now and just needs to settle down. He's out of rhythmn with Kanell and with Ed out and having to take every snap, it looks to me that he is putting too much pressure on himself and that is causing him to drop some uncharateristic balls.

I've watched the guy catch at Hawaii for three years and he has great hands. This rough period, if the coaches handle him right, could help him get to the next level, but he is still young and immature. He needs to suck it up and not worry so much and hang his head when he drops an occasional ball. I'm not ready at all to write him off. Lets see how he responds once Plummer gets back.

Ashley only played receiver for three years before coming to the Broncos and has enormous potential. AS a result, June Jones said all along that he expected it will take him 3 years to really shine.

And Lelie did NOT lose the game last night. Stupid coaching and Deltha O'Neill's mind-fart can be credited with that. Not to mention a decimated Linebacking corp that gave up big play after big play over the middle in the second half and an almost total lack of a pass rush.

[Iowanian]

Why are you being so mean to Sylvester Laylay?

He's the Tampa Bay of WRs.....he'll do fine.....over 40 degrees and no pressure.

[Exile_In_SJ]

I'm not saying Lelie lost the game, it was several factors.. what I am saying is that Lelie hasn't and doesn't make the big catch. He should have had the last one, it was a chance for him to prove he's a big time receiver.

Right now, I am pissed at the Broncos, and Lelie probably isn't close to marcus nash, maybe after more thought, he's like JJ Stokes, who had a great college career but never made any impact in the NFL, Lelie is closer to becoming like JJ than a great receiver.

[SJ Bronco]

JJ stokes might be more accurate if he doesn't produce in the long run, but I think when Jake comes back, or if he gets to play with ANY QB for longer that 5 min then he might show some consistancy.

[Exile_In_SJ]

wow, how the heck did coconut fingers get in there? lol

[Exile_In_SJ]

Well if the ball is in your hands, you should catch it, doesn't matter who flings it. Lelie needs to step up.

[SJ Bronco]

Maybe my daughter distracted me, but did he drop alot of balls last night? I didn't see it.

[Hulamau]

Exile the jury is still out that's for sure. I think Lelie hjas more character and oveall skill than JJ had and a better work ethic whick=h should help him grow out ofthe 4 game slump he's been in. Though a good part of that has been partially due topoor use of him and very unpredictable accuracy on the QB side odthe ball.

Ashley is trying too hard to run the routes precisely and has not made the little adjustments that a veteran player often makes to accomodate a QB who is off his game. And he seems so fixated on catching the ball that he is dropping them more of them and needs to relax a bit. Hopefully, Sharpe, Eddie and Rod can talk him through this period as I clearly remember when all of them have gone through similar tough patches. Rod still continues to drop too many catchable balls, even though he is a good all around player.

Lets see how he responds through the rest of this season and next training camp. If he goes backward or fails to improve next year then he's likely a bust. Right now after 4 decent games and 4 tough ones it's way too early to write him off.

[SJ Bronco]

He has good teachers, your right..he'll be OK, he's a smart kid with talent. Nash was not.

[Hulamau]

SJ Bronco,
Ashley only dropped two balls last night, but the last one was a tough catch but catcable and a big critical one that likely would have allowed us to run out the clock.

The other drop was lack of concentration right in his chest in the second qrt, but he made up for it with two 3rd down catches for 1st downs later on the same drive.

[Exile_In_SJ]

I counted 4 he should have had.

And Lelie makes catches that aren't crucial, when the pressure is on.. I can't recall him making any of those.. maybe one on a third down early in the season, but we weren't in danger of losing the game.

He needs to catch the ones thrown to him, otherwise the qb's confidence in him wanes...you keep dropping catchable balls and the qb is more reluctant to throw to you..

[Exile_In_SJ]

the coconut fingers is very funny.. who is doing that? TJ?

[Smelvin]

The Nash analogy is definite hyperbole at this point in time.

But the next tough catch I see Ash make will be the first.

He still has A LOT of room for improvement, and still is more about potential than production, but I will refrain from calling him a bust.

If the second half of the season mirrors the first, and the casper act follows into next year...I will question his abilities.

Right now I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

[SJ Bronco]

I give you the benefit of the doubt smelvin cause im too busy looking at you avatar to see your post.

Has anyone else tries to change the angle you look at the picture to see if you could look up her skirt or down her shirt more? Or is that just me?

[Taco John]

Originally posted by Exile_In_SJ
the coconut fingers is very funny.. who is doing that? TJ?


Lelie done did it... He got his name in the filters... :giggle:

[Exile_In_SJ]

True, the Nash analogy is a bit too far, but the JJ Stokes seems to be pretty close as far as results...

[SJ Bronco]

results, and hype. Stokes was supposed to be the next JR around here and was ran outta town cause he turned out to be the next on the cut list.

[winstoncup bronco]

Ashley Coconut Fingers

Funny stuff TJ

[Taco John]

Originally posted by winstoncup bronco
Ashley Coconut Fingers

Funny stuff TJ


;D I thought so...

[SDChiefsfan]

I don't mean to add insult to injury here...honestly. :)

However, over at ChiefsPlanet they ARE beginning to refer to him as Ashley Nash or Marcus "Lelie"....;)

Of course, LJ could be our Greg Johnson or Larry Hill....::)

???

[-Slap-]

Originally posted by Exile_In_SJ
wow, how the heck did coconut fingers get in there? lol

Taco Spin is having a little hissy fit right now.

