I was looking at this stat to answer another post but I think it deserves a thread... The only other guy as tall as him is Crumpler for TEN but he weighs 20lbs more. Could this be the reason he isn't making much of an impact though the middle this season? Sure he is better than many TEs in catching the long ball and going the distance... but when you have to do the short-intermediate throws in traffic he just isn't reliable. Sanchez needs a guy in the middle that can use his body to elevate from the opposing D. It's THE safe guy to throw to when the play doesn't develop as you wish... especially with a stacked box (because of the running game) you need to use your body more to separate from S and ILBs and I don't think Keller will ever be able to do this as effectively as a 6' 5" guy... Favre was great at using him but no one throws the ball to the TE as well as Favre... look at what he has done with Franks or what he is doing with Shiancoe... I know he's only an inch shorter than many 6' 3" TEs but many of them weigh more, are physical freaks (Vernon Davis) or play with QBs that don't need a physical TE to save thier asses in emergency situations (P. Manning with Clark) because they are much more precise and they know the game more than a rook. Plus football is a physical sport and sometimes 1" does make the difference in making the catch between the hands of many defenders... I like Keller as a player but like Schotty isn't a good QB to work with a rookie QB I feel Keller isn't a good TE to pair up with a rookie QB. It's like saying as a good running game can help a young QB so can a big TE. PS I feel that height is important for a TE becuase unlike a WR a RB or a DB they have to catch the ball in traffic. When it's 1-1 or 1-2 your skill in catching is more important than you physical tools (see S. SMith, Chebret, D. Jackson ecc)... when you are running with many DBs and/or LBs around you you have to big target IMO. Or at least PLAY big, Keller plays fast and this is why he can make the middle-long plays but he doesn't play BIG so he is screwed for the 5-10 yds passes. EXAMPLE: It's like saying that a CB isn't good in man coverage but he is very good in zone coverage. Keller isn't a bad player... it's just he excels in a specific role (the pass catching TE-WR hybrid) and not in another one (all round TE). It happens, Leigh Bodden is a very good man corner but suffers in the zone... if you don't put him in the right schemes he'll suck. Same for man blocking and zone blocking linemen....
I don't think that his height is an issue. Our run game has obviously not suffered with him in there, and that's where his weakness is. He is like a WR out there in terms of the pass attack and not many TE's have his athleticism. Keller isn't having a standout year because our pass offense has been so up and down. I think that's pretty obvious.
The main thing that worries me about Keller is that he doesn't create matchup problems for the opposing defense. His speed is excellent for a TE but he's not tall and he's not particularly physical and so the other team either covers him with a linebacker if they have one with good coverage skills or they put the strong safety on him or they bracket him by having the linebacker release him to the safety. The Keller we've seen flashes of, the guy who goes right up the seam and takes a 15 yard pass and makes people pay for it after the catch, really doesn't show up all that often and that's because he's fairly easy to cover. Don't get me wrong, Keller is definitely a pass receiver as a TE but he's not the kind of guy that defenses have to blanket and scheme for. All they have to do is a good job of covering him and he's no factor. BTW, we should have realized this after watching him last year. There are very few QB's in NFL history that have been as good at getting the ball to the TE as Brett Favre. That Keller only caught 3 passes a game from him was a dead giveaway that he really wasn't all that great a player.
Dallas Clark!!!! 6'3 250lbs one of the best in the league so he makes it and so will Keller once Sanchez realizes that he has to go to him on short yardage and out matches
Peyton Manning is 6'5" throwing to Clark at 6'3". I'm not sure Sanchez at 6'2" is going to be able to do that as well with Keller at 6'2". It doesn't sound like a lot of difference but football is a game of inches.
Keller has had a lot of success in the past when he's split out wide, either in the slot or as a split-end/flanker.
Quote 100% I'm happy at least 1 other TGG user feels the same as I do That's my point... the TE can be 6' 3" but under special condition... and having a 6' 5" with Peyton Mannings ability is certainly a plus Again I'm not saying Keller is a bad TE, just that he isn't a prototypical TE and that is a problem with a rook QB. When Sanchez will learn how to use him he'll be great but in the mean time they will not coexhist that well... and the fault isn't all on Sanchez. Exactly! I'm not saying he is a bad player... not at all!!! But he is more useful when put in those TE/WR hybrid positions. Great to have a weapon like that but when you are in the red zone or when you need someone to be taller than all the other guys in the middle you are going to have a problem with him at TE. Exactly... he is like a WR out there... but if the TE position was created and wasn't just called inside WR or something like that it must be for a reason right? Sometimes a TE with WR skills is a plus (not many TEs can go as deep as Keller can) but sometimes when you need to fight for the short yardage passes it's a minus. That's why they created the TE position. No hate, I love Keller... I just think he isn't the perfect fit with a rookie/inexperienced QB. PS Out of the starting trio (Edwards - Cotchery - Keller) he is the most under-achieving one) If you expect every TE to play like they play with Favre you are in for a bitter ride...
