Was David Ball's Importance to the 2006 Season overrated?

Now, trust me, I'm a bigger David Ball fan than most. I think he's going to be a dynamite pro and that he's literally a human vacuum for footballs. He runs great routes, and if you throw a jump ball, he's going to come up with it most of the time. However, if you look at the numbers, it's hard to ignore a dramatic dropoff in yardage production from 2004 and 2005 to 2006.

2004: 86 Catches, 1504 yards, 17 TDs
2005: 87 Catches, 1551 Yards, 24 TDs
2006 93 Catches, 1114 Yards, 13 TDs

It's pretty hard not to notice the almost 400 yard discrepancy. Now, the performance is defensible because Ball was facing numerous double and triple teams. But I wonder, was he not getting the YAC? Or was he running shorter routes? It's a little confusing. He had a great year, no doubt, and he's one of the best in UNH history, but I wanted to use this to point out that those who are forecasting doom for UNH ought to consider that his numbers were actually down from 2004 and 2005, and we still won.

It also tells me that perhaps UNH ought to look into throwing the ball downfield more. With Ball's skills and some of the speed guys they have, they should not be utilized as possession types. They need to take some chances. I'd be surprised if UNH doesn't have a player on their roster (probably LeVan) capable of putting up 1100 yards next season. Now, he's not going to draw the coverage Ball did, but in a sheer "numbers" sense, it isn't all that inconceivable to think they could replace it. I believe UNH will miss Ball more in the "go-to guy" sense, and as a guy who drew defenders away from guys like LeVan, Brown and Lynch. My contention is merely that UNH would miss the 2004 or 2005 edition much more than the 2006 one.

That said, David Ball is going to be a starting NFL WR. Good luck to him.