The rebirth of the TE

[drew4008]

It's shaping up like we're going to see a lot of TE usage this year, whether it be in the running game or the passing game.

From Reiss' blog:

2 WR/2 TE/1 RB – 35 of 65 (10 first half/25 second half)
3 WR/1 TE/1 RB – 18 of 65 (12 first half/18 second half)
1 WR/3 TE/1 RB – 8 of 65 (7 first half/1 second half)
1 WR/2 TE/1 FB/1 RB – 2 of 65 (1 first half/1 second half)
1 WR/2 TE/2 RB – 1 of 65 (1 first half/0 second half)
3 WR/2 RB – 1 of 65 (0 first half/1 second half)

This shows that last night, 46 of the 65 offensive plays (71%) utilized 2 or more TE's, a pretty staggering number.

 

[mgteich]

We used 3 WR's in of 19 out 65 plays.

Yet, how often have we heard the critical NEED for a very strong FOURTH and FIFTH wide reveiver? The 4th and 5th receiver are even less important when you consider that Faulk, a tight end or a running back are fine as receivers in 3 receiver and four receiver sets.

IMHO, Edelman and Tate will be "battling" for reps as the #3 receiver in most games and Price will be inactive.

And, yes I do realize that it is important to give the new tight ends extra resp in the preason and that how much the TE's are used does depend on matchups. That being said, I expect to see a lot of 2 TE sets. After all, we expect both Grankowksi and Hernandez to be solid receivers.

 

[PatsBoy12]

It's shaping up to look like we will be running a more balanced attack this year. In fact, I think we're possibly going to see an offense that more closely resembles the Weis offense than the 2007 record-breaking offense. The rebirth of the TE position in NE is so exciting.

I don't expect them to abandon the spread completely, but it really looks like they want to return to a more balanced, physical offense this season. I am just so excited right now!

 

[patsfaninpa]

Dare I say that Hernandez reminds me of D. Clark? I thought Gronk would be used more as a blocker. He snagged that td pretty easily. Better athlete than I thought.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Dare I say that Hernandez reminds me of D. Clark? I thought Gronk would be used more as a blocker. He snagged that td pretty easily. Better athlete than I thought.

Something like 1 out of 5 of Gronk's receptions at Arizona went for TDs.

 

[A_Ghost_In_The_Machine]

Dare I say that Hernandez reminds me of D. Clark?

Agreed. I can see the Pats lining him up at receiver in the same way the Colts use Clark on some plays

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Agreed. I can see the Pats lining him up at receiver in the same way the Colts use Clark on some plays

I've said that before too. He looks like a WR out there.

 

[TruthSeeker]

It's hard not to get excited about the potential of these two. I don't think it's an accident that Brady already seems to feel comfortable with Hernandez, he was Tebow's binky last year, and obviously he's like a large Welker out there, he just seems to always be open. This could be a huge 4th round steal. I think Gronk is going to be fun to watch also, on a few of his catches, he punished tacklers, and made a very good catch for his TD. I already feel more excited about these two than I ever did Graham, Watson or Thomas (I know, maybe I'm going overboard).

 

[Athelas]

I already feel more excited about these two than I ever did Graham, Watson or Thomas (I know, maybe I'm going overboard).

Sigh...
I wish I could say that, but I was VERY excited about Graham and Watson and look how that turned out.

 

[patsfan-1982]

Tom Brady, has averaged about 350 comp per season for he's Career and i think it's pretty safe to say that Welker, and Moss, will get about 200 of dose comp... so that leves 150 rec for Julian Edelman, Brandon Tate, Kevin Faulk, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and so on...


i dont see anyone other then Edelman, Welker, and Moss, haveing much more then 30 rec my point is the TE's will be a bigger part of the offense but they will not be puting up dallas clark, type numbers any time soon.

 

[UofApatsfan]

Something like 1 out of 5 of Gronk's receptions at Arizona went for TDs.

And he was almost never used as a blocker given that he played in a spread offense. I guess there is all this talk of Gronk being used as more of a blocker because of his size, but he's very talented as a receiver who can be a big red zone target they didn't have last year. He would have put up way better numbers at Arizona if Tuitama (the QB when Gronk played) wasn't scared to attempt passes longer than 10 yards.

 

[ausbacker]

The tight end sets are what's going to define this offense in both the passing and running games. This team could be scary good on both sides of the ball in a season or two.

 

[Calciumee]

Something like 1 out of 5 of Gronk's receptions at Arizona went for TDs.

His stats at Arizona were:

75recs-1197yrd-16tds

Which works out at a TD every 4.6 receptions

 

[DarrylS]

Right now the use of TE's along with the use of Welker/Edelman more than makes up for a big impact runner.. always thought that the "short" passing game was an extension of our running game.

Makes our red zone O, much better than it has been.

