Michael Egnew...

[ckparrothead]

One thing we've seen with Egnew so far is that while he's dropped a lot of balls, we never would have noticed it if he wasn't getting open. The kids had as many balls thown his way in the first two games as anybody, so while he isn't getting wide open, he is getting into windows the QB can throw to. If he starts pullng them down with consistency his story changes. Jimmy Grahams first two games at TE for UM in college were even worse than what Egnew has shown as a rook in the NFL, and we see how he's turned out as a reciever. The kid deserves a little time to see if his problem right now isn't just rookie jitters, and learning to be a pro. As others have noted, he'll never be an all-pro blocking TE, but he deserves a bit of time to develop.

He's had 3 catches and should have had 5 because he dropped 2. He was also targeted in the back of the end zone but that was not a drop, that ball was batted away by a defender and the QB never should have thrown it, or he should have thrown it HIGH so that Egnew could go up for it as he did so many times at Missouri. The ball he caught for 31 yards also either needed to be a better thrown ball (more air) or it needed to not be thrown, because the defender got hold of it and it's kind of lucky that Egnew was able to come down with it. I mean it was a fantastic feat on his part to maintain concentration on the football and come down with it, but from the quarterback's standpoint, he's lucky that isn't a tipped up interception or something like that.

 

[hoops]

what is the recurring theme in man to man coverage down the field with egnew...lb riding him all over the place...and we're talking about camp fodder lbs...the 31 yard catch that ball should have never been thrown devlin threw it into coverage but that lb was in perfect position on the coverage egnew didn't beat him a quality player picks that ball off...the red zone tipped ball as ck says which it was and not a drop that lb has inside position on egnew he didn't gain enough clearance ie win on the route to fit the ball in there...

it's gonna be like that a lot...egnew with coverage players draped all over him in man...he's not gonna win against man consistently in this league

 

[fininpsl]

He's had 3 catches and should have had 5 because he dropped 2. He was also targeted in the back of the end zone but that was not a drop, that ball was batted away by a defender and the QB never should have thrown it, or he should have thrown it HIGH so that Egnew could go up for it as he did so many times at Missouri. The ball he caught for 31 yards also either needed to be a better thrown ball (more air) or it needed to not be thrown, because the defender got hold of it and it's kind of lucky that Egnew was able to come down with it. I mean it was a fantastic feat on his part to maintain concentration on the football and come down with it, but from the quarterback's standpoint, he's lucky that isn't a tipped up interception or something like that.

Not trying to nit-pick, but I thought he had two drops in the first game, and another against Carolina. Between the two games does anybody know how many snaps he's had?

 

[SammySmif]

Egnew is not currently playing like a third round draft pick. I doubt anyone wants him to fail, but that is why people are disappointed. Let's be honest, he is not competing against All Pros at the WR/TE position.

 

[ckparrothead]

Not trying to nit-pick, but I thought he had two drops in the first game, and another against Carolina. Between the two games does anybody know how many snaps he's had?

No, he had one drop in the Buccaneers game. He was targeted four times. He caught a 31 yarder, caught another ball in traffic, dropped a quick hitter that was thrown to the wrong shoulder, and had a ball batted away from him by a defender in the back of the end zone.

I believe Hard Knocks made the end zone ball LOOK like a drop, because they showed someone's (think it was a coach's or a player's) reaction to it while watching from the booth or sidelines, but the fact of the matter is the ball was batted away by a defender and when that coach/player saw it on film the next day I'm sure he would realize his initial impression was false.

As for his number of snaps if I had to guess I would say about 40 or 45. Not all of them pass plays, obviously.

 

[fininpsl]

Egnew is not currently playing like a third round draft pick. I doubt anyone wants him to fail, but that is why people are disappointed. Let's be honest, he is not competing against All Pros at the WR/TE position.

I wouldn't disagree with that for a second, but it's all of two preseason games into his career. Not quite long enough to be a pattern yet.

 

[ckparrothead]

Egnew is not currently playing like a third round draft pick. I doubt anyone wants him to fail, but that is why people are disappointed. Let's be honest, he is not competing against All Pros at the WR/TE position.

Hmm.

Well I guess we have different ideas of what 3rd rounders typically look like at this juncture. I mean, some of them kill it right away, but most of them don't.

 

[ckparrothead]

what is the recurring theme in man to man coverage down the field with egnew...lb riding him all over the place...and we're talking about camp fodder lbs...the 31 yard catch that ball should have never been thrown devlin threw it into coverage but that lb was in perfect position on the coverage egnew didn't beat him a quality player picks that ball off...the red zone tipped ball as ck says which it was and not a drop that lb has inside position on egnew he didn't gain enough clearance ie win on the route to fit the ball in there...

it's gonna be like that a lot...egnew with coverage players draped all over him in man...he's not gonna win against man consistently in this league

In the end zone he had enough of an edge on Jacob Cutrera that if Pat Devlin throws that ball high and leading, it's probably a touchdown. I'm not sure what on earth made Devlin want to throw a low heater in that situation.

 

[hoops]

it looked to me like if that balls high and further inside it's leading into the coming over safety...i didn't see a window there...looked awfully tight to me

 

[ckparrothead]

it looked to me like if that balls high end further inside it's leading into the coming over safety...i didn't see a window there...looked awfully tight to me

You could be right. I'll look at it again.

 

[ckparrothead]

After looking very closely, I come to the same conclusion on that end zone play that I originally had. Michael Egnew clearly had a step on Jacob Cutrera the linebacker, as he crossed the back of the end zone.

However, Jacob Cutrera has 4.6 speed in his own right and as Egnew drifted his depth to the back of the end zone looking for the jump ball, Cutrera was able to make up about half a step on Michael.

As you can see, I've captured the exact moment when Jacob Cutrera's outstretched hand got between the ball and Michael Egnew, slapping it away.

What you're seeing in that final picture is that Egnew had plenty of space in front of him between himself and the safety. The safety was not a threat whatsoever.

Egnew had floated to the back of the end zone expecting a high ball as is most often the case with a tight end as opposed to a wide receiver. The problem is Pat Devlin did not place the ball high. He placed the ball at chin level. The optimal placement would have been high and to the front of Michael so that he could use his significant leaping skills (37.5 inch vertical, 11'3" broad jump) to go up and get it.

 

[CANDolphan]

CK, yet again Im impressed. Your effort and thought with every post really is appreciated.

 

[ckparrothead]

CK, yet again Im impressed. Your effort and thought with every post really is appreciated.

Huh. Interesting. Cuz you see, I was led to believe that I'm actually just some kind of Michael Egnew apologist making all kinds of BS excuses for him. Weird.

 

[datruth55]

He's got to learn to go get the ball, in the pictures above he's waiting for the ball to get to him...rookie mistake but that's something he can easily adjust.

 

[ckparrothead]

He's got to learn to go get the ball, in the pictures above he's waiting for the ball to get to him...rookie mistake but that's something he can easily adjust.

I don't think any mistake occurred. He reached forward and toward the ball with both hands as Pat Devlin threw a low heater where he needed to throw it high. Rookie mistake nothing, there was no mistake. It was a bad ball.

Look at the final picture. It's text book. His shoulders are squared to the quarterback, his hands are out front and reaching for the ball. That's text book. That's not any "rookie mistake".