Dallas Clark Sighting

[mayoclinic]

What role could he fill, though, that's going to earn him a roster spot when such spots would already seem at a premium even before he'd be signed? Even if you go with 10 'WR'/TE spots, 8 of them would seem pretty much spoken for:

Gronk
Hernandez
Welker
Lloyd
Gaffney
Branch
Slater
Fells

I would agree wtih 6 of these: Gronk, Hernandez, Welker, Lloyd, Gaffney and probably Slater are all locks barring injury. I don't think Branch is a lock at all. And if Clark is signed and healthy I wouldn't consider Fells a lock.

I never said Clark was anything more than depth and roster competition. Note that I said it was a Tory Holt / John Lynch kind of situation. Neither of those guys made it out of training camp. But that doesn't mean that the Pats shouldn't take a look.

 

[Deus Irae]

I would agree wtih 6 of these: Gronk, Hernandez, Welker, Lloyd, Gaffney and probably Slater are all locks barring injury. I don't think Branch is a lock at all. And if Clark is signed and healthy I wouldn't consider Fells a lock.

I never said Clark was anything more than depth and roster competition. Note that I said it was a Tory Holt / John Lynch kind of situation. Neither of those guys made it out of training camp. But that doesn't mean that the Pats shouldn't take a look.

Fells got a 3 year deal with about $2 million in guarantees. He may not be a lock, but he's the next thing to one. Branch got guarantees as well. I don't consider him a lock, but I do consider him to have a huge edge for a spot going in.

I'm still curious as to the role you think Clark would fill that would justify his roster spot, though.

 

[mayoclinic]

I'm still curious as to the role you think Clark would fill that would justify his roster spot, though.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I thought I had already addressed it. I think that Clark - if healthy and a reasonable facsimile of what he used to be - could address a number of roles. Depth behind Hernandez. Matchup problems with 2 versatile TEs on the field. Take advantage of his and Hernandez' versatility to find mismatches. Daniel Fells is a nice player, but I don't see him as a weapon capable of creating mismatches. Clark was. He may not be any more, but I'm interested in checking him out.

BB's quote from 2009 reflects some of this:

“He’s a terrific player, very hard to defend,” Belichick said of Clark. “He pretty much can do everything that you would ask a tight end to do. He’s a great vertical receiver. He can get open on the short and intermediate routes. He’s a good possession receiver on third down and in the red area. He’s good after the catch. He does a good job blocking.”

Now Clark may not be any of those things any more. In which case I doubt the Pats would be interested. But if he can do anything along the lines of what he used to, I don't think it's a stretch to imagine that he could play a role.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I would agree wtih 6 of these: Gronk, Hernandez, Welker, Lloyd, Gaffney and probably Slater are all locks barring injury. I don't think Branch is a lock at all. And if Clark is signed and healthy I wouldn't consider Fells a lock.

I never said Clark was anything more than depth and roster competition. Note that I said it was a Tory Holt / John Lynch kind of situation. Neither of those guys made it out of training camp. But that doesn't mean that the Pats shouldn't take a look.

Fells is as close to a pre season roster lock as you get based simply on this:

Daniel Fells

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

updating the rolodex for a backup to a backup, should the need arise

 

[strngplyr]

Very doubtful he sticks, 4 TE would be a bit overkill on a roster that is already very crowded with pass catchers.

 

[ausbacker]

What about blocking?

But, I Thought Dallas Clark Couldn't Block - Stampede Blue

According to Pro Football Focus, from 2008-2010, Clark was the fourth best pass blocking tight end in the NFL. In 224 pass plays that Clark blocked on, he allowed only 11 pressures. That, my friends, is impressive

Um, Fells was rated in the bottom 7 TE in pass blocking efficiency in 2010.

PFF is the worst site to reference. It's as reliable as a Jets Quarterback.

 

[West Philly Patriot]

PFF is the worst site to reference. It's as reliable as a Jets Quarterback.

 

[Ring 6]

So what? Clark did his job very well, and Manning is no better than Brady. When it comes to blocking for a very good QB, Clark is as good as any other TE

Clark is a terrible blocker for a TE, and a decent one for a WR.

