Solution at TE

ctpatsfan77 said:

I remember reports that Izzo was primarily a blocking TE.

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I agree tha Izzo is the presumed replacement for Allen. Imo, we do not have ANY reason to believe that Izzo is ready to take that role. I would have waited until the pre-season to make that determination. Because we didn't want to make early restructuring changes, there will be no competition between Allen and Izzo.

mosslost said:

https://ontonixqcm.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/math.jpg

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I clicked with much trepidation, bud.

supafly said:

I kind of already thought that we needed a guy who could be the 6th OL.

That’s not to say that Croston can’t be that guy, but I think there’s a bit of uncertainty at the tackle position with Wynn having never played a down and Cannon being a bit injury prone.

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true, but Gronk did a lot of the run support; now a 3rd OT will be more a part of the running game

I was reading 'Why the Redskins should try to trade Jordan Reed to the Patriots' on FanSided for iOS and I thought you might be interested in reading it too. Why the Redskins should try to trade Jordan Reed to the Patriots

I’d trade for reed

carmelo15 said:

I was reading 'Why the Redskins should try to trade Jordan Reed to the Patriots' on FanSided for iOS and I thought you might be interested in reading it too. Why the Redskins should try to trade Jordan Reed to the Patriots

I’d trade for reed

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He’s hurt a lot. It would be a risky trade. He’d certainly improve what they have now, of course.

Are we definitely sure Bill likes the TEs in the draft as much as the media pundits? His actions would suggest otherwise. Up until Sunday he assumed Gronk was coming back, he aggressively persued Jared Cook as his TE2, had signed and given Matt Le Cosse enough money to guarantee he makes the team as TE3. Plus he has Izzo and Hollister.

Those actions don't sound like those of a man who was planning to address the position in the draft. Obviously things have now changed but I do wonder whether Bill sees a day 1 starter in the draft beyond maybe Hockenson (who is out of reach). I'm sure we will draft one now but I wonder how Bill has them ranked.

mgteich said:

true, but Gronk did a lot of the run support; now a 3rd OT will be more a part of the running game

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I’m not as worried about the run blocking aspect as I am the downfield target. After all, Gronk basically won us the SB this year. Not just in the game vs the Rams, but on key third down conversions in the 4th quarter and OT vs Kansas City. The team was quite flawed at times throughout the season when he was hurt and wasn’t contributing.

I think it will be easier to get a 6th OL and/or a big bodied blocking TE than it will be a guy who can act as a downfield weapon, especially one with the kind of chemistry he had with Brady. The loss is huge. We saw them play well without him in the past, but they also went out and traded a 1st round draft pick in 2016, so it’s going to be interesting to see what they plan on doing this time.

zimmy said:

Those actions don't sound like those of a man who was planning to address the position in the draft. Obviously things have now changed but I do wonder whether Bill sees a day 1 starter in the draft beyond maybe Hockenson (who is out of reach). I'm sure we will draft one now but I wonder how Bill has them ranked.

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He pretty much has no choice but to take one. The only real question is whether we get the 3rd ranked one, the 6th ranked one, or a player in between. Either way, I think we’re drafting a TE.

It will be similar to the Meriweather situation in 2007, although it may not be in the first round. It’s a position of need, so whoever is left and ranked the highest will likely be chosen.

supafly said:

He pretty much has no choice but to take one. The only real question is whether we get the 3rd ranked one, the 6th ranked one, or a player in between. Either way, I think we’re drafting a TE.

It will be similar to the Meriweather situation in 2007, although it may not be in the first round. It’s a position of need, so whoever is left and ranked the highest will likely be chosen.

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I agree that he will take one now. I'm just concerned that prior to Sunday it didn't look like he was planning to. I don't know the reason for that but one option is that he doesn't particularly rate the group as much as others seem to do. I have faith that he can change his plans on the fly but the sequence of events hasn't been ideal.

