Mike Seidman
2007 stats: None
Combine numbers: 6044, 261, 4.80 in 2003
Who's he: Just like Ben Utecht and Bryan Fletcher, Westlake, Calif., native Seidman was a three-sport star in high school. He went to nearby UCLA where he was a year behind Fletcher, but starting playing on offense almost immediately. After Fletcher left, Seidman exploded as an offensive force, catching 41-631-5 as a senior. He was first-team All-Pac-10, UCLA Offensive MVP and a finalist for the John Mackey award. In 46 games (14 starts), he caught 61-989-6. Although he was productive, concerns about his lack of deep speed and explosiveness led to him being drafted in the third round of the 2003 draft by the Carolina Panthers. As rookie, he started five games, but was mainly used as a blocker until a torn ACL felled him in game 12. Seidman came back in 2004, started six games and was finally given a chance to catch the ball. He caught 13-123-3 — including a spectacular falling-down endzone catch against the Bucs — and a two-point convert. He found himself fighting for a spot on the left side of the depth chart in 2005, playing mainly as a blocker, and tore his ACL again in 2006. After the Panthers released him in 2007, the Colts took a flier on him, but he suffered yet another knee injury in camp, and was placed on injured reserve. In his NFL career, Seidman has played 43 of 80 possible regular-season games (starting 15), catching 18-158-2 and returning four kicks for 44 yards.
As a player: Unlike Clark, Utecht and Fletcher — who are really just big wideouts in tight end drag (1) — Seidman is an old-skool complete tight end. And a good one. When he came out of UCLA in 2003, the top tight ends in the draft were Clark, Jason Witten, Bennie Joppru (2) and Seidman, with much of the media placing Seidman at or near the top of the stack. There's little wonder why. While his receiving production stacked up well against the others', Seidman looked like John Hannah or Anthony Muñoz (3) compared to others a blocker. A smart and aware receiver who will adjust to poor throws and catch the ball in stride, Seidman runs good routes, but lacks the explosive burst to lose defenders and doesn't have deep speed. Actually, all of the verbs in the last few sentences should be in past tense. Seidman was all those things, but three season-ending knee injuries in five years have likely robbed him of much of his former ability.
Analysis: I think everyone but Seidman's mom realizes he's probably done. Colts fans can safely assume he's not going to be back next year. With the Colts almost certain to retain Clark at a great cost, keeping both Utecht and Fletcher might be a bit difficult.(4) While the Colts don't like to devote too much money under the cap at any one position, they do like to keep their offensive components (5) together and to keep as many reliable targets for Manning as possible. Should they only be able to afford one, the decision would be difficult. While some would argue, Utecht is clearly a better player. Not only does he block better — he was, after all the Colts' starting tight end last season while Fletcher normally played H-back or in the slot — but he's also a better receiver. He caught 83.78 percent of passes thrown his way last year (Fletcher caught 59.26 percent), he averaged 11.74 yards per catch (7.94 for Fletcher, despite usually running longer routes) and 5.58 yards after the catch (2.67 for Fletcher). The equalizer in this equation, though, is that Utecht is far more prone to injury than Fletcher and the chances of the Colts signing one just to lose their investment to injury is much greater with Utecht. More likely, however, is that the Colts keep both on one-year tenders — much like they did guards Ryan Lilja and Jake Scott last year when both of them were restricted free agents — and defer the decision on which to keep another year. Because of Fletcher's limitations as a blocker and Utecht's history of injury, neither is likely to get a huge outside offer, forcing the Colts to match (6). But even if both remain Colts for 2008, expect the team to draft a tight end with some receiving ability to undergo a one-year indoctrination. A smart kid with big mitts like Pittsburgh's Darrell Strong — who could be a second-day pick — could easily succeed in Indy. What? No mention of Roy Hall? I'll save that for a later post.