 

[PatsBoy12]

It's shaping up to look like we will be running a more balanced attack this year. In fact, I think we're possibly going to see an offense that more closely resembles the Weis offense than the 2007 record-breaking offense. The rebirth of the TE position in NE is so exciting.

I don't expect them to abandon the spread completely, but it really looks like they want to return to a more balanced, physical offense this season. I am just so excited right now!

Here's an addendum to my earlier post about a more balanced offense:

It Is What It Is Patriots postgame notes

In the first half, the Patriots ran 29 offensive plays: 13 rushes for 71 yards and 14 passes for 79 yards. The team finished the game with 61 offensive plays: 30 rushing attempts and 29 pass attempts.

The math is a little off, but the numbers are still very close. In years past, the numbers would have favored the pass by far.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Here's an addendum to my earlier post about a more balanced offense:

It Is What It Is Patriots postgame notes



The math is a little off, but the numbers are still very close. In years past, the numbers would have favored the pass by far.

IMO it's not the run/pass ratio that we need to be concerned about. It's the effectiveness of the running game when it's mandatory to be effective. Tough 3rd and 1s. Goal-line. Defenses respecting the play-action. Wearing down defenses in the 4th qtr.

 

[West Philly Patriot]

IMO it's not the run/pass ratio that we need to be concerned about. It's the effectiveness of the running game when it's mandatory to be effective. Tough 3rd and 1s. Goal-line. Defenses respecting the play-action. Wearing down defenses in the 4th qtr.

Agreed. There were a lot of head scratching calls on our 3rd and shorts last year. On 3rd and say 2 we would throw out of the shotgun. This is not superbowl Patriot football, we iced big games with aggressive oline play in short yardage situations and that has been missing from our offense.

 

[Richard Camembert]

We used 3 WR's in of 19 out 65 plays.

Yet, how often have we heard the critical NEED for a very strong FOURTH and FIFTH wide reveiver? The 4th and 5th receiver are even less important when you consider that Faulk, a tight end or a running back are fine as receivers in 3 receiver and four receiver sets.

IMHO, Edelman and Tate will be "battling" for reps as the #3 receiver in most games and Price will be inactive.

And, yes I do realize that it is important to give the new tight ends extra resp in the preason and that how much the TE's are used does depend on matchups. That being said, I expect to see a lot of 2 TE sets. After all, we expect both Grankowksi and Hernandez to be solid receivers.

I just remember last year when it was the Moss and Welker show, they just didn't have any other scary options, and of course opponents could stack the box and croak LoMo. Taylor was hurt, Aiken was doing the best he could, no disrespect, but he's not a threat at this level, and TFB was apparently sick of the TE. ANY 3rd option would have been welcomed with open arms.

This has been hit upon in other threads but the 212 formation is probably optimal in terms of deception and flexibility. Last year they couldn't or wouldn't really use it because they ran out of options. It's great to have the extra hands on board.

 

[Ghost of Ben Dreith]

Tom Brady, has averaged about 350 comp per season for he's Career and i think it's pretty safe to say that Welker, and Moss, will get about 200 of dose comp... so that leves 150 rec for Julian Edelman, Brandon Tate, Kevin Faulk, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and so on...


i dont see anyone other then Edelman, Welker, and Moss, haveing much more then 30 rec my point is the TE's will be a bigger part of the offense but they will not be puting up dallas clark, type numbers any time soon.

I hope you are wrong since one of the things I am looking for this season is Brady to go back to throwing to the open man instead of zeroing in on Moss/Welker.

Couple of ways it can go......#1 is with the better weapons available, teams won't be able to roll coverage to Moss freeing Moss up for more big games......#2 is they keep overplaying Moss and Brady doesn't force the ball to him and the Pats other WR's put up good numbers.

I think teams will roll to Moss early on and then be forced to play the Pats honest after they see what our other WR's/TE's can do.

 

[Uncle Rico]

I hope you are wrong since one of the things I am looking for this season is Brady to go back to throwing to the open man instead of zeroing in on Moss/Welker.

Couple of ways it can go......#1 is with the better weapons available, teams won't be able to roll coverage to Moss freeing Moss up for more big games......#2 is they keep overplaying Moss and Brady doesn't force the ball to him and the Pats other WR's put up good numbers.

I think teams will roll to Moss early on and then be forced to play the Pats honest after they see what our other WR's/TE's can do.

Couldn't agree more. I remember watching that Ravens playoff game and, as they tried to come back, they seemed to have such limited options outside of Moss (double covered) and Edelman (what a gritty effort by him and Faulk). Now throw in a healthy and improved Tate PLUS Gronkowski and Hernandez and even Crumpler/run game, and you see the possibilities. The mindset just has to be there, and there are signs already that it is. Welker and Moss will still get excellent stats, but there's plenty to go around.

I also think Gronkowski will be an excellent receiver. Hernandez has just gotten more attention because his versatility makes him so intriguing.