Plus we are seemingly addressing WR through the draft too. It seems a tall ask to bed in rookie TEs and WRs with Brady also planning to take the off season off again and expect to have a offense ready to roll week 1. Unless there is a big move or two coming via trade, I expect a few teething problems early in the season.

zimmy said:

Plus we are seemingly addressing WR through the draft too. It seems a tall ask to bed in rookie TEs and WRs with Brady also planning to take the off season off again and expect to have a offense ready to roll week 1. Unless there is a big move or two coming via trade, I expect a few teething problems early in the season.

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They’ll have to get creative. It’s tough to strike out on Antonio Brown, Humphries, Cook, Tate, and Beasley. Yikes. At least it seems as though they’re interested, although the level of available talent will have gone down a lot, barring a trade.

They shoukd still be able to run the ball, so they may have to lean that way until the new guys get used to everything. I agree that there will likely be some early season issues, but that would hold true no matter what. Let’s just hope for a good draft and maybe some type of trade.

supafly said:

They’ll have to get creative. It’s tough to strike out on Antonio Brown, Humphries, Cook, Tate, and Beasley. Yikes. At least it seems as though they’re interested, although the level of available talent will have gone down a lot, barring a trade.

They shoukd still be able to run the ball, so they may have to lean that way until the new guys get used to everything. I agree that there will likely be some early season issues, but that would hold true no matter what. Let’s just hope for a good draft and maybe some type of trade.

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You think we struck out on Antonio Brown?? Never thought his need for attention and big $$$ made him a realistic acquisition for this team..

DarrylS said:

You think we struck out on Antonio Brown?? Never thought his need for attention and big $$$ made him a realistic acquisition for this team..

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There had already been reports before the podcast by Brown yesterday that NE offered a 2nd and a 4th, but both picks were similar to OAK’s 3rd and 5th, so the Steelers preceded to trade him there.

The news yesterday on the podcast seemed to confirm those rumors. There was a separate thread up on the front page here, yesterday.

supafly said:

There had already been reports before the podcast by Brown yesterday that NE offered a 2nd and a 4th, but both picks were similar to OAK’s 3rd and 5th, so the Steelers preceded to trade him there.

The news yesterday on the podcast seemed to confirm those rumors. There was a separate thread up on the front page here, yesterday.

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I was referring more to his personality as being a bad fit, than the actual mechanics..

DarrylS said:

I was referring more to his personality as being a bad fit, than the actual mechanics..

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I would agree with you. I think a lot of fans would. The team must have felt that the talent was too good to pass up taking a shot on.

I’ve got to admit that after seeing Gronk walk away, I wouldn’t mind it as much as I thought. At least we’d know that we’d have a big, downfield weapon. Maybe I’m just getting used to the idea of having a big void where #87 was, and my head is still clouded, but I’m feeling the desire for a nice on the field addition. Who knows how long Brown would’ve worked out for, if at all?

Lol Pitt wouldn’t send him here even if we offered the kitchen sink

zimmy said:

I agree that he will take one now. I'm just concerned that prior to Sunday it didn't look like he was planning to.

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This is the team's normal approach to the draft: try and fill out the roster before the draft, so there's no position of need going in, and they can draft BPA. If they are successful, it will never look like they are drafting any particular position going in.

I like Cameron Brate down in Tampa. They signed him to a deal right after drafting OJ Howard in the first round (which was somewhat odd) but now they don’t have a ton of cap room. He’s a Harvard guy and Bill already has a relationship with the GM down there so I wouldn’t be shocked if they make a deal.

carmelo15 said:

I was reading 'Why the Redskins should try to trade Jordan Reed to the Patriots' on FanSided for iOS and I thought you might be interested in reading it too. Why the Redskins should try to trade Jordan Reed to the Patriots

I’d trade for reed

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Always injured

ctpatsfan77 said:

I remember reports that Izzo was primarily a blocking TE.

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I know it was only the 4th preseason game against low level competition but I thought Izzo blocked and caught passes effectively in that game. He's had a year to sit and watch. I'm hoping he will be a contributor.

This is a very deep TE draft and the Pats own 12 picks. Double dip at TE they way they did in 2010. If you remember back before his "issues" Hernandez was quite a weapon and if the Pats can find another line and move TE duo like that (minus all that murdering stuff), they will be fine.