Notes:
1. I know I go on and on about this, but I really think people have the wrong idea here. To set things straight — Clark is not the Colts' starting tight end, Utecht is. Clark may be the tight end again the future, but he isn't now. Don't believe me? Check out Football Outsiders, a scouting service that examines every single NFL play in depth. They list Clark as a wide receiver because he played the overwhelming majority of his snaps either at slot or split wide. He's been playing as much tight end these days as Marvin does. By the way, Football Outsiders gave Utecht a 30.4 DVOA (a measure of how much better over the average tight end he was on a play-by-play basis), and Fletcher a -7.4 — that means Utecht was way better and Fletcher was a tad worse than the average Joe at the position in 2007.
2. Poor Joppru. Kid had all the talent in the world, but injuries have limited him to 19 of 80 possible regular-season games and a grand total of zero catches. You think Seidman had it bad? At least he scored a couple of NFL touchdowns.
3. Am I dating myself? Anyone out there remember those guys? Man, Hannah could hurt you.
4. Further complicating things is the fact that with Reggie Wayne, Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez on hand, the Colts will most likely expect Clark to play tight end more often. That will leave fewer snaps for Utecht and Fletcher to share.
5. They tend to be a bit more relaxed with defensive players, especially linebackers— as the Washington-Peterson-Thornton-June-Gardner-Keiaho shuffle indicates.
6. The Colts have some advantages in free agency. Not only do players, especially those on offense, want to play in Indy, but there's a feeling around the league that ex-Colts tend to do poorly once they leave Indy.
Showing posts with label tight end. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tight end. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Reserve tight ends, get 'em while they're healthy! Part the second
Bryan Fletcher
2007 stats: 18-143-0 receiving
Combine numbers: 6047, 238, 4.87 in 2002
Who's he: Terrell Fletcher's little brother was a pretty good athlete in his own right at high school in St. Louis. A tight end and linebacker, Bryan was also the starting center on the school's basketball team. As a freshman at UCLA , he played mainly on special teams before moving into a share of the starting tight end position as a sophomore. He continued to play specials despite being a part-time starter on offense. As a senior, he made All-Pac-10 second team and won UCLA's Best Leadership Award, despite the school's star-studded lineup. In 43 games (14 starts), Fletcher caught 30-423-3. Disappointing combine numbers led to Fletcher having to wait until the sixth round to hear his name called in the 2002 draft when he was selected by the Bears. He was cut in training and bounced around the league (including a successful stint in NFL Europe) before landing on the Colts' practice squad in 2004. He made the final roster in 2005 and started 12 games as injuries struck the receiving corps and the Colts played two tight end formations extensively. In his three-year tenure with the Colts, Fletcher has played 41 of 48 possible regular-season games (18 starts) and caught 54-547-5, while playing primarily at H-back, but also fullback, tight end, slot receiver and wide receiver.
As a player: Fletcher is a hybrid. Depending on your perspective, he's either a very tall, somewhat slow wide receiver or a very skinny tight end — or both. Well, mostly he's a receiver no matter what position he plays. Fletcher has good, not great, hands and excels at the other elements of receiving, including route-running, using his agility and adjusting to help his quarterback. Although he plays faster than he times, Fletcher isn't really a deep threat, but he can be a good intermediate receiver who can be deadly in the red zone where his height is a big plus. As a blocker, he's a lot more wide receiver than tight end. Not surprisingly, he's much better on the move than he is inline. Of course, Fletcher starts pretty well every play in motion or in the backfield, so it's not a huge problem. Niggling injuries have troubled him throughout his career, but not terribly so.
