Chris Brown's tight end update

[yordad]

7. Chris, I have a question about the TE’s. I do not recall seeing Courtney Anderson’s name in any of the OTA notes. I try to follow the OTA notes as much as possible, but never seem to see his name. I see Schouman’s name in there as benefiting from Royal not being there, but nothing on Anderson. Is he participating, if so, do you see anything from him?

Thanks
Chris

CB: Anderson has been participating fully, but Schouman is the one who really shined this spring. Anderson I think will still be a help in the red zone due to his large frame and ability to shield defenders from the ball, but Schouman has opened some eyes. He has already developed a chemistry with Trent Edwards and has been getting consistent separation from defenders. I believe Schouman will be a stiff challenge for Robert Royal for the starting tight end role come training camp. I believe Anderson is in that mix, but Schouman is the more versatile player in my opinion.

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?NEWS_ID=6155

Interesting.

[Oaf]

Re: Chris Brown's tight end update

Thanks for the tidbit, yordad. Can Schouman be a legitimate starting TE in the NFL? Well here's to hoping another TE project will work out.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Re: Chris Brown's tight end update

Thanks for the tidbit, yordad. Can Schouman be a legitimate starting TE in the NFL? Well here's to hoping another TE project will work out.

I absolutely hate the way that so many fans will go to a few draft sites (most of which are run by fans, not scouts) on or before Draft Day to look up who "tore it up" at The Combine and what the top five players at a position that their team may draft and then decide that a player must be lousy or not have a chance to ever be good if: 1.) the player isn't rated in the top 5 at his position by most of those draft sites; or 2.) the player is from a smaller school and didn't put up freakish numbers at The Combine; or 3.) the player got drafted in the middle or later rounds; or 4.) the player does not step into the starting lineup by the middle of the preseason and tear up the league as a rookie.

You see it on this messageboard all of the time: "Oh, he sucks!" "He's a project" (ie "he'll never amount to anything"), etc., etc., etc. At least half of the time, they've never seen the player play in college more than once or twice. Or, take into consideration that there might be reasons why that player was drafted in the latter rounds of the draft or might not have been ready to start in the NFL on Day One, let alone become ROY.

And, the funny thing is that it doesn't matter that these are fans who have just seen guy go from being an UDFA without a position to become a first team Pro Bowler at his position in just three years. "Oh, well, he doesn't count, he's the exception, he's a freak!" To a certain extent that is true, but there are a lot of guys playing in the NFL, quality starters and key depth players, who were late round draft picks and UDFAs. Guys like Derek Schoumann.

Well, to answer your question directly, here's the skinny on Schoumann:

Schoumann is not the athletic freak that a K.Winslow III or V.Davis is (neither is J.Whitten BTW), but he was a good college player. While a bit undersized in college, he has very good hands, is mobile and had a knack for getting open and making big plays in the clutch (when Boise St. ran the Statue of Liberty play for a two point conversion to beat Oklahoma, it was Schoumann who caught the TD pass on 4th down leading to that conversion attempt; he also had a big catch and run to convert a critical 3rd down earlier in the game, etc.).

When Schoumann started at Boise St., they ran a wide open, almost spread offense. Despite being on the smallish side, he played TE, mostly in-line, but also flexed out into the slot as a "move" TE at times. Prior to his last season, however, they switched to more of a run-oriented offense where they used Schoumann in a variety of roles: sometimes paired with a bigger blocking TE as the "move" TE in 2 TE sets, sometimes as an H-back, sometimes in the slot.

Because he was on the smallish side, in terms of weight, Schoumann was not a great "in-line" blocker as a TE. Being a willing blocker, he was much better blocking as an H-back or "move" TE, where he could use his speed/quickness to get better leverage on his block. Because there were questions about whether Schoumann could get big enough and strong enough to be effective and handle the pounding as an "in-line" TE, he was considered to be more of an H-back prospect. Not being as big as the top TEs in his draft class and with more NFL teams looking for TEs who are good "in-line" blockers than H-backs, Schoumann's stock dropped, even though he was sometimes compared to a Chris Cooley.

Having watched Schoumann play quite a lot in college, I was delighted that the Bills were able to get him in the seventh round last year. I thought that he had a real shot to develop into a good player as an H-back in the system that the Bills were using. But, considering that he would have to put on weight and get stronger, I felt that he would need some time to develop.

As it turned out, due to the injuries that they had at TE, Schoumann got a chance to play much sooner than I thought he would. He didn't do badly, all things considered, and was beginning to show some of the receiving ability that he has when he suffered the injury that ended his season. Schoumann showed enough in that limited time as a rookie, however, to lead me to believe that he can play in the NFL.

