Dynasty League Football Forum

bjd5211 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:25 pm

sloth8u wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:18 pm Haven't read much in the thread, maybe it's been answered?... Can he block?

He needs to work on it and he'll never be a dominant blocker, but it's not nearly as big an issue as many try to make it to be because it's really the only area of his game that can be criticized. He's not being drafted to block anyway.

The any TE, blocking is a big deal IMO.

Pac_Eddy wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:14 pm

bjd5211 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:25 pm

sloth8u wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:18 pm Haven't read much in the thread, maybe it's been answered?... Can he block?

He needs to work on it and he'll never be a dominant blocker, but it's not nearly as big an issue as many try to make it to be because it's really the only area of his game that can be criticized. He's not being drafted to block anyway.

The any TE, blocking is a big deal IMO.

Jimmy Graham was a legitimate liability as a blocker and it didn't matter. Pitts is a willing blocker, he just isn't asked to do it much or been coached much on it because he is just so good as a receiver. His presence on the field is enough to help in the running game because defenses have to prepare for him to be a receiving threat on every single play or he can make you pay. With professional coaching and weight training he will easily be able to become at least a passable blocker, and even if he doesn't he's not going to be lined up endline and be expected to hold up at the point of attack very often.

bjd5211 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:33 pm

Pac_Eddy wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:14 pm

bjd5211 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:25 pm

He needs to work on it and he'll never be a dominant blocker, but it's not nearly as big an issue as many try to make it to be because it's really the only area of his game that can be criticized. He's not being drafted to block anyway.

The any TE, blocking is a big deal IMO.

Jimmy Graham was a legitimate liability as a blocker and it didn't matter. Pitts is a willing blocker, he just isn't asked to do it much or been coached much on it because he is just so good as a receiver. His presence on the field is enough to help in the running game because defenses have to prepare for him to be a receiving threat on every single play or he can make you pay. With professional coaching and weight training he will easily be able to become at least a passable blocker, and even if he doesn't he's not going to be lined up endline and be expected to hold up at the point of attack very often.

I think Jimmy Graham would've been a better TE and on the field more if he was a better blocker.

Pac_Eddy wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:37 pm

bjd5211 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:33 pm

Pac_Eddy wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 3:14 pm

The any TE, blocking is a big deal IMO.

Jimmy Graham was a legitimate liability as a blocker and it didn't matter. Pitts is a willing blocker, he just isn't asked to do it much or been coached much on it because he is just so good as a receiver. His presence on the field is enough to help in the running game because defenses have to prepare for him to be a receiving threat on every single play or he can make you pay. With professional coaching and weight training he will easily be able to become at least a passable blocker, and even if he doesn't he's not going to be lined up endline and be expected to hold up at the point of attack very often.

I think Jimmy Graham would've been a better TE and on the field more if he was a better blocker.

Jimmy Graham never really had a problem with snap count. His snap counts when healthy were similar to Gronk, the best tight end ever.

If Jimmy Graham was a better blocker he probably just would have put up worse stats.

If you're looking for a quantitative score for his blocking ability he had a 65.8 run blocking grade from PFF this year, which isn't great but it's above average. He doesn't need to be any more than average as a blocker in the NFL (I don't think he even needs to be that good) to be an elite player at his position.

bjd5211 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:03 pmHe doesn't need to be any more than average as a blocker in the NFL (I don't think he even needs to be that good) to be an elite player at his position.

Agreed. I don't think that being a better blocker hurts though. Same with RBs.

Pac_Eddy wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:27 pm

bjd5211 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 4:03 pmHe doesn't need to be any more than average as a blocker in the NFL (I don't think he even needs to be that good) to be an elite player at his position.

Agreed. I don't think that being a better blocker hurts though. Same with RBs.

