When will John Phillips break out?

[JD_KaPow]

The reason I say this is because I feel that Phillips can be a very good tight end. I know what little I have seen of him he looks like a good player. Maybe he just needs some playing time to break out like Miles did? I know some don't see much in him but others do. I think he has alot of talent and should be playing more. I always said he was alot better than Marty B but others disagreed. What do you think?

The vast majority of guys never "break out". I don't expect Phillips to either. And I still don't understand why people thought he was "a lot better" than Bennett.

 

[jobberone]

We don't need Phillips to "break out." We need him to contribute.

He's a backup TE. What exactly is 'breaking out'? His job is just to contribute.

Would love for him to have a breakout year but I agree with those above. He's a backup TE. I'm actually hoping the rookie will be more in line with what we're looking for to replace and augment Witten. Phillips is important though.

 

[Kingsmith88]

I think Phillips is a role player not a legit starting TE. Not trying to knock him, I like him and I like his work ethic but I don't see him taking a lead role in this offense

Good point, could change if his blocking improves.

 

[DallasEast]

Sooners fans may wish to add to this, but James Hanna has a stronger reputation as a blocking tight end, coming in as a rookie, than John Phillips has demonstrated as a professional. That could serve as an early advantage for Hanna over Phillips, should Hanna capitalize on that perceived strength.

So, I'm not so much thinking that Phillips should 'break out' than shine moreso than Hanna as a blocker. That will be his saving grace as a number two tight end in this offense, just as it was for Martellus Bennett.

 

[xwalker]

His measureables are in this chart. I originally created this for a thread about Hanna, but it is also useful to see Phillips compared to other TEs.

His forty was not very good, but his 3-cone is the 3rd best in this group and his 10-yard time is decent.

 

[Clove]

r and he is already a fan favorite. so he can do no wrong.

Since when?

 

[Tabascocat]

Unfortunately, I think we have seen what Phillips will bring to the table. He might contribute some this season, but I think his replacement (maybe Hanna) is not too far away. I would be surprised if he is with Dallas in two more years.

I was high on him also before his injury, looked sharp before that. IMO, he is what he is, a back-up TE and will never be a starter for the Dallas Cowboys.

 

[Kristen82]

Maybe we'll use more 2-TE formations next season. Phillips could see a few more balls thrown his way on checkdowns etc.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

We don't need Phillips to "break out." We need him to contribute.

This. He won't be breaking out with Witten anyway.

 

[noshame]

Now that we're all clear that he won't challenge Witten, what happens if Witten becomes injured for a significant amount of time? Do we have a guy on the roster who can get it done?

 

[Kilyin]

The vast majority of guys never "break out". I don't expect Phillips to either. And I still don't understand why people thought he was "a lot better" than Bennett.

Probably because Bennett was freaking terrible.

 

[Sarge]

I liked him better than Bennett before he blew out his knee. Hopefully he breaks out this year.

Me to - I think folks have forgotten how good he was playing. I'm excited to have him back in form. He's gonna be good.......... .02

 

[FLcowboy]

The reason I say this is because I feel that Phillips can be a very good tight end. I know what little I have seen of him he looks like a good player. Maybe he just needs some playing time to break out like Miles did? I know some don't see much in him but others do. I think he has alot of talent and should be playing more. I always said he was alot better than Marty B but others disagreed. What do you think?

This is the year. He's healthy, and mature. I look for big things.

 

[skinsscalper]

Me to - I think folks have forgotten how good he was playing. I'm excited to have him back in form. He's gonna be good.......... .02

He was playing o.k., but I think a lot of people started to get a little carried away with the "OMG Phillips is the man" mindset because he had a decent game against New Orleans when no one gave the Cowboys a snow balls chance in hell to beat them.

Phillips was the beneficiary of a defense that gave him little respect as a receiving target and Romo exploited it. Now, don't get me wrong, Phillips had to execute and he did. But, honestly, I think he was vaulted a little higher than he should be by the fans because of that one game.

