BigBruceBaker wrote:On thing with him gaining all that weight, he was a DEVASTATING blocker, when he hit someone, they moved.
He still moved pretty good and he had a great receiving year this year
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He averaged 25 yards per game, which is fine, but I wouldn't call it great. Nobody is adjusting their defensive gameplan to stop that. Overall, the TE position accounts for about one fifth of the players on the field on passing plays, but only accounted for one eighth of the receiving yardage. To me, the spot could be used better in that phase.
It's hard to argue with the running game the team has had, and I don't see any problem with the focus of the TE in the base offense being blocking. However, I would like to see the position being handled differently with respect to the passing game. One option is for Ash to recruit TE like it's two different positions. Bring in some guys who are flex-style hybrid TEs and others who are big-framed blockers straight out of high school, and then handle their coaching and weight training differently.
The other option would be to recruit the position the way he has been, but utilize the most athletic guy as the primary pass-catcher rather than the guy with the most experience, since as long as Ash has been coach, those two are almost never the same guy. To use Salanoa as an example, when he was recruited, he was a 220-pound flex TE prospect. He looked like Shannon Sharpe in his highlight film. I don't actually think he was Shannon Sharpe, but he was definitely the team's most athletic tight end for his first year or two on the team, but Ash didn't use him in long-yardage situations at that time. Now, he gets virtually all the team's TE targets, but now he's a 270-pound blocking TE. He moves well for a 270-pound blocking TE in the Big Sky, but he's still a 270-pound blocking TE. Austin Barth was the team's best athlete at tight end for the past two years, and he doesn't get used as a pass receiver.
What's funny is that the player bios for young, athletic TEs on the Bobcats site always talk about how they will be in the mix as pass catchers in obvious passing situations, but in reality, that never happens.
"What's our job? Gettin the offense the ball! How we gonna do it? By any means necessary!"
-Trent King, Playmakers