Escobar is the definition of inconsistent

[Alexander]

Scott Chandler, who was never even targeted one time the entire time he played for us?

Scott Chandler who has, whoa, 18 TDs in his career? Two season of six a piece. He is a god if you use TDs as a measuring stick, which you apparently do.

 

[Alexander]

Except that you don't even know my definition of it.

Oh yes, I do. You made that very clear by bringing TDs into the discussion.

 

[burmafrd]

Sorry, it was someone else who said Bennett "contributed more," and to whom I responded with Escobar's touchdown contributions in my initial post in this thread.



I never said anything about anyone being "better." I was talking about his contributions. There is a difference.



Except that you don't even know my definition of it.

I AM the one that said OVERALL that Bennett contributed more. You seem hung up on a single area of what a TE does. OVERALL Bennett did more as a cowboy then Escobar in the same amount of time- taking Bennett from rookie to where Escobar is now Bennett comes out ahead. And as has been pointed out that was when Witten was younger. To be blunt I do not see much development from Escobar from where he started.

 

[chris1995]

Bennett contributed more. He was a blocking tight end.

Escobar is a receiving tight end that cannot block, cannot get open consistently, fumbles the football, but bless him, he has great hands!

Well when you put it that way

 

[ShiningStar]

The cowboys havent been using him properly and you guys are complaining about the player.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Oh yes, I do. You made that very clear by bringing TDs into the discussion.

I find it funny that people are using Bennett as the gold standard when comparing to Escobar, when Bennett was the exact type of player the Cowboys needed to rid themselves of in order to get better.

 

[AdamJT13]

Oh yes, I do. You made that very clear by bringing TDs into the discussion.

As I said, touchdowns one one aspect of contributing. That's not the entire definition or even the majority of it.

 

[plasticman]

No, he would not because he cannot block to save his life.

He would be a second TE on practically every team except those that are very deficient at the position and do not ask the tight end to be versatile.

A TE is not just a bigger WR on all teams. Look at Graham. He is practically invisible in Seattle because of the fit.

He is not a lot different than Scott Chandler. And we had him for nothing.

Considering the offenses of today, do you really believe that a coach is more likely to generally prefer a TE that can block better then he can gain yards for the offense as a receiver? In more situations, he is a big receiver. Escobar has even lined up in a receiving slot. Blocking TE's don't do that. In fact, there are many of them specifically designated as a blocking TE.

There are thirty TE's from last season that are listed as having started 10 games or more. Only 8 of them average 4 receptions or more a game in 2014. There are 12 of them that had less than 30 receptions for the season. There are 5 that had less than 20.

There are 4 teams that have two players in this group. In each case, one of them has the majority of receptions by far. Obviously one is a blocking TE and the other is a receiving TE, although each is occasionally called upon to do the other.

Escobar would be a starter on half the teams in the league today.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

I know after Romo going down even more people will want a QB drafted high, but at this point I want another WR high and/or a RB or T. Hell QB is probably the last position of need in my mind.

You're right. Romo will be 36 next year. Just had another major injury. But hey, we need another top wr, rb, or another 1st round OL. 4 1st round picks (Collins included) on the OL isn't enough.

 

[Zman5]

Considering the offenses of today, do you really believe that a coach is more likely to generally prefer a TE that can block better then he can gain yards for the offense as a receiver? In more situations, he is a big receiver. Escobar has even lined up in a receiving slot. Blocking TE's don't do that. In fact, there are many of them specifically designated as a blocking TE.

There are thirty TE's from last season that are listed as having started 10 games or more. Only 8 of them average 4 receptions or more a game in 2014. There are 12 of them that had less than 30 receptions for the season. There are 5 that had less than 20.

There are 4 teams that have two players in this group. In each case, one of them has the majority of receptions by far. Obviously one is a blocking TE and the other is a receiving TE, although each is occasionally called upon to do the other.

Escobar would be a starter on half the teams in the league today.

If your premise of what a TE should be in the current NFL is correct, then drafting Escobar was dumb thing to do.

He wasn't going to be the 1st TE with Witt on the team. So he would have been the second TE in your scenario to be able to get on the field. And he can't even beat out Hanna because he can't block.

