Clearly, Kroft should start at tight end now

[Warcodered]

18 minutes ago, TheProcess said:

Having two receiving threat TEs well that's just crazy talk.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Warcodered

[Freddie's Dead]

26 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Resign Joel Klopfenstein?

 

We resigned him 10 years ago.

[DefenseWins]

The only question about Kroft is can he stay healthy?

[BillsfaninChicago]

56 minutes ago, Process said:

Neither is an exciting option but they will do for now. We have plenty of weapons. 

 

We definitely need to upgrade the position next off-season. Lot of good options in the draft, I am all for taking one early and finally having a playmaker at the position. 

I agree with you on that and for whatever reason it seems like I have seen this exact sentiment about our tight ends since Jay Riemersma left the team.

[NewEra]

25 minutes ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

We resigned him 10 years ago.

We did???  I thought Beane had him pegged as our savior at TE

[Freddie's Dead]

2 minutes ago, NewEra said:

We did???  I thought Beane had him pegged as our savior at TE

 

From Joe (not Joel) Klopfenstein's Wikipedia page:

 

On October 6, 2010, Klopfenstein was cut from injured reserve by the Buffalo Bills.

[billsfan89]

49 minutes ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Dudes problem is availability 

 

He is also not that dynamic when healthy. Don't get me wrong he played well against the Rams but I don't think at his best he is more than a solid tight end

[LeGOATski]

35 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

Having two receiving threat TEs well that's just crazy talk.

That was the perfect gif and it's the obvious answer. 

 

As long as Kroft stays healthy, you try to keep him and Knox for a few years. We all knew Kroft was pretty good. Just a matter of availability. Knox is a beast but a WIP.

 

The Rams focused on shutting down  the WRs in the redzone and left the TEs wide open. Smith and Kroft had 3 TDs...lol. Great play calling.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

I’m good with more Kroft and Lee Smith moved permanently to FB. Maybe a little bit of a power run game in the 2nd half, would help us finish  these teams off. Got to be able to run clock at some point. We can’t keep letting teams back in.

[JerseyBills]

I see why you would say that but I disagree on Kroft being better in the pass game. Knox has had some drops but has made up for it with some big time catches . Kroft did only have 25 yards. 

But yesterday showed that we are pretty deep at TE. I mean between Kroft and Smith, 3 TDs on 26 yards. 

Knox does much more damage in between the 20s. 

We were down Knox and Smoke and still had our way in the pass game.  Phenomenal roster building by Beane

[foreboding]

1 hour ago, Mister Defense said:

For the first time in a very long time a Bills tight end looked disciplined, showed superb hands, got open consistently, and blocked effectively.

 

We are told how much more athletic Knox is and how much more upside he has than Kroft.  But our eyes did not deceive us yesterday--in all phases of his position Kroft is superior to Knox. Knox has never looked like that, although he has played well at times and made some big plays.  He is not a consistently reliable starting tight end yet.

 

Dawson Knox may well become the starting tight end a few years down the road, but if yesterday was an indication, he does not play the position well enough (yet) to be the starter. Knox will continue to make some big plays, but not in a starting role.

 

Kroft played an integral role in the victory yesterday and should be the starter going forward.

I agree. Sure hands and great blocking is better than speed.

Just now, JerseyBills said:

I see why you would say that but I disagree on Kroft being better in the pass game. Knox has had some drops but has made up for it with some big time catches . Kroft did only have 25 yards. 

But yesterday showed that we are pretty deep at TE. I mean between Kroft and Smith, 3 TDs on 26 yards. 

Knox does much more damage in between the 20s. 

We were down Knox and Smoke and still had our way in the pass game.  Phenomenal roster building by Beane

The catch he made that was called an interception was tremendous. 

[JerseyBills]

3 minutes ago, foreboding said:

I agree. Sure hands and great blocking is better than speed.

The catch he made that was called an interception was tremendous. 

Oh definitely but either way it wouldn't have counted.  Clear p.i but ya that showed he has some serious athletic ability.  Just feel Knox is on another level, in that department at least. 

Hey, it's a great problem to have.  

And Gilliam is just a very intriguing player, can see him at FB , TE , WR  , again, just phenomenal roster building no matter how you slice it 

[foreboding]

1 minute ago, JerseyBills said:

Oh definitely but either way it wouldn't have counted.  Clear p.i but ya that showed he has some serious athletic ability.  Just feel Knox is on another level, in that department at least. 

Hey, it's a great problem to have.  

