2 TE Set: Gator Hoskins & Charles Clay

He seems like what they're looking for, but keep in mind he was a UDFA. They could have drafted him if they wanted to and if you look at their roster of tight ends, it's easy to assume that if the Patriots had come calling his agent after the draft then Gator would have jumped on that offer in a New York minute. All they have behind Gronk is Michael Hoomanawanui, Asa Watson and Justin Jones.

Something tells me the Patriots are just going to morph their offensive attack once more, as they seem to do every two years or so. The wide receivers unit has quietly been stacked up with some contributors. They have Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Brandon LaFell, Aaron Dobson, Kenbrell Thompkins, Mark Harrison, Jeremy Gallon and Josh Boyce. They're toying with the notion of making Mark Harrison into a tight end.

 

I wouldn't want to see Michael Egnew cut.

But I'm not particularly beholden to Dion Sims or Arthur Lynch.

 

I think Sims is a gonner.

 

What makes you say that?

 

One would think. I remember seeing Mike Sherman say something that really affected what I thought about Sims future here. He was talking about Sims and said that when he viewed his college film he didn't think he could move very well or play at this level. But he said the front office had a vision for what Sims could become if he lost weight. He was trying to be nice actually. I think Sims had just had a good game or something like that maybe after the Atlanta game when he caught the touchdown. He said it's a nice credit to the front office that they had a vision for what he could be when he slims down.

But what I took from that is simply the fact that Sherman just admitted Dion Sims was a front office call and a guy the coaching staff didn't really like. Sherman may have briefly changed his mind about Sims and paid him compliments that week, but the fact that the coaching staff didn't like him from the start is a lot more relevant now that the old front office is gone (Ireland & Gaine) and Sims finished the year as a disappointment. It's not a very far stretch of the imagination to believe that Sherman wasn't the only coach that wasn't impressed with Dion Sims college tape.

I think you're right. He'll compete in training camp but Arthur Lynch's being drafted is a direct indictment of what they think of Dion Sims.

 

In interviews I have read from Philbin. They seem to be the opposite of glowing when discussing Sims.

 

Wow, that's taking baseless speculation to a new level. It is far from a fact that the coaching staff didn't like him from the start. And I guess one can read whatever one wants into Sherman's statement, but he spoke pretty highly of him.

 

I think Sims looks really natural when catching the ball, however I don't think it is so much that it was a front office call that they didn't like.

I believe it is more of the line that Sims was touted as a good blocking tight end and last year he was not good at blocking. Yes he was a rookie, however he did a pretty bad job at the one thing he was supposed to excel at.

So if you have a tight end who isn't good at stretching the seams, and not good at blocking, why keep him around?

Lynch doesn't seem to move all that well either. Also looks like he is fighting the ball when he catches it. However if he can catch O.K. and also block, then he is the goal line type tight end that they seem to want.

 

He has history working against him. He's not the first Mizzou TE to light it up in college and flame out in the NFL. Chase Coffman and Martin Rucker are both guys who were utterly useless once they got to the NFL. Both good athletes, both the beneficiaries of Missouri's offense that makes TE's look really good. I'm no expert but from what I've read, a lot of the Mizzou TE's success has to do with offensive alignments rather than outright ability to run routes and play well.

 

I'm not a Sims fan, but Philbin may just dislike Egnew more. I wouldn't cry if neither guy is on the roster next season.

 

I believe it's very relevant that the coaching staff didn't think highly of him before the draft. Sherman pretty explicitly stated that he didn't think Sims moved all that well or was a very good player, but that the front office had a vision for what he'd look like if he lost weight.

What you're saying is also relevant. I'm sure Dion Sims was brought in with the idea that he could be a good blocker, and then he wasn't, so what's the point. That's a big part of it as well. But if the coaching staff had liked him then he'd likely still have backers. Mike Sherman made it pretty explicitly clear that at the very least he didn't like his college tape and I'm guessing other coaches shared his opinion.

 

I had that thought about Harrison when he was coming out of college.

 

Actually neither Coffman nor Rucker were particularly good athletes. Both of them 4.8 type guys. And both of them came into the league with significant medical issues. I'm not a big fan of evaluating draft prospects based on their school. Seen too much to view it that way.