The question with Schoumann is his size--specifically his weight. He's never going to be a 250-270 lb bruiser like C.Anderson. He can probably carry about 240-250 lbs, but not much more than that top number. As a result, he's not going to be able to be the kind of "in-line" blocker that a bigger TE has the ability to become. And, if that is what the Bills want from their TEs, well, Schoumann is not going to be able to be that kind of "in-line" blocking TE.

But, that doesn't mean that he can't be a valuable weapon as a TE--and not just an H-back--in the NFL. He is a good receiver with decent speed and good hands who can get open at least on short and intermediate routes (think Jay Riemersma). He can be effective as an "in line" TE in the passing game, as a "move" TE in 2 TE sets, and even will be able give you something as an "in-line" blocker in the running game if you don't expect him to overpower his block or cave in his side of the line.

Can he be an All-Pro caliber TE? No, I don't think so. But, I do think that, if he can keep his weight/strength up, he can be an above average TE, particularly as a receiver. IMHO, Schoumann's biggest drawback is his lack of size: he doesn't have ideal height, weight or speed. He's got decent height and speed, but not ideal--he's not a big target or a guy with WR speed who can go 40 yards downfield on a route. And, he's going to have to work to keep on enough weight to be effective as an "in-line" blocker. But, he has the ability to be a nice receiver, particularly in the middle of the field and going up the seams. And, he will at least try to make a good block (there are guys with better size and athleticism who won't do that!).

Obviously, I've watched the guy play a lot and I like him. I was worried that the Bills' coaching staff might have problems with his lack of size, considering that they were going away from the H-back system to a FB. So, I was pleased to see that he showed as much as he did at the OTAs and was given as many reps as he got (I'm still a little concerned that they were giving him an opportunity to give them an excuse to cut him).

If he can keep his weight up and is strong enough to give the coaches the kind of blocking that they are looking for from their starting TE, I could see Schoumann giving Royal a battle for the starting TE job, particularly if Royal doesn't come back ready to play, in training camp. IMHO, he has the potential to be a nice receiver for the Bills from the TE position this season if they can find ways to use him properly.

[Jan Reimers]

Re: Chris Brown's tight end update

I find it a little odd that Brown made no mention of Fine.

[Oaf]

Re: Chris Brown's tight end update

Sorry, I guess it's just the frustration that has set in since Riemiersma. No doubt low rounders and UDFAs can make an impact in this league. It just seems that it is all we've relied on the last 6 years, rather than making a concerted effort to get one high caliber player, and it's amounted to close to nothing.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Re: Chris Brown's tight end update

Sorry, I guess it's just the frustration that has set in since Riemiersma. No doubt low rounders and UDFAs can make an impact in this league. It just seems that it is all we've relied on the last 6 years, rather than making a concerted effort to get one high caliber player, and it's amounted to close to nothing.

After the debacle of the 2005 season, R.Wilson brought back M.Levy to clean out the lockerroom and begin rebuilding the team--they wouldn't say that they were going to do that or admit that the team was being rebuilt, pretty much from the ground up, but that is what they did and any knowledgeable fan or observer had to know that.

By the time Levy was finished cleaning out the lockerroom, there was precious little left in the way of top-flight talent and a lot of holes in the roster that had to be filled.

Over the last three years the Bills have made a concerted effort to fill those holes both through the draft (Whitner, McCargo, Simpson, Lynch, Posluzny, Edwards, McKelvin, Hardy, etc.) and through free agency (Stroud, Dockery, Walker, Mitchell, etc.). But, the team only has so many top draft picks and so much money to spend on free agents in any offseason.

It takes time to assemble enough talent to put together a team that is capable of being a consistent winner--it seldom happens over night (it took Indy time to become a good team even with P.Manning and Harrison filling two critical positions right away). And, there is little room for error: it's hard to win when a top 5 draft pick is a bust (M.Williams) and you can't get consistent QB play from a guy taken in the first round after 4 years (Losman). Those are set-backs that have to be overcome and add to the time that it takes to rebuild a team.

A rebuilding team cannot fill all of its needs at once. Knowing that, the FO and coaching staff has to prioritize the positions that it needs to fill with top-flight talent first and which ones can wait. A team can win enough to make the playoffs and even win a Super Bowl without a top-flight TE, it can't win without a QB that can give the team consistent quality play or a good offensive line or a quality front seven on defense, etc.

