TE Hill........Strong Enough, Tall Enough

[CloakNNNdagger]

Nice basic write up in the CHRONICLE on Anthony Hill. At 6'6" and 265 pounds he could be that "oak tree" in the Red Zone/End Zone. With his unquestionable blocking skills, he also brings what seems to be some nice hands. If he is able to avoid significant injury in the NFL, he may essentially develop into a bigger stronger version of DO.

[valleytexfan]

Seems like a great kid...he's certainly got the size for the job.

[TimeKiller]

At 6'6'' 265 if he can catch a ball and hang on to it I'd say that's about a MACK truck comin' down the field. Never hurts to have that weapon. No punkass DB is going to tackle that, they'll just hope to be in the way enough to trip him up and not get hurt.

I think Joel Dressen's days are numbered unless he's a beast on special teams. He wasn't much of an impact player blocking and Hill was drafted based on his blocking.

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

At 6'6'' 265 if he can catch a ball and hang on to it I'd say that's about a MACK truck comin' down the field. Never hurts to have that weapon. No punkass DB is going to tackle that, they'll just hope to be in the way enough to trip him up and not get hurt.

I think Joel Dressen's days are numbered unless he's a beast on special teams. He wasn't much of an impact player blocking and Hill was drafted based on his blocking.

Yeah, Joel may be in serious trouble trying to make the team. TE is a really deep position now. Special teams may not be enough.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by BigBull17

Yeah, Joel may be in serious trouble trying to make the team. TE is a really deep position now. Special teams may not be enough.

Although I don't remember Dreesen being used as such, I believe that he was also considered a backup long snapper. We now have Casey who has long snapper skills.

I think Dreesen is safe...

I don't think Casey will be carried as a TE...I think they will list him as a FB...

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by CloakNNNdagger

Although I don't remember Dreesen being used as such, I believe that he was also considered a backup long snapper. We now have Casey who has long snapper skills.

Caldwell also has snapping experience. This is one of the first times people are waiting for guys we cut. We will cut decent players this off season.

[Insideop]

Originally Posted by Polo

I think Dreesen is safe...

I don't think Casey will be carried as a TE...I think they will list him as a FB...

This is my thinking too. They carry him as a FB but play him wherever they need him.

[TheRealJoker]

Hill is not only gonna help us in the redzone, but he's also gonna help us against the 3-4 defenses that are becoming all the rage nowadays and are also the kryptonite of the ZBS. Now Duane Brown is gonna have somebody to chip one of those 3-4 OLB monsters when he's having a tough time instead of us having to change the gameplan or just hope Brown can hang tough due to lack of options.

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by Polo

I think Dreesen is safe...

I don't think Casey will be carried as a TE...I think they will list him as a FB...

Originally Posted by Insideop

This is my thinking too. They carry him as a FB but play him wherever they need him.

4 TE's is kinda hard to carry, no matter if you call them Full Backs or not. It's possible, but I think hard to justify.

Originally Posted by TheRealJoker

Hill is not only gonna help us in the redzone, but he's also gonna help us against the 3-4 defenses that are becoming all the rage nowadays and are also the kryptonite of the ZBS. Now Duane Brown is gonna have somebody to chip one of those 3-4 OLB monsters when he's having a tough time instead of us having to change the gameplan or just hope Brown can hang tough due to lack of options.

Agreed. he's also a big, strong target in the red zone, something we don't have outside of AJ.

[Jackie Chiles]

Originally Posted by BigBull17

Caldwell also has snapping experience. This is one of the first times people are waiting for guys we cut. We will cut decent players this off season.

I'm not trying to attack you but this is something that people have been saying for the past 2 or 3 years now. If we had to cut Dreesen I would expect him to catch on with someone else but I've been working out an early roster projection and once you get past the top 45 or so its still slim pickings IMO. I do like those top 45 though.

[Jackie Chiles]

Originally Posted by Polo

I think Dreesen is safe...

I don't think Casey will be carried as a TE...I think they will list him as a FB...

