Tight End Options Going Forward

[houstonravensfan]

Good move. Nothing ventured . . .

[Ravenswintitle]

NOW it's fixed. Unless we are forgetting someone else of note. Or unless you want to count Mason and Stover retiring as Ravens.

You're right I can't believe I forgot about Mason.

[The Excellector]

The issue that Bajema faces is that there's no upside with him and I'm not sure his blocking that significantly better than what you will get from Furstenburg. I think Maryland's QB situation is the main reason why Furstenburg is even considered a dark horse, compared to being a mid round pick, which is exactly what Pitta was.

[GOTA]

The issue that Bajema faces is that there's no upside with him and I'm not sure his blocking that significantly better than what you will get from Furstenburg. I think Maryland's QB situation is the main reason why Furstenburg is even considered a dark horse, compared to being a mid round pick, which is exactly what Pitta was.

They're both going to have to earn a spot. The only lock at TE is Dickson.

[Raven Werewolf]

I agree that signing VS can't really hurt.... after all who else is out there that might be better? But I also wonder just how much he'll be able to realistically contribute. The man is no spring chicken and he's already showed signs of slipping the last couple years. Nevermind last year when he couldn't even get on the field in NE. His YPREC wasn't bad in '11 but only averaged about 2 REC a game and that was when he was supposed to be one of the focal points of that O.

Assuming he sticks I'd expect he can a servicable backup to Ed/Bajema but probably not much more than that. I just hope he doesn't have an LJ Smith "impact" (such as it was) and wind up completely wasting a roster spot.

[s.r.genovese]

The issue that Bajema faces is that there's no upside with him and I'm not sure his blocking that significantly better than what you will get from Furstenburg. I think Maryland's QB situation is the main reason why Furstenburg is even considered a dark horse, compared to being a mid round pick, which is exactly what Pitta was.

The main reason why I think Furstenburg is a dark horse is that unlike most college TE's who start as receivers and maybe learn how to block somewhere down the line, he was the opposite. He came in as a big, blocking guy but surprised many coaches with athleticism and grew into a well-balanced TE.

He was 1st Team All ACC on a team without a QB. It's unfortunate that the most important year of his college career featured terrible QBs but anyone who watched him play through his career knew he was a damn good player.

[Bigfish]

I agree that signing VS can't really hurt.... after all who else is out there that might be better? But I also wonder just how much he'll be able to realistically contribute. The man is no spring chicken and he's already showed signs of slipping the last couple years. Nevermind last year when he couldn't even get on the field in NE. His YPREC wasn't bad in '11 but only averaged about 2 REC a game and that was when he was supposed to be one of the focal points of that O.

Having really no opinion of Visanthe before signing him I've been trying to catch up on him. First, he is 33, the same age as Boldin. Some players have shorter careers as their bodies break down quicker. Last year he was injured, but prior to that he went through 9 seasons of 16 games. So was last year an indication age caught up with him, or is it just a bump in the road? We'll see. But I don't think it's fair to point to his age and dismiss that Boldin's age isn't a factor. Tony Hernandez is 37.

Lots of posters have pointed to Furstenberg did not have a quality passer to throw to him. The chart below shows the quaterbacks he had for the last 6 years. He had some productive years even with poor quality quarterbacks.

		Visanthe Shiancoe
Year	QB	Tm	Age	G	GS	Rec	Yds
2007	Tarvaris Jackson, Kelly Holcomb, Brooks Bollinger	MIN	27	16	15	27	323
2008	Gus Frerotte, Tarvaris Jackson	MIN	28	16	15	42	596
2009	Brett Farve	MIN	29	16	13	56	566
2010	Brett Farve, Tarvaris Jackson, Joe Webb	MIN	30	16	9	47	530
2011	Donovan McNabb, Christian Ponder	MIN	31	16	14	36	409
2012	Tom Brady	NWE	32	4	0	0	0

Looking at his stats I can see him having 30+ receptions year, especially with the departure of Boldin, the loss of Pitta and most importantly being on the ravens with Joe throwing to him.

[blah3]

Could probably pry Brent Celek away from the Eagles for a pick.

[wickedsolo]

The main reason why I think Furstenburg is a dark horse is that unlike most college TE's who start as receivers and maybe learn how to block somewhere down the line, he was the opposite. He came in as a big, blocking guy but surprised many coaches with athleticism and grew into a well-balanced TE.

He was 1st Team All ACC on a team without a QB. It's unfortunate that the most important year of his college career featured terrible QBs but anyone who watched him play through his career knew he was a damn good player.

:word

[Paintballguy]

The main reason why I think Furstenburg is a dark horse is that unlike most college TE's who start as receivers and maybe learn how to block somewhere down the line, he was the opposite. He came in as a big, blocking guy but surprised many coaches with athleticism and grew into a well-balanced TE.

He was 1st Team All ACC on a team without a QB. It's unfortunate that the most important year of his college career featured terrible QBs but anyone who watched him play through his career knew he was a damn good player.

Agreed. Plus we know pass catches are valued much more than pure blockers in today's NFL.

[Money227]

Could probably pry Brent Celek away from the Eagles for a pick.

If the Ravens aren't happy with Dickson at around preseason week#3, I could totally see this happening. They will need about $3.3mil in cap space.

[Ravenalytics]

Celek is a very good TE. Not sure what the cost to get him would be considering Maclin's injury and the fact that they will probably release Cooper.