PORT ARTHUR — Of all the offensive positions, the success of a receiver is most dependent on things he can't control. If his quarterback isn't looking for him or not able to get him the ball in good spots, a great receiver can look very pedestrian.

    Likewise, if a good receiver sees plenty of zone coverages or double-teams, his productivity will drop, simply because there are other guys open and able to make plays while he's used as a decoy.

    That may be what's happened with Port Arthur Memorial wideout John Leday. Coming into the season, Leday was the apple of the coaching staff's eye, and was rumored to be the most talented guy in that unit even a year earlier. This season, though, it's been Roderic Rucker who has been the most productive receiver of the group, catching 28 passes for 496 yards this season.

    Leday isn't far behind, with 27 catches for 320 yards, but he hasn't proven to be as big an impact player as Jhajuan Seales was for last year's Titans team. Let's explore why that might be and how judging talent at receiver is very tough sometimes.

    It all starts with the positioning of receivers. Leday will line up on the outside, which means he'll get the main attention of the cornerback on every play. Rucker bounces between the inside and outside receiver spots, which gives him some flexibility in getting open. That doesn't explain all of the difference, though.

    Leday is clearly an exceptional athlete. Teams can see on film how fast he is and how well he catches the ball. Most of the teams that Memorial has played this season do not have that caliber of athlete in their secondary. Thus, to cover him, most of the teams have resorted to zone coverage.

    What does that mean? The basic definition of a "zone" coverage is that a defensive player will be assigned a specific area to defend instead of a player. In a Cover 2 zone defense, the cornerbacks will have zones of coverage close to the line of scrimmage, or the flat. The two safeties then split up the top of the field into halves, or two coverage zones, thus giving the coverage its name.

    You can probably figure out what Cover 3, Cover 4 and Cover 1 then mean as well, with the cornerbacks themselves getting involved in that zone coverage deep.

    If a team is trying to contain a receiver like Leday, they can put the cornerback in a short zone to stay underneath him and a safety over the top to keep him from getting deep. That effectively brackets a receiver and shuts down any deep passes a team may try. With Leday's speed, that's a must for opposing defenses.

    But, when they switch into a zone defense like that, it creates opportunities for everyone else. If a defense is paying attention to Leday that closely, then Rucker can be the zone buster by running an inside post route from the slot, getting past the short zone of the cornerback and breaking to the middle of the field in front of the safety over the top. That's exactly what he did on a long touchdown against Central in the first game of the season.

    Meanwhile, when Leday gets a team that feels it has the athletes to cover him man to man, like North Shore did at times two weeks ago, it gives him a chance to show off that deep speed. Leday only finished with four catches for 60 yards, but he had a long catch down the sideline where he was able to beat his man deep. He also flashed his play-making ability by returning a punt for a touchdown in that game, which is probably why he won't see much man coverage moving forward.

    As teams react to both Leday and Rucker this year, quarterback Ricky Fisk will be able to pick and choose his targets. If both Rucker and Leday are bracketed in coverage, then he can find Albert Jacobs on a short bubble screen or Brandon Leday across the middle.

    That's the benefit of a deep receiving corps like Memorial has this season. It may not showcase John Leday as much as Seales was last year, but it creates a much more balanced team that is able to attack opposing coverages effectively and in a variety of ways.