The NFL Network introduced Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Lloyd as the 58th-ranked player of 2011 as voted by fellow players. If Lloyd were still in Waashington, he would be the second Redskin to the grade as a Top 100 NFL Player of 2011. The very thought made me ill.
BLloyd, as he is (not so) fondly remembered in these parts, flopped with the Redskins. Along with Adam Archuleta, Lloyd is the personification of the ill-considered roster moves that kept the Redskins mired in division fourth-place over the past ten years.
Like most ‘Skins fans, I’ve assigned 80 percent of Lloyd’s failure to the player. Lloyd’s 2010 performance with Denver and the esteem he is held by NFL players forces a second look.
What got into Brandon Lloyd?
Somebody believed in him, said Lloyd in the NFL-N interview that accompanied his segment in the Top 100 Players of 2011. He enjoyed the confidence of his coach and quarterback in Denver in ways that he did not in Washington and Chicago. He knew that he was getting the ball with the Broncos, so he prepared his body for the rigors of 16 games, was more precise in running his routes and more aggressive to the ball in 2010. The result was a Pro Bowl season.
Maybe that’s the difference. Only Lloyd knows what’s in his head. A 2007 ESPN interview tends to support his thought. Asked what to expect that season with the Redskins, Lloyd said that Joe Gibbs and Al Saunders told him his opportunities would increase. Gibbs wanted Lloyd to be more consistent, to gain the trust of the quarterback (emphasis mine) and improve in all areas as a wide receiver.
We know how that turned out. But, why was it so bad? Well first, Lloyd’s quarterback, Jason Campbell, was a neophyte starter on a struggling team running a brand new offensive scheme. Second, Lloyd believed himself to be fourth in line as a receiving target. He called Santana Moss, Chris Cooley and Antwaan Randle El higher priority targets in that 2007 interview.
Not buying that one. The Redskins signed Lloyd to be the No. 2 wide receiver to take defensive pressure off Moss. He had his opportunities. The Redskins needed his performance. He did not deliver.
In 15 games in Gibbs’ 2006 offense, Lloyd caught 41 percent of the passes targeted to him. In Saunders 2007 offense, Lloyd caught a measly 18 percent of passes thrown to him. Rod “Fifty-Fifty” Gardner, whom Lloyd replaceed, never performed so poorly. Lloyd, it seems, lost confidence in himself as the coaches lost confidence in him.
Lloyd left Washington in disgrace after 2007. He signed with Chicago for a season where he formed a relationship with Kyle Orton. By happy circumstance, both landed in Denver in 2009 where Josh McDaniels was remaking Mike Shanahan’s offense. McDaniels tapped Orton as starting quarterback and Orton found a familiar target in Lloyd.
I do not begrudge Lloyd his honors. Accolades are deserved after a year like he had. I just think his 2010 performance was a fluke. Pro players must have that psychology of winning that is fed by their inner strength. Lloyd didn’t have that strength in Washington. Lets see if he has it in Denver this year.
The Broncos are in more turmoil than the Redskins are. Kyle Orton is no more certain to start at quarterback for Denver than Donovan McNabb is for Washington. For all we know, Orton is destined for Washington. Defense-minded head coach John Fox could change the Broncos’ offense in any number of ways. John Elway may be no more successful running the Broncos than Michael Jordan was running the Wizards.
That’s enough to shake the confidence of a sensitive artist like BLloyd.
See the video of Brandon Lloyd’s 2007 ESPN interview here.
See the video of Brandon Lloyd voted 58th best player here.
Brandon Lloyd takes the low road on his old teams here.
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