Old Mother Hubbard: The Tight Ends

The Lions spent the 20th overall pick of the 2009 draft and, indirectly, the eighth overall pick of the 2006 draft on tight ends. That’s a lot of resources to invest in a position that seems to be going the way of the dodo—but offensive coordinator Scott Linehan loves to deploy his two big targets alongside his wideouts, often to great effect.

Let’s check 2010’s Tight End Old Mother Hubbard for where these players left off:

Will Heller is a good rotational blocker, who’s come up with a few nice catches in his time here. He should have a place on the roster for 2011, at least.

Tony Scheffler was signed to a three-year extension right after his great two-game stretch at the beginning of the season; he’ll likely be here through 2013. The player we saw in September was the same player we saw for years in Denver; I can’t believe that guy’s gone for good. Even if he is, “Diminished Scheffler” is a solid receiving TE, who blocks better than you think.

Brandon Pettigrew is young veteran with a huge frame and amazing tools. He’s already an excellent pass blocker, and a very good run blocker. As a receiver, his awful case of the dropsies hurt both his grades and several key Lions drives. Overall, his many penalties did the same. If he can cut down on the mental mistakes, Pettigrew could be one of the best TEs in the game. If not, he’s still a great blocker, and a target defenses must respect.

This is the order in which their PFF grades shook out, which is the opposite of what we’d expect. What about 2011?

The Lions’ top-rated tight end in 2011 was Tony Scheffler. I again quote from last season's report:

Tony Scheffler led all NFL TEs with 25% or more of their teams’ snaps in target-to-snap ratio. Scheffler was thrown to once every 6.3 snaps he played—meaning if he was on the field, he was a major part of the play. He seems to have a very specific niche in the offense, even if it isn’t what we expected.

This season, the pattern continued: Scheffler was targeted once every 7.73 snaps he played, 4th-most in the NFL. He trailed only Jimmy Graham, Evan Moore, and Kellen Winslow; he had the highest yards-per-catch of that group (9th overall) at 13.3. Scheffler also scored six touchdowns; that’s one every 6.83 targets (3rd-best in the NFL) and 52.8 snaps (1st-best in the NFL).

Just from watching, it seemed as though Scheffler was placed on the field the instant the Lions crossed the opponent’s 35, and instructed to go make a touchdown happen. The stats bear this observation out. Inexplicably, Scheffler’s WPA was not calculated by Advanced NFL Stats. He didn’t have a whole mess of reps, but anyone who scores six touchdowns should have had a significant impact on his team’s chances to win. My suspicion is his WPA would be quite high, especially relative to his EPA.

Bottom Line: Tony Scheffler is a weapon. A walking, talking red zone mismatch with ridiculous dance moves. He has a very specific role in this offense and he executes it very well. Expect nothing to change in 2012.

Brandon Pettigrew, on the whole, improved slightly in the eyes of PFF graders, but not relative to other tight ends. In 2010, Pettigrew was marked at –8.0 overall in a season where the TE average was -3.23. In 2011, he graded out at –7.1, and the average was –1.74. This all sounds like it was more of the same, but in fact Pettigrew’s production was completely different:

This is why I do these things. Look at Pettigrew’s 2010 performance: he was a devastating all-around blocker, much better than average in both the ground and air games. He was also a heavily-penalized butterfingers, and as a result his grade was well below-average. This might be slightly harsh. Pettigrew’s athleticism got him open quite often, drawing a lot of passes his way. Sometimes he got his hands on balls other tight ends wouldn’t have been able to . . . but he dropped a lot of the balls he got his hands on.

In 2011, Pettigrew’s performance in the receiving game improved drastically, nearly matching the NFL average. He caught 70.3% of the passes thrown his way, 23rd-best and above the NFL average of 68.5. His pass protection was even improved over 2010, his +3.5 grade 4th-best in the NFL. Unfortunately, he took a big step back in run blocking: from +0.5 to –7.0. Pettigrew’s run-block grade was ranked 40th of 65; well below the 0.0 average.

Unfortunately, Pettigrew's high penalty rate continued: he was flagged 11 times for 117 yards; both of those marks were the worst in the NFL. This is why Pettigrew’s overall mark keeps getting dragged below average: he takes way too many penalties.

Perspective: there’s nothing average about Pettigrew’s production. He caught 83 passes, 3rd-most in the NFL, out of 117 targets—also 3rd-most in the NFL. Those receptions gained 777 yards and 5 touchdowns. Those targets came once every 9.24 snaps, the 13th-most frequent target rate in the game. Unlike Scheffler, a situational specialist targeted once every 7.73 snaps, Pettigrew played almost every down the Lions’ offense did. With 1,081 snaps played, Pettigrew got more reps than anyone in the NFL save Rob Gronkowski.

