Before the 2012 season, the Cincinnati Bengals hadn’t been to the playoffs in consecutive seasons in more than three decades.
It’s no coincidence that A.J. Green had nothing to do with any of those seasons.
Coming off of a 4-12 season in 2010, the Bengals drafted the dynamic playmaker with the fourth overall pick in 2011. They were hoping he could jumpstart a sputtering franchise that had only had one winning season since 2005. Green answered their call by leading the Bengals to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.
Green earned the starting nod from game one in his rookie campaign. In his NFL debut he put the Bengals ahead to stay with a 41-yard touchdown reception with under five minutes to play. It was the longest game-winning touchdown catch in league history by a rookie playing in his team’s first game.
He followed that up with 10 catches in Denver. A month later, he became the first Bengals player in 23 years with two receptions of 40 yards or more in one game.
When the 2011 campaign was all said and done, Green corralled 65 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns, earning himself a spot in his first Pro Bowl.
Green’s rookie receptions number is more than double the amount of catches that Reggie Wayne and Brandon Marshall had in their rookie season’s combined. He racked up more than 250 more receiving yards than Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson in their first years, and had more touchdowns than Andre Johnson’s rookie total.
In addition, Green compiled all of his gaudy numbers with a rookie quarterback throwing him the ball. While Andy Dalton wasn’t an ordinary rookie, he certainly had an extra dose of confidence knowing that anything he threw Green’s way was going to be caught.
“You can take chances with him,” quarterback Andy Dalton said of Green. “If I put the ball around him, he will go and make a play on it. A.J. is a special player.”
Cleveland Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson knows from experience what Dalton is talking about, and couldn’t agree more.
“He makes tough catches in areas Andy Dalton should never throw,” Jackson said of his AFC North rival. “Pretty much, he bails the quarterback out most of the time. He’s a good route-runner. He’s fearless. And he’s one of the top receivers in the league.”
As if there was still doubt, Green boldly etched his name in the upper echelon of receivers in the NFL when he messed around and finished in the top ten in every major receiving category in 2012. His stats: 97 receptions, 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Another playoff berth. Another Pro Bowl selection.
With his second Pro Bowl selection in as many seasons, Green joined Cris Collinsworth and Randy Moss as the only receivers in NFL history to make the NFL all-star game in their first two seasons.
If you thought that was impressive, wrap your head around this: Green is the only player in NFL history to exceed 100 receptions, 1,500 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns in his first 20 games. Jerry Rice didn’t do that. Neither did Randy Moss, the self-proclaimed greatest receiver of all time. Cris Collinsworth didn’t even come close. Those All-Pro receivers mentioned earlier weren’t good enough either.
Hall of fame receiver Michael Irvin is so impressed with Green that he characterized him as “the best all-around receiver in the National Football League — period.”
Unlike other top receivers who specialize in certain areas and are exposed in others, Green has no discernible weakness. Mike Wallace for example, has blazing speed, but needs polish in his route running. Steve Smith, while great after the catch, is sometimes plagued by drops.
For starters, Green is one of the biggest receivers in the league at 6-foot-4, 207-pounds. That guy they call “Megatron” is only an inch taller. His 35-inch vertical makes things even less fair, and his 4.38 40-yard dash time puts him up there with the fastest players in the NFL.
He’s as dangerous in the flat as he is across the middle as he is downfield. And oh yeah, he catches everything.
For those who still aren’t convinced because Green only has two seasons under his belt, just listen to what Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis had to say about him.
“He is the best first-round draft pick that I’ve ever been around,” said Lewis, who has been around the likes of Ray Lewis in Baltimore. “He continues to amaze me every day.”
None of the individual praise or accolades matter to Green though unless it’s helping his team get playoff w’s. Although the Bengals have reached the postseason two years in a row, both have been by the way of the wild card.
Once in the playoffs, Cincinnati has been bounced in the first weekend two years in a row. To avoid a similar fate in 2013, Green and the Bengals know they need to upend the steel curtain in Pittsburgh and the defending Super Bowl Champion Ravens for the AFC North crown.
“The Steelers and Ravens have been in that division for a long time and they’ve owned it for a long time,” Green said at the Madden Bowl in New Orleans. “It’s about time someone else takes it over.”