2007 stats: 18-143-0 receiving
Combine numbers: 6047, 238, 4.87 in 2002
Who's he: Terrell Fletcher's little brother was a pretty good athlete in his own right at high school in St. Louis. A tight end and linebacker, Bryan was also the starting center on the school's basketball team. As a freshman at UCLA , he played mainly on special teams before moving into a share of the starting tight end position as a sophomore. He continued to play specials despite being a part-time starter on offense. As a senior, he made All-Pac-10 second team and won UCLA's Best Leadership Award, despite the school's star-studded lineup. In 43 games (14 starts), Fletcher caught 30-423-3. Disappointing combine numbers led to Fletcher having to wait until the sixth round to hear his name called in the 2002 draft when he was selected by the Bears. He was cut in training and bounced around the league (including a successful stint in NFL Europe) before landing on the Colts' practice squad in 2004. He made the final roster in 2005 and started 12 games as injuries struck the receiving corps and the Colts played two tight end formations extensively. In his three-year tenure with the Colts, Fletcher has played 41 of 48 possible regular-season games (18 starts) and caught 54-547-5, while playing primarily at H-back, but also fullback, tight end, slot receiver and wide receiver.
As a player: Fletcher is a hybrid. Depending on your perspective, he's either a very tall, somewhat slow wide receiver or a very skinny tight end — or both. Well, mostly he's a receiver no matter what position he plays. Fletcher has good, not great, hands and excels at the other elements of receiving, including route-running, using his agility and adjusting to help his quarterback. Although he plays faster than he times, Fletcher isn't really a deep threat, but he can be a good intermediate receiver who can be deadly in the red zone where his height is a big plus. As a blocker, he's a lot more wide receiver than tight end. Not surprisingly, he's much better on the move than he is inline. Of course, Fletcher starts pretty well every play in motion or in the backfield, so it's not a huge problem. Niggling injuries have troubled him throughout his career, but not terribly so.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Reserve tight ends, get 'em while they're healthy! Part the first
Throughout the Bill Polian era, the Colts have usually had an embarrassment of riches when it has come to tight end depth. That's not too surprising, as the Colts play single-back formations more than any other team; and, when they do have a second back in there, it's often a tight end motioned in to play fullback. Colt tight ends can also be spotted shifting to the slot or even splitting wide. Not surprisingly, the Colts prize versatility at the position and expect a lot from whoever they sign.
But the Colts this year have (in order of importance): unrestricted free agent Dallas Clark, restricted free agents Ben Utecht and Bryan Fletcher, unrestricted free agent Mike Seidman and two other dudes (1). Clearly, decisions will have to be made, and quickly. No one will be surprised if the first is that Clark will be re-signed, even if it requires a franchise tag. While that takes care of one spot, it leaves a lot less money under the cap to deal with the others.
Coltplay will take a quick look at the in-house options, with an overall analysis to follow. We'll start with Utecht, because he's the established tight end-in-waiting after Clark, who was discussed in an earlier post.
Ben Utecht
2007 stats: 31-364-1 receiving
Combine numbers: 6061, 249, 4.80 in 2004
Who's he: You want versatile? Take look at Utecht. At high school in Hastings, Minn., he was a great punter and defensive end, the hockey team's goalie (2), a top long jumper, a member of the National Honor Society and the school's most recognized artist as an award-winning singer and guitar player. He went to the University of Minnesota as a wide receiver, but when the coaches looked at him in his redshirt 1999 season, they switched him to tight end. Utecht used his excellent hands and deceptive speed to become a major offensive weapon for the Golden Gophers, catching 83-1211-15 in 44 games (35 starts). As a senior, he was a finalist for the 2004 John Mackey Award, but lost to Miami's Kellen Winslow, who became a first-round pick by the Browns. The media consensus after his senior season was that Utecht would be a third-round pick, but a terrible hernia injury kept him from being selected. The Colts won a minor bidding war for his services as an undrafted free agent and they promptly put him on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He missed the entire 2004 regular season, but made a few brief appearances in the playoffs. He play sparingly in 2005 as a reserve tight end, but his first two catches (a 26-yarder against the Ravens on Sept. 11 and a 14-yarder against the Jaguars the following week) were both acrobatic touchdowns, giving fans an impression of his abilities. When starting tight end Clark was called on for slot duty in 2006 (3), Utecht took over at his old position and flourished, playing tight end, H-back, fullback and even wide receiver. In 40 of 64 possible regular-season games (30 starts) with the Colts, Utecht has caught 71-800-3 and returned one kick for seven yards.