That's not to say that I don't think Phillips can contribute and/or be effective as a compliment to Witten. I just think he was vaulted to rock star status over a single game performance in a win that was extremely triumphant for the Cowboys faithful.

The dude has one career TD and a total of 163 yards as a pro. I'll concede that he was playing 2nd fiddle to Bennett, but If he was that much better than Bennett, he would have taken more of his snaps. Especially on a Jason Garrett run team. I'm hopeful that Phillips develops into a good player for us, but I think Hannah has just as much if not more ability to impress than Phillips does. I'm tapping the brakes on the greatness of John Phillips for the moment.

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

he's always been too stiff and has a hard time adjusting to balls thrown his way.

he's a good 3rd and a decent 2nd TE...but he won't "break out"

 

[VACowboy]

he's always been too stiff and has a hard time adjusting to balls thrown his way.

Who cares, as long as he gets open and catches everything thrown to him, which is all he's done when he's seen the field. He needs to work on his blocking and it remains to be seen whether he can produce consistently in real games, but catching footballs has never been his problem.

he's a good 3rd and a decent 2nd TE...but he won't "break out"

I don't know what "break out" means to everyone, but to me 20-25 receptions, 3 TDs and good blocking would be an excellent year for JP, and there's no doubt in my mind he can do that.

 

[Muhast]

I think Phillips is a role player not a legit starting TE. Not trying to knock him, I like him and I like his work ethic but I don't see him taking a lead role in this offense

I agree, outside of his nice half before the injury, I haven't seen anything at all that makes me think he will ever be more than just a nice backup in the league.

 

[AMERICAS_FAN]

The reason I say this is because I feel that Phillips can be a very good tight end. I know what little I have seen of him he looks like a good player. Maybe he just needs some playing time to break out like Miles did? I know some don't see much in him but others do. I think he has alot of talent and should be playing more. I always said he was alot better than Marty B but others disagreed. What do you think?

From when I first saw him play I knew he was better than MartyB. In Dallas' last playoff game played, vs. Minnessota, Phillips cought a TD.

Phillips wasn't even the starter in that game, MArtyB was, and every time he took the filed he outplayed MartyB.

And he carried it into the next offseason when he basically took MartyB's job, only to suffer an injury and have MartyB get it back, not by competition but by Default.

Now that Phillips is 100% again and 2 years removed from his knee injury I fully expect hin to finally bring the threat of a 2-TE set to Dallas - something MartyB never did because he's a POS of a receiver.

With everyone wondering what the Cowboys will do at #3 WR, don't forget that a 2-TE set, with two legitimate receiving threats at TE, effectively replaces the need for a third WR. So if you're looking for depth at WR, then Phillips is your guy.

 

[AbeBeta]

His measureables are in this chart. I originally created this for a thread about Hanna, but it is also useful to see Phillips compared to other TEs.

His forty was not very good, but his 3-cone is the 3rd best in this group and his 10-yard time is decent.

This table really highlights how bad a player Hanna must be to have those measurables and only a 6th round grade

 

[gimmesix]

I totally don't buy this. He tore his ACL in pre-season. Guys often come back from that in 9 months. He had over a year. What we are seeing is a guy who is what he is, a 3rd TE. That isn't to say he won't be our #2 this year - but we can't expect a ton out of him.

Me, I think the TE position is very much our least settled spot. We targeted a TE in free agency and came up empty. Yes, we used a late round pick on one but Hannah is hardly a lock to make the team

I posted a quote from him in another thread where he essentially said he wasn't all the way back last year.

I think it was pretty clear he was playing at a higher level in the preseason before his injury.

Here's the quote:

"When you have an injury like that, you can't really get better in the offseason," Phillips said. "You're worrying about getting it back to where it was. Instead of getting better and stronger, you're trying to just get back. This offseason, I got back to squatting and strengthening my legs in general."

I'm sure the messed-up offseason didn't help, either.