ASJ’s Blocking Will Improve
August 4th, 2015
Charley Casserly of NFL Network is a big fan of Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
Joe will never forget after a memorable training camp practice last year, where Bucs linebackers struggled to stop tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Joe mentioned to ASJ that he had a helluva day.
ASJ scowled at Joe and mentioned his blocking was subpar and he couldn’t have a good practice until he improves his blocking. Charley Casserly of NFL Network believes that will come.
Casserly, the former general manager of both the Redskins and the Texans, is a big believer in ASJ and says college football staffs do an injustice to tight ends, and those tight ends often develop later in the NFL due to lack of coaching.
ASJ “is a legitimate player,” Casserly told Joe today at One Buc Palace. “Clearly in college he had some off-the-field issues that you have to hope all of that is behind him. But he has ability. He is a second round player [the Bucs] took. He is good. He really is good. He has to get better as a blocker.
“Tight ends, that is the least-coached position in college football. They don’t have enough coaches. Usually [tight ends are grouped] with the offensive linemen or go do something else. They don’t have tight ends coaches in college, it is rare. You just don’t have a lot of coaches.
“So [tight ends] don’t get a lot of coaching in college. That is a position that gets better in the pros. There are a lot of [tight ends] that come into this league who couldn’t block worth a crap became adequate blockers over a period of time. What you have to do is to have balance and competitiveness and eventually, you can block.”
Joe never thought of it like that but Casserly makes a helluva point. Colleges have limits on the size of a coaching staff. So tight ends are coached up — if they are coached up — by coaches whose main responsibilities are positions other than tight ends.
At best, tight ends only get part-time coaching in college. So if ASJ still gripes about his blocking, then he may have a point. He is still learning.
Of course, ASJ’s biggest issue is tackling the problems he had last year: staying healthy and out of the hot tub.
August 4th, 2015 at 4:35 pm
ASJ showed some nice flashes as a receiver last year. I hope he stays healthy enough to play in all 16 games in 2015
August 4th, 2015 at 4:39 pm
ASJ sure is getting a lot of hype locally and nationally this offseason. Hopefully he lives up to it.
August 4th, 2015 at 4:40 pm
Let me get this straight.
ASJ “may” have only had an OL coach in college whose primary responsibility is to teach players hoe to block but his biggest weakness is blocking.
Makes as much sence as anything else I read out here.
August 4th, 2015 at 5:01 pm
What were his off the field issues Casserly referred to? I only remember reading about how great of a guy he was coming out of college and that he was a real academic type.
August 4th, 2015 at 5:25 pm
I remember the Bucs drafting hierarchy stating he was the highest player on their board before snagging him with that second round pick. This is the year to prove that selection valid. Good luck staying healthy ASJ and pulling in those catches.
August 4th, 2015 at 5:31 pm
I am a little skeptical on Casserly’s point. College head coaches at major programs are getting big-time money and they have more resources than ever before for recruiting and facilities. Washington is a major college football program, and they can’t afford a tight ends coach? I am far from an expert on the staffing of a college football program. As a season ticket holder for a major college football program, it is evident that there is tons of money being thrown around. Wouldn’t having a tight ends coach be good for recruiting? I get that in college, kids are often moved over to tight end from another position. But I find it hard to believe there is a lack of coaching staff for the position.
August 4th, 2015 at 5:37 pm
This should be ASJ breakout season, we’re going to need him to step his game up a notch and help our rookie QB.He has the talent, but he gotta stay healthy. I hope the Bucs don’t carry 4 Tight Ends this season, I rather have 5 RB. The only off field issue he had in college was the DUI that I know of.
August 4th, 2015 at 5:52 pm
Geno-
ASJ got popped with a DUI in 6-13 and plead guilty.
August 4th, 2015 at 7:29 pm
For a second rounder, he’s basically a bust.
August 4th, 2015 at 8:34 pm
Oingo boingo says as a second rounder he’s basically a bust.
Then based on your astute observations I will have to conclude that Gerald McCoy as a first rounder is a bust. Afterall he was out for most of his first 2 seasons with biceps injuries. Do you agree Boingo?
August 4th, 2015 at 10:01 pm
I was watching video on the Buc’s website and he looked real good. Very athletic and smooth in his movements. Great speed for a man of his size too.
I’m just surprised Casserly didn’t rip you a new one for asking him a question he wasn’t prepared for…
August 4th, 2015 at 10:25 pm
My concerns with Seferian-Jenkins is dropped balls. He had two drops in just 21 receptions last year along with one fumble and four penalties. He also did not break a single tackle. For a man his size, not breaking a single tackle is alarming. He did have a positive score for blocking by Pro Football Focus. He needs to dominate as he did for Washington in college. This is the year to determine if the 2014 draft class is a bust or not. Besides Seferian-Jenkins, Charles Sims, Kadeem Edwards, Kevin Pamphile and Robert Herron need to perform this year.
August 4th, 2015 at 11:21 pm
I give rookies 3 years…if not by then, they are a bust.
August 5th, 2015 at 12:06 pm
At first, Sanchez and Freeman looked like future stars and Stafford looked like an injury prone bust. Here we are six years later and Stafford is the only one of the three with a starting gig! Sanchez is a back up now and Freeman may never play again. So really, a draft cant be judged until at least five years have gone by.
In 2012, RG3 was right up there with Luck and Wilson. Now, three years later, RG3 is entering a do or die year and Tannehill is the unquestioned starter of his team. You never know what can go down. RG proved to be weak when he was hit with that spot light.
What about 2006? Leinart and OROY Vince Young were the best that draft had to offer in terms of quarterback play. Four years later, neither one would start again, and Jay Cutler ended up being by far, the best of the three, despite getting little recognition back then. Say what you will about Cutler, but there’s a reason he is a starting quarterback and Young and Leinart are out of the league.
Then there’s Alex Smith. After the 2010 season, Smith was dubbed a “coach killer”. Turns out with a little time and coaching, Smith could be pretty good. Not elite, but an efficent passer for sure. Certainly not the bust many thought him to be before he was even 30.
So five years is really the minimum at which a player should be judged. Really, you cant say who was what until a generation later and said player is done. Now running backs and offensive linemen may be more easy to categorize after a smaller sample size. But dont say a quarterback is a bust or say he’s elite until his career is over, because you just never know. Unless that quarterback is Josh Mccown. He sucks.