Bottom Line: Brandon Pettigrew is an enormous part of the Lions’ offense, and will be for the foreseeable future. He grew phenomenally as a pass catcher from 2010 to 2011, apparently at the expense of his run blocking. Pettigrew remains a devastating two-way player, and a truly rare talent. Last year’s assessment remains correct: If he can cut down on the mental mistakes, Pettigrew could be one of the best TEs in the game.

Will Heller was released to make cap room, and has yet to be re-signed. He, or another blocking specialist with not-stone hands, will need to be required. Oops, I missed his re-signing.

SHOPPING LIST: A Will Heller-type, preferably of the rookie variety. Or maybe Will Heller Possibly a developmental rookie, but otherwise the Lions are set here.

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Old Mother Hubbard: The Tight Ends

I’m on a breakneck schedule now, trying to wrap this series up before the draft . . . or free agency begins; whichever comes first! We move on to the tight ends, about whom we need another disclaimer: Pro Football Focus grades every TE as a complete package. Typically, if a TE is an impact receiver and a terrible blocker, fans still consider them an impact TE because that’s what we see, and what we can easily measure. Please remember, then that the TE “Pass” grade is not a synthesis of a tight end’s statistics, but a subjective grade of how they actually performed on each play, just like with the linemen and defenders.

The spread this produces is quite interesting: there’s a handful at the top who are good at both receiving and blocking, a handful at the bottom who aren’t good at anything, and a huge hodgepodge in the middle of guys with varying tool sets. At the top of the heap is Jason Witten with the 3rd-best receiving grade, 5th-best pass-blocking grade, and #1 run-blocking grade. The backmarker is Brandon Manumaleuna: 26th of 64 in receiving, 64th of 64 in pass-blocking, and 63rd of 64 in run-blocking.

The highest-rated Lions TE, of course is . . . Will Helller? Yes, with a Blutarskian 0.0 grade, Heller notched the best mark of any Lion TE (NFL average this year was –3.2). He was only thrown at five times, and somehow got dinged for a -0.4 receiving grade in those four plays (NFL average: +0.48). Still, he caught 80% of the balls thrown his way (4 out of 5), for 33 yards and a score.

Heller's primary role is as a blocker, though, and in that he did well. He was graded by PFF at +0.7 in pass blocking (average: 0.0), and +0.1 in run blocking (average: –3.5). So, compared to all TEs who got at least 25% of their team’s snaps (Heller didn’t qualify, only 169), Will Heller was a slightly-above average blocker, slightly better in the run than the pass.

Bottom Line: Will Heller is a good rotational blocker, who’s come up with a few nice catches in his time here. He should have a place on the roster for 2011, at least.

The second-best Lions TE in 2011, according to PFF grades, was Tony Scheffler. The former Western Michigan Bronco was the 21st-best tight end overall. He was a decent +1.2 in receiving, lower than I’d expected, but Heller’s equal in pass blocking at +0.7 (which I didn’t expect, 26th-best). His run blocking was notably worse than Heller’s, graded at –2.6—but that still outpaced the NFL average of –3.5, and slotted him  25th of 64.

Statistically, Scheffler had an up-and-down year. He was thrown at 66 times, and caught 45 of them--percentage-wise, matching the NFL average to the decimal (68.2). What surprised me was his low YpC average, just 8.4 (avg. 10.59). Scheffler is known as a downfield threat, but it seems he wasn’t used that way. His YAC suffered, too—just 4.3 AYaC, compared to the NFL average 5.0.

It’s known that Scheffler suffered a series of injuries throughout the year (concussion, shoulder, ribs), and something definitely seemed amiss with him. After a very strong showing in Weeks 3 and 4, where he hauled in a combined 13 passes for 123 yards (and received +1.3 and +1.4 grades), his production fell off the map. For ten weeks the only non-negative grade he got was a +0.3. He had a particularly awful stretch in weeks 6-10, turning in grades of –1.5, –1.8, –0.1, and a nasty –3.1 against Buffalo. Worse, though, Nate Burleson and Brandon Pettigrew found their role in the offense, and the quarterback carousel seemed to hit Scheffler’s numbers more than than anyone’s . . .

. . . I found an interesting little wrinkle, though: Tony Scheffler led all NFL TEs with 25% or more of their teams’ snaps in target-to-snap ratio. Scheffler was thrown to once every 6.3 snaps he played—meaning if he was on the field, he was a major part of the play. He seems to have a very specific niche in the offense, even if it isn’t what we expected.

Bottom Line: Tony Scheffler was signed to a three-year extension right after his great two-game stretch at the beginning of the season; he’ll likely be here through 2013. The player we saw in September was the same player we saw for years in Denver; I can’t believe that guy’s gone for good. Even if he is, “Diminished Scheffler” is a solid receiving TE, who blocks better than you think.

