Off to the Off-Season: Tight Ends

February 18, 2008 by Harry Greene

Well, I had anticipated this a being an area of major need, but I have become convinced that will not be the case.

Tight Ends

Overview

Whisenhunt was a tight end himself. He likes the short passing game and he likes to use his tight ends in the red zone. Strength at this position has eluded the Cards in recent years, but it is critical to have weapons at this spot if you want to control the ball and be effective in the red zone.

IMO

Some of you may recall my article grading last year’s draft, “Patrick has great hands and catches the ball like a wide receiver. Breaston should immediately help with field position.” I called the two players second day aces and I believe both are well on their way to proving me correct. Coming from a small program I anticipated it would take Patrick longer to have an impact. He’s still not a polished player. That said, and considering he started the year on the practice squad, he is well on his way. When the season started all eyes were on Pope to see if he had progressed. He did move forward, but at a halting pace. He would seem to take one step forward and then half a step back. He still dropped too may balls and committed too many penalties. Perhaps more out of desperation than anything else, the Cards finally focused on Patrick. When they did; they saw the hands for which they’d been searching. He is far from a great tight end at this point, but he has the potential. He can catch the ball in a crowd and he responds well to pressure. This makes his a red zone threat. He needs to become a far better blocker and to refine his routes, but if he keeps on track, he will be the man. This is not to say the Cards should bury Pope. If he can get himself under better control and concentrate, he has the size to be a great weapon. He can be especially effective in the red zone. He may be improved by just competing with Patrick. Like Patrick, his blocking needs a great deal of work. The rest of this group should be allowed to go quietly into the night. It’s not that Bienemann can’t someday be a player, but the third tight end needs to be a blocking specialist and that’s not Bienemann’s strength. Euhus punched his ticket a long time ago.

Potential Help

Blocking tight ends can often be had in free agency and at the correct price. As to the draft, Kris Kasparek from Akron likely won’t even be drafted, so he can be acquired at a price that won’t even go against the cap. He can catch a little, but his forte is blocking. The downside of taking a player like him is that it will take a lot of work to get him ready to contribute next season.

Overall

If Patrick continues to develop this could become a position of strength. From a receiving standpoint, it’s already there. If the Cards keep developing their two primary targets, this position could be solid for a long time to come.

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