SageAgainstTheMachine Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 (edited) Scott Chandler had a decent season for a tight end last year, with 43 receptions for 571 yards. Good for 14th in the NFL. This year he's on pace for roughly the same. Want to know the sad part? That 14th place effort represented the most yardage accumulated by a Bills tight end since Jay Riemersma had 590 in 2001. A dozen years and 11 losing seasons ago. Those dozen years saw several regimes of quarterbacks, head coaches and general managers. Is it a sheer coincidence that Buffalo has never caught on to an overt trend in the NFL or does the old man himself undervalue the position? (And it ain't bad luck. In that time, the Bills have spent no higher than a 3rd round draft pick on a tight end nor have they acquired a recognized talent through free agency.) To me it's alarming. Look at the good teams around the league. Which of them doesn't have a vertical threat at tight end? Only Seattle comes to mind and they are the rare team left with a great defense. (Note: This isn't really about Chandler, who I think is a solid contributor. It's about why the hell haven't we gotten with the program?) Edited October 3, 2013 by SageAgainstTheMachine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireChan Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Scott Chandler had a decent season for a tight end last year, with 43 receptions for 571 yards. Good for 14th in the NFL. This year he's on pace for roughly the same. Want to know the sad part? That 14th place effort represented the most yardage accumulated by a Bills tight end since Jay Riemersma had 590 in 2001. A dozen years and 11 losing seasons ago. Those dozen years saw several regimes of quarterbacks, head coaches and general managers. Is it a sheer coincidence that Buffalo has never caught on to an overt trend in the NFL or does the old man himself undervalue the position? (And it ain't bad luck. In that time, the Bills have spent no higher than a 3th round draft pick on a tight end nor have they acquired a recognized talent through free agency.) To me it's alarming. Look at the good teams around the league. Which of them doesn't have a vertical threat at tight end? Only Seattle comes to mind and they are the rare teams left with a great defense. (Note: This isn't really about Chandler, who I think is a solid contributor. It's about why the hell haven't we gotten with the program?) There are 32 teams with usually two TE's. That's 64 TE's. 14th out of 64 is good. 14th out of 32 is above average. We're fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Look at the good teams around the league and you see a lot of good players at nearly every position. While ours isn't crippling it definitely has room for improvement. In our case, I think its product of having glaring holes and it being easier to plan around a lackluster tight end than many other positions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 There are 32 teams with usually two TE's. That's 64 TE's. 14th out of 64 is good. 14th out of 32 is above average. We're fine. I like Chandler. I cited his stats mainly to illustrate that our greatest effort by a TE in over a decade was merely above average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Hopefully next year we maintain enough depth to go after a tight end in the second round. I still contend even though our DB's have been doing an admirable job and we get back two ballers at some point, a st rd CB will make this team even better. TE in the 2nd, and Guard in the 3rd. This is way too early though to be talking draft next year. Go Bills against the Browns tomorrow night. I can't believe every prognostacator even in Buffalo is picking the Browns. Did people not see we beat the World Champs. Those world champs that beat the Texans the week before so don't tell me they stink now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Senator Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 C. J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Iowa - 6'6", 265 lbs link Would look great in Bills blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCinBuffalo Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 (edited) I think they have tried to address the TE position in the draft, with Kevin Everrett, Derek Fine, and now, Chris Gragg. They also tried to get it done in FA with Robert Royal, and Scott Chandler. They've just had crap luck with the people they've brought in. Everett was widely considered a sure thing at TE. But, his injury problems, before the near-death/paralyzation thing, never let him get it going. Robert Royal was a darling here and elsewhere for a while, but, ever since the drop to lose the game...he just disappeared. It's not for a lack of trying. It's a case of bizarre circumstances and awful luck. EDIT: I like Chandler, and I think he's starting to develop some trust/chemistry with EJ. We'll see. Chandler's biggest problem right now is: he keeps F'ing up his blocking assignments, and either we lose yards, or he gets a penalty. This upcoming draft is going to be a lot of fun, because, for the first time in a LOOOONG time, we don't have any glaring holes(don't even bother with LG...we just ran for 200+ yards on the Ravens). We can afford to take a deep threat TE a little higher, we can afford to take that extra O lineman, we can afford to take that extra CB. If anything, I would be for trading back right now, unless somebody is slotted for us. Get a bunch of 2nd round guys in need of coaching, and get some real depth. Edited October 3, 2013 by OCinBuffalo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
808 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 i am hoping that the bills can snag one of the TEs in free agency like jermaine gresham(who i think wouldnt break the bank) or maybe pettigrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 There are 32 teams with usually two TE's. That's 64 TE's. 14th out of 64 is good. 14th out of 32 is above average. We're fine. OP was talking about lack of product in the last decade, not just for one year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonborn10 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 What is worse the Bills failure to have a productive TE on the roster or their perennial inability to defend other team's TE? This has got to be the biggest positional point differential in the NFL. Out TE's are horrible and no matter the DC they can not stop anyone's even decent TE's. Hope Pettine is different. I know Chandler isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I think Aaron Hernandez is a free agent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearNorth Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 But Then again, the Bills drafted Jason Peters as a Megatron tight end, Mouse McNally turned him into an all-pro LT, then his agent got him to go off the rails. As I recall, when he came into the league, Peters was a Physical freak, who was stronger than anyone faster, and faster than anyone stronger. Thanks Brandon et al for screwing the pooch on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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