Not going to lie. I am homer. I realize we have some guys who need some work, but I love our draft. We seem to have some real athletes who, if we can improve our locker room culture and get total buy-in, might really help us down the line. Maybe they won't start, but there is nothing wrong with having quality special teamers or backups waiting for their number to be called.
I just wanna know how this kid can become a starter with our base offense being 11 personell? And how we’re gonna run the ball on first down without the defense knowing.
Good question. Use 12 personnel packaging? I was wondering if what Gase meant by having a varied offense was to change up our personnel groupings based on our opponents. We might feature 11 one week, and 12 the next. However, since I really don't know jack, that is just a guess.
Gesickis gonna be a tell for the opposition. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. Smythe is one of the few draft tight ends that can come in and play a starting primary in line blocking tight end. Just feature gesicki on speed cut route concepts. What I should have said earlier. That speed threat down the seam will squeeze 2 deep safeties too. That or they will pay for it
Here's the thing. What is blocking supposed to accomplish? Removing a defender from the play. Who makes the majority of the plays in the run game? LBs. You can remove an LB from a play by running him over with a big blocking TE. You can also remove a LB from the play by making him turn his back on the LOS and chase a "he only catches passes" TE down the hashes. Either way, he's not filling a gap and making the tackle.
Yeah, I think they are thinking of him kind of as just a bigger receiver. A guy who can attack the LBs and SSs. You know, dominate the intermediate routes and create mismatches. We don't have Landry as a safety net and chain mover. This guy can be solid in that regard and greatly help in the RZ. Don't think about him as that more classic blocking TE. Think of him as I mentioned; as a versatile, bigger receiver who can create some mismatches.
Same way Juilius Thomas and Jordan Cameron were starters on our base offense with their "ole" style blocking. I have seen both of them do more work in avoiding blocking on some plays than it would have been if they had just stood still.
That's one of the smarter things you've said lately...and I wish I would have thought of it first! =)
Oh ok...then its pretty easy question as to how the kid can become a starter and how we can run the ball without the defense knowing. If you are really good at running the ball out of running formation, play action works. If you are really good at passing the ball out of passing formations, then you can draw, and screen. It works.
Meh. Blocking can be as simple as just getting in the way of a defender. Improving this stuff is what coaching is for. He will probably never be a great blocker but I really don't care too much. I want him high pointing balls and catching that darn seam that we haven't been able to truly threaten in a long time.
Egnew was a Mizzou TE. Missouri TE's did well at the college level in large part due to schematic reasons (under Pinkel). Their schemes got their TE's great numbers that were sometimes attributed to the TE. Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman were both in that mold coming into the NFL. Neither of them were any good in the pros after stellar collegiate careers.
I have a feeling, with how the Dolphins drafted and their current personnel, that they will be running a lot of 12 packages. If I'm right, then Gesicki won't really be a tell.
egnew couldn't separate and had no burst off the los or in his stem to open hips. college production driven by the system more than anything else. was pillow soft too. gesicki covers ground vertically in a hurry so the threat of the vertical speed is there it's just that his stride is so long it limits the quickness of the gear down and allows guys who have their feet under them more athletes to drive back to the ball or body of the player. so limit that with speed cut route concepts. smooth athlete not twitchy. most of gesickis ask with a smythe here should come either a yard off the los off the in line tight end or flexed or lined up/motioned into a split position to give the qb easy coverage id's.
I think the REAL KEY is for the defense to know that we're going to run the ball and still grind out 4+ yards per play. If we can do that, then the trickery doesn't matter except for those play-action passes. You also have to remember that RT will not be camping in the pocket, so there's a chance of a run even on pass plays.
I get a kick out of all the people like Omar suggesting that Mike G needs to become a good blocker. If than kid ends up anywhere close to Gronk, I could care less as long as he isn’t a liability.
I think he needs to become a blocker that is good enough to get into a person's way. Which is a better blocker than Jimmy Graham.
Thing is, Gronk is an excellent blocker. He's an exceptional all-around TE. I'm sure we'll find great use of Gesicki's talents, but being a sufficient blocker probably won't be one of them, and that's OK if we can get the most out of him in the passing game.
