Madieu Superstar Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Now that we're in the offseason, I was wondering what everyone thought of our first round pick. I'll admit, I was underwhelmed about the impact he ended up having on our offense this season. He caught the first ball of the season for the Bengals, yet only caught 38 more the rest of the year. While I don't think the team utilized him effectively (especially in the redzone), I also think he really needs to toughen up. He needs to get stronger and realize that in the NFL there is going to be contact, you just have to fight through it. What are your thoughts on Eifert? What did you think of his season and how do you see him developing going forward under a new offensive coordinator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDawgBengal Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 He has a chance to make a big impact on the offense next season and years to come. He just needs to be used a lot better. Gruden never put him in situations to utilize his strengths. He is a mismatch in the red zone and down the seams. The 3 to 4 yard routes the TEs ran a lot last year never allow them to reach their full potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincity Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Put him wide out, inside the red zone and throw it to him! He can be a beast, like BigDawg said, they didn't use him properly the whole year, maybe once or twice. The thing is, hopefully Hue has watched and recognized this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whodey365 Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 i thought he played well when given the chance. i think he will be an impact player for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I'm hoping Hue knows how to use TEs better than Jay and Brat. Those guys are weapons and mismatches and should be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Dr Tarzan| Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I don't know about this "toughen up" stuff. I saw the play in which he got his stinger...it was a pretty legit injury. One thing I'll add for maybe the last time since I have been talking about it ad nauseum of the year is he is a very physical and effective blocker, way better than Gresham. Blocker is the measure of "toughness" in my book. He looks plenty so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madieu Superstar Posted January 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I don't know about this "toughen up" stuff. I saw the play in which he got his stinger...it was a pretty legit injury. One thing I'll add for maybe the last time since I have been talking about it ad nauseum of the year is he is a very physical and effective blocker, way better than Gresham. Blocker is the measure of "toughness" in my book. He looks plenty so. I don't mean that he should have played through injuries. I'm speaking more about him playing through contact. He often dropped balls after contact and lost position against his defender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Hue and Gruden both basically said he was used as a FB this year. He will be used a lot by Hue. Hue likes him and is much smarter than Gruden in using his weapons. Really no concern with him. Not to mention he was extremely physical. The last thing he needs to do is toughen up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonBlade Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I thought he was great when given a chance to be great. Not sure why we used him in the Reggie Kelly role all the fucking time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I thought he was great when given a chance to be great. Not sure why we used him in the Reggie Kelly role all the fucking time Yep. When Gresham got hurt he played in Gresh's spot and showed up big. That won't be the case this coming season. Part of why Gruden needed to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASTYNATI Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 As long as Marvin and Hayes are here I have my doubts we will ever see the TE as a focal point of the offense. I like Eifert as a player but I disliked the pick from day one. This team is very underwhelming at the TE position every year... Its really really annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluhartz Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 i thought he played well when given the chance. i think he will be an impact player for us. this.. he can't design the plays for himself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 As long as Marvin and Hayes are here I have my doubts we will ever see the TE as a focal point of the offense. I like Eifert as a player but I disliked the pick from day one. This team is very underwhelming at the TE position every year... Its really really annoying. huh? Marvin doesn't scheme the offense he leaves that completely to his OC. Marvin doesn't ask the team to ignore the TE. The only thing they did wrong was Gresham should have had Eiferts role and Eifert should have had Greshams role. Gruden misused both of the TEs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 As long as Marvin and Hayes are here I have my doubts we will ever see the TE as a focal point of the offense. I like Eifert as a player but I disliked the pick from day one. This team is very underwhelming at the TE position every year... Its really really annoying. They don't necessarily need to be focal points (as in Target 1 and Target 2) but use their skills to the fullest when you do use them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Well, we used a first round pick on our #2 tight end. Could easily be a 750+ yarder on a team that needed a tight end. I think he can be a great player but will only be a 4-6 hundred yard guy here. We simply have too many people to throw it to. The other issue is Andy won't or can't throw a seam pass downfield. Gresh and Eifert catch most of their passes on sit down routes, not in stride going downfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullichicken25 Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 The other issue is Andy won't or can't throw a seam pass downfield. Gresh and Eifert catch most of their passes on sit down routes, not in stride going downfield. The underwhelming use of or two 1st rounds TEs was my biggest beef with the offense this year....but is this on Andy or Jay? We're the TEs running the seam routes and not getting the ball? It looked to me like the plays were almost never designed that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishBengal Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 The underwhelming use of or two 1st rounds TEs was my biggest beef with the offense this year....but is this on Andy or Jay?We're the TEs running the seam routes and not getting the ball? It looked to me like the plays were almost never designed that way. Exactly, and that's because Gruden had zero imagination when creating the plays in the first place. Also,it takes a great offensive mind to not devise new plays for a play-off game, so we get stomped at home, one-and-done style. Hopefully Jackson's philosophy changes this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongo Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I think he had a good rookie year considering his situation. Gresham was the starter, and the receivers behind AJ stepped up. Add in Gio, and that leaves few opportunities for a rookie that needs to prove himself before getting more that a couple plays a game.... When he proves his blocking ability, he'll be on the field a lot more. I think next year could be big. A double tight end set would be good for a running game, and create huge mismatches for Eifert should they choose to pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texbengal Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I thought he played well overall... He can move, has good hands, and is a better blocker than I thought. That said, I was disappointed in how he was used. I thought at the least, he might be a 50 catch, 6 TD guy as a rookie. I'm hoping that Hue highlights him more, because as other have said, he is a mismatch vs. LBs and is a real red zone threat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishBengal Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I think he had a good rookie year considering his situation. Gresham was the starter, and the receivers behind AJ stepped up. Add in Gio, and that leaves few opportunities for a rookie that needs to prove himself before getting more that a couple plays a game.... When he proves his blocking ability, he'll be on the field a lot more. I think next year could be big. A double tight end set would be good for a running game, and create huge mismatches for Eifert should they choose to pass. Copy and paste this into an email and send it to Hue. Just to make sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I think a full offseason in an NFL training and conditioning program will help him and Gio get stronger which I think is going to be the biggest boon to their games next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I think a full offseason in an NFL training and conditioning program will help him and Gio get stronger which I think is going to be the biggest boon to their games next season. Strength? That is not his issue. They used him to block constantly because he got really good at it. Running routes beyond 5 yards is something Gruden NEVER let him do. The few times he ran those routes he did great. They kept him in or in short routes WAY too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NASTYNATI Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 huh? Marvin doesn't scheme the offense he leaves that completely to his OC. Marvin doesn't ask the team to ignore the TE. The only thing they did wrong was Gresham should have had Eiferts role and Eifert should have had Greshams role. Gruden misused both of the TEs. Marvin is the head coach, he has majority say in who makes up his staff and who makes up the roster. The TE position on this team has been underwhelming during the entire Marvin era. As far as I'm concerned Marvin is responsible for any and all failure at this position, including lack of player development. Everyone here understands Marvin doesn't call plays, but he certainly has a hand in game planning, halftime adjustments, player development, roster make up, draft picks, etc. There are two constants surrounding the TE position and its underwhelming contributions to this team, Marvin Lewis and Jon Hayes. Change has to be made, we cant keep blaming the OC and the players. Eifert looks to be one hell of a prospect, but under the watch of ML and JH I have no choice but to question their decision to waste yet another 1st round pick on a player they wont use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted January 20, 2014 Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Strength? That is not his issue. They used him to block constantly because he got really good at it. Running routes beyond 5 yards is something Gruden NEVER let him do. The few times he ran those routes he did great. They kept him in or in short routes WAY too much. naw, he had strength issues when it came to trucking fools like Gresh does, once he gets stronger he will be more Gresh like in that case, and hopefully he doesnt have the ball security issues Gresh does. In fact most scouting reports had compared him to Gresh coming out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madieu Superstar Posted January 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 I don't think it's as much a strength issue as it was a toughness issue. In the NFL, guys are going to grab you, they are going to push you around and hit you hard as the ball is coming into your hands. My problem with him this season was that he didn't seem to be ready for the increased physicality. He never seemed to make the tough catches, often having the ball knocked away and he so,entices just got out-muscled for inside position on routes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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