[-Slap-]

It's great that Brian Griese plays like a gutless pussy for the last four years and the moderator does nothing but make excuses for him. Ashley L e l i e has a couple bad games with an XFL caliber quarterback throwing to him and he gets saddled with a ****ed up nickname.

Too funny.

[Taco John]

Originally posted by -Slap-


Taco Spin is having a little hissy fit right now.


Actually, I'm having a laugh. Gotta laugh at something when you've lost 4 of your last 5. Just having some fun...

[-Slap-]

Right.

[Exile_In_SJ]

Some players go after the ball when it's anywhere near them, players like Randy Moss. He uses his height advantage well. He doesn't run patterns as far as anyone can discern, but he makes plays, as we Bronco fans know all too well.

Some players have to have the ball delivered precisely into their hands to make a catch, and even then they often don't catch it. Our man Ashley is one such player. The thing is, you can't always have the ball perfectly thrown in a game, sometimes it'll be close to you, sometimes you have to sell out and go get it. So far in our young receivers career, he's the sort that has to have it delivered precisely into his hands. he's not shown himself to be the sort that goes after the closely or not so closely thrown ball. He's not yet a good receiver.

Will he be? I don't know, but he's had plenty of opportunity to impress and he hasn't. We know he can catch a ball when there's no one within 15 yards of him and saunter into the end zone, I could do that.... Can he catch one like the NE player did on the game winner? I haven't seen any evidence that he can.

[watermock]

I'm not bailing on him. He's still pretty green, and we had injuries all along the WR front late.

If you remember what I said when he was drafted, I said he needed to toughen up, that the NFL wasn't the WAC or whatever the call it now.

Fact is, you can't let the ball float into your hands in the NFL, some weasle like Herndon or Walls or a dozen others are going to fight you for it, expecially late in games.

If you don't fight for it, that CB is going to slap you around like a cheap Hoe.

That was my concern with Lelie when we drafted him, being able to get off the line, and fight for the ball. Like I said, I am not giving up on him, but he hasn't progressed in that area much. You have to be mean, you have to fight for that damn ball, and you got to be able to take that hit.

I am not bailing on him, he has too much character to bail on himself. It just might be he wasn't ready or coached enough as the #2 to take over that spot.

If Sharpe, Cole, Floppy, and Smith were all injured, why was the ball being passed anyway?

It reminded me of Billy Miller going wide in 2001, but it was even worse this time, it was Mike Anderson.

[listopencil]

Aww, crap. Ashley Lelie can't catch.



Edit:

Aww, crap. Darrius Watts can't catch.


See how easy it is?

[listopencil]

2002 NFL Draft, Round 1


19 Denver Ashley Lelie WR Hawaii



2004 NFL Draft, Round 2

54 Denver Darius Watts WR Marshall

[Play2win]

I am going to start calling Watts "Coconut Fingers II"

Just for my own sense of humor...

[Rock Chalk]

I was like "What?" when I opened this thread then I noticed post dates

[sirhcyennek81]

Nash has 4 career receptions. Lelie had 5 in saturday's game. Yeah. Lelie is a bust...also, 9 times out of 10, when jake throws it deep, its at ashley, who 1. makes the catch. or 2. draws interference. He is a young wr with great speed. that equals deep threat. as he gets older, he will become more rounded out. he is a good wr, who will become great. hard not to be when you play next to rod smith. smith will not let him fail.

[DB-Freak]

Look at the damn post dates.

[sirhcyennek81]

post...dates...hmm...dammit...fricken emotionalism...

[Mediator12]

The Post dates people!!!


This is to bring up the it goes around crap and Microscope that these guys live under. Ashley also had the dropsies after his rookie Year!

[Play2win]

Look at the damn post dates.
Some people are perceptive to such things, and some people are, well...

[JCMElway]

Aww, crap. Ashley Lelie can't catch.



Edit:

Aww, crap. Darrius Watts can't catch.


See how easy it is?

I blame list for ressurecting this thread. :moody:

But I do see your point.

[Play2win]

I know I am overstating the obvious, but if you are going to compare Watts to ASH, you need to do it in a relative way, meaning Compate Watt's FIRST year with ASH's FIRST year. And ASH's Second year to Watt's second year, oh, wait, Watts hasn't had his Second year YET...

[Odysseus]

Aww, crap. Ashley Lelie can't catch.



Edit:

Aww, crap. Darrius Watts can't catch.


See how easy it is?

Aww, crap...now Adams can't catch!

[DBroncos4life]

This is like a scary Watts time warp.

[listopencil]

I blame list for ressurecting this thread. :moody:

But I do see your point.



Heh heh heh...yes I'm a tricky bastard but I thought this was a good way to make the point.

[listopencil]

I know I am overstating the obvious, but if you are going to compare Watts to ASH, you need to do it in a relative way, meaning Compate Watt's FIRST year with ASH's FIRST year. And ASH's Second year to Watt's second year, oh, wait, Watts hasn't had his Second year YET...



I just dug up an old thread about Lelie during his second year. There are a bunch of old "Lelie Is A Bust With No Hands" threads. If you'd like, feel free to search for one that more closely mirrors Watts' career. It's a fairly obvious comparison.

[Denver Crush]

I have to admit...I was about to go off, and then I saw the post dates. I think Ashley has proved alot of doubters wrong. Hopefully DW can do the same.

[Broncoman13]

Don't see how anybody didn't see this one coming... some of us have been preaching this for weeks now. Good on Listo for finally pulling it up and putting it into a better perspective!