STrib: Gophers offensive tackle Sam Schlueter switched to tight end

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,588
Reaction score
15,671
Points
113
per STrib:

When Gophers coach P.J. Fleck replaced sophomore right tackle Sam Schlueter with true freshman Daniel Faalele after the Iowa game, he said Schlueter still would play this season.

That’s true, but lately it’s been at a different position.

Wearing No. 48, Schlueter saw action as a blocking tight end against Northwestern on Saturday.

“It gives us the ability to get him on the field, gives us another body,’’ Fleck said of the 6-6, 305-pounder. “Our tight ends are really young. Our tight ends have to be in the weight room.’’

Fleck made the move two weeks ago but had held off on playing Schlueter.

“We started to develop it, but you just don’t put it and throw it in right away,’’ he said. “We wanted to make sure we continued to develop it and build some stuff out of it.’’

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-offensive-tackle-sam-schlueter-switched-to-tight-end/500973511/

Go Gophers!!
 


Such a glaring hole in the offense. Have the Gophers had 10 catches by the tight ends this year? Iowa gets 100 total yards a game out of their two tight ends. The wide-outs are fine but this lack of production from tight ends is another thing that HAS to be addressed.
 

“It gives us the ability to get him on the field, gives us another body,’’ Fleck said of the 6-6, 305-pounder. “Our tight ends are really young. Our tight ends have to be in the weight room.’’

So his value is “another body” which we need because our TEs aren’t any good. Real encouraging talk here. This would have been a time to just not talk about it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Such a glaring hole in the offense. Have the Gophers had 10 catches by the tight ends this year? Iowa gets 100 total yards a game out of their two tight ends. The wide-outs are fine but this lack of production from tight ends is another thing that HAS to be addressed.

Why? Iowa's top 3 WRs combined have less yards than Tyler Johnson. It doesn't matter who catches the ball as long as you have the ability to move the ball through the air.

Cirroccas passing offense runs through the WRs and not through the TEs.
 


Such a glaring hole in the offense. Have the Gophers had 10 catches by the tight ends this year? Iowa gets 100 total yards a game out of their two tight ends. The wide-outs are fine but this lack of production from tight ends is another thing that HAS to be addressed.

I share the same observation. Not a lot of passing plays drawn up for the TEs, which I think is a problem. I think it becomes especially apparent when our QBs are being pressured and lack an outlet on a quick checkdown. WR patterns tend to take longer to develop unless there has been an audible called while a TE can usually slip into the open space left by a blitzing LB. I think that has contributed to our offense's periodic problems countering the pass rush.
 


Why? Iowa's top 3 WRs combined have less yards than Tyler Johnson. It doesn't matter who catches the ball as long as you have the ability to move the ball through the air.

Cirroccas passing offense runs through the WRs and not through the TEs.

I'm ok with the TEs not catching, but they should be able to block. They haven't been able to, and that's why PJ is making the switch. It's definitely one of the weak spots on our offense.
 

I don't know why this change is being made. I will have to trust the coaching staff on this.

I am of the opinion that we don't need TE yardage if we are getting it with WR's and RB's.
 



Another way to place a big tackle on the field. Better for the run game, better for pass protection. Our WRs can get the job done without a TE on the field every play. I think this is a good move and if anything, wonder why it took so long. Maybe Sam has good hands too?
 

I don't know why this change is being made. I will have to trust the coaching staff on this.

I am of the opinion that we don't need TE yardage if we are getting it with WR's and RB's.

It's not for TE yardage - it's for blocking.
 


I don't think the TEs will ever be a big part of our passing game and I am completely OK with that.

On every RPO, or derivative of the RPO, the TE is going to be blocking. If he wasn't, the defense would just key off of him (he goes out for a pass, ignore the run).

The thing that stood out to me with this move is the Fleck must really like our group of lineman currently RSing. Schlueter is in our top 6 OL right now, and we lose Weyler and Greene. Granted, I think Dunlap and Dickson are the obvious choices. But that's still not a ton of depth.
 



I don't think the TEs will ever be a big part of our passing game and I am completely OK with that.

On every RPO, or derivative of the RPO, the TE is going to be blocking. If he wasn't, the defense would just key off of him (he goes out for a pass, ignore the run).

The thing that stood out to me with this move is the Fleck must really like our group of lineman currently RSing. Schlueter is in our top 6 OL right now, and we lose Weyler and Greene. Granted, I think Dunlap and Dickson are the obvious choices. But that's still not a ton of depth.

Have noticed that we have weakness around the edges. If the pocket collapses, it's usually a result of our tight-ends. If Schlueter is quick enough and can haul in a pass or two, it would be a nice upgrade.
 