Now, stunningly, we come to the bottom of the list: the Lions’ #1 TE, Brandon Pettigrew. Let’s clear something up: Pro Football Focus does not grade on “upside.” They do not round up for “potential,” or “excitement.” They don’t even care about the name on the back of the jersey, except to correlate back to the data. All they care about is what a player does, and what Brandon Pettigrew did in 2010 is drop a hell of a lot of passes. 12, to be exact, on 103 targets. Dropping a pass every 8.6 targets gave him the third-most-buttery fingers of any TE with 20 or more targets . . . and a huge factor in his overall –8.0 grade (43rd/64).

It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that Pettigrew's receiving grade, -5.0, is the fourth-worst in the NFL. It turns out, though, that all that “He’ll be like a third tackle” hype actually does hold water: Pettigrew had the NFL’s 6th-best pass-block grade, a +2.3, and 16th-best run block grade, with +0.5.  Unfortunately, his ridiculous ten penalties assessed gave him the second-worst penalty grade in the NFL.

You wanna know something interesting, though? Even with his extremely high drop ratio, Pettigrew’s receiving percentage (% of targets caught) was actually slightly above average, 68.9 (avg. 68.2). Either his quarterbacks are throwing more accurate passes than everyone else—unlikely, given the Lions’ QB situation in 2010—or maybe, Pettigrew is like a range-y shortstop, making “errors” on balls other people wouldn’t even get to. Further,

Pettigrew’s game-to-game grades are wildly inconsistent—and unlike Scheffler or Cherilus or Sims, there’s no “everything was cool and then it all went bad.” Pettigrew’s grades swing from bad to good to bad to okay to terrible to outstanding to okay, with no rhyme or reason. After turning in a horrific –5.6 against Chicago in Week 13, where he got negative grades in every phase of the game, he thwomped Green Bay with a +3.0 overall, and positive grades in every phase of the game. There appears to be no rhyme or reason.

Bottom Line: Brandon Pettigrew is young veteran with a huge frame and amazing tools. He’s already an excellent pass blocker, and a very good run blocker. As a receiver, his awful case of the dropsies hurt both his grades and several key Lions drives. Overall, his many penalties did the same. If he can cut down on the mental mistakes, Pettigrew could be one of the best TEs in the game. If not, he’s still a great blocker, and a target defenses must respect.

SHOPPING LIST: The Lions like to run 2-TE sets, both to for blocking purposes, and for passing purposes. With Pettigrew and Heller, the Lions have a powerful blocking tandem. With Pettigrew and Scheffler, the Lions have a (theoretically) potent receiving combo. This unit didn’t play like it’s capable of in 2010, but even so I see no needs to address. None of these players is perfect, but as a group they’re nearly perfect for this offense.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,nfl draft,team needs,brandon pettigrew,tony scheffler

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Ernie Sims to the Eagles, Tony Scheffler to the Lions

While I was grabbing some lunch, news broke: Martin Mayhew had looked in the Wheeler Dealer and pulled himself off another swap—this time, trading Ernie Sims to the Eagles, a 5th-rounder from the Eagles to the Broncos, and TE Tony Scheffler from the Broncos to the Lions.  The Lions also got yet another seventh-round pick, bringing the total up to four.

I haven’t been shy about reminding everyone that way back in January, I wrote an article for Mlive.com, proclaiming that Martin Mayhew must trade Sims while he still has value.  My first proposed trade destination was Philadelphia, and I bugged poor Adam Caplan from Scout.com about that idea for weeks, because the fit just made too much sense.  I’ve also been obnoxious in pointing out that I pointed out that the retirement of Casey FitzSimmons left an empty niche in the Lions’ offense.

My apologies to all of you for the insufferable self-promoting.  I have no access to “insider” info; everything you read is coming from my own synthesis of what’s out there.  When I stumble upon an acorn, as I rarely do, I enjoy planting it, watching it grow into a mighty oak, then hanging my hat upon it.  My apologies if I've annoyed you; I rarely indulge in such own-horn-tooting, and I’m done now.

First impressions?  This is practically identical to the Cory Redding-for-Julian Peterson trade.  These two players, Sims and Scheffler, both had a foot out the door in their original cities.  Neither were fits for their current systems, both had plenty of good football years left, and both are entering a contract year.

For me, it's a bittersweet goodbye to Sims.  Check out my post from roughly this time last year, featuring a battered alt-color Ernie Sims jersey and dangerous levels of optimism:

Ernie Sims is primed to be an incredible force in 2009.

Coming out of Florida State, I really thought that Sims would be what I later thought Aaron Curry could be: the explosive, badass linebacker who turns around the defense and the team.  That the Lions would draft a chiseled little wrecking ball of an OLB, more noteworthy for his performance on tape than his freakish size or speed?  Surely, I figured, it must be a harbinger of glory!

Prior to last season, I thought the Lions’ new scheme, and all of its OLB blitzing, would allow Sims to shut his brain off and unleash his inner Kraken.  Unfortunately, the Lions’ defensive line wasn’t disruptive enough to allow Sims to safely ignore his lanes—and double-unfortunately, Sims shut his brain off anyway.

