Injuries Make Nebraska Thin at TE

Not trying to be negative but in all seriousness do we really use the TEs outside of blocking? We had 2 great TEs in McNeil and Reed in the past and didn’t use them near as much as we should have. I think Enuwa wants to catch more balls and not less therefore he is better off fighting for receptions with bell, and turner at WR. It seems every year we talk about the TEs and hear how they will be "used more" but I haven’t seen it. This really is no knock on the coaching staff; many teams have good TEs and don’t use them. It’s only a few teams in the NFL that pick some big dumb idiot (Gronk) and throw the ball to him 700 times a season, yet somehow no NFL team can stop him because they all live by the rule that you "have to" cover a TE with a LB of Safety, ummm no you don’t if that’s the other teams best pass catching weapon go ahead and line up your best corner on him and shut him out.



With all the talent at wide out I would be fine seeing multiple WR sets with 4-5 wideouts and not using the TEs at all. Enuwa and Bell are great blockers and Turner is no slouch either. Either way I am sure we will be just fine at TE like most seasons.

 
huskerbronco1997 said:
Not trying to be negative but in all seriousness do we really use the TEs outside of blocking? We had 2 great TEs in McNeil and Reed in the past and didn’t use them near as much as we should have.
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I don't see this as being negative at all - in fact, I very much agree with you. We have drastically underutilized or flat-out misused our TEs the past few years. Kyler Reed's speed made him a matchup problem for nearly every Big Ten team we faced last year, but he was called on to stay at the line and block far more than he was targeted in the passing game, often with disastrous results. Reed's specialty was stretching the defense on passing plays, so we used him to block. Brilliant.

Ben Cotton, on the other hand, was that big-bodied blocking TE that we needed to seal the edge against LBs crowding the line or DEs crashing in on run plays. So what did we do? We threw him out into the pattern and targeted him as much or more than Reed. Brilliant.

Don't even get me started with Mike McNeill. He was a combination of Reed and Cotton all rolled into one player and we barely utilized him at all.

Also, I edited the thread title. That was either a LOOK AT ME title or someone's reading comprehension is really off.

 
Nebraska likes to use 12 personnel, they did it a ton in the spring game, so this is a little concerning. It presents a matchup problem because if they go base defense, a capable TE can spread the formation out and vise versa against nickel.

Where do natural formation problems come from with this offense?

 
I feel like our TE role has been changing, or at the least, trying to change as we moved from the Big 12 to the Big Ten. In the Big 12, the primary role of the TE was a bigger body to catch the ball, or setup the screen. Now, in the Big Ten we have asked them to take on a more blocking role and still provide options downfield.

With a loaded receiving team, I don't see the Tight Ends getting very many catches this season, but I do expect them to play a vital role when it comes to blocking. Not only do we have a young offensive line this year, but we have new tight ends to break in as well.

 
knapplc said:
huskerbronco1997 said:
Not trying to be negative but in all seriousness do we really use the TEs outside of blocking? We had 2 great TEs in McNeil and Reed in the past and didn’t use them near as much as we should have.
Click to expand...
I don't see this as being negative at all - in fact, I very much agree with you. We have drastically underutilized or flat-out misused our TEs the past few years. Kyler Reed's speed made him a matchup problem for nearly every Big Ten team we faced last year, but he was called on to stay at the line and block far more than he was targeted in the passing game, often with disastrous results. Reed's specialty was stretching the defense on passing plays, so we used him to block. Brilliant.

Ben Cotton, on the other hand, was that big-bodied blocking TE that we needed to seal the edge against LBs crowding the line or DEs crashing in on run plays. So what did we do? We threw him out into the pattern and targeted him as much or more than Reed. Brilliant.

Don't even get me started with Mike McNeill. He was a combination of Reed and Cotton all rolled into one player and we barely utilized him at all.

Also, I edited the thread title. That was either a LOOK AT ME title or someone's reading comprehension is really off.
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Just because Reed wasn't the one catching the ball doesn't mean he wasn't being utilized. Haven't paid any attention to it but maybe he was drawing the double instead of Bell or Q whiched opened them up. I do agree that he should have been targeted more though.

 
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I thought I originally heard Long was meant to miss half of fall camp? How does that turn into 'indefinitely' unless they re-assess him and find out it's worse?

 
gbr93 said:
Just because Reed wasn't the one catching the ball doesn't mean he wasn't being utilized. Haven't paid any attention to it but maybe he was drawing the double instead of Bell or Q whiched opened them up. I do agree that he should have been targeted more though.
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Maybe not even doubled, but maybe defenses put a DB on him instead of a LB once they figured him out (he was kind of a one tick pony after all). I say maybe because I don't know for sure, I never payed too much attention to who was covering him.

But, I'm just throwing out an idea. Maybe TEs are just underutilized in Beck's offense.

 
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I do agree that we could have utilized Reed and even Cotton more, but 22% of our completions were made by Reed and Cotton. 28 (should have been more) were by Reed. There were quite a few drops made by him as well, but those things happen. We utilized them, but not enough to use their talent to our advantage. At the same time, I would almost like to see the ball in Bell's, Turner's and Enunwa's hands more, as they are our huge playmakers in the passing game.

To the comment about moving Enunwa to TE... he is WAY more of a threat at WR, and personally, I prefer (want) him there.

 
Foppa said:
I thought I originally heard Long was meant to miss half of fall camp? How does that turn into 'indefinitely' unless they re-assess him and find out it's worse?
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Jake Long status: "may return to camp next week", Pelini said

 
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Jake Long might be ready to go by Aug 31st. Didn't practice today, but coaches feel confident he will be ready for Wyoming.

Good news.

 
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