Houston Texans: 5 Keys To Overcoming Arian Foster’s Absence
Nov 16, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Houston Texans tight end Garrett Graham (88) scores a touchdown past Cleveland Browns free safety Tashaun Gipson (39) during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
The Tight Ends And Run Blocking
Last season, I thought we were in for a treat with Bill O’Brien getting use the three-headed tight end beast that is Garrett Graham, Ryan Griffin, and then-rookie C.J. Fiedorowicz. Griffin looked like a breakout candidate due to his athleticism, Graham had solid enough past production, and Fiedorowicz seemed well-rounded enough to make some sort of an impact as a rookie.
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None of those three players were factors in the passing attack. Graham had just 18 receptions after hauling in 49 passes the previous season, and both Griffin and Fiedorowicz combined for just 14 catches. It was a season to forget for all three of them, but there’s reason to believe that better things are in store for them in 2015.
Firstly, Fiedorowicz is a sure bet to improve, simply because the tight end position is so difficult to adjust to in the NFL. The improvements he makes as blocker will be especially key, since he looked like a future impact in-line TE in the running game during his career at Iowa.
Meanwhile, Graham has been earning some offseason hype, so maybe he can coax O’Brien to use the tight end more often, particularly at the beginning of the season with Hoyer at quarterback and Foster out of commission for roughly 2-4 weeks.
As far as I’m concerned, the biggest key at the tight end position is blocking. If these guys can do a good job of blocking for Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes, Chris Polk, or whoever else the Texans use on the ground, then that could help this team mitigate the negative effects of losing Foster.
The offensive line is elite at blocking for the running game- though the drop-off between Duane Brown and Chris Clark in that department would be notable if Brown is unable to meet his Week 1 timetable for return- so the only question up front is at tight end.
Next: A WR Duo