I think the question will be out of these 6 players how many do we keep:

Owen Daniels
Anthony Hill
James Casey
Joel Dreesen
Vonta Leach
Boomer Grigsby

I think we keep 5. Owen and Vonta are locks as the starters at their respective positions. Anthony Hill was going to be ahead of Dreesen on the depth chart before we drafted Casey (I believe) because he brings something different to the table, something we need in his blocking ability. He is likely the 2nd TE. After this I believe Casey is more talented than Dreesen and brings more versatility, thats just my opinion though. This leaves Grigsby and Dreesen and since Dreesen won't be playing much as the 4th TE it comes down to ST where it sounds like Grigsby has the advantage. 3 TEs and 2 FBs.

[BigBull17]

Originally Posted by Jackie Chiles

I think the question will be out of these 6 players how many do we keep:

Owen Daniels
Anthony Hill
James Casey
Joel Dreesen
Vonta Leach
Boomer Grigsby

I think we keep 5. Owen and Vonta are locks as the starters at their respective positions. Anthony Hill was going to be ahead of Dreesen on the depth chart before we drafted Casey (I believe) because he brings something different to the table, something we need in his blocking ability. He is likely the 2nd TE. After this I believe Casey is more talented than Dreesen and brings more versatility, thats just my opinion though. This leaves Grigsby and Dreesen and since Dreesen won't be playing much as the 4th TE it comes down to ST where it sounds like Grigsby has the advantage. 3 TEs and 2 FBs.

Sounds about right.

Originally Posted by Jackie Chiles

I think the question will be out of these 6 players how many do we keep:

Owen Daniels
Anthony Hill
James Casey
Joel Dreesen
Vonta Leach
Boomer Grigsby

I think we keep 5. Owen and Vonta are locks as the starters at their respective positions. Anthony Hill was going to be ahead of Dreesen on the depth chart before we drafted Casey (I believe) because he brings something different to the table, something we need in his blocking ability. He is likely the 2nd TE. After this I believe Casey is more talented than Dreesen and brings more versatility, thats just my opinion though. This leaves Grigsby and Dreesen and since Dreesen won't be playing much as the 4th TE it comes down to ST where it sounds like Grigsby has the advantage. 3 TEs and 2 FBs.

I don't think Grigsby makes the team.

I can't find the quote, but I think I remember Shannahan saying that Casey will start out as a FB...But anyways here's a little bit from him:

Shanahan’s thoughts
Shanahan was asked about using Casey as a short-yardage back.

“To be an NFL back, you’ve got to be special,” Shanahan said. “He showed in college he’s good at it. That’s something that might give us a chance to carry four tight ends. If you do that, all of them can’t just play tight end.

“I can see him catching the ball in the flat, but the reason (fullback) Vonta (Leach) is so open all the time is because he fills (the hole) so hard, and the linebackers come up with their shoulders down because they think it’s a run, but Vonta goes out for a pass.

“When you get Casey to where he’s at least a fullback who’s a threat to block, and they have to learn to (defend) him, then he could be unbelievable in the passing game because he’s such a good receiver.

http://www.texanstalk.com/forums/new...eply&p=1184630

I think that this statement was made before the addition of Grigsby, but like I said, I don't think he'll make it unless we decide to not carry a guy who only snaps...If we don't carry a long snapper I can see all 6 of those guys on the team...

Nothing is set in stone at this time. All of this depends on how they play leading up to cut dates...But what I'm saying is that I think that Grigsby will be the odd man out...

[HOU-TEX]

I don't think Dreesen's going anywhere this season. I think he might be let go eventually, but are we willing to rely on 2 rookies behind OD this season? I doubt it.

It's up to Kubiak and his staff to find roster spots for them. I highly doubt we'll go into the season having a Brian Pittman type player on the roster.

Originally Posted by Jackie Chiles

I think the question will be out of these 6 players how many do we keep:

Owen Daniels
Anthony Hill
James Casey
Joel Dreesen
Vonta Leach
Boomer Grigsby

I think we keep 5. Owen and Vonta are locks as the starters at their respective positions. Anthony Hill was going to be ahead of Dreesen on the depth chart before we drafted Casey (I believe) because he brings something different to the table, something we need in his blocking ability. He is likely the 2nd TE. After this I believe Casey is more talented than Dreesen and brings more versatility, thats just my opinion though. This leaves Grigsby and Dreesen and since Dreesen won't be playing much as the 4th TE it comes down to ST where it sounds like Grigsby has the advantage. 3 TEs and 2 FBs.

