What I would do with C. J. Uzomah

[fredtoast]

Start training him right now to play press coverage against Gronk. He doesn't have to learn how to drop in a zone. He doesn't have to learn how to read formations to decide who he will cover. All he has to do is learn how to get up in Gronk's face; disrupt his timing as he comes off the line of scrimmage; beat him up for 5 yards; then flip his hips and pray that he has help behind him.

Gronkowski...6'6", 265, 4.65 forty
Uzomah........6'5', 265, 4.65 forty


Might as well make him a safety for one game. he isn't doing anything else for the team

[*bengalfan74*]

Not a bad plan IMHO. I mean 4 or 5 snaps in the game, Redzone and 3rd and forever type stuff in the right situations. Throw them a loop they aren't expecting for a change.

[Sled21]

Glad that was a football reference...... when I read the title I wasn't sure where we were headed......

[Slappy from New Haven]

(11-10-2015, 09:03 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Start training him right now to play press coverage against Gronk.  He doesn't have to learn how to drop in a zone.  He doesn't have to learn how to read formations to decide who he will cover.  All he has to do is learn how to get up in Gronk's face; disrupt his timing as he comes off the line of scrimmage; beat him up for 5 yards; then flip his hips and pray that he has help behind him.

Gronkowski...6'6", 265, 4.65 forty
Uzomah........6'5', 265, 4.65 forty


Might as well make him a safety for one game.  he isn't doing anything else for the team

Sounds interesting but teaching someone to flip their hips after punching forward is not learned in a couple weeks. It has to do with leverage and balance. Reference Taylor Mays....still hasn't learned how to turn his hips

[fredtoast]

(11-10-2015, 09:53 PM)Slappy from New Haven Wrote: Sounds interesting but teaching someone to flip their hips after punching forward is not learned in a couple weeks. It has to do with leverage and balance. Reference Taylor Mays....still hasn't learned how to turn his hips

All Uzo would have to do is maul him enough to throw off his timing.

Nothing else seems to work against Gronk.  Might as well try something he has not seen before.

Remember the funky D scheme we used against the Broncos last year?  That would not work every week.  Teams would adjust, but it worked for one game and that is all we needed.

[StoneTheCrow]

It would be worth the price of admission to see that.

[Vas Deferens]

(11-10-2015, 10:10 PM)fredtoast Wrote: All Uzo would have to do is maul him enough to throw off his timing.

Nothing else seems to work against Gronk.  Might as well try something he has not seen before.

Remember the funky D scheme we used against the Broncos last year?  That would not work every week.  Teams would adjust, but it worked for one game and that is all we needed.

Yup.  Give our D line a few extra moments to disrupt the playboy.  He's not the greatest under pressure.

They'd start throwing pick plays at us left and right though.

[Slappy from New Haven]

(11-10-2015, 10:10 PM)fredtoast Wrote: All Uzo would have to do is maul him enough to throw off his timing.

Nothing else seems to work against Gronk.  Might as well try something he has not seen before.

Remember the funky D scheme we used against the Broncos last year?  That would not work every week.  Teams would adjust, but it worked for one game and that is all we needed.

And the minute the best TE in the NFL gets past 5 yards with a guy that hasn't defended or they call favorable penalties then what do you do.

This is stupid Fred

[fredtoast]

(11-10-2015, 11:12 PM)Slappy from New Haven Wrote: And the minute the best TE in the NFL gets past 5 yards with a guy that hasn't defended or they call favorable penalties then what do you do.

This is stupid Fred

C.J. has the speed to run with Gronk.


What happens the minute Gronk gets more than 5 yards downfield being covered by a six foot CB or a slow LB?

[Au165]

Simple they would just motion him, or put him in a bunch off the line, or line him up in the backfield next to Brady like a two back set out of shotgun, all easy ways to make it impossible to jam him but now you have a guy in coverage with zero coverage ability. You put a guy out there in coverage who can't cover all that does is give them something to expose once they nullify the one thing he may be able to do. Gronk will be a factor but when teams start trying to get to cute and out think themselves that is when they melt down(see Grudens brilliant plan to not throw to AJ in Houston).