He still has all the talent to be a surpassing WLB if used properly.  Philly’s hyperaggressive 4-3 is exactly the right kind of system, and it’s a lot closer to being fully realized than the Lions’ own implementation of a similar system.  I wish Sims all the best, of course; I’m “glad” I never sank the cash into that jersey, but I’m sad I never repped him while he was here.  For a little while, he was the only player really worth cheering for.

Tony Scheffler, for his part, is like Casey FitzSimmons, only up an order of magnitude.  Midwestern football state?  Instead of Montana, Michigan.  Instead of Caroll College, Western Michigan.  Instead of an undrafted free agent, a 2nd-round pick.  Instead of a 23-catch, 160-yard, 2-TD rookie season, an 18-catch, 286-yard, 4-TD rookie season.  Instead of a six more years that barely matched his rookie totals combined, three more years where he’s averaged double the catches and yards over that initial effort.

Scheffler really doesn't have much place in Denver's offense, and he had little-to-no chemistry with efficient-but-weak-armed Kyle Orton.  Now, he’ll again play with the kind of rocket-armed quarterback who threw him 107 passes, for 1,480 yards & 12 TDs, in his first three NFL seasons.

Many are pointing to this trade as proof that Brandon Pettigrew’s recovery is going poorly, but I see them as completely different players.  Pettigrew is a third tackle with cotton hands; a powerful inline blocker who’s quick enough to get open and make a crucial third-down catch.  However, he’s not a field-stretcher, a walking mismatch like Gates or Clark.  He’s not going to blow past an OLB  on a skinny post, catch it in stride, smoke both safeties and take it to the house; that’s just not his skill set.

With Fitz gone, the Lions had four blocking TEs, with a spectrum of hands from “great” to “nonexistent”.  Scheffler gives them that dangerous 2-TE combination that Linehan loves: he can again use a 2-WR, 2-TE, I-formation set as a base for five-option pass plays.  It’s all about establishing the power running game, and then killing them through the air . . . and, Pettigrew or no, Tony Scheffler gives them that ability.

The best part of all of it, though, is what the Michigan native, Scheffler, told the Denver Post when they called him:

“Restore the Roar!”

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,denver broncos,tony scheffler,ernie sims,philadelphia eagles

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Casey FitzSimmons Forced to Retire

Yesterday, seven-year veteran tight end Casey FitzSimmons was forced to retire.  A little Googling will bring up his semi-well-known tale: having played 8-man football in high school, FitzSimmons starred for the . . . wow, Fighting Saints of Carroll College.  Yet, the Lions signed him as a free agent—according to Tom Lewand, strictly as a camp body—and he went on to capture the hearts of Lions fans everywhere with an eleven-start, 23-catch, 160-yard, 2-TD rookie season. 
He started eleven  games that year, and it looked like he was on his way to being a very viable receiving threat for the Lions.  Somehow, thought, he was never quite able to build on that rookie magic—in fact, 2009 was as close as he came to even duplicating that initial effort.

You'll find a lot of people who'll tell you about how the Lions will miss his effort, his heart, his competitiveness, and his play on special teams.  What you’re not going to hear a lot of is how much the Lions will miss him as an option in the base offense.  Here’s an article I did breaking down Scott Linehan’s offense through the first few games.  Note the bit on FitzSimmons:

Okay, this is a single-back, 2-TE set. Both TEs are lined up tight against the right side of the line. The Flanker, Megatron, is lined up tight to the outside of the TEs. This gives the look of a trips bunch, but the "trips" are 2/3rds tight ends. The furthest outside of the TEs, Fitzsimmons, motions out wide to that side. Now Fitzsimmons is the Z, Johnson is the X, and Megatron is the Y.

The defense now has a massive dilemma on their hands. They're going to blitz both outside linebackers, and leave the MLB to play shallow centerfield. The CB takes the bait, manning up on Casey Fitzsimmons. The middle linebacker is now the only one responsible for covering both Heller and Megatron. After the snap, you can almost hear him going "Uhm, uh, uhm, uh" as he tries to figure out what on Earth to do. He wisely gives chase to Megatron--and after Stafford hits Megatron in stride, he even gets close enough to tackling Megatron to be easily shrugged off by the great wideout.

I believe this was the exact same play that was called back by the "Phantom Chop Block" in the Vikings game. It worked just as well then, too.

Linehan loves to start with vanilla run formations, and add clever wrinkles and motions and layers until they’re fiendishly clever pass plays.  Fitz, while he didn’t catch a lot of balls or score a lot of points, was nonetheless a very useful toy for Linehan to play with in those situations.  Fitz could motion outside, forcing a cornerback to cover him instead of a receiver.  Fitz could also beat many outside linebackers one-on-one, creating a mismatch that the defense would have to adjust for.  Fitz wasn’t a load as a blocker, but he’d give it everything he had when asked.

