From Pro Football Focus:
And to think we got this guy for only a 4th rounder :yes:
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PhinsRock, xphinfanx, Ophinerated and 7 others like this.
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I like this article. I think Fasano is better than many here think.
DHPVW, Ophinerated, dolfan7171 and 1 other person like this. -
The Italian Stallion.
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I think the problem is that as fans we tend to pay more attention to the miscues in the passing game rather than the things he does well on a consistent basis. I admit, I've been guilty of it at times.
brandon27 and dolfan7171 like this. -
I really like Fasano. I just hate our other TEs. We need someone to complement Fasano, with a little more speed.
dolfan7171 likes this. -
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Yea Fasano isn't the problem. If he had some deep speed then you're looking at a top 5 TE in the league. If/when we get someone that can stretch the seam like David Martin used to, then we will see Fasano cause a lot more problems for defenses in the passing game as well as the running game.
PhinsRock and dolfan7171 like this. -
No one disputes that Fasano is a very good blocker. The problem is that he lacks a complete game: he’s not a seam-buster in addition to being a very good blocker. He can move the chains, but that’s not particularly remarkable for a #1 TE in this era.ToddsPhins likes this.
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True, but how many seam-busters are nearly as effective at blocking as Fasano?dolfan7171 likes this.
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No reason you can't have one of each. Fasano played quite well when matched with Martin a few years back. Adding a more pass oriented TE I think is a key ingrediant to improving offensively. Fasano is a guy who is good at doing the dirty work, and can take advantage of a situation, but he isn't really a creator or threat in the same way as a Gates, Witten, Gonzo, Davis, etc.
Certainly by no means a bad player, and well worth the value we gave up to get him from Dallas, but I think he is more complimentary than creative personally.dolfan7171 likes this. -
Guest
That's why there is the emergence of two TE's. I don't know one person on this board who thinks Fasano is a terrible player. He's just not complete. All I've seen is people saying Fasano isn't the best receiving TE which hampers the offense to an extent. What I DO see is someone looking at Fasano who is a great blocker and average receiver and claim the QB is holding him back. 500 receiving yards when the guy isn't just our number one, but our only one isn't helping the passing game in as much as we have much less parts of the field to attack.Ophinerated and ToddsPhins like this. -
Quality blocking and seam busting are not mutually exclusive.
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Fasano's a pretty good receiver IMO. His issue is speed and quickness but in terms of catching, he's pretty good.
Ophinerated likes this. -
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They aren't, but who does it? If you look at PFFs ratings for TEs, Jason Witten is really the only one that has a good rating as a receiver and a run-blocker. Guys like Vernon Davis, Kellen Winslow, and Todd Heap rated very poorly as run-blockers, despite their high ratings as receivers. Then you get to guys like Mercedes Lewis and Rob Gronkowski, who grade out as good in both areas. Gronkowski I wouldn't label as a seam-buster.
Here are the top-10 run-blocking TEs (as rated by PFF):
Witten
Martellus Bennett
Crumpler
Mercedes Lewis
Fasano
Gronkowski
Kleinsasser
Delanie Walker
Moeaki
Zach Miller
Of the top-10 run blocking TEs, Anthony Fasano had the highest YPC (13.5)Ophinerated and unluckyluciano like this. -
I would swap Fasano for Miller, assuming that’s Oakland’s Zach Miller, not Jacksonville’s. Miller is a sufficient blocker who IMO is much better at exploiting a defense when sent out to run routes.
Fasano’s biggest problem is a lack of speed. -
I disagree. Fasano's biggest problem is catching with his hands. He is an arm and body catcher.
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That's a misleading stat b/c his YPC had little correlation to passes caught due to "stretching the field". Much of his YPC came from short passes where he had open field to run, which doesn't really satisfy the goal of helping to open up the field for Marshall and Bess/outlet backs underneath.
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Good point. He's a big target, but he doesn't provide a catch radius indicative of his size.
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Which is why I wouldn't be upset if we traded back (up to 2 times) and took Rudolph.
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Particularly if a team keeps signing guys off the street with an expectation of immediate production.Ophinerated and ToddsPhins like this.