Found it:

Brooke Bentley: Alright, I am going to dive into some fan questions. How do you anticipate using James Casey? Could you use him in a "Wildcat" formation?

Kyle Shanahan: What he showed in college is that he can almost do any role. We didn’t bring him here for a specific reason. We brought him here because of how much we like him as a football player, and we know with his versatility, he’s the type of guy that can get you out of a bind. He could play quarterback, if it came down to it. He could play fullback, tight end, receiver; he even played defensive end at times during his college career. The way we plan going about it – we want to work him at tight end. I think he could be a passing weapon right away in the NFL. I feel like we have one of the best in tight ends Owen Daniels, so in order for him to help us in that aspect, we would probably have to have some injuries. In the meantime, I do think Casey will become a good blocking tight end. He’s tough enough; he’s not scared of contact. He doesn’t mind getting in there and getting dirty. He just hasn’t been asked to do it. We do think it will take some time to develop. While he is developing and becoming a complete tight end, we will use him in passing situations and we will also have him working out at fullback.

Brooke Bentley: Along those lines, can you dress four tight ends on game day (with the 45-man active roster)?

Kyle Shanahan: You can if they are doing other stuff. You can’t have four tight ends dressing if they are just four tight ends. You can dress as many as you want at any position, but it means that another position is going to have to take that burden. If you are going to dress four tight ends, we will not dress two fullbacks. So if we dress four tight ends, one of those tight ends better be able to play fullback if our No. 1 fullback gets hurt. They also better be able to help us out on special teams, also.

I don't even think whether Dreesen makes it or not is even a question...Casey was a wild card pick...I seriously doubt they dump their only other veteran TE to find a spot for Casey...I can't see that...



http://www.houstontexans.com/news/St...?story_id=5270

[Jackie Chiles]

Originally Posted by Polo

Found it:



I don't even think whether Dreesen makes it or not is even a question...Casey was a wild card pick...I seriously doubt they dump their only other veteran TE to find a spot for Casey...I can't see that...



http://www.houstontexans.com/news/St...?story_id=5270

The reason I could see them keeping Dreesen is because I doubt we have guys at other positions that are on the bubble that are more talented. If thats the case then Grigsby goes or we carry all 6 of the TE/FB group, thats fine but I don't see Joel getting much PT. I will have my eye on him though because I still think he could be a surprise cut when its all said and done. TE and LB have the most quality depth of any position on our roster by quite a bit I think, nice problem to have.

[beerlover]

The Texans addressed a position of need (blocking in-line TE) & now have quality back-ups for both styles in case of injurys- Casey for Owen & Joel for Anthony. it would be ill advised to cut a position of strength just because it's no longer a position of need.

[TimeKiller]

Originally Posted by HOU-TEX

I don't think Dreesen's going anywhere this season. I think he might be let go eventually, but are we willing to rely on 2 rookies behind OD this season? I doubt it.

It's up to Kubiak and his staff to find roster spots for them. I highly doubt we'll go into the season having a Brian Pittman type player on the roster.

Look, I'm a fan of Dreesen. I think he's like OD-lite as far as his 'game' goes but we've already got OD so finding 11 receptions and 77 yards when the main options (at TE, much less across an offense that's more and more stacked every year) are a much more dynamic threat in Casey and a huge target in Hill isn't asking much out of 2 rookies. Dreesen better turn up the heat in camp, special teams demon or long snapper or hell, BETTER TE THAN LAST YEAR maybe? I mean if Casey and Hill weren't picked to replace Dreesen, then what in the hell were they selected for?

[Texan4Ever]

Hill is a good pick and I can't wait to see him in action. If he DOES well against Owen Daniels and possess the skills to be an every-down type of TE does this mean its bye-bye to OD or what?