[Yojimbo]

I would guess we would use Iloka to cover Gronk. Iloka is no small CB or S, 6'4" 225 and he knows how to cover.

[Au165]

(11-10-2015, 11:38 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: I would guess we would use Iloka to cover Gronk. Iloka is no small CB or S, 6'4" 225 and he knows how to cover.

That's crazy talk! Using one of the best covering safeties in the NFL to cover? Blasphemy I say!

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(11-10-2015, 10:10 PM)fredtoast Wrote: All Uzo would have to do is maul him enough to throw off his timing.

Nothing else seems to work against Gronk.  Might as well try something he has not seen before.

Remember the funky D scheme we used against the Broncos last year?  That would not work every week.  Teams would adjust, but it worked for one game and that is all we needed.

You mean when they held Julius Thomas to 2 catches/33 yards? Yeah, that was Taylor Mays doing that. The same Taylor Mays who held Heath Miller to 3 catches/32 yards only a week after the Bengals let him get 10 catches/105 yards.

Was a mistake that they let him walk. He had a small role, but he performed well at it last year.

[fredtoast]

(11-11-2015, 12:15 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: The same Taylor Mays who held Heath Miller to 3 catches/32 yards only a week after the Bengals let him get 10 catches/105 yards.

Miller only having 3 catches for 32 yards had zero do do with Taylor Mays.  Instead it had everything to do with Antonio Brown being wide open every play and getting 17 receptions for 284 yards.

The only reason Miller had 10 for 105 against us is because we concentrated on shutting down the Steelers wide outs.  Brown only had 6 catches for 47 yards against us.

We are fine without Mays.  Who would you bench to play him?

[fredtoast]

(11-10-2015, 11:28 PM)Au165 Wrote:  but now you have a guy in coverage with zero coverage ability.  You put a guy out there in coverage who can't cover all that does is give them something to expose once they nullify the one thing he may be able to do

It is not like teaching a tackle to cover.  The guy is a TE, and we have over 2 months to coach him up him.  It isn't rocket surgery.

[Au165]

(11-11-2015, 12:34 AM)fredtoast Wrote: It is not like teaching a tackle to cover.  The guy is a TE, and we have over 2 months to coach him up him.  It isn't rocket surgery.

You are severally underestimating how tough it is to actually cover, especially in the NFL where if you breath on someone it is a flag. Seriously, if Brad posted this thread you'd be ripping him right now. This may be your worst idea ever, come on FRED!

[pdub2005]

(11-11-2015, 12:34 AM)fredtoast Wrote: It is not like teaching a tackle to cover.  The guy is a TE, and we have over 2 months to coach him up him.  It isn't rocket surgery.

What does "Rocket surgery" look like? And what does it entail?

[Daddy-O]

You'd have to make him active which they won't do for a part-time offensive role.

Heck, you could do the same thing with Carlos Dunlap if you wanted to, he's definitely quick enough on his feet. At least Carlos understands leverage and hand-to-hand combat. The negative would be pulling Carlos of the DL so you'd miss him badly in the rotation - and that could be deadly with a guy like Brady, to beat him you really need to get pressure with only 4 guys.

[Au165]

They have had Gronk before and lost. Stopping Gronk isn't the issue, it is stopping Brady. To stop Brady you have to get to him quickly. I feel good that Geno and Carlos can get there. With the loss of Deion Lewis they lose a huge weapon out of the backfield. Of course it won't be easy, but getting to Brady is the key.

[djs7685]

(11-11-2015, 12:26 AM)fredtoast Wrote: We are fine without Mays.  Who would you bench to play him?

I don't know, probably the same guy you're trying to bench to activate a rookie TE that's never even active and may not have ever dropped back in coverage in his life in an attempt to "disrupt" the most dominant TE in the NFL??

Yeah, that guy.