Brent Celek’s 2012

Posted: February 16th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 26 Comments »

The other day I did a write-up on the Eagles talent level.  I referred to TE Brent Celek as a good player.  One guy on Twitter told me Brent was “garbage”.  Another told me Brent was awful in 2012.

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Uh, no.

Brent had a few key bad moments that hurt the team, but that doesn’t make a bad year.  In the first Skins game, Brent failed to secure a pass and the ball was picked off and run back inside the 10-yard line to set up a TD.  In the Lions game, Brent had a couple of lowlights.  He dropped one TD pass.  On another play, he was called for offensive interference and that negated a TD.

Brent was 57-684-1 for the year.  The 1 TD wasn’t all on him.  The Red Zone offense had issues all year, with both Vick and Foles.  Brent had 10 receptions that covered 20 yards or more.  This is very impressive for a TE.  Tony Gonzalez had 11…in the last 2 years combined.  Jason Witten caught almost double the number of total passes (110 to 57) but only had 8 go for more than 20 yards.  Gronk had 13 catches of 20 or more yards.  Jimmy Graham had 12.  Celek is more of a playmaker than people realize.

Brent did have 7 drops.  So did Jermichael Finley and Aaron Hernandez.  Jimmy Graham had 13.

What about blocking?  Brent is average to above average.  He gets exposed when the Eagles ask him to block guys like DeMarcus Ware, but so do OTs.  Celek is an above average run blocker.  He had very good blocks in several games.  There were some standout moments vs PIT, CAR, DAL, and the NYG just to mention a few.  The most frustrating part with Brent is that he’s inconsistent.  He’s had a few outstanding games over the years, but the next week he’ll be up and down.  There usually is no lack of effort, which is a big thing for me.  I can’t stand when skill players are lazy blockers.  Brent just gets sloppy with his technique.

Brent isn’t a great player or close to it.  He is above average.  He has games when he’s terrific.  Against the Ravens this year he was 11-157.  They had no one who could cover him.  Brent also has sloppy games like the Lions loss.  If he catches the one TD or doesn’t push off on the other (somewhat questionable call), we probably win that game.  In the grand scheme of things, we actually benefited from the loss.  It helped push for change and got us a higher draft pick.

Chip Kelly had some talented, productive TEs at Oregon.  I’m sure Celek will have a key role in the new offense.

* * * * *

OT Ed Wang was signed today.  Not a huge deal.  Doesn’t have the feet to be a LT.  Could challenge for a spot at RT.  Long shot to make the roster.  We need depth on the OL so it is good to bring in guys like this to battle for spots.  I cannot imagine any way King Dunlap comes back.  Demetress Bell might already be locked away in Siberia.  Wang has enough experience in camps and practice to know what he’s doing. He’s got some talent.  He’ll compete for a spot.  You want hungry players.  And no…not the same kind of hungry as Max Jean-Gilles.

There is one interesting connection.  The guy who worked Wang out was Bob Bicknell, the new WRs coach.  Bicknell was with Wang in Buffalo.  At that time, Bicknell was the TEs coach.  Obviously that guy does a bit of work with the OL at times since TEs have to do some combo blocks with OTs.

* * * * *

Jimmy Bama went to the “coaches media summit” the other day.  He pulled out some quotes of interest.  Some you might have already read, but a couple should be new.

_

  • http://www.facebook.com/jakwaggoner Jack Waggoner

    If we still had Eugene Chung coaching the O-line, we could all Wang Chung tonight.

    • TommyLawlor

      I liked that group. Did the soundtrack for “To Live and Die in LA”, beside their pop music.

      • A Roy

        Sort of an “Everybody Gene Chung Tonight” thing…

  • Anders

    I really wonder why Celek is so inconsistent. As far as dynamic TE he can compete with the best and wonder if Kelly might be able to get the best out of him

    • http://www.facebook.com/jakwaggoner Jack Waggoner

      Celek would be more effective in an offense that isn’t constantly trying to play long ball.

      • Iskar36

        Actually, I would argue if anything, the long ball helps Celek because it takes away the safeties for the most part and Celek has a lot of space to work in. If the WRs are running in the middle, that makes it more congested for Celek.

        • ICDogg

          That can happen just by the threat of the long ball. The QB can release faster and get it to the TE before waiting to see if something long develops.

