Priority News - Ben Troupe

[Perchoutofwater]

The priority news states :

Before you go marking him way up on your rankings, consider that the tight ends are being called on to block more this year and there is a realistic chance that the rookie Vince Young will start his learning curve at some point during the season.

 

I would think VY coming in would be a good thing for Troupe. Young QB's (no pun intended) love TE's. At Texas last year, David Thomas was #1 in receptions, #2 in receiving yards, and tied for #1 in receiving TD's. He had 50 receptions for 613 yards and 5 TD's. While I like David Thomas, he is no Ben Troupe. If anything, I would think that VY coming in would boost Troupes numbers, because of his value as a saftey valve.

Edited August 1, 2006 by Perchoutofwater

[matt770]

The priority news states :

 

I would think VY coming in would be a good thing for Troupe. Young QB's (no pun intended) love TE's. At Texas last year, David Thomas was #1 in receptions, #2 in receiving yards, and tied for #1 in receiving TD's. He had 50 receptions for 613 yards and 5 TD's. While I like David Thomas, he is no Ben Troupe. If anything, I would think that VY coming in would boost Troupes numbers, because of his value as a saftey valve.

 

 

Don't think this really changes Troupe's status as a late round TE with low to moderate upside. I don't see him putting up monster numbers in the TEN offense this year, regardless of the QB. Young starting only makes Troupe more unpredictable as rookie QBs usually struggle in their first year in the NFL.

 

You should consider yourself lucky if you take him as the 12th TE off the board and he finishes in the top ten. IMHO.

[DMD]

The Titans offense continues to evolve under Chow and they relied heavily on all their tight ends last year if only because they couldn't keep healthy wideouts on the field. That is not supposed to happen nearly as much this year (in theory anyway) but I found it interesting that they still want to involve Troupe even if it meant splitting him out.

 

Young did throw to tight ends a lot last year and having Troupe as a big target no doubt helps, but it's hard to rely on what that relationship may be in the early stages.

[geeteebee]

Young did throw to tight ends a lot last year and having Heap as a big target no doubt helps, but it's hard to rely on what that relationship may be in the early stages.

 

Heap plays for the Titans?

[DMD]

Heap plays for the Titans?

 

 

I just woke up. I got it right the first time.

[spain]

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar.../608010356/1027

 

Tuesday, 08/01/06

 

Titans see Troupe as an option receiver

Could be a wideout, tight end, lead blocker

 

By DAVID BOCLAIR

The Daily News Journal

 

 

CLARKSVILLE — Flexibility — in every sense of the word — equals possibility for Ben Troupe.

 

The Titans' third-year tight end is flexible (characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different or changing requirements) enough to have coaches considering new and unusual ways to use him this fall. For example, Coach Jeff Fisher recently noted that there is the chance Troupe could be split out as a wide receiver in an attempt to create mismatches.

 

Tennessee's first selection in the 2004 draft (40th overall) also is flexible (yielding to influence) enough to have taken the lessons of a new position coach to heart. John Zernhelt was hired as tight ends coach this past offseason with the mandate that he improve the unit's blocking, something that never has been Troupe's greatest strength or passion.

 

Finally, the team's second-leading receiver last season also is flexible (capable of being flexed) enough to make those around him believe he can be a more-than-capable blocker despite a long, lean frame and his obvious worth as a pass-catcher.

 

"I can't do splits or anything like that," he said. "I just thank God for the ability to go out there and do whatever's asked of me. I don't want to be a guy who, when you say tight ends and you think of limitations. I don't want to be a guy who's limited. ... I try to just be a guy who can do a lot."

 

The trend in recent seasons has been for tight ends increasingly to become relied upon as pass receivers. In 2004, Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez led the league with 102 receptions. San Diego's Antonio Gates has averaged 85 catches the past two years and was sixth in the NFL with 89 in 2005.

 

The Titans certainly contributed to the tide last fall. Troupe, Erron Kinney, Bo Scaife and Gregg Guenther combined for 149 receptions, the second-highest total for a single team's tight ends in NFL history. Troupe, Kinney and Scaife were just the third trio of tight ends ever to have at least 30 catches apiece in the same year.

 

This season they are looking for a reversal, at least somewhat, particularly given the fact that the offense was 23rd in rushing with 1,525 yards, the franchise's lowest total in a 16-game season since 1990.

 

"If you can run the football you're going to win a lot of football games," Zernhelt said. "(The tight ends) are the keep-the-ball moving guys. They're the guys that make first downs for you catching the football, and if you can make four yards on first down (rushing) you have a second-and-6. Now you have the shorter routes to the tight ends available.

 

"So that's where the two fit in together."

 

According to Zernhelt, blocking comes down to three things: Footwork at the moment the ball is snapped, ability to gain leverage initially and then the ability to move your feet.

 

The attributes that help make Troupe such a capable receiver directly relate to his efforts on the first and third counts.

 

"Troupe's a great athlete and he's got such quick feet that he can get you off balance and get on the edge of you a lot quicker than most tight ends," Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said.

 

His limber muscles complete the package because they allow him easily to bend his 6-foot-4 frame into a position where he can gain leverage against an opposing linebacker or lineman.

 

"He's got excellent flexibility and he's got the ability to play with low pads," Zernhelt said. "Some have a problem with that. He doesn't."

 

Flexibility. The word comes up again and again when the topic is Troupe.

 

Fisher used it when asked about the numerous places Troupe could line up in a formation, including in the backfield as a fullback/H-back.

 

"He is flexible enough, but we are going to leave that to the fullbacks and (Scaife)," Fisher said.

 

It was implied when Zernhelt discussed his efforts to improve his blocking and called him "a very willing student."

 

The one area where the 24-year-old (he'll turn 25 six days before the regular season opener) stands rigid is in his determination to prove that virtually anything is possible when he is on the field. That, he believes, will make it all but impossible for an opposing defense to know what to expect when the offense breaks the huddle.

 

"Everybody wants to make that big play to win the game, but sometimes to win the game it's a third-and-1," Troupe said. "If you want to come through in the clutch in the passing game but you're off the field in the run game then you're easy to game plan (against). When you're on the field in every situation they have to look out for whoever's in there, so that's what we're trying to do.

 

" ... We definitely want to place a big emphasis on blocking. Any tight end wants to go out there and catch the ball, but we want to be all around tight ends."

 

The possibilities are almost limitless.

 

"If you're a tight end in our offense, you play flanker, you play split end, you play tight end and you're a fullback, you motion in the backfield," Zernhelt said. "They're pretty flexible. They have to be flexible."

 

Troupe, for one, fits the bill. •