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Sheffler's foot injury a concern


Randall
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Before fretting over the condition of Tony Scheffler, it might help to identify exactly who he is.

An H-back? A hybrid (receiver and tight end)? A receiving tight end?

 

"It seems like they put a new label on it every year," Scheffler said.

Whatever the position is called, Scheffler is one of the NFL's best. It's a group that includes Dallas Clark, Chris Cooley, perhaps Kellen Winslow Jr. and Jason Witten, maybe even Antonio Gates.

 

 

"Not a bad group to be in these days, especially in this era," Scheffler said.

 

Give Scheffler a healthy 16-game season and where would he rank among the elite pass-catching tight ends? Count the last four games of his 2006 rookie season, and the final 12 games of 2007, and Scheffler had 60 catches in that 16-game span for nine touchdowns and a 12.6-yard average per catch.

 

Tony Gonzalez, the top receiving tight end with 99 catches last season, had five touchdowns and an 11.8-yard average. Witten, who ranked second in catches among tight ends, had seven touchdowns and an 11.9-yard average. Winslow, the third-most prolific receiving tight end, had five TDs.

 

This is not exactly comparing apples to apples, but it does offer a peek at the kind of untapped weapon the Broncos have in Scheffler.

Which is why his foot injury should be every bit as worrisome as Brandon Marshall's gashed right forearm.

If Marshall isn't quite himself this year, the Broncos have proven receiver depth behind him in Darrell Jackson, Keary Colbert, Samie Parker and Brandon Stokley. That foursome has a combined 945 career catches for 13,359 yards and 91 TDs.

Replacing Scheffler is a bit more daunting, as his lone backup, Nate Jackson, has 16 career catches for 156 yards and one touchdown.

It's June, so the Broncos say no one should worry.

 

Marshall, the Broncos' best receiver, severely damages his right arm and Scheffler, the Broncos' second-best receiver, reinjures the left foot he badly damaged a year ago.

 

"It's nothing I'm losing sleep over," Scheffler said.

 

Call me cynical but I think there are a couple of reasons to already worry about the Broncos' passing game this year — and a quarterback with Type 1 diabetes isn't one of them. Maybe all those years of covering the Rockies' spring training has left me jaded.

There would be springs when Darren Holmes couldn't get anybody out, and Kevin Ritz couldn't get anybody out and Darryl Kile couldn't get anybody out. And those pitchers would advise the press to stop making their struggles such a big deal. It's only spring training, they said.

Then the regular season began and Holmes, Ritz and Kile couldn't get anybody out.

Experience taught me to never dismiss preseason developments.

 

On the 10 o'clock news the other day, there was a story about Marshall talking to schoolchildren while flashing arguably the NFL's greatest smile. That was nice, but greater encouragement was a cutaway shot of Marshall signing an autograph with his right hand.

 

If Marshall can grip a Sharpie, maybe it won't be long before he can clutch a zinging Jay Cutler spiral.

 

What makes Scheffler's injury more disconcerting is the perception of regression. He broke his left foot while running a pass pattern May 21, 2007. On May 19, 2008, while running another pass pattern, Scheffler felt a pop in the same left foot, in the same fifth metatarsal.

Even if it wasn't fractured this time, it didn't exactly have the feeling of progress.

 

"It had been feeling great," Scheffler said. "I thought I was completely past it. That's the frustrating part about it. I felt like I had finally found my place in this organization. Felt like I could contribute a lot. It finally felt right for the first time after last year. And then to fall back, it's hard. But that's what makes athletes better."

 

To get through last season, Scheffler wore a steel shank on the bottom of his sole.

"It was extremely uncomfortable but it got me through the games pretty well," he said.

 

If he has to wear the cumbersome, if supportive, shank for another season, so be it. Scheffler admitted it might be two more years before the foot is pain-free. This is not exactly a comforting thought about an H-back/hybrid/receiving tight end who in a 16-game span caught more touchdown passes than Witten and Winslow had the previous two years.

 

Scheffler ran some sprints following practice Friday, and he may or may not return to the team's next offseason practice Tuesday, a decision that will be left to trainer Steve Antonopulos.

 

"No worries," Scheffler said, looking back as he walked away.

Easy for him to say.