Brandon Pettigrew, I’m convinced, is developing into a two-way force at tight end.  Will Heller proved that he has softer hands than commonly thought.  Dan Gronkowski’s a high-effort guy.  But Casey FitzSimmons had a unique role in this offense, and his build, his athleticism, his length—and yes, his heart and grit and motor and effort and blue-collar Montana underdog white guy mojo—were a unique package, and it’s a shame that concussions forced him out.

On the other hand, good for Casey for making the right choice.  Good for the doctors for having the temerity to give it to him straight.  Good for the NFL for making this a point of emphasis.  As difficult as it is to cope with a failing, broken body, I can’t imagine how difficult it would be for me, and my family, if I suffered from severe mental illness in the prime of my life.

I'm sad, as a fan, that we didn't get to see Casey's underdog story reach its deserved conclusion.  But I’m much sadder as a man.  To see a strong, hardworking man my age lose his livelihood because of circumstances beyond his control?  It’s heart-rending.  You can just read it in his quotes, the frustration he feels at having his life derailed.  I can only imagine what it would be like, and frankly I don’t want to.

So, here’s to you, Casey; best of luck in whatever you do from here.  I know you’ll land on your feet.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,casey fitzsimmons

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meet the cubs: brandon pettigrew

Donald Mirelle/Getty Images

Shortly before the draft, I (and many other Lions followers) had had far too much of the relentless speculation over the #1 overall pick, and even of the crazy scenarios surrounding the the Lions' subsequent four picks.  Given the presumptive targets of the first few rounds: middle linebacker, offensive and defensive interior linemen, and cornerback, I decided to analyze the secondary needs, and what players might be available with the Lions' late-round selections.  Since the Lions selected no middle linebackers, interior linemen, or cornerbacks with their first five picks, this piece proved to be prescient in profiling the needs--just wrong on the players selected.  Here's one of the three "archetypes" I profiled:

Finally, I think the Lions could be looking at tight end in the later rounds. Whether or not they surprise everyone and take a TE early, the Lions' depth at tight end needs to be rebuilt. Casey Fitzsimmons hasn't shown any NFL ability since his rookie season, and that was five years ago. Michael Gaines was neither a great blocker nor offensive weapon, and John Owens is gone. Free agent signee Will Heller looks like a pure blocker. It's well known that one of the greatest crutches for a QB is a tight end with great hands, who can get open quick and catch the ball reliably, especially on third down--and whether or not the Lions draft Stafford, the Lions's QBs will need all the crutches they can get. A guy I really hope might be there is N.C. State's Anthony Hill. At 6'-5", 262, Hill's a really big, strong guy with a long frame. He's a great inline blocker, but he's got really nice hands and can get open in traffic. I think the Lions desperately need this kind of TE, a big blocker who can get open and make the catch on 3rd-and-6; move the sticks, over and over and over. I don't think the Lions are really in need of the field stretching, Gates/Winslow type. Johnson and Johnson are both deep threats; there should be plenty of space underneath for a TE like Hill.

Of course, the Lions did indeed "surprise everyone", taking Oklahoma State TE Brandon Pettigrew with the 20th overall pick.  Standing  6'-5" tall, and weighing 263 lbs., Pettigrew was far and away the consensus #1 tight end; in fact he was commonly regarded as the only serious tight end prospect available in this draft.  In a tight end class comprised of strictly second-day material, what made Pettigrew stand out amongst the others?  What made him the sole tight end worthy of a first-round pick?

Coming out of Robert E. Lee high school in Tyler, Texas, Scout.com rated Pettigrew as the #13 tight end prospect in the nation, garnering three stars.  He took a redshirt year, but then immediately got onto the field as a freshman.  Playing in all eleven games, and starting nine, Pettigrew mostly made hay as a blocker, but did haul in 11 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown.  His sophomore year, he became the full-time starter.  While still being asked to do little more than block in OSU's kinetic spread offense, he still more than doubled his previous year's statistics: 24 catches, 310 yards, and 4 TDs.  For this, he was named honorable mention All-Big 12.  His Junior year, he continued to improve, finishing third on the team with 35 catches for 540 yards (a 15.4 ypc average!) and 4 TDs. He had his two best performances in two of OSU's biggest games: 8 catches for 87 yards and a score against Texas, and 8 for 85 against Georgia.  He was named first-team All-Big 12.

Expectations were high for his senior year, as he made the preseason watch lists for both the John Mackey Award (for tight ends), and the Rotary Lombardi Award (for LoS players).  However, disappointment was quick.  Pettigrew injured his ankle early in the season, and completely missed four of the first six games.  However, he still managed to post his best single-season reception numbers: 42 catches for 472 yards.  Even with the injury, he was still a John Mackey finalist.  With 112 career receptions, Pettigrew ranks 7th on OSU's all-time list; #1 for tight ends.  He's also ranked 8th for career recieving yards (1,450), and also #1 for tight ends.  He registered a remarkable 216 knockdown blocks per season in his career, and 30 touchdown-resulting blocks.