    • A_T_G

      I wonder how much of the inconsistency and sloppiness comes from playing through pain. Brent takes a lot of big hits. When things don’t bend like they should, it would look like sloppy form.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Sitko/1014187191 Mark Sitko

    Totally agree Tommy – Celek is a much better TE than he is given credit for. Would love to find a nice compliment for him – our own Delaney Walker…how much longer do you think he will be serviceable? Also – he is one of my favorite players when it comes to an interview – not going to say anything too juicy, but always smart and respectful to his team and organization – class act

  • PhillyBirds

    I love Brent for the most part and don’t understand the hate. For me one thing that gets me about him is he seems to have this knack for dangerously tipping the ball up into the air so I have some concerns about his hands. It’s not really the drops that get me more just the lack of sure hands.

    I love that he tries to make every catch but boy does it seem like he throws a hand up there often and just deflects a ball up for grabs where a defender seems to usually be. Off the top of my head I remember games vs the Ravens, Saints, and Skins where balls were intercepted off deflections. Half the time it’s bad throws so not really on him but its something I’ve picked up on.

  • http://twitter.com/BleedingGreen BleedingGreenNation

    For me, Celek is close to “JAG” territory.

    • TommyLawlor

      Wow. You think if he was a FA teams would look at him like that? Can’t see that at all.

      • Iskar36

        I definitely do not put him in JAG territory, but do you think he would be a guy teams would be targeting as a priority FA? That I’m not sure I see either.

        • Sifter

          I look at the FA market and I see Tony Gonzalez and Martellus Bennett as 2 guys I’d definitely have ahead of Celek. Then there’s a buttload of guys like Fred Davis, Dustin Keller, Delanie Walker, Anthony Fasano, Jared Cook, Benjamin Watson, Dallas Clark – all have different talent levels and strength/weaknesses but I’d put those guys on an approximate level with Celek.

          So no, I don’t see Celek as anything special. He’s one of those guys that you don’t really think needs to be replaced, because he’s a reasonable player, but at the same time you’re never completely happy with what you’re getting from TE with him there.

  • Ark87

    Oh dammit, Now we have Cox, Dix’, and Wang fighting in the trenches. Lord help the broadcast if Dix’ and Wang become starters, the FCC will have to consider stepping in.

  • Garp

    “The guy who worked Wang out was Bob Bicknell”

    Oh come on Tommy – I’m sure plenty of people on the Eagles have worked their wang out.

  • Iskar36

    I think part of the frustration with Celek is that he can have games like he had against the Ravens, but then be invisible for large parts of others. With the effort he clearly demonstrates and his desire to be a leader, I think everyone expects him to be a great TE when frankly he is not.

    Celek is definitely the type of guy I want on my team, but in a year where we are not rebuilding/retooling/reworking/whatever-term-you-feel-most-comfortable-with, he would be a guy I think should be legitimately challenged for his starting role. I think the TE position is a very valuable weapon that is certainly not a weakness on our team, but I’m not sure it is a strength.

    • Baloophi

      I also think, to be fair, much of Celek’s invisibility superpower can be attributed to poor QB play and game planning. We would go months between games when Andy and Marty remembered that the area of the field between the numbers is in bounds.

  • SteveH

    Celek is a tough SOB, surprised that doesn’t earn him more points with the crowd. I think the couple of drops he had that ended up with negative results this year are probably coloring peoples perception of him.

  • Adam

    Celek is an above average guy, but how about not signalling first down every damn time you get? Act like you’ve been there before. It’s so annoying. Especially when we’re down by 30 points.

    • http://www.facebook.com/bjpasquale Ben Pasquale

      I give him a pass for it because he usually has just gotten crushed by a safety and it’s nice to see him pop up and show he (probably) doesn’t have a concussion.

    • Iskar36

      I actually kind of like seeing that. I usually think he is fairly aware of the game situation and does it to try and pump the team up and get them playing with more energy.

    • A_T_G

      For me, the most exciting part of running a high paced offense is that there won’t be time for this stuff.

  • aub32

    I think fans are jaded because they see so much great TE play in the NFC. It’s easy to look and Graham, Witten, Davis, Gonzalez, and say damn why can’t we have one of those. However, look at the AFC. Outside of Gronk, Hernandez, and maybe Pitta, I don’t know too many TEs that are much better than Celeck.

  • disqus_EegOlTvEWY

    hey lawlor – good commentary. I just want to introduce myself to all the media guys.
    Regards, Big Balls Chip

  • http://www.insidetheiggles.com/ CalSFro

    In today’s NFL, Brent is one half of what you want/need from the tight end position. He’s a good, not great player who provides leadership and will always give it everything he’s got.

    I think the real culprit in this whole argument is Clay Harbor (or Reid and Mornhinweg’s chronic underuse of him). We need a second tight end, whether that turns out to be Clay or not, who can get on the field and make some plays.