As a player: With the Golden Gophers, Utecht was a feared weapon, regularly splitting the middle to freak out unsuspecting safeties or embarrassing linebackers with razor-sharp cuts and surprising burst. But you won't see him do that often with the Colts. That's not his job in Indy. Although Utecht plays much faster than his 4.80 combine time, he's not the deep threat Clark is, and must be satisfied with the short patterns, blitz hot reads and endless blocking a tight end/fullback has to put up with. If you're reading this and you're not a Colts fan, the Clark-Utecht situation is roughly analogous to how Chris Cooley and Mike Sellers (4) divide up opportunities in Washington. Utecht is the reliable second banana, running the dump-off routes, using his awareness to recognize when his quarterback is in trouble and adjusting his routes and throwing his shoulders into more and more blocking. There are good and bad sides to this. Utecht is blessed with extraordinary hands and concentration and usually comes down with what he went up for. He'll fight for every reception and won't be easily outwrestled. Utecht is very good at adjusting to the ball and is aware enough to change routes when need be, understanding not just how to counter a blitz with a hot read, but where the first-down marker is. He runs precise routes and can be moderately creative after the catch. That said, he isn't very fast and will be caught from behind. And, for a big guy, he can be bumped off his route fairly easily. Which brings up his blocking. As an inline blocker, Utecht uses good leverage and has decent footwork, but shows minimal power. While he can lay a blow on the move, he's really more of a wall-off guy at this level. No conversation about Utecht would be complete, however, without mentioning his durability. Not including his lost rookie season, Utecht has missed eight regular-season games due to injury and played hurt in many others. Critics have said that Tom Moore's offensive system exposes the tight end to more than his fair share of hits, but those frequent ailments have to be taken into account when assessing Utecht's value in Indy. For example, Utecht is a very good long snapper, but you won't see the Colts try him at the position because they don't want to jeopardize his time on offense.
Notes:
1. Actually Gijon Robinson and Zac Herold. Robinson is a stumpy fullback type, who can catch the ball, but needs to learn how to play tight end (ie. block). Herold's a small-school phenom who has all the tools and very little idea of what to do with them.
2. Very meaningful in Minnesota, ya.
3. See, in 2005, the Colts had the best slot receiver ever in Brandon Stokley, but when he was injured the following year the team needed a replacement. They first tried wideout Aaron Moorehead, but he was awful. They moved Clark (who really is something else as a receiver) to slot and plugged Utecht in at tight end. The Clark/Utecht pairing wasn't quite as good as Stokley/Clark, but it was effective, light years better than Moorehead/Clark. The Colts thought they had found the slot man they needed in 2007 when they drafted Ohio State's Anthony Gonzalez in the first round, but when Marvin Harrison got hurt just as Gonzalez had adjusted to the NFL game, the Colts found themselves leaning heavily on Clark and Utecht once again.
4. Two players who have impressed me time and time again. The addition of either would upgrade any NFL team.
But the Colts this year have (in order of importance): unrestricted free agent Dallas Clark, restricted free agents Ben Utecht and Bryan Fletcher, unrestricted free agent Mike Seidman and two other dudes (1). Clearly, decisions will have to be made, and quickly. No one will be surprised if the first is that Clark will be re-signed, even if it requires a franchise tag. While that takes care of one spot, it leaves a lot less money under the cap to deal with the others.
Coltplay will take a quick look at the in-house options, with an overall analysis to follow. We'll start with Utecht, because he's the established tight end-in-waiting after Clark, who was discussed in an earlier post.
