Without apology, much of this year I have preached that we need to pass the ball to Bucky more. Well, today really proved what our offense looks like when we give the big fella the rock as often as we did. Looking at the box, "Gods Gift" was our leading receiver with 6 receptions for 57 yards and 1 TD. I know the guy is new to the position and his routes aren't always awesome, but I just feel we should throw him the ball as often as we did today moving forward. I know there have been several threads on here regarding the records he is breaking for freshman TEs and whatnot, but our offense is really tough to defend when you got a guy like him receiving the ball. He had a couple of drops and a few ducks thrown his way, but overall I was pleased with the amount of targets sent his way today. Thoughts?
Proper Amount of Targets for Bucky
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Well when you are 6'18" it is pretty easy to catch all those ducks amirite? All kidding aside barring injury he should easily be techs leader in all stats for TE by the time he leaves after next year for the draft. He, ford and Caleb will all be pretty special when all is said and done. To be honest though, my favorite catch yesterday was stafford falling out of bounds, sure glad he is back!
idk, I'd rather throw it to whoever is open, Ford made a very nice catch for a TD also... if nobody is open you can always throw Bucky a jump ball I suppose
Q: The proper amount of targets?
A: Many
The limit does not exist!
Are you sure? Did you use L'Hopital's Rule?
The correct answer is "all of them". Though I think Brewer was trying to get Bucky killed on a few of his passes yesterday.
I wonder if some of the running success was due to the fact they did throw deep to him and not just stack the line.
I agree - I think it is a little dangerous when a QB looks to get a guy the ball more. If he is not careful he ends up throwing to him when he is not really open. This actually happened a few time earlier in the season with really bad results. Having said this - Bucky is a real mismatch and it is a good sign when we can get him the ball and he should be a first or second option more often and not just a check-down. we have a lot of great young weapons in the O and we need to get them healthy and make full use of their skills. Also, imagine an O where Hodges and Cline are both getting targeted.
I like it when our QB is spreading it around and getting everyone involved.
He was targeted a few times yesterday while he was in double coverage. It is hard for me to say they were "bad" targets because he almost pulled them in, but you do hope the QB stays away from forcing it in there.
There have been times this year when I have said, "Why are we running [whatever play] instead of throwing a slant to Bucky to match him up on a LB or a fade against a corner?" But I think it's problematic to simply say, "we're going to get the ball to [any player] just because." The offense has to be balanced, something we have not yet achieved. Bucky is a matchup nightmare across the field, but he forces the defense to account for him. If they're double teaming or scheming in such a way that makes it difficult to get him the ball, use that against them and find the guy they're leaving open. Using Bucky's physicality and skills properly doesn't necessarily mean he always has to have the ball, but we have to look at the overall effect he has on the opponent's game plan and actions.
I don't know how many targets he should get specifically but I do know is if we are in the redone, we should give him at least one fade pass in the end zone. Too many times we have been in the redzone and have failed to do so, which falls on the coaching staff, no reason for that.
With our running back situation I say look to Bucky 12-15 times per game.
Some of those catches were all Bucky too, Brewer was throwing behind him kind of a lot. I cant help but think Logan would've had a much better year last year with this year's weapons.
Hodges is second on the team in receptions.
35 so far for the year (10 games).
Yesterday was 6, that's 29 in 9 games. that's 3.5 receptions per game.
I can't find a stat for targets.
He's also had 5 rushing attempts on the year.
We can extrapolate out completion percentage and am going to hazard a guess we've had 2.1 unsuccessful target attempts per game to him.
That's about 5.6 attempts per game, successful or not.
The team as a whole has 367 passing attempts on the year, 225 completions.
So, he's got 15% of the total team receptions.
We have 9 receivers with more than 5 catches on the year.
6 guys with more than 20 catches on the year.
Malleck has 20 receptions.
This means you have lineman that have 55 reception between them.
I realize Hodges is a catching TE but, let's be real here, he has other responsibilities too.
These guys are currently breaking records. I do not think 3.5 receptions per game is too little for a TE. Especially when you consider how thin our O Line is.
Not when you have guys like Ford and Phillips and let's face it, Stanford had a monster catch in a clutch spot yesterday too.
No, if you start feeding him too much, your offense gets one dimensional and his effectiveness starts to drop.
Ford proved today that he can run a monster fade route too.
Bucky's skinny post was a nicely done route and his height makes it so Brewer can toss it over a defender but, Bucky was open because the safety went to help cover a WR and left Bucky's face open.
That fade route early for Ford's TD makes the safety play honest and decide who to help cover. Without that, he stays and helps with Bucky and the pass goes to the WR with a pass towards his inside shoulder.
To summarize, Having the other WR make plays helps Bucky get open. If we unbalance tossing to Bucky too much, Bucky gets doubleteamed. He was a bit today and almost makes those catches. Mayne he will be able to in another 2 years.