And Gilliam is just a very intriguing player, can see him at FB , TE , WR  , again, just phenomenal roster building no matter how you slice it 

Yeah, and damn if our rookie WR doesn't seem to be a star in the making!

[Virgil]

Kroft looked like a solid, traditional TE yesterday.

 

Know looks like a deep threat with Jeremy Shockey like power.  His upside potential is going to give him some extra time to get it together.

[JerseyBills]

3 minutes ago, foreboding said:

Yeah, and damn if our rookie WR doesn't seem to be a star in the making!

Big Time! 

Davis can play boy. 

Like I said,  down our TE1 and WR2 , we didn't miss a beat on O. Very impressive. 

Think it all started with the Diggs acquisition.  

I got receipts saying he'd fit the O like a Glove! And he has delivered big time! 

[3rdand12]

15 hours ago, WideNine said:

 

Still like Hock, but he is on a bad team with a QB who struggles spreading the ball around. I liked the guy the Jags picked as well so I am going to take a peek to see how he is doing. OK, yikes - the Bills dodged a bullet on that one as the Jags traded ahead of us to pick up Josh Oiiver who had some of the best hands out of the bunch, but is on his second straight IR season. Tore hamstring year one and broke a bone in his foot this year during practice.

 

Tough breaks and not uncommon for TEs to get dinged as we have experienced on the Bills. They are big guys that move and cut like WRs have to block in a scrum of bodies, and defensive players almost always cut them at or below the knees to make stops because they are big dudes. Hock was injured pretty early last year so who's to say whether either is a bad pick or what they could have done on this Bills team.

 

Fant has looked good too, was not a bad year for TEs, so I can understand Beane's philosophy of waiting for gems to fall as he did this year with a draft deep in WRs and grabbing Davis. That being said, as we saw in the Rams game and have seen from NE over the decades, having quality TEs who can get open and catch changes the math.

 

Look no further than Allen 3 TDs to TEs this past game (2 to Kroft and one to Smith). Scoring TEs have been the missing ingredient in Bills offenses for far too long.

Bills have never focused on getting most out of the TE position. Charles Clay was some form of effort by Whaley that seriously backfired.  We have more mixed talent at the position than at any time i can recall .

 I would be foolish to complain at the progress McBeanes has made.
 

[GunnerBill]

Kroft's problem has been health. The year he stayed healthy and played for the Bengals he had 400 yards and 7 touchdowns. He isn't an ever down type weapon but he is a good redzone threat and a competent blocker. 

[WideNine]

16 minutes ago, 3rdand12 said:

Bills have never focused on getting most out of the TE position. Charles Clay was some form of effort by Whaley that seriously backfired.  We have more mixed talent at the position than at any time i can recall .

 I would be foolish to complain at the progress McBeanes has made.
 

 

I was not complaining about the progress McBeane has made, probably reading too much into it but don't think you are saying that is how I came across....

 

Just saying that it has been a drought at that position for too long, and I am extremely pleased that Dabs and Beane have actively worked to address it both in FA and via the draft.

 

With Dabs having worked with NE's offense and exclusively as NE TEs coach from 2014-16 and seen how valuable they were to Brady and NE's game I am sure influenced those priorities.

Edited September 29, 2020 by WideNine

[billsfan_34]

16 hours ago, Process said:

Neither is an exciting option but they will do for now. We have plenty of weapons. 

 

We definitely need to upgrade the position next off-season. Lot of good options in the draft, I am all for taking one early and finally having a playmaker at the position. 

Kroft, as I have not been a huge fan, has been banged up and now appears healthy. Tyler had a great game last Sunday and Knox, even thou he has a few drops here and there, continues to get better. We are in better shape at tight end than we have been in some time- I am pleased where we are heading at the position.

[3rdand12]

13 minutes ago, WideNine said:

 

I was not complaining about the progress McBeane has made, probably reading too much into it but don't think you are saying that is how I came across....

 

Just saying that it has been a drought at that position for too long, and I am extremely pleased that Dabs and Beane have actively worked to address it both in FA and via the draft.

 

With Dabs having worked with NE's offense and exclusively as NE TEs coach from 2014-16 and seen how valuable they were to Brady and NE's game I am sure influenced those priorities.

I agree with you !

10 minutes ago, billsfan_34 said:

Kroft, as I have not been a huge fan, has been banged up and now appears healthy. Tyler had a great game last Sunday and Knox, even thou he has a few drops here and there, continues to get better. We are in better shape at tight end than we have been in some time- I am pleased where we are heading at the position.

I have changed my opinion of him a bit since last week or so  For the better of course.

system defines the TEs  i think sometimes.