I think most of us will agree he has the tools in the receiving category. You mentioned the necessity of a TE to block like a Tackle. We all knew that was going to be Nelson’s biggest area in need of improvement starting the season.

What are your thoughts on his progress in this category? Did he get many opportunities to even try?

The lack of production from the TE position is just a symptom of the larger problem of not having a NFL caliber QB and OL. And maybe a competent Offensive coordinator. For example, last season the Jets Dustin Keller looked like the best young TE in the league playing with a hall of fame QB Brett Favre. This year Shiancoe is that guy. I think Nelson is going to be a good TE if the Bills find a good QB, get the OL healthy and find a big league offensive coach.

Finley and Carlson (who I think were both 2nd-year players), everyone else on that list is an experienced, seasoned veteran. Nelson was a rookie. If Nelson stays healthy, he’ll be productive.

48 receptions for 509y and 6 TDs

I remember wanting this guy in 2008 but in hindsight, we got Nelson in the 4th and I too believe that he has the tools to be as good as these guys.

Hope Nelson can live up to his potential and the expectations he has here….

How long will it take us to find that QB? Will we ever find that QB?

I like Nelson, and think he can be a 50+ catch guy for us in the near future (year or two). He made some pretty acrobatic catches this year. Hes just got to work on getting kind of a little nastyness about him. Hes big enough to where he should be able to throw some guys around, in the blocking aspect of the TE position.

It is a shame that the Bills need so much help in other areas, that drafting a TE early would be unfeasible.

Jermaine Gresham of Oklahoma should have been a top 15 pick going into the 2010 draft but he hurt his knee in the beginning of the college season. His rehab was expected to take only 5 months which is fine. He is an excellent blocker with the proverbial soft hands. What a target at 6’6’ 258, if anyone has seen him play he is the prototype tight end that can make the difficult catch….

You’re getting ahead of yourself! We need to first rediscover PASSING…..then we can find targets of those passes!

Crazy how it is the same story with these Bills…. terrible offense with a horrendous mishandling of any talent on that side of the ball, and a defense that looks average and sometimes better than that, but plays a full games worth of football by half-time…

Shawn Nelson : Bright future at the position with this kid. His high flying, head first dive into the end zone in week 1 was a glimpse from a rookie that was the most inspiring outside of a kid named Jairus Byrd. Man, I loved that play. It was early in the season but let’s not forget it. We are battling for victory in hostile territory over a hated rival we haven’t beaten in eons. And this rookie responds to the gripping your couch tension with a gutsy, balls to the wall, turn up field – at electrifying speed for a TE – diving to get into the endzone in his first game as a pro. That one play was a brilliant display of not only athleticism but also that the kid plays with passion – he made a big play in a big game. With his jumping ability we most certainly have a keeper for a long time folks. Be very happy we have this kid, he’s going to be our rookie QBs savior behind that o-line and that will help the youngsters develop a rapport quickly.

Derek Schouman : Talk about an under-appreciated piece of the team. Either it was the loss of he or Brad Butler – or the two of them together – but this offense went from promising and young to desperately awful in 2009 right about when the Shoe-Man went to the turf and never got up. Schouman had 3 and 6 catches in his first two games before going down. He was on his way to more in the second game too. He might have put up those numbers you see on Brian’s list (the lower end) and Trent may have never declined as fast as he did if he didn’t go down. I never liked Schouman all that much but he really impressed me early in 2009 and I was fast becoming a fan before the injury. If you ask me, we have our two tight ends on this roster already and they are both young. At best, Schouman proves hes a serious number 1 tight end, at worst hes a reliable number 2. He shouldn’t go anywhere.

Bigger Fish to Fry : At the end of the day, I think our problem runs deeper than getting the tight end involved, and no I’m not talking about the QB or the o-line. Buffalo’s offensive schemes need a serious shot in the arm, which is one of the reasons neither Perry Fewell, Leslie Frazier or Brian Schottenheimer get me all excited. Two are defensive guys and one has proven to be good in the running game and average in the passing game. Our number 1 receiver put up worse numbers than 1/3 of the leagues tight ends. Our number 2 receiver probably put up worse numbers than 2/3. We need to learn to get the ball to our receivers before we can address getting it to our tight ends. Tight ends have to block and catch. For the most part, the primary function of the receiver is strictly to receive. And we have failed for over half a decade to utilize the best deep threat in the league. At least JP got him the ball. We need to learn to pass, desperately.

Doesn’t that sum up pretty much half the roster? Just sayin.

owen daniels before he got hurt was having a monster year also. his numbers would have been ridiculous also!

Excellent post Brian. I have been saying this for the past decade. Just as you have stated, one of the few ways to sustain drives is to have a TE that can help you in the run game with blocking as well as be that outlet for a QB.
In my opinion, this is one of, if not THE biggest issue of the Bills not being able to help groom or even have a semi-stable QB. Without a “security blanket” of sorts they are always having to look down field and the Bills are just NOT have NOT or probably never will be a team that can stand there and have all day to look for a wr to break open 50 yds down field. Even in the 90’s with Kelly, he had the likes of McKeller and big Pete Metzellars for his “security blanket”.
Sorry to be so long winded. In summary, I TOTALLY agree with Brians post. :)

Don’t you think they [ the coaches ] would’ve utilized the tight ends in passing game if they thought they could’ve? Correct me if I’m wrong but were’nt the bills forced to use the tight ends more to block because of excessive injuries all across the line? This team in my opinion suffered from untimely injuries arguebly aggravated by poor conditioning and utter lack of depth at line positions. Add to that the poor qb response to lack of blocking , why would they want to throw to anything but the towel? I’d go step further, they need to re-discover the power of prayer. Pray there starters stay starters and get depth in case they don’t. I quess I’m saying it starts and ends with line play. It ended early for the Bills last yr.If anything they should re-discovered there runningbacks.