| 10 August 2010
Some of you are showing short term memory. When in all the time Jim Tressel has been here has he thrown the ball to the tight end? It is not what we do here. He will catch 30 balls. That is the top end for a tight end in this offense. Maybe we see more balls to the tight end after we have some success with it. JT is old school and there is nothing more old school than to keep doing something until they stop it.
I am not trying to dampen fans enthusiasm for Stoneburner and the possibility of a more open offense. What I want fans to focus on is the impact of Stoneburner in the offense and that iis not with the number of catches he will make. I think he brings a different kind of athleticism to the position so he will have a bigger impact in yards. What he can do after the catch is where we will see the difference. After the catch is where Stoneburner makes this a much more dangerous offense. We like to run the ball and throw it down the field to the wide outs. What happens when an athletic player like Stoneburner is catching balls in the vacated areas? With tight ends in the past it has been a first down. With Stoneburner those first downs get turned into big plays and touchdowns. Yards per catch is what is going to be the number that goes up with Stoneburner on the receiving end of those passes. Whether it translates into more balls thrown his way remains to be seen.
One thing that could increase the number of balls he sees is pushing into the every down lineup by showing himself to be a solid inline blocker. That would make him a very dangerous football player. That means he can be an every down player. It means defenses don't get a read on what we are doing based on personnel.
| < Prev |
|---|