 

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_9508764

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I read the article yesterday. The thing that immediately leapt off the page for me was no mention of Daniel Graham, who happens to be the starting TE in DEN. Graham was also a prolific pass catcher at CU and both NE and DEN didn't/don't seem to want to investigate his pass catching capability at the pro level. It seems to me that if you have a superb run blocking TE who can also catch, it allows you to leave him on the field more and gives the O more flexibility.

 

Then I noticed that the article was written by Klis. That explained the lack of mention of Daniel Graham. You could put the amount of football knowledge that Klis & Woody Paige have into a shot glass and still have plenty of room for some good scotch.

Edited by Bronco Billy
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I read the article yesterday. The thing that immediately leapt off the page for me was no mention of Daniel Graham, who happens to be the starting TE in DEN. Graham was also a prolific pass catcher at CU and both NE and DEN didn't/don't seem to want to investigate his pass catching capability at the pro level. It seems to me that if you have a superb run blocking TE who can also catch, it allows you to leave him on the field more and gives the O more flexibility.

 

Then I noticed that the article was written by Klis. That explained the lack of mention of Daniel Graham. You could put the amount of football knowledge that Klis & Woody Paige have into a shot glass and still have plenty of room for some good scotch.

 

so in PTI fashion

 

Are you buying or selling Tony Schefler

 

Are you buying or selling Daniel Graham

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I read the article yesterday. The thing that immediately leapt off the page for me was no mention of Daniel Graham, who happens to be the starting TE in DEN. Graham was also a prolific pass catcher at CU and both NE and DEN didn't/don't seem to want to investigate his pass catching capability at the pro level. It seems to me that if you have a superb run blocking TE who can also catch, it allows you to leave him on the field more and gives the O more flexibility.

 

Then I noticed that the article was written by Klis. That explained the lack of mention of Daniel Graham. You could put the amount of football knowledge that Klis & Woody Paige have into a shot glass and still have plenty of room for some good scotch.

 

 

That is surprising(Graham). Klis not mentioning him would seem to be more a lack of respect for him than lack of football knowledge. Even midwesterners like me know he was their top overall TE for much of last season. Thanks. We have some pretty clueless reporters working for the Milwaukee papers too.

 

I like Scheffler and he does make a very good red zone target.

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so in PTI fashion

 

Are you buying or selling Tony Schefler

 

Are you buying or selling Daniel Graham

 

I was buying Graham last year, and then I saw Shanahan use him the exact same way that Belichick did. That bothers me, especially after watching the way he could catch passes, even in the deep outer third, at CU.

 

I'd say the value is in Graham, though. Scheffler seems to have a very diffcult time staying heathly, and he's still going off draft boards as a starting TE. Scheffler brings a different element to the game as a TE - he has great hands and Cutler no doubt trusts him. But if he can't stay on the field, he can't help your team. I'd say he's overvalued right now.

 

If Scheffler's 100%, he'd be a steal as the 11th/12th TE off the board. But his risk/reward ratio is way to high on the negative side for my taste. Take Graham in the last round of your draft as your #2 TE, or watch him on the WW, and then keep a close eye on Scheffler's progress is the way I'd play it.

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Klis not mentioning him would seem to be more a lack of respect for him than lack of football knowledge.

 

:wacko:

 

Never - never! - underestimate how little about sports that DEN sports reporters know. I think the interview process takes place in a bar, and the way they get a job is in chugging contests (plus having a Hate Bush bumper sticker).

 

There are a handful who know their stuff, and it actually has gotten better in the past couple of years, but overall the DEN sportswriters have about as much sports acumen as Waterman.

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I was buying Graham last year, and then I saw Shanahan use him the exact same way that Belichick did. That bothers me, especially after watching the way he could catch passes, even in the deep outer third, at CU.

 

I'd say the value is in Graham, though. Scheffler seems to have a very diffcult time staying heathly, and he's still going off draft boards as a starting TE. Scheffler brings a different element to the game as a TE - he has great hands and Cutler no doubt trusts him. But if he can't stay on the field, he can't help your team. I'd say he's overvalued right now.