All I know is that it worked yesterday for the most part. They say good teams find ways to win, and Duke failed to do so yesterday. Yes, throwing the ball to one guy becomes one-dimensional at times. But the amount of times Alabama throws to Cooper is still effective and very hard to stop. Am I saying that Bucky and Amari are the same players? Absolutely not. But I would hate to have the next Eddie Royal on our hands, where the guy almost looks better in the NFL than he did in college because he was underutilized at times. I know it's a team game and proper balance is key, but might as well make the most out of what we got while we got it. That's all I'm saying.
He's a size mismatch but he's just started running routes middle last year and this is his first year as a TE.
Ebron last year only had 62 receptions and 3 TDs.
The year before Ebron had 40
His Fr year, Ebron had 10 receptions.
As a skilled TE, Ebron has Hodges beat but, I think by the time he's done, Hodges can be as good or better than he was.
So, to make sure I am clear.
Hodges is a r Fr.
Hodges has exceeded Ebon's Fr receptions by 350% with 3 games left in the season (don't forget bowl.)
He is on pace to exceed Ebron's sophomore year by about 5 receptions.
Hodges has exceeded Ebron's TDs from every season he played and doubled last year's total.
He will fall short of Ebron's final season by only about 16 passes. And this is with a VT offense that has 9 receivers with more than 20 receptions already.
This is an incredibly high number of passes to a guy that is brand new to the position. I am going to hazard a guess he's among the league leaders in TE receptions. (Can anyone find this stat?)
I'd like to see this big guy catch an enormous amount of catches but, I think he's already reaching this status.
The only thing I want to see more out of the offense when it comes to Bucky is lining him up at the natural TE spot (not in the slot or out wide). Force the defense to cover him with a LB. Force the mismatch. When we put him in the slot or out wide, he's blanketed by a corner most of the time, which should still be a mismatch for us, but not nearly the monumental mismatch Bucky vs LB would be.
Bucky is a legit NFL TE, 2 years from now. He is a "matchup nightmare" and is clearly, one of our best players. My buddies and I vented our frustration on Saturday, with his lack of touches...it was mind-boggling. Loeffler needs to get him involved more in the passing game...I honestly think he needs a touch every series. Why not run him on QB sneak in short yardage situations? Logan 2.0, hello? Are you there? Someone on the coaching staff has to see what everyone else in America realizes--he is a weapon that needs to be pointed at the enemy, with a trigger-happy General calling the shots.
Bro if you were frustrated after yesterday's game for lack of touches, you must have been absolutely furious after the previous 9 games. Yesterday was easily his best game IMO, which isn't exactly going out on a limb. And they have used him in the QB sneak in short yardage situation some, but I agree they could call more stuff for him in that package. No huddle with him up the gut on 3rd and 1 would be a lock for the first almost every time, despite our flimsy o line. Unfortunately it is usually 3rd and long with this offense, but I def hear what you are saying.
I a post a few inches up the page I laid out I. Detail how Hodges is on pace to get more work than Ebron, one of the best TEs to play ball in the past couple years and a 1st rand draft pick last year.
This is Hodges first year as a TE, ever.
He'll get more but to expect more touches than the pace he's at this year is just not a realistic expectation. He is already on a huge pace and breaking records with that pace.
I agree but I'm not arguing it from a stat line. I don't really care if the guy is a true freshman or a 6th year senior, if he can help us win games I want to get him the ball as many times as we can. That's what was so frustrating about the Miami game: they got their best players the ball, we didn't. Bucky had what, one catch that game? I'm just saying, I think the amount of times we targeted him against Duke yesterday was what I've been hoping to see and hope to see for the remainder of the season. I don't necessarily care that much about individual stats and how they compare to others, I just want us to get the ball in our best players' hands as often as possible. And right now I'd argue Bucky is our best offensive weapon.
VT is getting him the ball a load.
Perception is the thing.
You think he had 1 reception in the Miami game.
He had 4, averaging 6.8 yds per reception and a lot more targets. He caught more balls in the Miami game than the best TE in the country averaged last year.
You may not want to argue it from a stat line but, you feel he needs to get the ball more.
I'm telling you and providing the date to show that he is getting the ball and on a record pace and comparing it to one of the best in recent history.
I am doing this to show that he is getting the ball a very large amount of the time.
Record pace and keeping pace with one of the country's best? It is just not going to happen much more than that.
Ford, Hodges, Phllips, Byrn Rogers, in that order for number of receptions.
I think Ford showed he's about as valuable an offensive weapon that game as Hodges.
And Fords only role is as a receiver.
TE sometimes has to play lineman.
well when your best player lines up in the backfield every play and all you have to do is hand him the ball to get it to your best player it's a little easier than throwing to him every play and hoping a defender doesn't get in the way of the catch. just saying......
I just don't understand lining him out wide as much as we do. If you look at how the Saints use Graham (similar frame to Bucky) they usually have him in the slot which (IMO) give them more options as far as what they can do with him route-wise (corner, option, post, etc.)