Is it me, or does Gesicki look like he plays with an edge? I have only watched his highlights on you tube, so I don't have a lot to go on, but he seems to be real aggressive and not afraid to go get the ball when it's in his zip code. I like it!
I think the answer is probably just going to just keeping the TE split out. You're conceding certain stuff- the defense is defending six gaps and not seven, there's really no reason for them to not run a dime package instead of a nickel package... but in some respects I think it's just flat out beneficial for an offense without the blockers to do. Why consistently field a 6th blocker when you're not that likely to win vs. the additional defender that brings in the box?
I’d expect teams to counter gesicki by lining up a corner over him as much as possible. Similar to how teams have limited Jimmy graham. I don’t think the physicality he plays with will deter anyone from feeling ok about that matchup in space. Plays football almost like a volley ball player. Hopefully gesicki will learn Graham’s patented yank the face mask straight down while the balls in flight vs face guard cover play to get easy pi calls. That’s more than half Graham’s red zone production of late. Jam the guys face mask straight down to create inevitable body contact just prior to the ball arriving.
I played beach volleyball at the highest levels back in college and people drastically underestimate the quickness and burst you need to compete. Unlike other sports, you have to be able to do everything well- hit, set, dig, read your opponents, stay in motion, etc. You also need super soft hands for setting, great arm control for passing and a great wrist snap for hitting so there's a ton of skills there that translate to the NFL. Volleyball requires INSANE precision! It tells me that he should have phenomenal hands and work really well in tight spaces....and that's without me watching film.
If a defense puts a corner on Gesicki I expect Miami to take advantage of the other match ups on the field that it would create. Either a safety or a linebacker will have primary coverage on a wide receiver, or the numbers will be in Miami's favor to run the ball.
If Gesicki can learn to block a DB, we should be fine. Maybe some of the bigger guys could give him problems, but it should still be way easier to do than to deal with a LB. I'd keep Durham off the field until we get into the red zone and then add that extra blocker to improve the running game. Plus, I suspect (okay, more hope at this point) that Durham has good but not great hands that he never got the chance to show in college.
G Yeah Gesicki is a horrible blocker, very very bad. And improvement for him would be to get him to the barely sucks category. Gronkowski is not the guy to compare him too. Aaron Hernandez was a better comparison without the off the field murdering hobby
If he can be an effective flex option, get 40 - 45 catches, 4 or 5 TDs, really excel on third downs...no one is going to care that he doesn't block. I have a lot of family down in the NO area...never heard ONE complaint about Jimmy Graham's lack of blocking ability.
Who says our base in 2018 will be 11 personnel? We ran a lot of 11 b/c our best offensive player was a slot WR. What’s to say base won’t be 12 personnel this year with Landry gone?
I know..."base offense" was not something I was familiar with. There are rules how offenses must be set up, 6 on LOS, etc.
When he says 11 personnel, that means 1 back and 1 TE (or basically, a 3 WR package). We used a 3 WR package more than any other personnel grouping last year... which is what he’s referring to. Without Landry and the addition of Gisecki, I think we may see less 3 WR packages and more 12 personnel (1 back, 2 TE) with Gisecki out wide.
I always wished we had Greg Olsen, and this guy is his younger clone! Really excited about this pick!
Your 5th best receiver is a more compelling player than your 2nd best TE at this point, and I don't think it's even that close. You're going to need some work from that 2nd TE, especially considering what Gesick is, but I think it's quite possible you might see say Durham Smythe coming in as often for him as he would be for a wide receiver, especially in the short term.
Well if it’s often Smyth coming in for Gisecki or the 3rd WR... the question comes down to not the #2 TE vs your #5 WR as you originally state... but Gisecki vs WRs 3/4/5. Also, if you’re always flexing Gisecki out, is there even a point of categorizing him like a TE vs a WR when thinking about personnel packages? As in, if you have Parker/Stills/Gisecki/Smyth/Drake on the field... is there even a point of calling that 12 personnel instead of just 11?