 

If Scheffler's 100%, he'd be a steal as the 11th/12th TE off the board. But his risk/reward ratio is way to high on the negative side for my taste. Take Graham in the last round of your draft as your #2 TE, or watch him on the WW, and then keep a close eye on Scheffler's progress is the way I'd play it.

fwiw, owen daniels was my next pick in the Tri-Draft :wacko:

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fwiw, owen daniels was my next pick in the Tri-Draft :wacko:

 

BTW - I think you're having a strong draft in the tridraft, FWIW. You're building your team in the right way for this league (and for NFL rules emphasis), and your solid across all positions with your strength at WR and taking a RBBC approach with lesser RBs. I particularly like it because it's the same strategy I'm using. That makes you either incredibly brilliant or incredibly stupid. :D

 

Well played, sir.

Edited by Bronco Billy
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:D

 

Never - never! - underestimate how little about sports that DEN sports reporters know. I think the interview process takes place in a bar, and the way they get a job is in chugging contests (plus having a Hate Bush bumper sticker).

 

There are a handful who know their stuff, and it actually has gotten better in the past couple of years, but overall the DEN sportswriters have about as much sports acumen as Waterman.

 

 

That's pretty sad. Milwaukee reporters know more but just reject that knowledge. I don't know which is worse. :wacko:

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That's pretty sad. Milwaukee reporters know more but just reject that knowledge. I don't know which is worse. :wacko:

 

That, and sports reporters would be rank amateurs in chugging contests in Milwaukee bars (he say having a vast pool of knoweldge from spending his first 23 years of life living in Milwaukee - some of it under various barstools).

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BTW - I think you're having a strong draft in the tridraft, FWIW. You're building your team in the right way for this league (and for NFL rules emphasis), and your solid across all positions with your strength at WR and taking a RBBC approach with lesser RBs. I particularly like it because it's the same strategy I'm using. That makes you either incredibly brilliant or incredibly stupid. :wacko:

 

Well played, sir.

Stupid is as stupid does :D

 

 

but in all seriousness I dont play in any 12 team non-idp leagues(only play in 16 &32 teamers) or re-draft leagues(just 32 homers and that is far from normal)

so it is a major adjustment for me in a draft like this but whenever I do a mock for a league I will almost always try a different strategy then I have in the past.

 

edit: i forgot that last yr I participated in some draft master league(12 teams)...but it was a "best ball" format so that adds even a bigger difference to the way you draft (and I am doing it again this yr too).

Edited by keggerz
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Regarding Dan Graham, he was known as a guy that would drop a lot of passes when he was in New England. He got open, but couldn't handle the ball. He also became a great blocking TE. So then ended up using him more sparingly in pass patterns because he was more reliable at doing his job blocking.

 

His rookie hear he had not Ben Watson to compete with, and in Watson's rookie year he was injured. Graham just didn't distinguish himself as a receiver....and it's not like NE receivers were competing with Moss and Welker back then for looks.

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Regarding Dan Graham, he was known as a guy that would drop a lot of passes when he was in New England. He got open, but couldn't handle the ball. He also became a great blocking TE. So then ended up using him more sparingly in pass patterns because he was more reliable at doing his job blocking.

 

His rookie hear he had not Ben Watson to compete with, and in Watson's rookie year he was injured. Graham just didn't distinguish himself as a receiver....and it's not like NE receivers were competing with Moss and Welker back then for looks.

 

Huh.

 

Well, that's a surprise. Graham's catch/target ratio is better than Watson's (or Shockey's, Gates', or even R Moss' & TO's for that matter), though it isn't quite as good as Gonzo's or Witten's.

 

But it's still well up in the better TE's range.

 

catch/target % (TEs)

 

Witten 70.7%

Gonzalez 67.5%

Graham 66.4%

Gates 64.6%

Shockey 59.6%

Watson 58.3%

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Huh.

 

Well, that's a surprise. Graham's catch/target ratio is better than Watson's (or Shockey's, Gates', or even R Moss' & TO's for that matter), though it isn't quite as good as Gonzo's or Witten's.

 

But it's still well up in the better TE's range.

 

catch/target % (TEs)

 

Witten 70.7%

Gonzalez 67.5%

Graham 66.4%

Gates 64.6%

Shockey 59.6%

Watson 58.3%

 

Interesting. And I thought someone might hit me with stats :wacko:

 

All I can say is that I can remember the feeling of being pissed at Graham so many times as he dropped important passes, especially in his first 2 seasons. My eyes tell me that he dropped many important throws. His targets went down as a result of that and the addition of Watson.

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