Normally, fans wouldn't pay much attention to a receiver who left and had considerably less success with his new team.
Ashley Lelie has 38 catches in the last two years, 28 with Atlanta in 2006 and 10 with San Francisco in 2007. He had 42 catches with the Broncos in 2004. Yet, a thread on
Broncos Country is gaining some attention discussing
one poster's nostalgia for the former Broncos deep threat.
The poster makes a convincing argument, despite the obscure call of support for a player who is widely labeled as a busted first round pick from 2002.
"I would love to see (Brandon) Marshall and Lelie on the outsides and (Brandon) Stokley in the slot with (Tony) Scheffler and/or (Daniel) Graham at TE on pasing downs. With defenses having to respect Lelie way deep and then Marshall drawing double-teams, defenses would just have their hands full covering too many options for (Jay) Cutler. As it is, defenses don't have to respect our deep game as much, unless one of our new guys proves to be a reliable deep threat."
Lelie averages over 17 yards per catch in his career, and led the NFL in that category in 2004 and 2005. He had just 10 catches with the 49ers last year, one year after being traded to Atlanta amid complaints about his role in the Broncos offense.
These are points not lost on one poster.
"Lelie... Couldn't catch a cold, and was a huge bust, our play action roll out helped his career...When he left what happened? All that speed hands of stone...wont go across the middle....Where's Ed (McCaffery) when you need him?"
It extended past Lelie, too. Former Broncos LB Al Wilson came into the discussion. Wilson suffered a neck injury late in the 2006 season with the Broncos, and failed a physical that off-season, voiding a trade to the Giants. Wilson hasn't played since that season, and is fighting the Broncos for damages in regards to how his injury was handled. According to ESPN, a verdict in that case
should be rendered soon.
Some on Broncos Country still love him, though.
"It's good to miss former bronco players....I even have a list of some that I miss dearly.....good ole Al is one of them."
Be advised, though, comparing Lelie, even with his sick career yards per catch numbers, is not a wise position to take.
"Wow, Al is a completely different story (than Lelie's). While I kind of miss Lelie, I seriously miss Big Al. He was one of my faves, for sure. Sad to see his career end like that."
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