GunnerBill Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 1 minute ago, Mr. WEO said: I think they are really looking hard at Duke. I am sure he will get a fair shake. But he saw no more than a handful of snaps with the 1s in the spring according to all reports even with Brown, Beasley and Zay missing various bits of time.
Mr. WEO Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 1 minute ago, GunnerBill said: I am sure he will get a fair shake. But he saw no more than a handful of snaps with the 1s in the spring according to all reports even with Brown, Beasley and Zay missing various bits of time. There's a possibility he's too dumb to play in the NFL...
eball Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 6 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said: I think they are really looking hard at Duke. But, yeah, a few teams could use a big TE like a big WR (Gronk, Kielce, Graham). But many teams use bigger WR for situations other than "particularly in the red zone". And the Bills haven't ever been one of those teams. The endless parade of "TE's" they have looked at this off season should tell you they aren't quite settled at that position yet. I think Duke's odds of making this roster are extremely long, and I also think Daboll will use the TEs a lot more. Kroft's and Croom's injuries may have been a blessing in disguise, allowing Knox and Sweeney to get all of those reps in OTAs. I'm more intrigued by which TEs make the final 53, because I see legitimate arguments for all five of them (including Lee Smith).
Mr. WEO Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 4 minutes ago, eball said: I think Duke's odds of making this roster are extremely long, and I also think Daboll will use the TEs a lot more. Kroft's and Croom's injuries may have been a blessing in disguise, allowing Knox and Sweeney to get all of those reps in OTAs. I'm more intrigued by which TEs make the final 53, because I see legitimate arguments for all five of them (including Lee Smith). There's no room or need for Smith. I like Sweeney. Knox, for a "gym rat", looks soft. Croom hasn't done anything with the opportunities he has been given (at least on the field, wink , wink). Kroft's foot is clearly injury prone.
GunnerBill Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 2 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said: There's no room or need for Smith. I like Sweeney. Knox, for a "gym rat", looks soft. Croom hasn't done anything with the opportunities he has been given (at least on the field, wink , wink). Kroft's foot is clearly injury prone. Kroft makes it health allowing obviously. Smith is on the team. Knox is on the team. Sweeney and Croom both have a shot at a 4th spot. But it isnt certain they carry 4 and they certainly dont carry 5.
eball Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 3 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said: There's no room or need for Smith. I like Sweeney. Knox, for a "gym rat", looks soft. Croom hasn't done anything with the opportunities he has been given (at least on the field, wink , wink). Kroft's foot is clearly injury prone. Of the five, Croom is my first to go. I don't know how you can form an opinion about whether Knox is "soft" based upon OTA reports.
Mr. WEO Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 10 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: Kroft makes it health allowing obviously. Smith is on the team. Knox is on the team. Sweeney and Croom both have a shot at a 4th spot. But it isnt certain they carry 4 and they certainly dont carry 5. Only because of the sunk costs. Talent-wise, he may not even be in their top 3. Knox they spent for with a high pick. A blocking only TE isn't long for this NFL. If Smith's in, it really is a waste of a roster spot.
GunnerBill Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 4 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said: Only because of the sunk costs. Talent-wise, he may not even be in their top 3. Knox they spent for with a high pick. A blocking only TE isn't long for this NFL. If Smith's in, it really is a waste of a roster spot. I assure you talent wise Kroft is in their top 3. If he can get healthy he is gonna surprise some people. He can play. As for blocking TEs... they are not as rare as you think.
Mr. WEO Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: I assure you talent wise Kroft is in their top 3. If he can get healthy he is gonna surprise some people. He can play. As for blocking TEs... they are not as rare as you think. i would think one would have to be a very, VERY close watcher of the Bengals to tease out the strengths of Kroft as an NFL TE, given his career thus far...
Doc Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 Kroft will be on the PUP list to start the season so he won’t count towards the 53 man roster.
GunnerBill Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 21 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said: i would think one would have to be a very, VERY close watcher of the Bengals to tease out the strengths of Kroft as an NFL TE, given his career thus far... I have seen plenty of him. 21 minutes ago, Doc said: Kroft will be on the PUP list to start the season so he won’t count towards the 53 man roster. They would have to believe he will be unable to contribute for half the season to do that. I expect him to be back in light work by the time the season starts and if you PUP him he can't join the active roster until week 7 at the earliest and there are all sorts of rules about how much he can practice before then too. If the Bills think there is any chance he could be full go by say week 3 (and on a normal recovery rate that is about where it works out) then they will have to put him on the active roster.