A top-flight, athletic TE who is a deep threat is a luxury compared to having top-flight talent at some of the other positions. Having a top-flight TE does not guarantee that your team will make the playoffs or even that it will make a young QB better: for example, how many Super Bowls have T.Gonzales, V.Davis, K.Winslow and A.Gates been in; how many times have Gonzales, Davis, Winslow, Shockey and Crumpler been in the playoffs; how much better passers did Shockey, Davis and Crumpler make E.Manning, Smith and Vick; how well did D.Graham do with Cutler as his QB instead of Brady?

Sure, a top-flight, athletic receiving TE can help make a good young QB better, but having one is not essential to winning a SB. For example, who was Brady's TE when the Pats won their first SB? Who was the Rams' starting TE when they won the SB? Is M.Pollard a better TE than R.Royal? K.Boss (a late 4th round pick)? Do I need to go on?

I'm not going to try to tell you that the Bills' current TEs are anything more than serviceable until one of them proves otherwise. But, at this stage, the Bills don't need to have more than a serviceable TE in order to take the next step forward in the development of this young, rebuilding team--so long as the players that they have brought in to fill other more pressing needs do, in fact, upgrade those positions.

Once the Bills have taken that step forward to where they have addressed the positions that they need to address in order to become a playoff caliber team, then they can afford to look to add a top-flight talent at TE. Right now, though, they need to use the money that they have set aside under their salary cap limitations to secure the services of their top wide receiving threat, young All-Pro LT, and unsung, quality SLB. IMHO, those are all more critical positions to the success of this team on the field than having a top-flight TE.

I would caution against falling under the spell of those who are convinced that this team has no top-flight talent. It has some top-flight talent--it hasn't had enough top-flight talent at certain critical positions to be a playoff caliber team, but it does have some top-flight talent. And, it has some young, top-flight talent that is still developing and hasn't yet reached its full potential. Young players, no matter how good they are, make mistakes--mistakes that can cost the team games: that is what happens with young teams until those young players develop and become seasoned veterans.

But, don't make the mistake of thinking that because a top-flight talent is young and making mistakes that he will not ultimately develop into a top-flight player. Yes, there are busts and flops like M.Williams and JP Losman, but there are also players like J.Peters, Jerome Williams (DT, SD), E.Manning, etc. who take a couple of years to develop into top-flight players. Some will become bigger successes than others, but a team isn't always made up of big-time stars at every position--having good role-players at certain positions is just as important as having top-flight, top-quality players at certain other positions. The key to winning is to assemble enough of both to put a team that is capable of winning on the field.

And, we will have to wait to see if the Bills have done that later this summer and throughout the fall. Until then, we won't really be able to tell just how good some of these young players are going to be this season.

[yordad]

Re: Chris Brown's tight end update

Oaf, I thought you were saying you hoped a project like Schouman works out. I didn't think that was a knock on late round picks.

The Bills have passed on many opportunities to upgrade the position. And, if the "priority" story is right, then IMO they need to get their priorites straight.

We were like 12 million under cash to cap last year. We passed on very good TEs to draft a backup DE, and then a CB that will probably be cut. It seems to me, the Bills just don't put a high priority on tight ends all together. Or, the FB position for that matter. They have gone nearly completely neglected for years. I think a above average TE and an average FB (one who can be multitalented) are all the Bills need to be an elite team. Are they waiting for other holes to create themselves before these positions are actually addressed? And, if Evans and Crowell aren't extended, and the Bills (RW) pocket millions more in cap space again, I will f'in bug.

Considering we have a young QB, a solid TE should have been one of the top off season priorities.

That said, I thought Schouman looked pretty good in his limited opportunitites. And, I do agree with LTBF (who probably has 100 times more info on the dude then me), then he looks like he can be a decent receiving threat.

So.... the homer in me wants to think they had Schouman in there plans coming in.

But, as Jan said, no mention of Fine is kind of strange also.

[DraftBoy]

Re: Chris Brown's tight end update

I find it a little odd that Brown made no mention of Fine.

Why? He's a rookie who still probably has a ton to learn. I doubt he's even seeing many reps.

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: Chris Brown's tight end update

Sorry, I guess it's just the frustration that has set in since Riemiersma. No doubt low rounders and UDFAs can make an impact in this league. It just seems that it is all we've relied on the last 6 years, rather than making a concerted effort to get one high caliber player, and it's amounted to close to nothing.

Just as a quick note: Reimiersma was a 7th round pick himself.

[ublinkwescore]

Re: Chris Brown's tight end update

I thought we got rid of Robert Royal...