Arizona Cardinals 2011 Season Grades: The TEs

by Jess Root on Jan 17, 2012 11:00 AM MST in General Arizona Cardinals News

Today marks the last post about the offense of the Arizona Cardinals and their grades for the 2011 season. Monday graded the offensive line. I felt they earned a D on the season. The readers? 38 percent agreed with me and said D. However, that was not the winning grade. 42 percent graded the offensive line with an F.

Today, though, we move to a position that was thought have been one of strength coming in to the season -- the tight end position.

When the Cardinals drafted Rob Housler in the third round, there were high hopes for him, especially after his strong performances in the preseason and the comments of Ken Whisenhunt stating he had something different and special about him.

Todd Heap was a surprise addition. Jeff King was a solid move.

Jim Dray was here and contributed on special teams.

Unfortunately, injuries were the story of the position. Heap missed six games and only played two snaps in a seventh. Housler missed several games as well.

As for production, King was a surprise. He led the tight ends in receptions with 27 and three scores. Heap, after getting healthy, became productive and finished the year with 24 receptions and one score. Housler caught 12 passes and Dray caught two.

Housler, however, was supposed to have the best hands at his position coming out of the draft. In 24 targets, he dropped six passes, according to PFF.

The lack of production also can be blamed on quarterback play. On more than a couple of occasions either Housler or Heap were wide open down the field only to have Kevin Kolb or John Skelton just miss them.

So how do you grade a unit that was underutilized? King is known for his blocking. Todd Heap blocked well for the most part (although he did whiff on a key block against the Bengals) Dray played well on special teams.

King was pretty decent most of the year and Heap showed what we were missing once he got healthy at the end, so were it not for the time missed, I think the unit would have earned a B. They didn't miss enough time to get an incomplete, so overall I give them a C-. Their absences have to be factored in. Housler's drops are, too.

Now, this unit should be solid in 2012, but they could have done so much more.

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Poll

What grade would you give Todd Heap, Rob Housler, Jeff King and Jim Dray as a unit for their play in 2011?

A

10 votes

B

54 votes

C

110 votes

D

44 votes

F

4 votes

222 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Solid C

Jeff King gets an A-. Solid all-around, and the pass catching was an unexpected surprise. Heap gets a C- on a curve for the time missed. Housler’s drops put him at a D+. Dray gets a C by default for being mostly non-utilized as a TE with so many others in front of him.

King’s moderately surprising year aside, all together it has to be a strong C overall with the time missed and the drops by the position.

by CardsFan1976 on Jan 17, 2012 12:38 PM MST reply actions

I agree with your points. King’s been so terrific. Heap’s health will be an issue, but the talent is clearly still there.
Housler’s been graded as a better blocker than I expected, but he’s a project, everyone knew that coming in, so I’ll stick to the hope that next year he gets a lot better.

by superpsck on Jan 17, 2012 7:38 PM MST up reply actions

+1

by tw3kr on Jan 17, 2012 9:33 PM MST up reply actions

I agree

Not down on Housler at all at this point. I didn’t hear much about him being a project, but other than the drops he did ok as a rookie. Had to grade him low because he had his chances and didn’t make the plays, but as he develops I think he makes those plays in the future.

by CardsFan1976 on Jan 18, 2012 11:50 AM MST up reply actions

Going with a C

Housler had a drop or two for key plays and was generally missed by our QBs for touchdowns so his impact doesn’t look as large. Heap was injured ALL FREAKING YEAR so he did nothing to help the TE corps. And I thought King provided a solid season for us. He is not an eye popper but he gets the job done and had a few nice catches (I like his blocking as well)

"If Gortat pulls off a real Dream Shake in-game this year I will shave my head.
Mark my words." Piotr Szczesniak 12/12/11 2:12 PM
Cardinals, Suns, D-backs for life!

by Airwave on Jan 17, 2012 1:52 PM MST reply actions

I went with B

My happiness that we actually had TE’s who actually do SOMETHING has probably jaded me.

by Jesse Reynolds on Jan 17, 2012 4:44 PM MST reply actions

They get an A,

All of them vary, but this season our TE’s actually seemed to set the edge for ground game, and actually hauled some passes in. In season one Jeff King has probably been the best free agents we have signed since Whiz arrived. Heap always has and always will pro bowl caliber, but injury prone. Housler is our version of Davis, Grownkowski, Graham, or even Finley, and Dray seems to have the Carter/Sherman effect. Considering Heap is the oldest of the bunch, the future looks bright at this position.

Formerly known as Cardsfan928, If you wanna grab a quick game of madden, my screenname is also my Xbox name.

by INSOMAN1ATIC on Jan 17, 2012 8:58 PM MST reply actions