Unless it's a QB, you don't draft someone in the 2nd round that don't play significant number of snaps in his 3rd year.

 

[Idgit]

Bennett really isn't a great barometer for a successful TE pick, anyway. By any reasonable standard, he's been a good player in the league. If Escobar's outproduced him already in terms of TDs, that's a good thing, but as Adam suggests, it's not the only way to measure a contribution. But both of those guys were pretty good players in Dallas, and Escobar is only just now coming into his own in terms of how he's going to be used in the offense. He's got a shot to be a mismatch player and a major contributor this season, and his strip last week isn't going to get in the way of that any more than Beasley's strip against the Giants is going to get in the way of Beasley's opportunities.

As much as we complain about the TE picks, Fasano, Bennett, and Escobar have all been good players. So have Hanna and, it looks like Swaim been, for that matter. TEs are useful players, and as important as Witten is to the team, I've never had a real problem with backing up that position. Really, we probably should just be happy we're hitting on these guys and that our All Pro has been so healthy and so good we haven't needed to use them more instead of complaining about their production or presence on the roster in the first place.

Escobar's going to have a role the next 6-8 weeks. And he's a guy Weeden should be pretty familiar with throwing to, already. Let's hope the reps pay off and he really develops here into the kind of player we thought we were getting when we drafted him high.

 

[plasticman]

If your premise of what a TE should be in the current NFL is correct, then drafting Escobar was dumb thing to do.

He wasn't going to be the 1st TE with Witt on the team. So he would have been the second TE in your scenario to be able to get on the field. And he can't even beat out Hanna because he can't block.

Unless it's a QB, you don't draft someone in the 2nd round that don't play significant number of snaps in his 3rd year.

You can't assume that your Hall of Fame TE is going to play at an All Pro level forever. Therefore you have to draft a replacement and the Cowboys have been doing that for 8 years. All three of the TE's drafted in the 2nd round were drafted in the event they lost Written but he his been extremely consistent and durable, unusually so. That doesn't make it bad idea to get these guys, they just never needed that insurance policy.

We are talking about an offense that believes the passing game with multiple receiving options. We are talking about a quarterback that depends on his TE a great deal.

You will see Escobar being more utilized this season, that was the plan even before the injuries.

 

[Zman5]

You can't assume that your Hall of Fame TE is going to play at an All Pro level forever. Therefore you have to draft a replacement and the Cowboys have been doing that for 8 years. All three of the TE's drafted in the 2nd round were drafted in the event they lost Written but he his been extremely consistent and durable, unusually so. That doesn't make it bad idea to get these guys, they just never needed that insurance policy.

We are talking about an offense that believes the passing game with multiple receiving options. We are talking about a quarterback that depends on his TE a great deal.

You will see Escobar being more utilized this season, that was the plan even before the injuries.

That makes no sense if they were truly trying to find a replacement for Witt starting 8 years ago. That would be his 5th year and he was only 26. You don't start looking for a replacement of a player entering his prime unless the player sucks.

They weren't looking for his replacement. JG wanted to copy NE's 2 TE scheme and wanted another TE.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

It's fitting that he's inconsistent being he gets nothing but inconsistent playing time and reps.

 

[JoeKing]

I guess I have more love for Escobar than the average fan. I just hope the FO doesn't give up on him.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Escobar is the definition of quality

FIFY

And one protruding shin away from 8 TDs.

Exacly.

 

[roughneck266]

Until he is used more consistently, I can't put that label on him. He should get his opportunity with Witten being dinged up.

 

[Manster68]

I'll take Escobar over Bennett.
Both of their contributions to Dallas are admirable albeit different, but Escobar doesn't have any locker room liabilities.
The issues Escobar has can be fixed - Bennett is no longer with the team.

 

[erod]

He gets few opportunities, but when he does, it's usually a touchdown.

And that was CLEARLY a touchdown in Philadelphia. I'm still waiting on a league explanation of that one.

 

[conner01]

Bennett contributed more. He was a blocking tight end.

Escobar is a receiving tight end that cannot block, cannot get open consistently, fumbles the football, but bless him, he has great hands!

He has one fumble
Like twill and his drops this is an over exaggeration to say he fumbles
He is not a great blocked but not as bad as people think and gets open more than most would think for a backup TE to a HOF player