I don't think the TEs will ever be a big part of our passing game and I am completely OK with that.

On every RPO, or derivative of the RPO, the TE is going to be blocking. If he wasn't, the defense would just key off of him (he goes out for a pass, ignore the run).

The thing that stood out to me with this move is the Fleck must really like our group of lineman currently RSing. Schlueter is in our top 6 OL right now, and we lose Weyler and Greene. Granted, I think Dunlap and Dickson are the obvious choices. But that's still not a ton of depth.

York is supposed to be pretty good. If the consensus is that Dickson and York are better than Sam, then it makes sense. We also don't know if it's just for the remainder of this season or if they are viewing this switch as permanent.
 


Maybe just me but moving a tackle that can’t block well to blocking tight end seems like rearranging deck chairs. Seems like a net negative move.

Other spread RPO teams like Penn State utilize the TE in the passing game to good effect. What percent of plays is MN running their RPO? Agree with others it seems like this offense could use a few more wrinkles as time goes on. Has been mpotent at times under certain down and distance vs better defenses.
 


Maybe just me but moving a tackle that can’t block well to blocking tight end seems like rearranging deck chairs. Seems like a net negative move.

Other spread RPO teams like Penn State utilize the TE in the passing game to good effect. What percent of plays is MN running their RPO? Agree with others it seems like this offense could use a few more wrinkles as time goes on. Has been mpotent at times under certain down and distance vs better defenses.
Exactly
 

I've been impressed by the blocking of TEs Beebe and Paulson more often than not. I don't focus on them when doing the "Big Dan & Co." OL critiques, but I've seen more positives than negatives from them. Both seem to have a streak of nastiness, which is also a plus. But neither are particularly hefty, coming in at around 260 lbs.

OTOH, I have no problem working Schlueter into the TE mix. He obviously has qualities the staff likes, and hopefully he continues to improve. At 305 lbs. he could be helpful as a big TE, but he's going to have to improve his agility and ability to block in space.

I also think there has to be a way to get at least a tiny bit of production from our TEs. Targeting them 1-2 times a game may help open up other things.

JTG
 

I share the same observation. Not a lot of passing plays drawn up for the TEs, which I think is a problem. I think it becomes especially apparent when our QBs are being pressured and lack an outlet on a quick checkdown. WR patterns tend to take longer to develop unless there has been an audible called while a TE can usually slip into the open space left by a blitzing LB. I think that has contributed to our offense's periodic problems countering the pass rush.

Except that we run a lot of slants and underneath routes with our WR so there are short options available on most plays, it is just a receiver and not a TE.

I think in terms of TE, if you have a really good receiving TE, Maxx Williams, Matt Spaeth, Ben Utecht.....you find ways to get them involved. If you don't have a really good receiving TE then I would much rather see the ball go to a wideout.

The offense we ran under Kill relied heavily on the TE, but it was discussed early on that Kirk C doesn't use his TE a lot as receivers. Again, I would expect that to change some if/when we have a really good pass catching TE but right now I don't think we have that in the group that plays so the focus is on the WR. Maybe when BSF starts playing next year that will change a little if he proves to be a strong receiving option from the TE position.

But I don't think it is a flaw in the offense not to use the TE, it is just a preference in where you want to see the ball go. Some offense use them a lot (Iowa) others don't.
 


York is supposed to be pretty good. If the consensus is that Dickson and York are better than Sam, then it makes sense. We also don't know if it's just for the remainder of this season or if they are viewing this switch as permanent.

If he is only really being used as a blocker then he is actually getting better at OL by playing TE than he would get sitting on the bench
 

Maybe just me but moving a tackle that can’t block well to blocking tight end seems like rearranging deck chairs. Seems like a net negative move.

Other spread RPO teams like Penn State utilize the TE in the passing game to good effect. What percent of plays is MN running their RPO? Agree with others it seems like this offense could use a few more wrinkles as time goes on. Has been mpotent at times under certain down and distance vs better defenses.

You can do RPOs with and without TEs.


I will say this. I think the fact we haven’t had a good receiving TE since M Williams impacts the amount we throw to TE

Green could be that guy maybe but he isn’t a good enough blocker yet. So his playing time is packaged and mostly wildcat
 

I was addressing Bob’s post. Arguments can be made about the best way to approaches things and there’s certainly variety out there.
 

I was addressing Bob’s post. Arguments can be made about the best way to approaches things and there’s certainly variety out there.

Agree. There are a lot of offensive sets that can work. I've always thought a good receiving TE can be an extremely valuable weapon, but that doesn't seem to be the scheme we are running and this scheme does seem to have some upside.
 




Top Bottom