Now, the definitive authority on a player's potential . . . internet highlight reels:

Brandon Pettigrew - Draft Snapshot - Awesome video clips here

Actually, NFL.com has the best video on Pettigrew, but unfortunately they don't allow for easy embedding.  I urge you to watch the following:

* Combine workout footage

* Interesting NFLN discussion/debate on his draft stock

* "Draft Vignette", which is combine footage + analysis

There isn't much about Pettigrew that I can say that hasn't been said repeatedly in the videos above.  He's a legitimately big-framed athelete who posesses the size, strength, and inclination to blow people up in both the running game and passing game.  He's a natural pass catcher with extremely soft hands, who has surprising speed and agility for someone so big and strong.  He's not a glorified wide reciever, with 4.45 deep speed down the middle.  However, what he is is something more than that: an outstanding two-way player who should never come off the field.  He'll be a weapon in the run game, blowing up holes and sealing off edges.  He'll be a weapon in the passing game, finding space in the middle of the field to move the chains.  He'll be both a crutch and a shield for Matt Stafford, providing critical max-protect help against blitz-heavy teams, and a huge target with soft hands that he can dump it off to when he absolutely must complete a pass.  

Time and time again, when reading about, watching about, or "scouting" Brandon Pettigrew, what I'm seeing and hearing is the same thing over and over and over again: Brandon Pettigrew will step on the field as one of the best two-way tight ends in football, and his potential beyond that is almost unlimited.  He'll never catch 90 balls or 1,100 yards, or 13 TDs, like an Antonio Gates.  However, Brandon Pettigrew just might be the biggest contributing factor to the immediate and long-term success of Matt Stafford--and the Detroit Lions.

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meet the cubs: Dan Gronkowski

 Now that the 2009 NFL Player Selection Meeting has concluded, there's a whole new group of Lion cubs: ten rookies who represent a desperately-needed shot of talent to the Lions' roster.  Every single one of these players will have an excellent opportunity to not only make the team, but contribute significantly in short order.  Unfortunately, that's not a function of the quality of these players as much as of the dearth of talent on the Lions' roster.  Since I ran my roster review series from defense to offense, I think I'll starts with the runts of the litter, and end with the heir apparent.  So, let's begin with the end: the second-to-last-selection, the penultimate pick, the dude who went as low as you can go without actually winning something for it . . . 

Dan Gronkowski, Maryland TE:

His official bio offers up some much-needed background info.  Recruited to Maryland as a quarterback after a school-record-smashing senior season, Gronkowski and his 6'-6", 255-pound body were quickly shifted to tight end.  In fact, here's an interesting recruiting blurb from Rivals that, in hindsight, suggests that they might have only ever paid lip service to letting him take snaps under center . . .

Gronkowski took to the weight room immediately, earning their Iron Terp status in spring ball every year. His career-best squat, 635 pounds, is second only to Vernon Davis amongst all Maryland TEs ever. Lest you think he's just a meathead, Gronkowski he earned his Marketing BA in just three years, and pursued an MBA during his senior season. He's a two-time Academic All-ACC team honoree. His father actually owns a chain of fitness stores, and he says the best athlete in his family is actually his little brother Rob (Dan has four brothers), who's a tight end at Arizona.

Gronkowski spent most of his career as a pure blocking tight end, but was powerful enough in doing that to start twenty-nine games in his last three seasons. As a senior, he started to flash some recieving skills, and caught 29 passes for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns. Obviously he's not a devastating offensive weapon, but here's a nice little TD catch that shows he's got some potential:

And here's a little post-draft reaction blurb from him and another player. He notes that several other teams called him to say he was the highest player left on their board . . . and yet, he fell. Schwartz's statement backs this up:

"We didn't anticipate taking two tight ends but at that point in the draft with the people that were available he was by far the highest-rated guy and you want to still stick with that."

Don't expect much out of Gronkowski right away, but he will certainly push Will Heller for playing time as "the blocking TE" on the roster--in fact, this may bode ill for Heller's prospects for making the roster.  Either way, the Lions have added an extremely smart, extremely tough young man to the roster, who'll no doubt make an impact on special teams right away--which is about as much as one can hope for from a pick so late.

