Expectations of Hernandez

[jmt57]

I'm lazy; maybe soimeone else will look it up. When was the last time our TE's totaled 59 catches and 760 yards as you suggest. And it has been a long time as you suggest, why should we expect Belichick to change his passing offense in this way. The last time I looked, we were one of the best passing teams in the nfl with two areas that could use improvment.
1) We need a solid 2nd outside receiver.
2) We need A tight end that is a red zone threat and is solid as a blocker and a threat accross the middle.

I think that it is great that we drafted both Gronk and Hernandez. But, we have plenty of receivers and two that specialize in catching passes over the middle. It remains to be seen how many catches will be available for the tight end.

For me, in the second half, I expect Welker to be the man over the middle (and Edelman also) and Gronk to be our go-to TE.

Here are the recent TE totals for receptions, yards, and touchdowns

09: 43/546/7
08: 31/302/2
07: 49/462/10
06: 81/1037/6
05: 57/738/13
04: 61/689/11
03: 67/694/6
02: 59/516/10
01: 20/175/4
00: 51/457/4


I think if anything the numbers show that BB is more than willing to change the offense and the role of the tight end on the fly. That can be due to the personnel available, change in personnel, injuries, or a change in the way the game is officiated. Just because the team still has Moss and Welker does not mean the offense will automatically be the same. It may change because of Welker's injury, it could change because of the running game, it could change due to an effort to improve in the red zone, it could change in an effort to control the ball and keep the defense off the field, etc.

In my opinion the injury to Welker will shift some portion of the passing game from the slot receiver to the tight ends. How much of a shift there will be remains to be seen; that will primarily be up to the three tight ends, and how they progress within this offense.