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He's almost certainly not one of them.
Or drafts one in the top of the first round, for that matter. -
His YAC per reception was 5.4, which was 24th in the NFL.
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Sorry. 24th among TEs.
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and ToddsPhins like this.
True, but the potential is there to not be far off from it.
It’s just PFF highlighting guys who fly under the radar. Looking at a bunch of these articles, they actually find some really nice guys. Stephen Bowen, Chris Gocong, Antoine Cason, the Texans OL, Vonnie Holliday… it’s not a bad list, even if I don’t know what the hell they’re thinking with guys like Jim Kleinsasser or Dan Williams.
Same. I feel dirty defending them. Nothing a beer and a Marlins game can’t fix!
So he basically catches the ball 8 yards down field and runs for 5 more. That doesn't scream field stretcher to me. lol. His longest catch during his career is 31 yards. You can use whatever stats you like in an attempt to embellish Fasano as a receiving TE; however, all of us have seen him play, and most of us realize that his YPC is misleading.
IMO Henning drawing up plays to get Fasano open was one of his better abilities. I put Fasano's YPC more on Henning than I do Anthony.
By your "YPC argument", Fasano would be a better big-play threat/seam-buster than Dustin Keller, Mercedes Lewis, Winslow Jr, Owen Daniels, Zach Miller, Aaron Hernandez, Shiancoe, Jimmy Graham, Chris Cooley, Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez, Dallas Clark, Greg Olsen, Jermaine Gresham, Tony Scheffler (to name a few). You'd have a difficult time of convincing people who have seen these guys play that this is true.
When we compare Fasano's "longest reception" to the rest of the league, we get a more telling story of his big play & vertical ability (or lack there of).
Anthony ranked:
2008- 53rd
2009- 38th
2010- 41st
......... and don't tell me that's because of Henne b/c we've all seen Chad make that throw (and make it well) when he has it.
Anthony has yet to have a 40+ yard reception, where as 13 TEs did in 2008, 19 did in 2009, and 20 did in 2010.
His 20+ yard receptions the past 3 years have ranked:
2008- 18th
2009- 26th
2010- 18th (considering he was the ONLY tight end catching passes last season, that's bordering on poor IMO).
When you average out his rankings from ALL THREE categories (longest catch, 20+, and 40+), you get a whopping 29th. Watch out LBs and Safeties---- here comes Super Fasano. :trytofly:
I think the guy is a tremendous #2; however, in an offense that desperately needs an upfield threat (and one to help give Marshall, Bess, and the backs more space underneath), he doesn't ideally the bill.
texanphinatic likes this.
Well put! I did think that one of the few things Henning did well was make good use of Tony. Thing is, I think Tony is maxed out. As I said before, he is a complimentary player, and not a player the defense really needs to respect and keep track of on every play. As long as a defense keeps him in front of them, he's not a danger - they make the tackle and regroup.
For a fourth rounder he was great value, and can still contribute well to this team (especially considering there is NOTHING behind him) with a better threat opposite him, but we really need to understand he is not a number 1 guy.
Based on stat monkeying, I swear to god our offense is full of all-stars and its a mystery how we managed to not win the Super Bowl and score 40 PPG.
Springveldt and ToddsPhins like this.
Last year Fasano played well, when he started to produce we would go cold on him. If we actually target him this year and use him more in the offense he could help open things up. If he can work consistently in the middle that would let our WR's get more man to man outside, be good all around. Just sucks that he's a bit slow but he can make up for it a bit by playing smart
2008: David Martin 31 for 450 yards
2008: Anthony Fasano 34 for 454 yards
Combined TE production from top 2: 904 yards
Problem: #2 TE
They need that 2nd guy to be the speedy seam breaker.
GMJohnson and ToddsPhins like this.
Good points, too. Very much agree on all parts. Glad I'm not the only one thinking Henning did a good job using him.
The part that I feel is deceiving is his run blocking ability. He might be great at winning HIS battles, but what about the other defenders who can focus more on the run b/c they're less concerned about Fasano getting behind them. No pun intended. That doesn't show up in the stat column. I'm not saying it turns him into crap, but I do feel it slightly impacts our ground game.
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