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popping up for air

As anyone who's watched ESPN desperately try to keep eyeballs tuned to its marathon coverage of Day 2 of the draft has been told, franchises can be destroyed by bad drafting on Day 1, but dynasties are built by great drafting on Day 2.  Great late-round drafting makes an immediate impact on special teams play, and in some of the less-flashy positions like offensive guard, tight end, and safety.  Also, you'll see value when players change position--like when Bills signed an undrafted free agent tight end from Arkansas named Jason Peters and a few years later had a franchise left tackle.  Great late-round drafting makes a long-term impact by building depth that lets teams excel through six months of violence--and by building depth that makes losses to age or free agency sting much less.  The Patriots, Colts, Eagles, Chargers, and Steelers are all great examples of this; players in the late rounds will, after two or three years, either challenge for starting spots or go on to start elsewhere.

The Lions, thanks to trades that brought them Cliff Avril and the Cowboys' first and third-rounders, have traded away their fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round picks--but added the Cowboy's sixth-rounder, and received a compensatory seventh-round pick from the league.  So the Lions are working with the 6.1, 6.20, and 7.46.  Of course, the Lions needs are so great that rookies from almost any round, in almost any position, will have a chance to see the field.  Still, I think that there are couple of positions that the Lions will have in mind going into the latter rounds of the draft.

After three years of Rod Marinelli not keeping special teams specialists around, that cupboard is almost bare.  Look for the Lions to look hard at the safety/OLB 'tweeners with speed and who love to hit . . . guys like Ohio University prospect Michael Mitchell.  6'-1", 220 pounds, ran a 4.4 at his Pro Day and benched 22 reps of 225 pounds.  He wasn't invited to the combine, so he's just now starting to climb up team's radar.  He could be an impact gunner right away, and possibly take the roster spot of whichever of the Lions' many question-mark-surrounded safeties flame out this training camp or offseason.  In a couple of years, this kid could be out of the NFL, or a valuable starter, but I look at him, and other players with a similar skill set, as a strong possiblity for one of the three late-round picks.

Another type I think the Lions will look hard at--if not addressed in the earlier rounds--is wide receiver/kick returner.  The Lions need lots of help at both WR and CB, and they desperately need all the experienced returners they can get.  A wideout that's caught my eye--and the Lions' eye--is Washington State senior Brandon Gibson.  A big target at 6'-1", 210, he's very strong and physical, has great feet and body control, and runs excellent routes.  In his junior season, he led the Pac 10 in receptions and yardage with 67 grabs for 1,180 yards.  His production took a step back his senior year, as he was essentially the only worthwhile offensive player on the field for Washington State, but he still hauled in 50 passes for 793 yards.  He returned kicks well in both high school and college, once earning a nomination for Pac-10 special teams Player of the Week.  He was unable to attend the combine, or Wazzou's Pro Day, due to a hamstring pull.  But, he held a repeat workout day at a local high school.  The Lions had scouts in attendance, as he worked out in the wind and rain.  Partially thanks to the conditions, he didn't put up great numbers; his 40 run was timed in the high 4.5 to low 4.6 range.  Since his deep speed was really the biggest question on his resume, having subpar times in iffy conditions didn't really help.  Still, going into his senior season, he was on the preseason Maxwell award(given to the nation's most outstanding player) watch list--the kid has first-round talent.  Did I mention that Lions OL coach George Yarno was coaching at Wazzou during Gibson's freshman and sophomore years?  Gibson's not going to sneak past the Lions.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see them make a move into the low fourth or high fifth to get him, if he's there.

Finally, I think the Lions could be looking at tight end in the later rounds.  Whether or not they surprise everyone and take a TE early, the Lions' depth at tight end needs to be rebuilt.  Casey Fitzsimmons hasn't shown any NFL ability since his rookie season, and that was five years ago.  Michael Gaines was neither a great blocker nor offensive weapon, and John Owens is gone.  Free agent signee Will Heller looks like a pure blocker.  It's well known that one of the greatest crutches for a QB is a tight end with great hands, who can get open quick and catch the ball reliably, especially on third down--and whether or not the Lions draft Stafford, the Lions's QBs will need all the crutches they can get.  A guy I really hope might be there is N.C. State's Anthony Hill.  At 6'-5", 262, Hill's a really big, strong guy with a long frame.  He's a great inline blocker, but he's got really nice hands and can get open in traffic.  I think the Lions desperately need this kind of TE, a big blocker who can get open and make the catch on 3rd-and-6; move the sticks, over and over and over.  I don't think the Lions are really in need of the field stretching, Gates/Winslow type.  Johnson and Johnson are both deep threats; there should be plenty of space underneath for a TE like Hill. 

These by no means represent my "list of guys I think the Lions should take", and definitely isn't my projection of who I think the Lions will take with any specific pick.  These some of the kinds of players I think the Lions can and should pursue with their second-day picks: big, fast safeties who can tackle, polished receivers who can return kicks, and big blocking tight ends with great hands.  All of these kinds of players could have a tangible presence on the Lions' roster from day one, and any of them might develop into solid role players down the road.  

