Another day, another two puff pieces about Vikings wide receiver Jerome Simpson. Vikings coach Leslie Frazier is "jacked up" about the former Bengals receiver's presence of the team.
Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune took it one step further, saying Simpson is going to be Minnesota's next Cris Carter.
Oh my.
Forget for a minute that Simpson's skill set couldn't be more different than Carter's, and try to remember that Simpson has been an underachieving player his whole career. There are reasons the Bengals let him go and, and those reasons will likely show up when real football counts.
We have read at least 10 puff pieces on Simpson this offseason and can't take it anymore. Look, we are guilty of overhype, too. We couldn't contain our glee when Simpson made a highlight reel catch the other day. But none of it means much.
Every season, random patterns in offseason coverage emerge. Certain players get written about a ton because we have to write about someone. Simpson would be my pick to lead the league in the offseason hype: production ratio.
Let's break down a few other candidates at the receiver:
1. Devin Hester, Bears: We've been hearing about variations of the "Devin package" for years. The Bears are always convinced Hester is about to turn a huge corner as a receiver. It never happens.
2. Mohamed Massaquoi, Browns:This is finally the year he turns it all together.
3. Robert Meachem, Chargers: He's changed teams, but the excuses for why he's never quite produced as expected remain the same.
