Wide Receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said he's more than a possession receiver, something he's been dubbed by pundits and fans alike, during a live NFL.com interview.
"I think I"m a complete receiver -- I can do whatever a coach wants me to do," Houshmandzadeh said.
While used primarily as a possession receiver in Cincinnati, Houshmandzadeh proved on a few occasions that he can also burn a safety for a deep touchdown.
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Seahawks fans may remember Houshmandzadeh's trip to Qwest Field in 2007, a game where Seattle narrowly pulled off the victory in the closing two minutes of the fourth quarter. He led the game in reception yards, racking up 141 yards and a touchdown.
While Houshmandzadeh crosses shallow with the third receiver, Chad Johnson stretches the field to the left. This provides Houshmandzadeh with enough distance between him and safety Deon Grant to catch QB Carson Palmer's under thrown pass, then motor into the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown.
On to the infamous tie game of 2008.
Houshmandzadeh and the third receiver cross to the left sideline, but Houshmandzadeh crosses back in to run the deep out and in, ending up toward the middle of the field. Despite two defenders near him, Houshmandzadeh runs past both of them and reaches up for the 26-yard touchdown catch.
What this means to the Seahawks
Houshmandzadeh has enough speed and route running ability to create separation from him and the defender. Working against man coverage will often give him a great advantage due to his size and strength. If Larry Fitzgerald taught the NFL world anything, it's that you don't have to have blistering speed to be a deep threat.
However, Houshmandzadeh benefited from having Johnson opposite him. Teams often focused on Johnson when he ran the deep route, which freed up Houshmandzadeh a lot of the time. A good example of this was during the 2007 Seahawks game. Burleson could provide Houshmandzadeh with that deep threat as the third receiver and Branch has also been known to catch the deep ball, something he did during that same Bengals game.
Still, one thing you'll never see from Houshmandzadeh in a Seahawks uniform is him catching a 60-yard touchdown pass after burning the entire secondary for the majority length of the field. He just doesn't have the speed to accomplish something like that. So in that respect, he isn't a true deep threat.
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Reach Aaron Weinberg at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