NewEra Posted June 30, 2019 Author Posted June 30, 2019 3 hours ago, Buffalo716 said: In defense of ray ray he played hurt all year and said he lost 10 pounds because an injury that he was never able to get back Supposedly hes been grinding and looking pretty good now that he's healthy For his sake, he better be improved or his career is about to be over imo. I still think he has little to no chance to make the team. He isn’t very fast. He isn’t THAT quick and agile to make up for his lack of speed. Again, just my opinion, but would love to see him prove me wrong
NewEra Posted June 30, 2019 Author Posted June 30, 2019 2 hours ago, Mr. WEO said: Unless they catch on as Special Teams, I'm not sure what unique skill either of these guys bring as WR, given who else is on the roster. Workout videos are meaningless. McKenzie is more of an underneath/near the line of scrimmage target that can take it the distance. He’s proven to able able to take it to the house. He’s a big play guy. Beasley is the short passing game guy but he doesn’t explode like McKenzie. Zay doesn’t either. Brown is a deep threat, not so much a screen/short passing game target imo. Foster was a lot more downfield as well last year. He can also be. Serious threat as a returner. It’s not that we wasn’t a good returner, he had issues holding onto the ball. Fix that and he’s a sought after return guy imo. 1 hour ago, Mr. WEO said: Yes, TE's are big. I was referring to WR... While we definitely have some shorties Zay and Foster are both 6’2, with Zay looking to have added 15 lbs or so.
Doc Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 13 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: They would have to believe he will be unable to contribute for half the season to do that. I expect him to be back in light work by the time the season starts and if you PUP him he can't join the active roster until week 7 at the earliest and there are all sorts of rules about how much he can practice before then too. If the Bills think there is any chance he could be full go by say week 3 (and on a normal recovery rate that is about where it works out) then they will have to put him on the active roster. He'll definitely be put him on PUP to start TC and they'll monitor him from there. But seeing as how he broke the foot just 6 weeks ago, I'd think a week 7 return (5 months from injury) is more likely and prudent.
GunnerBill Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 1 minute ago, Doc said: He'll definitely be put him on PUP to start TC and they'll monitor him from there. But seeing as how he broke the foot just 6 weeks ago, I'd think a week 7 return (5 months from injury) is more likely and prudent. That would be at the longer end of the timeframe. I am a little more optimistic.
Buffalo716 Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 27 minutes ago, NewEra said: For his sake, he better be improved or his career is about to be over imo. I still think he has little to no chance to make the team. He isn’t very fast. He isn’t THAT quick and agile to make up for his lack of speed. Again, just my opinion, but would love to see him prove me wrong You aren't wrong on most accounts
Mr. WEO Posted June 30, 2019 Posted June 30, 2019 40 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: I have seen plenty of him. Well that alone makes you unique! He's played, essentially, 1 season of meaning. 27 minutes ago, NewEra said: McKenzie is more of an underneath/near the line of scrimmage target that can take it the distance. He’s proven to able able to take it to the house. He’s a big play guy. Where? He has 22 catches for 200 yards and zero TDs in his career. his YPC is under 10.
GunnerBill Posted July 1, 2019 Posted July 1, 2019 31 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said: Well that alone makes you unique! He's played, essentially, 1 season of meaning. Where? He has 22 catches for 200 yards and zero TDs in his career. his YPC is under 10. Scored 2 rushing TDs on gadget plays though. As for Kroft - yea he was mainly a backup his first two years. But he played in 2017 and was an effective blocker and a reliable receiving tight end. He is a low end starter / high end backup who can do both jobs and doesn't tip your hat when he comes onto the field. And he is an effective redzone guy. He was the tight end I wanted. I was very pleased when we signed him. Clearly the injury is bad news.
Mr. WEO Posted July 1, 2019 Posted July 1, 2019 3 minutes ago, GunnerBill said: Scored 2 rushing TDs on gadget plays though. As for Kroft - yea he was mainly a backup his first two years. But he played in 2017 and was an effective blocker and a reliable receiving tight end. He is a low end starter / high end backup who can do both jobs and doesn't tip your hat when he comes onto the field. And he is an effective redzone guy. He was the tight end I wanted. I was very pleased when we signed him. Clearly the injury is bad news. This was one opinion in Cincy: Tyler Kroft: Kroft feels like the safety net for the Bengals. Outside of his seven touchdown in 2017 after Eifert got hurt, he hasn’t done much in the way of the passing game. He is an okay blocker, but you could easily find a better one. Kroft’s 2017 numbers are actually pretty close with Uzomah’s 2018, but Kroft started every game in 2017. He is a suitable backup tight end based on his red-zone ability, but if it ultimately came down to Cincinnati losing all three of their tight ends or ending up with just Kroft, keeping Kroft is only slightly better.
LSHMEAB Posted July 1, 2019 Posted July 1, 2019 8 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said: This was one opinion in Cincy: Tyler Kroft: Kroft feels like the safety net for the Bengals. Outside of his seven touchdown in 2017 after Eifert got hurt, he hasn’t done much in the way of the passing game. He is an okay blocker, but you could easily find a better one. Kroft’s 2017 numbers are actually pretty close with Uzomah’s 2018, but Kroft started every game in 2017. He is a suitable backup tight end based on his red-zone ability, but if it ultimately came down to Cincinnati losing all three of their tight ends or ending up with just Kroft, keeping Kroft is only slightly better. The Kroft signing really feels like one of those in which Beane felt like he had to sign SOMEONE early in the process just in case there were no options left. Not enthused about ol Tyler.
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