Ben Utecht
2007 stats: 31-364-1 receiving
Combine numbers: 6061, 249, 4.80 in 2004
Who's he: You want versatile? Take look at Utecht. At high school in Hastings, Minn., he was a great punter and defensive end, the hockey team's goalie (2), a top long jumper, a member of the National Honor Society and the school's most recognized artist as an award-winning singer and guitar player. He went to the University of Minnesota as a wide receiver, but when the coaches looked at him in his redshirt 1999 season, they switched him to tight end. Utecht used his excellent hands and deceptive speed to become a major offensive weapon for the Golden Gophers, catching 83-1211-15 in 44 games (35 starts). As a senior, he was a finalist for the 2004 John Mackey Award, but lost to Miami's Kellen Winslow, who became a first-round pick by the Browns. The media consensus after his senior season was that Utecht would be a third-round pick, but a terrible hernia injury kept him from being selected. The Colts won a minor bidding war for his services as an undrafted free agent and they promptly put him on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He missed the entire 2004 regular season, but made a few brief appearances in the playoffs. He play sparingly in 2005 as a reserve tight end, but his first two catches (a 26-yarder against the Ravens on Sept. 11 and a 14-yarder against the Jaguars the following week) were both acrobatic touchdowns, giving fans an impression of his abilities. When starting tight end Clark was called on for slot duty in 2006 (3), Utecht took over at his old position and flourished, playing tight end, H-back, fullback and even wide receiver. In 40 of 64 possible regular-season games (30 starts) with the Colts, Utecht has caught 71-800-3 and returned one kick for seven yards.
As a player: With the Golden Gophers, Utecht was a feared weapon, regularly splitting the middle to freak out unsuspecting safeties or embarrassing linebackers with razor-sharp cuts and surprising burst. But you won't see him do that often with the Colts. That's not his job in Indy. Although Utecht plays much faster than his 4.80 combine time, he's not the deep threat Clark is, and must be satisfied with the short patterns, blitz hot reads and endless blocking a tight end/fullback has to put up with. If you're reading this and you're not a Colts fan, the Clark-Utecht situation is roughly analogous to how Chris Cooley and Mike Sellers (4) divide up opportunities in Washington. Utecht is the reliable second banana, running the dump-off routes, using his awareness to recognize when his quarterback is in trouble and adjusting his routes and throwing his shoulders into more and more blocking. There are good and bad sides to this. Utecht is blessed with extraordinary hands and concentration and usually comes down with what he went up for. He'll fight for every reception and won't be easily outwrestled. Utecht is very good at adjusting to the ball and is aware enough to change routes when need be, understanding not just how to counter a blitz with a hot read, but where the first-down marker is. He runs precise routes and can be moderately creative after the catch. That said, he isn't very fast and will be caught from behind. And, for a big guy, he can be bumped off his route fairly easily. Which brings up his blocking. As an inline blocker, Utecht uses good leverage and has decent footwork, but shows minimal power. While he can lay a blow on the move, he's really more of a wall-off guy at this level. No conversation about Utecht would be complete, however, without mentioning his durability. Not including his lost rookie season, Utecht has missed eight regular-season games due to injury and played hurt in many others. Critics have said that Tom Moore's offensive system exposes the tight end to more than his fair share of hits, but those frequent ailments have to be taken into account when assessing Utecht's value in Indy. For example, Utecht is a very good long snapper, but you won't see the Colts try him at the position because they don't want to jeopardize his time on offense.
Notes:
1. Actually Gijon Robinson and Zac Herold. Robinson is a stumpy fullback type, who can catch the ball, but needs to learn how to play tight end (ie. block). Herold's a small-school phenom who has all the tools and very little idea of what to do with them.
2. Very meaningful in Minnesota, ya.
3. See, in 2005, the Colts had the best slot receiver ever in Brandon Stokley, but when he was injured the following year the team needed a replacement. They first tried wideout Aaron Moorehead, but he was awful. They moved Clark (who really is something else as a receiver) to slot and plugged Utecht in at tight end. The Clark/Utecht pairing wasn't quite as good as Stokley/Clark, but it was effective, light years better than Moorehead/Clark. The Colts thought they had found the slot man they needed in 2007 when they drafted Ohio State's Anthony Gonzalez in the first round, but when Marvin Harrison got hurt just as Gonzalez had adjusted to the NFL game, the Colts found themselves leaning heavily on Clark and Utecht once again.
