Article: The Patriots' Tight End Problem is Becoming Critical

[DropKickFlutie]

Out of curiosity I thought it might be illuminating to look at the past before Gronk.

The 2011 Rams averaged 12 pts/game and were last 32/32 in total points scored. Their leading receiver in yards at the TE position, was Billy Balema with only 71 total receiving yards all year. McD was the OC.

2011 St. Louis Rams Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Check out the 2011 St. Louis Rams Roster, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports and more on Pro-Football-Reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

In 2010, the Denver Broncos scored 21pts/game which was ranked 19/32 teams. Their leading receiver at the TE position, was Daniel Graham who only had 148 total receiving yards all year. McD was HC and they had a 4-12 record and McD was fired before heading to the Rams as OC.

2010 Denver Broncos Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Check out the 2010 Denver Broncos Roster, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports and more on Pro-Football-Reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

[Triumph]

Dalton Keene's career stat page is the same as Asiasi's. A total blank page

Dalton Keene Career Stats - NFL - ESPN

Complete career NFL stats for Houston Texans Tight End Dalton Keene on ESPN. Includes scoring, rushing, defensive and receiving stats.

www.espn.com

Just like on ESPN stats.

 

[Triumph]

Gostowski was a hero today in Tennessee.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

It's Time For Patriots To See What They Have In Two Rookie Tight Ends - NESN.com

It's time for the New England Patriots to see what they have in rookie tight ends Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene.

nesn.com

Why it's a good week for Patriots to see what Devin Asiasi can do

Devin Asiasi has been nonexistent in the Patriots' passing attack, but there's no time like the present to change that, writes Phil Perry.

sports.yahoo.com

Patriots: It’s time New England finds Cam Newton a competent tight end

It's time for the New England Patriots to find quarterback Cam Newton a competent tight end. Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene are still question marks.

musketfire.com

New England Patriots: Tight end position a non-factor in passing offense

The New England Patriots' tight end position is an embarrasment to bad tight end situations as they are a non-factor in the Patriots' passing offense.

chowderandchampions.com

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Zero pass targets for Asiasi in 71 total NFL snaps played, is on the OC

Patriots Rookie Tight End Devin Asiasi Has Impressed In Practice - NESN.com

While it hasn't translated yet to the game field, New England Patriots rookie tight end Devin Asiasi has impressed his positional coach Nick Caley in practice.

nesn.com

Perry: Why the Patriots should unleash Asiasi vs. Broncos

Devin Asiasi has been nonexistent in the Patriots’ passing attack, but there’s no time like the present to change that, writes Phil Perry.

www.nbcsports.com

 

[Family]

In this offense tight end is a tough position to learn.

Even Gronk only had 8 targets in first 5 games for 86 yards. And that was with a full training camp.

 

[archstanton543]

In this offense tight end is a tough position to learn.

Even Gronk only had 8 targets in first 5 games for 86 yards. And that was with a full training camp.

Then they need to dumb it down so the kids can pick it up easier.

 

[Family]

Then they need to dumb it down so the kids can pick it up easier.

I think it's blocking assignments.

They might have to change the entire offense. Someone who knows better than me can add.

Izzo took a bad rap last year when he missed blocks because he was essentially a rookie, and was lost on some plays.

They probably don't want to blow the confidence of these rookies when miss blocks and have to take the rap like he did.

 

[Sciz]

Total shot in the dark...would the 1-5 Vikings give away Kyle Rudolph, who is 31st among TEs in receiving yards but 7th in 2020 cap hit? Could save them over $4 million. They have the lowest current cap room in the NFL and are 7th worst for 2021, so he may be gone in the offseason anyway.

I don't think this current offense is a great fit for a guy like Ertz that spends half his time in the slot. They'll take just a slight upgrade as a receiver if it means the guy can still make all the in-line blocks to keep the run offense working.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Lets not forget that Izzo fumbled on 2 of this 3 catches. The first fumble, luckily he was down, the second one was devastating to the Pats.
So even when he did catch a pass, it was a huge negative.

Granted the Pats played yesterday with basically no practice time in two weeks, but they lost to a very bad Broncos team. In a game, they were lucky to even make close at the end.

Everyone is going to copy what the Broncos did, they run blitzed their safties, and doubled Edelman. Unless the Pats get some weapons via trades, they are screwed, they might even lose to the Jets!

Someone that might make sense is old friend Brandin Cooks. Houston is toast, and trading him would free up 5 million in cap space for Houston (with no dead money hit). Cooks 8 mil this year is guaranteed, so he would costs the Pats $500,000 a game. The Pats need a deep threat, basically you don't have to cover Harry, so they can double Edelman and put the scout team DB on Harry. Add Cooks to the equation and at least the Pats have a deep threat.

Hopefully BB can call the life coach running Houston now and make the trade.

 

[Betterthanmost]

The WR group has not improved in 3 years. The TE group has not gotten better either.

We saw what happened when the strength of the offense which is the RBs were stopped and the receiving corp had to pick up the slack.

AB available in about two weeks. If Kraft can be forgiven, so can AB. He is crazy, we are all crazy for liking this dangerous game. Let the first man who is not crazy cast the first stone.