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l.j. still in play

PFT, citing a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, says L.J. Smith will not be signing with the Falcons after all.  As the report states, Smith was down to Atlanta and Detroit, and now it won't be Atlanta, so . . . follow your nose.  If Smith is inked, that will give, er, whoever is playing QB for the Lions a legitimate pair of hands to lean on on third-and-7.  Linehan has always utilized recieving TEs well; I think this signing would be a big boon for the offense.  Moreover, it would pare the "gaping" roster holes--where we don't have anyone who could be considered a legit NFL starter down to MLB and QB, both of which should be able to be filled through the draft.  Let's see if Mayhew can land another "dollar ninja", to borrow a phrase from my compatriot in Lions fandom, DetFan1979.

UPDATE:  Well, that lasted about three and a half seconds.  Killer is reporting that the Lions signed free agent TE Will Heller--who, outside of having turned down a schollie to Julliard for his acting chops, has no more impressive of a resume than Gaines or Fitz.  Killer says he does not know if this affects the chances that L.J. Smith will be signed.  Oh, and Anthony Cannon has been released.

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old mother hubbard: the tight ends

Onward and outward from the football, , to the tight ends we go . . .

John Owens:  Some of you may remember this blast from the Millen past: a 6'-3", 255# TE out of Notre Dame, a fifth-round pick who contributed on and off for a few seasons.  After that, he bounced around Chicago, Miami, Cleveland, and New Orleans, until getting re-signed by the Lions late last year.  Owens is definitely a blocking-first tight end in a reciever's body, a guy who played both TE and DE in both high school and college.  Owens is a hard worker, but is neither gifted athletically, nor blessed with great hands, nor a "third tackle" blocking down the line.  Bottom line: just a guy.

Michael Gaines:  Gaines, a bit of a beast at 6'-4", 277, was originally drafted by Carolina in the seventh round.  Hailing from Central Florida University (Also Duante Culpepper's alma mater, if memory serves), Gaines was drafted by Carolina and saw occasional PT, culminating with 12 catches for 155 yards and two TDs in his third season.  Still, Carolina let him walk, and Buffalo picked him up right at the start of the season.  Despite waltzing in to a brand-new offense, Gaines got career highs in starts (14), receptions (25), and yards (215).  With at least one reception in every game he played (15), it seemed like Gaines might be starting to reach his potential.  So when the Bills released him and the Lions signed him, there was a bit of interest--could he be a diamond in the rough?  One season, six starts, 23 catches and 260 yards later, the answer is "probably not".  It's clear that he's a theoretically useful red zone target at that height, and has at least pretentions of being a two-way player.   He's more gifted than Owens, but I don't know if he wants it as badly.  Bottom line:  Gaines is a nice physical talent with some upside.  If the new offensive system actually uses the tight end position, he could develop into a good pass-catching #2 TE, or even a compelling red-zone option.

Casey Fitzsimmons:  Oh, man.  Somewhere, in an alternate Fan Wet Dream universe, Casey Fitsimmons was the Pro Bowl tight end on the Super Bowl-winning Lions.  He and co-MVP Mike McMahon recorded an authentic early-80s Detroit techno redux of the Super Bowl Shuffle, with features by fellow Pro-Bowlers Scotty Anderson, David Kircus, Jon Bradley, Danny "Blue" Adams, and Greg Blue.  Fitzsimmons hails from tiny Carroll College, an NAIA school in the middle of nowhere, Montana.  His high school team was so small it played 8-man football, and Fitsimmons played WR, TE, DE, and LB for them at various times.  Fitzsimmons was a sensation out of nowhere as a rookie in 2003.  At 6'-4", 258#, Casey displayed unusual athletic talent and a nose for the end zone.  Due to injuries, he was pressed into a starting role.  He started 11 of 16 games, and hauled in 23 catches for 160 yards and 2 TDs.  As we go into his seventh season in the NFL, he has yet to approach matching that kind of production.  Part of this is due to fragility--he's missed several games due to injury or illness in almost every season, including 4 in 2008.  Part of this is due to scheme; Martz's offenses really had no use for his talents.  And part of it, unfortunately, must be chalked up to him.  Bottom line: a pure recieving TE, and a fan favorite everyone would love to see reach his potential--but unless a miracle happens, he'll never be more than a great special teamer with a small but ardent set of fans.

SUMMARY:  The cupboard is shockingly, alarmingly bare here.  Three years of an offensive system where tight ends are almost completely vestigial have left the roster stripped of legitimate starting talent.  All three of these players are theoretically useful as depth, but Scott Linehan has always made great use of TEs--Lions fans should recall being terrorized by Jim Kleinsasser, and of course there was the sensational story of Randy McMichael in Miami (and then St. Louis!).  You can throw standout TE Brandon Pettigrew on the ten-man-long-list of "possibilites that would fill an need at 1.20", but I would look for a TE in the fourth or fifth round, possibly combined with a FA signing like soon-to-be-ex-Titan Bo Scaife.

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