4. Two players who have impressed me time and time again. The addition of either would upgrade any NFL team.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
An end, yes; but tight? Not always.
With Bob Sanders taken care of, the Colts have now turned their attention to a difference-maker on the other side of the ball — tight end Dallas Clark.
Dallas Clark
2007 stats: 15 games, 15 starts, 58-616-11 receiving, 2-29-0 rushing
Combine numbers: 6034/257/4.65 in 2003
Who's he: A four-sport star at Twin Rivers Valley High School in Bode, Iowa, Clark went to the University of Iowa in 1999 as a walk-on linebacker. An emergency appendectomy limited his playing time at first, but he made a name for himself with his heads-up play on special teams. Before the 2001 season, the coaches switched him to tight end. He responded by catching 81-1281-4 and helping lead Iowa to a 24-2 record in two seasons. He cultivated a reputation not just as a talented player, but also as a team leader as well; and he's still considered one of the school's favorite sons. After his junior season, Clark won the John Mackey Award —given to the nation's top collegiate tight end — and declared for the 2003 draft. After wowing scouts with workouts and interviews (drawing comparisons to greats like Jay Novacek and Marv Cook), he was selected by Indianapolis with the 24th pick of the first round. It was a surprise — not because he wasn't worth it, but because many observers thought the Colts needed defensive players more urgently and that the team was set at the position with incumbent starter Marcus Pollard. Clark played behind Pollard for a season, then took over the starting job. In five seasons with the Colts, Clark has played 67 games, starting 57 and missing 13 to injury. He has caught 179-2234-25 and rushed 2-29-0.
As a player: If you closely analyze Clark's numbers with the Colts' you'll see that they mostly fall between where you'd expect to see a very good tight end and a very good wide receiver. And if you look at the game tape, you'll see why. The Colts play Clark at tight end, they split him wide, line him up in the slot, send him in motion and even put him in the backfield. While he does well at each of those positions, my eyeball test says he is most productive from the slot. Maybe that's because that's where he belongs — somewhere between a tight end and a wide receiver. Clark has the attributes of both positions. He is a natural receiver who runs like a deer (he plays much faster than his 40 would lead you to believe) and can handle any route or assignment. But he's also an honest 257 pounds who will flatten any nickel corner who tries to get between him and the ball. Over the years, Clark has become one of Peyton Manning's favorite receivers — often serving as the "hot man" on blitzes. More important, though, is how deadly Clark has become in the red zone, proving almost uncoverable on corner routes and using his big hands and arms to wrestle away defenders on jump balls. There are some drawbacks to this hybrid, though. His blocking is also somewhere between tight end and wide receiver levels. Though his footwork isn't bad, he doesn't bring much pop, certainly less than you'd expect from a player his size. As you might expect, he's much better on the move than he is in-line. Similarly, Clark can be thrown off his routes by many linebackers some harder-hitting safeties. More important, perhaps, is the fact that Clark is injury-prone and will always miss a few games and be noticeably nicked up in others.
Analysis: Players like Clark are very hard to replace, and the Colts are unlikely to even try this year. Unlike Pollard when Clark arrived, he's still quite young and he brings a skill set that's even harder to match. The other notable tight ends in Indy — Ben Utecht and Bryan Fletcher — have nowhere near Clark's talent and are both restricted free agents. There's been talk of making Roy Hall a Clark-like player, but I'll believe that when I see it. And even if the Colts had a first-round draft pick, there are no prospects available who could replace him. The Colts, then, will work very hard to keep him, and wouldn't hesitate to use a franchise tag if that's what it takes. But I'm pretty sure they won't have to. Clark is a Midwestern kid through and through and clearly enjoys playing for the Colts and with Manning. He's likely to sign a healthy, but reasonably sized, contract to stay where he's happy and appreciated.