 

I hear you and a Patriots offensive retooling could very well be in play. They have made a push to rework their receiving corps but due to injuries and some ineffectiveness they had to rely mainly on Edelman and Amendola (when healthy). I'm honestly starting to question the Patriots' personnel evaluation. It feels a bit like a shotgun blast that sprays a wide area so it can hit something rather than pinpointed accuracy on prospects these days. They've flamed out on a number of high level picks recently and my personal opinion is that great coaching and Tom Brady have hid some of those deficiencies. They've had so many picks in so many drafts, one would expect some insane talent pool, but outside of their QB, the Patriots don't have many guys other teams would clamor for in FA or trades.

 

Every time I'm tempted to question their personnel decisions because of weird picks like Josh Boyce or (IMO) Aaron Dobson, or Tavon Wilson or Duron Harmon...they pick up guys like Joe Vellano or Kenbrell Thompkins off the street and win football games with them giving solid contributions. They got a LOT of rookie snaps last year and won a lot of games with those rookies. Then they expend lower draft picks or price tags on guys like LeGarrette Blount, Alfonzo Dennard or Aqib Talib and everything comes up Milhouse. It's pretty maddening, to tell you the truth.

Here is what will happen this year. And it is so New England.

Dominique Easley their 1st round pick will be fine. He'll contribute well, be a good player long term, maybe even end up a great player. Jimmy Garoppolo their 2nd round pick and all three of their 4th round picks will be somewhere between solid backups and outright busts. Then Jon Halapio a 6th round pick will end up a starter by 2015, Jeremy Gallon will be on the roster for 7 years and may even end up the next Deion Branch for them, and then some UDFA like Tyler Ott ends up playing 1500 snaps over the course of 2014 and 2015.

 

Wonder if they play better or just get similar performance w/ a superior guy dishing out the ball.

 

I think they play better. They play better on the offensive line and on defense too and that's got nothing to do with Brady. They have superb coaching there.

 

The slowness that Dion sims gets off the LOS is permanently engrained in my head from watching too much of his college film..

 

You know...when I was watching him...he really reminded me of Keith Jackson alot....so I went to look at their measurables

Keith Jackson 6' 2" 258lbs

Gator Hoskins 6' 2" 252 lbs

 

That seems to be the issue… Can HOskins and Clay drive block in-line off the Tackles? I don't see that as a strength.

Now, it would be very interesting to see them run a Full House set with Hoskins to the left of Tanny, Clay to the right and Moreno behind Tanny. That's a LOT of problems for an LB corps in terms of permutations run/pass.

 

Also like Keith Byars at 6' 1" 258 lbs.

 

I wouldn't look for Hoskins or Clay to be an in-line blocker. I see them as hat on hat blockers at best. Maybe they can get in someone's way and hopefully prevent them from making the tackle. I do not see them creating holes against linebackers, linemen or even most strong safeties.

 

Which really restricts the run game, imo. If you're okay with that because of the extra variables they bring to other offensive plays, then cool. Otherwise….

 

I think that depends on how Miami plays it. If Gator/Clay forces teams to put in a nickel, then it doesn't restrict as much. If Miami mostly runs an two back formations, then it would.

 

Yeah, that's the thing, it depends on whether you consistently make D's pay for fielding three LBs against Clay/Hoskins.

 

It's worse than that. His name is Harold.

Yeah, Harold Hoskins.

 

What's wrong with the name Harold?

 

Do I have to explain?

 

I love all this Marshall stuff. And I love all the great mojo we're giving Gator.

Gator can't block. He was literally asked to block maybe 25 times this year. And that's not an exaggeration. When we did have a TE block, it was typically the backup Eric Frohnaphel.

Gator is athletic, but it's not eye-popping athleticism. I hope he can eventually turn into a play like Clay or Reed, but I'm not sure he's ready this year. Personally, I think he's a practice squad player.

By the way, Marshall has produced quite a bit of talent in the NFL. Maybe not recently, but it's there. Garrett Scott was a OT drafted this year also.

 

Why did that make me picture this?