I think Keller can still be a special player. He has a very unique skill-set that if utilized properly could make him a all pro type player. However, I don't think he's a standard NFL Tight end which is what the jets are trying to make him. He's not a good drive blocker, he's not imposing across the middle in the passing game, and if he gets chipped at the line by a DE or OLB he can be knocked off his route way too easily. I've been saying since the day he got drafted he should be used like a modern day Richie Anderson or another Chris Cooley. In other words, make him a motion or "H" back in standard I formation like schemes and put him in the slot on passing downs.This would help the offense in a number of ways... 1. The motioning would force defenses to constantly react pre-snap due to his size and big play ability. You give yourself alot of advantages as an offense when the defense has to overcompensate pre-snap. 2. This would allow him to get off the line into his patterns chip free, which would create more precise routes and more depth for big plays. 3. It would create alot more versatility in terms of the route possibilities he'd be subject to within the playbook. It's hard to give a conventional Tight end alot of different assigned patterns b/c they have to compensate for possible chipping and fighting through crowds to get to a certain spot. Not the case in the slot or as an H back. 4. This role change assumes that we acquire a true conventional tight end capable of providing a positive impact in running situations and to also be a truly physical "Safety valve" check down for Sanchez..which will reduce the high number of turnovers. I really hope the new offensive coordinator recognizes this in the off season. It's time to think outside the box w/ Keller. He has way too much talent to be pigeon-holed into a position that really doesn't fit him. It's also severely hurting the offense as a whole..b/c Keller simply can't be a check down over the middle and he offers nothing as a blocker. In the "ground and pound" mentality you need a drive blocker at T.E. Additionally, when you have a gunslinger at QB like Sanchez, You're gonna see alot of cover 2 and cover 3 to take away the deep WR routes.You have to have someboy who can fight through chips and crowds to get to a spot in the flats to discourage teams from PLAYING those defenses and open things up for Edwards and Cotchery. Callahan was known for thinking outside the box w/ player roles when he was OC in Oakland. i'm really hoping he gets the gig this offseason and recognizes this opportunity.
This whole Keller analysis started exactly for the fact I felt Sanchez had no safety valve through the middle... when Keller gets F'd up it's either pass to Cotchery / Edwards or throw it away. We need to fix this (give him more options) to make the passing game better...
Sanchez has easily been the worst passing QB in the NFL this year. Keller will be fine when Sanchez is.
Sanchez needs to improve badly but... Schottenheimer probably makes up routes by blindfolding himself and drawing on a piece of paper with a crayon. (Let's say he is very creative to be kind) Edwards hasn't been here for the installation of the offense (although the Browns OC was last years Jets QBC) and has to look on Google Maps everytime he hears the word "route". Clowney looks for them on Twitter because he doesn't even have an idea of what a "route" is. He probably is still wondering why those damn routes don't holla at him... Keller get ass rapped on the L.O.S. or by opposing LBs at least 30% of the times. Cotchery is a reliable route runner. We need our QB to get better but the supporting cast hasn't been very consistent... a veteran QB, like Favre, would improvise and cover up the WR mistakes. A rookie like Sanchez instead needs the WRs and TEs to be where they are supposed to be otherwise if he tries to improvise... 9/10 he gets intercepted! Sound familiar? I have 2 solutions: 1) Get a proper TE and use Keller for the hybrid he is 2) Get Golden Tate (reliable slot with very good Y.A.C.) and make him run the 5-10 yds pass while Keller goes deep...
Owen Daniels and Chris Cooley are pretty much the same size as Keller, He's also more athletically gifted than both of them. It's his second year in the league, and he has a rookie QB, he'll be fine. This thread is stupid.
Daniels has Schaub throwing to him and they aren't exactly stacking the middle when playing against the Texans... Cooley to me is just soo much more powerful than Keller. He runs better routes also. I'm not saying he won't be fine... just that he isn't a prototypical TE and shouldn't be used as one. Kurt said it way better than me a couple of posts before this one...
OC has done a very poor job this year for reasons that have been covered over and over again on the board. He won't be back next year. Personally I think Callahan would be a good choice but Ryan will force the change. Keller has been open consistently this year. Sanchez has not seen the field well this year and consistently misses open receivers. When he has been thrown to, the ball has been off target or late. How often have we seen a pass broken up or intercepted this year not by primary coverage but by secondary coverage reading the QB. Sanchez's problem is that he is not up to the speed of the game, it's not Keller or Edwards. When 6 catches up to the game we'll find we have a very talented receiver corp and that includes Keller.
