What's the deal with Troupe?

[OpIv37]

I honestly don't know anything about him, but statistically he's no upgrade over Royal. If we get him, is he going to be an improvement? Or is it just another case of the Bills going cheap at TE?

[The Spaz]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

I honestly don't know anything about him, but statistically he's no upgrade over Royal. If we get him, is he going to be an improvement? Or is it just another case of the Bills going cheap at TE?

Cheap or not we need TE's period. We only have Royal and Johnson and Schouman under contract.

[Mad Max]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

I honestly don't know anything about him, but statistically he's no upgrade over Royal. If we get him, is he going to be an improvement? Or is it just another case of the Bills going cheap at TE?

Troupe shmoop. I remember him coming out of Florida and thought he was going to be good then. He never materialized. The Titans fans say hes dumb as a brick, can't block, and is lazy..other than that he's great. More anecdotal evidence is that he got replaced by Bo Scaife!?

Let's draft a TE on day 1.

[OpIv37]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

Cheap or not we need TE's period. We only have Royal and Johnson and Schouman under contract.

true, but it's just frustrating that our TE's have been sub-par for a ****ing decade and the FO continues to address it with bargain basement FA's and late round draft picks. I know we can't fill every need every year, but upgrading a position once a decade shouldn't be too much to ask.

[hydro]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

Troupe shmoop. I remember him coming out of Florida and thought he was going top be good then. He never materialized. The Titans fans say hes dumb as a brick, can't block, and is lazy..other than that he's great. More anecdotal evidence is that he got replaced by Bo Scaife!?

Let's draft a TE on day 1.

I agree.

[The Spaz]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

true, but it's just frustrating that our TE's have been sub-par for a ****ing decade and the FO continues to address it with bargain basement FA's and late round draft picks. I know we can't fill every need every year, but upgrading a position once a decade shouldn't be too much to ask.

Even if we sign Troupe I see us taking a TE early in the draft. As you pointed out with Troupe subpar production we can get him on the cheap and maybe he finally turns it around. I do know the TE position has to be upgraded though.

[Night Train]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

Troupe shmoop. I remember him coming out of Florida and thought he was going to be good then. He never materialized. The Titans fans say hes dumb as a brick, can't block, and is lazy..other than that he's great. More anecdotal evidence is that he got replaced by Bo Scaife!?

Let's draft a TE on day 1.

I don't think they'll offer him much and will still draft a TE regardless.

[Kerr]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

I'd take a chance on the guy. You don't go from solid rookie and sophmore seasons into a slump without having motivation issues.
Like a lot of players, the guy needs motivation. Sad, but true.

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

If they do get him, it is not as much being cheap as it is slim pickings this year.

There is not much out there at TE.

[YardRat]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

I'd still prefer Crumpler, but if Troupe ends up signing that'll be another position addressed and upgraded, so OK. Dude's a load at 270.

[Bert102176]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

with Young at QB he doesn't get the ball thrown at him much but the guy would def. be an upgrade at TE but I would love to se us draft Davis at TE

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

Here's the skinny on Troupe, OP (I had him on a FF team a couple of years ago, so I checked him out fairly thoroughly):

He was supposed to be Kellen Winslow Jr before KW2 when he came out of Florida as a top draft choice. He was supposed to be the guy who would make Titans fans forget about the loss of Frank Wycheck to retirement.

Like a lot of Florida players, though, he's not the swiftest finger on the mental trigger, despite being an exceptional athlete--and he was considered an exceptional athlete for his position coming out of college.

Troupe had the luxury of being behind McNair's favorite target, E.Kinney, the starting TE as a rookie. Still he had a pretty good rookie year, showing flashes of great promise at times as he moved past their other TE (whose name I forget, but who was not a stiff) as the season progressed.

His second year was supposed to be his coming out party and he was expected to really step up big and become a star. Then, he got hurt. He came back and got hurt again. Still, he wasn't bad when he was on the field. He had 55 catches, 4 for TDs and 530 yards in 15 games, but only 11 starts.

A lot of people were looking for him to follow that up with a big breakout year, but he got hurt again, played in only 10 games (9 starts), but this time he wasn't anywhere near as effective. With McNair gone and replaced by V.Young, it is hard to say how effective he could have been that season had he been fully healthy, but it wasn't a good season for him and it was a turning point in his career with the Titans.

While Troupe was injured that year, his place in the starting lineup was taken by Bo Scaife--who, not so coincidently, was Vince Young's starting TE at Texas. When Troupe came back last season, a lot of people still thought that he was going to have a breakout year, but Scaife was firmly ensconced in the Titans' starting lineup and Troupe could not move past him on the depth chart, even though he was fully healthy. With the Titans having taken precautions against him getting hurt again at TE, he sank to 3rd on the depth chart and saw more and more limited action as the season progressed, although he did appear in 16 games.

While I don't know to what extent his injuries may have limited him, if he's fully healthy, athletically, Troupe is a 1st Round talent. In that regard, he has the ability to be everything that you would want the Bills to get at the TE position.

Mentally and maturity-wise, he had a long way to go coming out of college, but he has been around for 4 years and getting injured and losing your job does have a way of sobering up a lot of guys. I think that this is going to be the area that the Bills are going to be looking closely at when they talk with him. IMHO, this, as much as anything will be where they will make a decision about whether they will make him an offer or not.

If his injuries have not robbed him of significant athletic ability, Troupe is a real thorough-bred athlete--there aren't a lot of guys at his position who started out with more sheer athletic ability. But, like thorough-bred horses, a lot of thorough-bred athletes have a tendency to get hurt--they will miss a game or two here and there or suffer a major injury because they will try to do things that other, less athletically-gifted players won't even attempt or be asked to do. And, that has been the case with Troupe.

Also, because of their athletic ability, thorough-bred athletes often get a "pass" early on if they "aren't the brightest bulb on the tree" or are immature or don't work hard. And, from some reports, that, also, was the case to a certain extent with Troupe, at least initially, as well.

The Bills are going to have to talk with Troupe--look at his medical records, but, most importantly, try to ascertain if the rough season that he had last year has made him determined to get his career back on track--before they make any decision about signing him.

If they determine that he is ready to come back with a renewed sense of determination to recapture the career that he had the potential to have coming into the league, he could be a terrific signing because he has the athletic ability to be a serious deep-threat and has good hands.

And, he may not be that expensive. He's been to Tampa Bay, but they have Alex Smith, who they are paying big money to and they may not be that interested in giving Troupe that much. The Bills, with three low-paid players on the roster at the position and just Royal getting any kind of money, may be able to offer a bit more if they think that he is ready to finally have a breakout season.

Signing him would be a risk. But, that's where the Bills FO and coaches will have to decide where Troupe's head is at these days. Athletically, if he's fully healthy again, he has the goods.

[kernowboy]

Re: What's the deal with Troupe?

For me, with all the moves we've made, I had TE being a pick we'd make in the forth round as we would possibly go with CB in R1 (due to the FA cost of this position) gorge ourselves on a DT in R2, as we need some insurance in case Stroud got injured and to upgrade in the rotation over Williams who is limited even if he gives effort and in R3, grab a big WR like Bowman.

Currently the players grading out as a R4 selection after the combine are John Carlson, Kellen Davis, and JerMichael Finlay. If the Front Office, thinks Troupe who is still only 25, can bring the same as these guys then it makes sense to bring him in and use the draft selection elsewhere. They'll have seen at the TEs at the combine so this will be what they will consider I think.