TakeYouToTasker 2.0 Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 [As we move through the off-season, We thought it might be good to have threads dedicated to position groupings so as to better keep track of what is going on with each. As always, you are free to start your own thread on any subject. We just ask that if you do, cross post it to the respective [positional grouping] thread for ease of reference by others.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 2020 group: Dawson Knox Tyler Kroft (his contract has expired) Lee Smith Reggie Gilliam Tommy Sweeney (Foot injury and myocarditis diagnosis after covid) Nate Becker (futures contract) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker 2.0 Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 2 minutes ago, Ann said: Reggie Gilliam Only because I was reluctant to create a “H-Back” positional group. ONLY BECAUSE!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxx Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Bills TE Lee Smith is contemplating retirement ... “You’ve been there, Ramon. You get to the latter part of your career and you really start wrestling with yourself mentally,” Smith said to Ramon Foster, a former Steelers player. “Because it’s not just those 16 games, it’s the other 350 days a year… the grind of being the best and giving your teammates the best version of yourself. So I think here the last couple of years I’ve really wanted to make sure I was all in before I step back in that building.” Later on, Smith reflected on the Bills’ loss to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship. He said others in Buffalo’s locker room said sorry to him after it because of their belief that it might have been his final game. “A lot of the guys apologized to me. From coaches to other players, especially the young guys, just in case I do decide to shut it down here after this year,” Smith said. Having said that, if Smith does wrap things up, he has no regrets. “Here in Year 10 we’re a game away from the big dance, so it was some absolute blast,” Smith said. ... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxx Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Bills Offseason Outlook: Tight End For as great as the Bills were passing the ball during the 2020 season, very little of that production came from tight ends. In total, the four TEs who played collectively accounted for 42 receptions for 458 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Those 42 catches were 9.8% of the team's total. The 458 yards was 10.4% of the team's total. There were 19 TEs in the NFL that caught more than 42 passes themselves this season. Eighteen TEs had more receiving yards than the Bills group as a whole. General Manager Brandon Beane made it clear that he was well aware of how that position group performed this season. "I thought it was up and down, to be honest with you," Beane said during his end of the season Zoom call last week. "We never really got that position; at the end of the year I thought we did a little bit. Dawson [Knox] kind of started getting his groove, but it was never where I felt the opposing defense was like, man, we got to stop their tight ends from going off." That candid response from the Bills GM makes me think that TE is a point of emphasis this offseason. ... ... Free agency has some interesting thoughts, with names like Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, and Gerald Everett on the market. This issue will be whether or not their price tags are too high, which may be likely. Still, this may be a position the Bills need to consider investing in on the offensive side, along with on the offensive line. The NFL Draft also has some solid options that obviously would be cheaper. Whatever the Bills decide to do, they'll be looking for more than they've gotten recently from the position. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 2 hours ago, Foxx said: Bills Offseason Outlook: Tight End Those 42 catches were 9.8% of the team's total. The 458 yards was 10.4% of the team's total. Those numbers bother me some because you have to be able to use the middle part of the field against good teams who're using bracket coverage on the WRs. Obviously a healthy Beasley helps there but having that big body guy who can just wall off a defender and/or break that first tackle can lead to defenses having to change coverage strategies. All that being said, our TEs had a terrible season blocking in the running game and are the biggest reason we struggled in that facet. Everyone wants to blame the backs but far too often the TEs were completely whiffing on their assignments or getting blown completely up. It was really obvious against the Chiefs in the AFCCG. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartacus Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 1 way to get more production from the TE in the passing game is to throw them the ball - a lot hard to pile up stats when rarely used in the game plan should be throwing multiple seam routes every game should also roll the pocket and drag Knox from back side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 If you want to listen/read to Sal Capaccio's state of the tight ends, click here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Joshin Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 16 hours ago, Ann said: If you want to listen/read to Sal Capaccio's state of the tight ends, click here. I understand the desire to have a Kelce like TE. With the receiving core the Bills possess, the number of targets available for the TE are reduced. I would keep the signed TEs and look for a blocking TE in the draft/free agency. The KC game showed how poor the TE blocking slowed down the passing game. Roster building is about choices within a limited budget and other areas require upgrades. Not that the TE group is great but the impact to the overall team would yield better results than an expensive TE. Invest in the OL before TE. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxx Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 10 trades that make sense in the 2021 NFL offseason ... TE ZACH ERTZ → BUFFALO BILLS FOR A 2021 6TH (#214) Eagles Cap Implications: $7.77 million in dead money, $4.702 million in cap savings Bills Cap Implications: One-year, $8.25 million, $0 in total guarantees The trade compensation here is more about keeping Ertz off another team than it is a representation of his current market value, as the Eagles may have no choice but to cut him without a trade. While Ertz was once a target machine in Philadelphia, he’s now on the wrong side of 30 at tight end and missed a large portion of the 2020 season due to injury. Even when healthy, he didn’t look like the dynamic receiving tight end of past years, though the bumps and bruises certainly may have played a role. We saw with tight end Rob Gronkowski that when the ability to separate in the receiving game starts to fade, strong blocking can make up for it. But Ertz as your prototypical “U” or “move” tight end offers very little in that respect. All of that said, there is no reason to believe he can’t have a few more productive seasons, especially when he’s not operating as the No. 1 target like he was in Philadelphia. With Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Gabriel Davis potentially working ahead of Ertz in terms of target share, he could provide a perfect safety blanket for Josh Allen while serving as a good mentor to 2019 third-round pick Dawson Knox. ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I think Kraft could be a decent TE if they can keep him away from the COVID Bong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxx Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Could the Bills finally get their answer at tight end? NFL Mock Draft: Penn State Football’s Pat Freiermuth joins Bills’ Josh Allen’s arsenal ... Freiermuth, 6-foot-5 and 259 pounds, has drawn some comparisons to Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, and is viewed by many NFL scouts and executives as the No. 2 tight end in this year’s class behind Florida’s Kyle Pitts. In two seasons as a focal point of the Nittany Lions‘ aerial attack, Freiermuth caught 92 passes for 1,185 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging 12.9 yards per reception. If Freiermuth lands with the Bills, he would join one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses, which averaged 288.8 passing yards per game, third most in the league. ... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-Man Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Buffalo Bills: 4 Free agent tight ends to target this offseason The tight end position is one that Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane specifically talked about at the end of the team's season. 4 HOURS AGO•BUFFALOWDOWN.COM https://buffalowdown.com/2021/02/19/buffalo-bills-4-free-agent-tight-ends-target-offseason/?utm_source=FOX_Sports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Ooops, screwed this up and put it in the wrong thread. Thanks for letting me know, @Foxx Joe Buscaglia dissects how Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, Zach Ertz, Gerald Everett, Cameron Brate, and Kyle Rudolph. The Athletic (paid site) Six Bills tight end targets: How Hunter Henry, Zach Ertz could fit into offense Spoiler: he likes Hunter Henry for the team, a lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 1 hour ago, Ann said: Spoiler: he likes Hunter Henry for the team, a lot. Me too! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koko Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 18 minutes ago, IDBillzFan said: I hope he brings Julie Ertz with him! 💕 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 I thought he retired? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyst Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 A friend of ours from the other place has sources in contacts... Said if he reads the cards he thinks ertz to Buffalo is pending 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Just now, Boyst said: A friend of ours from the other place has sources in contacts... Said if he reads the cards he thinks ertz to Buffalo is pending That’s the rumor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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