With Odell "limited", and the Cowboys inability to cover TEs, what are BBI's expectations for the rookie week 1? Rookie TE tend to adjust slowly to the pro game - but Engram is not your traditional rookie TE.
Fun fact: Dallas allowed the 2nd most receptions to TE last year and 8 TDs.
Too early to expect a huge impact? Between Beckham's ankle and the offense striving for more diverse personnel groupings/play calling, i'm having a hard time containing my excitement for Engram.
I think a new NFL star is born Sunday Night.
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He has picked up the NFL speed , by all accounts, and while there will be some growing pains, he should be a reliable option for Eli that he so desperately needed to make this O run smoothly and at times, lethal.
If that's all he does I'd be absolutely shocked.
I'm not predicting a 10 catch game for him - but all indications are that he's going to have a pretty significant role in this offense. If Beckham is limited or doesn't play at all, he's going to get a handful of looks.
He's exactly how we can exploit one of the Cowboys' biggest weaknesses.
Does Marshall still have it?
Will SS step up his game from last season and limit his mistakes?
Is Perkins a viable starter? Can Vereen finally get on the same page with Eli?
Can Double E be that TE we have been missing?
We don't know because Eli has not played with his new toys enough in the preseason.....
Look what happened to Brady last night? He lost Edelman before the season started....Then he lost Amendola.....the Chiefs took Gronk out of the game....this meant Brady had to go to unfamiliar players, that he had not played with that much in the preseason....
It's the same with Eli.....he has not had that much time on the field with his new players....Will he have instant success with them, or will it take several games?
How much were the Pats favored by? How much did they lose by? That first game is always an unknown for one of the teams involved......
I'm more concerned about how well he picks up his assignments in run blocking.
And he missed a lot of valuable practice time.
Yes, it's a different position - but this is a league now where if you're talented enough, you can step right in and make an immediate impact.
Look at what Kareem Hunt did last night...
I linked that highlight because I could see him burning Dallas' LB/DBs for a long TD - especially if they get any semblance of a run game going. Eli, Engram, and effective playaction would be unstoppable.
Sunday Night can't come soon enough.
In the first quarter
He has a rep as a cover 2 guy but in recent years he's run cover 1 and cover 3 much more. The article linked says cover 1 is their base and they use it roughly half of the time. Engram has the speed to exploit the space between the LBer and the safety, and should the safety cheat up, they should have the opportunity to to take some deep shots. If Beckham does play he would be an excellent decoy to keep that safety deep and exploit the seam.
I'm really looking forward to this chess match. The Giants have so many more pieces compared to last year,Mand they should be able to get guys into favorable matchups and scheme to find the weaknesses in the Dallas D. They have something to match nearly any defense. A speedy deep threat (who will admittedly not be at 100% if he does play), a big bodied receiver, a pass catching threat out of the backfield, a TE to work the middle. I'm sure McAdoo is champing at the bit to try out all of these new toys.
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7 yards. Not because I'm negative on him in the least. It's because that's what has happened often when the board is extremely high on a guy, be it receptions or rushing
If that's all he does I'd be absolutely shocked.
I'm not predicting a 10 catch game for him - but all indications are that he's going to have a pretty significant role in this offense. If Beckham is limited or doesn't play at all, he's going to get a handful of looks.
He's exactly how we can exploit one of the Cowboys' biggest weaknesses.
Let's hope so..He needs to help take up any slack an OBJ loss would cause
He'll catch about 3 passes a game but they'll be a lot of important, chain movers.
And that shouldn't be a knock - I think he'll have a lot of hidden value to this team.
I've been singing his praises all summer ... going to have a huge impact on this offense - may not show up in "fantasy points", but he will quickly be a fan favorite
Agreed, you're the first person talking about him here. No one else is.
I had this thought too. Which is why I started him on a few of my fan duel teams. They threw to him quite a bit with success in the first preseason game.
I think Ellison has a shot to have a bigger game then Engram.
I believe the latter is just okay,nothing special to write home about.
They've already said they want to be more diverse regarding personnel groupings / formations - what better way to do that then with a guy like Engram? You keep Ellison in line to help block / seal the edge while motioning Engram and instantly turn a "2 TE" formation into "3WR" without losing any athleticism.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I always felt Shepard would be the odd man out - assuming everyone's healthy / active (and I love Shepard, but Engram's potential may be hard to keep on the sidelines)
Do you mean trust him?
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but I think Ellison is going to become a much more popular name after week 1. No one is talking about him but he's going to get a lot of snaps every week. Eli doesn't ignore his weapons. Ellison is going to get plenty of targets.
Agreed, you're the first person talking about him here. No one else is.
I know. It's weird but I'm here to help.
Ok a few are talking about him.
I think Ellison has a shot to have a bigger game then Engram.
I think he was going to be on the field A LOT regardless of whether Odell played or not. But he'll probably be more of a focus if Odell doesn't play. The Jets preseason game was a clear sign of that and his stepping up to the challenge probably gave the coaching staff a lot of confidence in him. The fact that he didn't play in the NE preseason game is probably another clue of how much they value him and his role... they treated him like a starter.
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That's really the key.
Do you mean trust him?
Nope, trash.
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Why the hell not!
wait for it...
One thing I'd like to see? Some multiple TE looks like what the Chiefs employed last night to get the running game going.
Beezer : 4:22 pm : link : reply
Why the hell not!
I will up you in yards 7-131-2 TD's
I think that's the case with little known preseason guys like King last year, but we can look at Beckham and Shepard who both were stars in their first game. I believe Shepard had 100 yards and a TD. Not sure who was the last big draft pick who had a nondescript debut.
ellison,shepard and engram,add vereen and perkins here too should have plenty of targets between them that young secondry will be badly outmatched as long as the OL does enough to keep eli clean,with all the suspensions and rookies in the front 7 would like them to run alot too
wait for it...
Extraordinarily well played sir!
I expect there to be somewhere between 8-12 Engram plays in the game on Sunday -- and he will be used to break cover two -- bank on it
As far as Ellison goes -- think Witten -- he will be used exactly how Whitten is used -- to block and move the chains for tough yardage -- and I think Witten is a good comparison for his skill set and discipline.
These are two serious weapons and Mac and Eli are going to use both of them early and often. They'd be foolish not to - even if Beckham is at full strength, because having options out there is the way to play the game if you have them.
this..not because of being high on a player...but he'll be still learning the o, still getting on same page with eli..a few miss routes or communications, and getting used to the pro game
I look to him co.ing around and comfortable after mid season and toward end of season (if he doesn't hit rookie wall on longer grind of a season) barring any injuries to him