 

[Betterthanmost]

Lets not forget that Izzo fumbled on 2 of this 3 catches. The first fumble, luckily he was down, the second one was devastating to the Pats.
So even when he did catch a pass, it was a huge negative.

Granted the Pats played yesterday with basically no practice time in two weeks, but they lost to a very bad Broncos team. In a game, they were lucky to even make close at the end.

Everyone is going to copy what the Broncos did, they run blitzed their safties, and doubled Edelman. Unless the Pats get some weapons via trades, they are screwed, they might even lose to the Jets!

Someone that might make sense is old friend Brandin Cooks. Houston is toast, and trading him would free up 5 million in cap space for Houston (with no dead money hit). Cooks 8 mil this year is guaranteed, so he would costs the Pats $500,000 a game. The Pats need a deep threat, basically you don't have to cover Harry, so they can double Edelman and put the scout team DB on Harry. Add Cooks to the equation and at least the Pats have a deep threat.

Hopefully BB can call the life coach running Houston now and make the trade.

Izzo is a true negative addition. Cooks is not what we need at all. We need a durable crazy WRs. One is available in about 2 weeks.

 

[mgteich]

The Patriots' tight end problem is becoming critical after loss to Broncos

The Patriots need to get more consistent production from the tight end position.

patriotswire.usatoday.com

"With the New England Patriots’ 18-12 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, one thing was made clear — the Patriots need to have more production at the tight end position. For the afternoon, Patriots tight end Ryan Izzo recorded three catches for 38 yards.

For the most part, the Patriots’ wide receivers struggled all afternoon. They had trouble getting things going and in particular, Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry struggled on the afternoon. They recorded a collective two catches for eight yards.

This indicates the Patriots definitely need to have more help in the passing game at tight end. Although Izzo put up some numbers in this game, he wasn’t consistent enough to make a viable impact. When the outside receivers were struggling, it seemed as though Newton did not have anywhere to throw the ball to. This will be a huge problem going forward against teams that aren’t Denver."

---
It's becoming a problem. McDaniels has never successfully developed any tight ends the last 15 years (inherited Gronk from O'Brien) but now is the time to do so...

TE's 3 for 38
WR's 2 for 8

I MIGHT conclude that we need more production from the WR position.

 

[Sciz]

Ertz has a high ankle sprain, so I think we can definitely rule out a trade there.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

TE's 3 for 38
WR's 2 for 8

I MIGHT conclude that we need more production from the WR position.

I guess the logic is the WR corps is clearly very poor so need to work on TE production as WRs are kind of a total mess

.

 

[varjao]

It's a deeper problem, they haven't been able to build an offense for years, it was Edelman/Gronk/Amendola for years and they never had a plan after these guys were past their primes.

Draft/Free Agency is an equation that they should always address the present but have an eye on the future. It's been a complete mess on that regard. I mean they can't do it, it's official, they need some consulting, bring external help or simply change the pieces.

 

[203Pat]

If there was ever a year to "dumb down" the offense this is the year. A new QB, a struggling first round receiver in his second year, two rookie TE's who cant get in the mix, a shuffling o-line, and Edelman who was formerly a focal point looking lost. I am not saying completely revamp it from the ground up but put in a couple packages for the young tight ends where they don't have to worry about who to block when x, y, or z, defensive player is blitzing. Just some short routes to get them open and maybe a seam route or two and try and get them involved and get a little confidence boost. Find a way to get Harry the ball in his hands. A jet sweep, an end around, a bubble screen, line him up in the backfield and direct snap it to him. Basically use him the way we did Aaron Hernandez because at this point all he really seems to have going for him is he is a solid blocker and, in theory, is physical. Maybe once someone else on this offense shows a pulse Edelman is able to get open and get going again. I don't know what we have to lose at this point because outside of the Seattle game this offense has looked underwhelming at best.

 

[amfootball]

If there was ever a year to "dumb down" the offense this is the year. A new QB, a struggling first round receiver in his second year, two rookie TE's who cant get in the mix, a shuffling o-line, and Edelman who was formerly a focal point looking lost. I am not saying completely revamp it from the ground up but put in a couple packages for the young tight ends where they don't have to worry about who to block when x, y, or z, defensive player is blitzing. Just some short routes to get them open and maybe a seam route or two and try and get them involved and get a little confidence boost. Find a way to get Harry the ball in his hands. A jet sweep, an end around, a bubble screen, line him up in the backfield and direct snap it to him. Basically use him the way we did Aaron Hernandez because at this point all he really seems to have going for him is he is a solid blocker and, in theory, is physical. Maybe once someone else on this offense shows a pulse Edelman is able to get open and get going again. I don't know what we have to lose at this point because outside of the Seattle game this offense has looked underwhelming at best.

It has been dumbed down. I have seen a ton of 2 receiver routes, RPO plays, designed QB runs. This is not close to the Brady offense.

 

[203Pat]

It has been dumbed down. I have seen a ton of 2 receiver routes, RPO plays, designed QB runs. This is not close to the Brady offense.

If that is the case then just throw the rookie TE's out there. They had Lacosse out there last year and he couldn't block worth a damn either. I just want to see something aside from desperation.

 

[Uptown]