I think it does when it comes to fantasy. Gronk and Kittle are elite receiving TEs who are looked at as also being excellent blockers for the position, so they end up blocking a lot and getting into more physical encounters than a TE who is more of a receiver only and it's probably not a coincidence that they have a bit of a history of getting banged up. If you have a TE who is a phenomenal receiver, but not much of a blocker, it makes more sense to use him in a way so that he doesn't have to take on those impacts as much when he's probably not going to make a huge difference anyway, and just let him do what he does best. Like I said before, his presence on the field alone will help the running game because as a Defense you have to prepare for him to be a receiver on every single play or he can hurt you.

The idea that being useless as a blocker is somehow a good thing because it means the TE will be deployed more as a pass catcher only works if the team has no other options at TE, or if you're clearly one of your team's 3 best pass catchers. Being on the field matters.

I don't think any of this applies to Pitts. He's too good of a receiver, and he's not like some completely inept blocker.

OhCruelestRanter wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 6:17 pm The idea that being useless as a blocker is somehow a good thing because it means the TE will be deployed more as a pass catcher only works if the team has no other options at TE, or if you're clearly one of your team's 3 best pass catchers. Being on the field matters.

I don't think any of this applies to Pitts. He's too good of a receiver, and he's not like some completely inept blocker.

He was rated 128/366 at run blocking in college per pff. Not sure what his actual run block grade was and how it transfers to the nfl. Seems low but I could be missing some context.

If he blocks it helps because then defenses can’t just play him as a wide receiver. He’s more likely to get favorable matchup‘s if he is a threat to black. Then teams can’t go to nickel or dime packages and use secondary people to cover him.

You can improve your blocking skills. That can be taught.

lic217 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 7:14 pm If he blocks it helps because then defenses can’t just play him as a wide receiver. He’s more likely to get favorable matchup‘s if he is a threat to black. Then teams can’t go to nickel or dime packages and use secondary people to cover him.

How many 6’4” defensemen can defend him ?

OhCruelestRanter wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 6:17 pm The idea that being useless as a blocker is somehow a good thing because it means the TE will be deployed more as a pass catcher only works if the team has no other options at TE, or if you're clearly one of your team's 3 best pass catchers. Being on the field matters.

I don't think any of this applies to Pitts. He's too good of a receiver, and he's not like some completely inept blocker.

If a tight end isn’t already clearly one of their team’s three best pass catchers, then they aren’t going to be fantasy relevant anyways, regardless of whether they can or cannot block. Being on the field only matters if the TE is running routes and catching passes. If a TE is seeing additional playing time that he would not otherwise receive with lesser blocking skills, the marginal increase in snaps will lead only to more blocking.

If Jimmy Graham is already playing a reasonably maximum number of snaps, and his receiving to blocking ratio is 100:0, better blocking will lead to more blocking which will lead to less receiving. There is simply no alternative.

murphysxm wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 9:27 pm

lic217 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 7:14 pm If he blocks it helps because then defenses can’t just play him as a wide receiver. He’s more likely to get favorable matchup‘s if he is a threat to black. Then teams can’t go to nickel or dime packages and use secondary people to cover him.

How many 6’4” defensemen can defend him ?

Better chance then if base formation.

wickerkat1212 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 7:55 pm You can improve your blocking skills. That can be taught.

Having trouble thinking of any recently-lauded TEs who came in with questionable or worse blocking skills and became good blockers in the NFL. It's definitely not a long list if there are examples.

I would argue that blocking is actually very difficult to teach. It's not just the action of blocking someone at the LOS and learning different techniques; you're basically functioning as another offensive lineman with assignments, blitz pickup, and different things like that. Also, it's the mentality of a player accepting that he's not always going to be catching passes and there will be some games where he's used more for his blocking.

You can't really disregard it. Someone mentioned Jimmy Graham, and he would've been a much more valuable player if he wasn't a piss poor blocker throughout his career. If we're being honest, Graham has been a mediocre to average at best TE since leaving New Orleans and not all of that is because of the patellar tendon injury.