Notes:
Doubters of Clark's athleticism may way want to watch this: http://homepage.mac.com/scothawk/DallasClark/iMovieTheater75.html
Dallas Clark
2007 stats: 15 games, 15 starts, 58-616-11 receiving, 2-29-0 rushing
Combine numbers: 6034/257/4.65 in 2003
Who's he: A four-sport star at Twin Rivers Valley High School in Bode, Iowa, Clark went to the University of Iowa in 1999 as a walk-on linebacker. An emergency appendectomy limited his playing time at first, but he made a name for himself with his heads-up play on special teams. Before the 2001 season, the coaches switched him to tight end. He responded by catching 81-1281-4 and helping lead Iowa to a 24-2 record in two seasons. He cultivated a reputation not just as a talented player, but also as a team leader as well; and he's still considered one of the school's favorite sons. After his junior season, Clark won the John Mackey Award —given to the nation's top collegiate tight end — and declared for the 2003 draft. After wowing scouts with workouts and interviews (drawing comparisons to greats like Jay Novacek and Marv Cook), he was selected by Indianapolis with the 24th pick of the first round. It was a surprise — not because he wasn't worth it, but because many observers thought the Colts needed defensive players more urgently and that the team was set at the position with incumbent starter Marcus Pollard. Clark played behind Pollard for a season, then took over the starting job. In five seasons with the Colts, Clark has played 67 games, starting 57 and missing 13 to injury. He has caught 179-2234-25 and rushed 2-29-0.
As a player: If you closely analyze Clark's numbers with the Colts' you'll see that they mostly fall between where you'd expect to see a very good tight end and a very good wide receiver. And if you look at the game tape, you'll see why. The Colts play Clark at tight end, they split him wide, line him up in the slot, send him in motion and even put him in the backfield. While he does well at each of those positions, my eyeball test says he is most productive from the slot. Maybe that's because that's where he belongs — somewhere between a tight end and a wide receiver. Clark has the attributes of both positions. He is a natural receiver who runs like a deer (he plays much faster than his 40 would lead you to believe) and can handle any route or assignment. But he's also an honest 257 pounds who will flatten any nickel corner who tries to get between him and the ball. Over the years, Clark has become one of Peyton Manning's favorite receivers — often serving as the "hot man" on blitzes. More important, though, is how deadly Clark has become in the red zone, proving almost uncoverable on corner routes and using his big hands and arms to wrestle away defenders on jump balls. There are some drawbacks to this hybrid, though. His blocking is also somewhere between tight end and wide receiver levels. Though his footwork isn't bad, he doesn't bring much pop, certainly less than you'd expect from a player his size. As you might expect, he's much better on the move than he is in-line. Similarly, Clark can be thrown off his routes by many linebackers some harder-hitting safeties. More important, perhaps, is the fact that Clark is injury-prone and will always miss a few games and be noticeably nicked up in others.
Analysis: Players like Clark are very hard to replace, and the Colts are unlikely to even try this year. Unlike Pollard when Clark arrived, he's still quite young and he brings a skill set that's even harder to match. The other notable tight ends in Indy — Ben Utecht and Bryan Fletcher — have nowhere near Clark's talent and are both restricted free agents. There's been talk of making Roy Hall a Clark-like player, but I'll believe that when I see it. And even if the Colts had a first-round draft pick, there are no prospects available who could replace him. The Colts, then, will work very hard to keep him, and wouldn't hesitate to use a franchise tag if that's what it takes. But I'm pretty sure they won't have to. Clark is a Midwestern kid through and through and clearly enjoys playing for the Colts and with Manning. He's likely to sign a healthy, but reasonably sized, contract to stay where he's happy and appreciated.
Notes:
Doubters of Clark's athleticism may way want to watch this: http://homepage.mac.com/scothawk/DallasClark/iMovieTheater75.html
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