 

[pork3]

PFF is the worst site to reference. It's as reliable as a Jets Quarterback.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

That would make for some good competition for that 3rd TE spot. Hard to see us carrying 4 TE's but competition is never bad.

I'd like another veteran RB brought in to push Addai

 

[goheels22002]

Josh must be looking at him as a tight ends coach. He's 32-years-old and injury-prone.

 

[SEA_Pat]

This is Bill the Mad Scientist finally getting the toys he's always wanted. His obsession with Tight Ends has been there from the beginning. He's building a giant morphing offensive monster, the 4TE set.

If he's better than the other backup options at WR and gives him some new wrinkles to put in the playbook for specific situations, why not?

My only reservation is that I haven't looked at who's playing special teams - I wonder, are we going to have crappy special teams if the Koutavides, Tracy White and others get cut in favour of what appear to be better players at their defensive and offensive positions?

 

[brdmaverick]

My only reservation is that I haven't looked at who's playing special teams - I wonder, are we going to have crappy special teams if the Koutavides, Tracy White and others get cut in favour of what appear to be better players at their defensive and offensive positions?

Fortunately Goodell has helped us out a bit with that aspect of the game. With kickoffs being moved closer, kickoff return coverage and returns is greatly reduced.

Of course, the same can't be said of the punting game so you're point is still valid.

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

The more I read about Dallas Clark, the more I think he's useless. Permanent ligament damage in his hands means he'll never be able to close them and catch the way he used to. There were times he was staring at his hands in disbelief last year as the ball bounced off them.

Do you have a source that talks about his hands being an ongoing problem? I know he was on IR in 2010 for surgery on a hand/wrist injury - then came back in 2011 and missed about 6 games with fibula and neck injuries. A shortish google search didn't tell me much about ongoing issues with his hands last year.

 

[mayoclinic]

Do you have a source that talks about his hands being an ongoing problem? I know he was on IR in 2010 for surgery on a hand/wrist injury - then came back in 2011 and missed about 6 games with fibula and neck injuries. A shortish google search didn't tell me much about ongoing issues with his hands last year.

Dallas Clark Needs Surgery On His 'Rare Wrist Injury' - Stampede Blue
Dallas Clark's Career Might Be Over - Stampede Blue

Nothing very specific. But given his unaccustomed drops in 2011 and the fact that no one has signed him, it's suggestive.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Just as a statistical aside:

Remember when the Pats drafted Gronk and AH, and a lot of people wondered if he would be "our Dallas Clark"? At this point in Hernandez's career, I think the answer is "... and then some."

Clark's career high was 1,106 yards in '09, his only thousand-yard season. He didn't top 500 yards until his fifth season.

Hernandez meanwhile, topped 500 yards his rookie season and had 910 yards last year, which would qualify as Clark's second-best total. This despite (or maybe in part due to?) having a second TE on the same team having an historic season.

I suspect Hernandez's career, statistically, will more closely resemble Shannon Sharpe's; hopefully AH stays healthy and plays a similarly long career.

Not bad for a fourth-rounder.

 

[ForThoseAboutToRock]

Dallas Clark Needs Surgery On His 'Rare Wrist Injury' - Stampede Blue
Dallas Clark's Career Might Be Over - Stampede Blue

Nothing very specific. But given his unaccustomed drops in 2011 and the fact that no one has signed him, it's suggestive.

Thanks for the links.

Yes, definitely very suggestive that he's visited a few teams with none willing to take a flier on him. Either his injuries are just too much risk, or there's a giant gap in what he thinks he's worth versus what teams are willing to pay him. Good/great, durable player in his day - sorry if he's all done.

I still like this thread though... what could happen if you had 3 of the best TE's in the NFL on on the field at the same time? Fun to think about.

 

[mayoclinic]

I still like this thread though... what could happen if you had 3 of the best TE's in the NFL on on the field at the same time? Fun to think about.

Here's something to think about - the "magic 3 tight end theory":

Three Tight End Offensive Formation magic 3

It's a great read.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Looks like Dallas Clark is heading to the TB Bucs

A signing today is possible per a Rotoworld report