Why All The Hate for a Backup TE?

[ikestops85]

I really don't understand all the hate around here for Matt Spaeth. He's a frick'en backup TE for gawdsake. It's not like if we replaced him we would become an offensive juggernaut.

He does a good job when we throw the ball to him. He catches the ball and doesn't seem to fumble it. Like many of our weapons Arians doesn't utilize him much. He doesn't appear to be any worse at blocking than most other members of our line.

So again, why all the hate?

[sentinel33]

i aint hatin. never understood the lack of usage of Spaeth. i remember in his rookie year his first 3-5 catches were all TD's. not sure what happened there.

[PSU_dropout43]

Backup? Who's our starting FB?

He's a starter.

[feltdizz]

because we know there aren't a ton of Spaeth homers who will bash us for complaining about a guy who has damn near nothing to do with our losses and actually catches most of the passes thrown his way... even though it hasn't been that many.

[pfelix73]

The majority of our offense revolves around the 2 TE 1 back formation that BA loves so much. Therefore, you need 2 quality TE's to run it effectively. He is a lousy pass blocker, in my opinion, and he is rarely ever used! We could release him and use David Johnson in that role. He's as mediocre as Spaeth is, but might be just a bit better as a blocker- which isn't saying much.

I'd release him and go find me a FB somewhere. One that can block and help out in the running game.

:tt1

[Crash]

It's not like if we replaced him we would become an offensive juggernaut.

I guess you missed that 88 yard drive in XLIII.

The ONLY time a Bruce Arians passing attack really works? Is when we had three wides on the field.

And Matt Spaeth OFF of it.

He's slow, he can't block, and he can't get open.

Other than that? He's great.

[ikestops85]

It's not like if we replaced him we would become an offensive juggernaut.

I guess you missed that 88 yard drive in XLIII.

The ONLY time a Bruce Arians passing attack really works? Is when we had three wides on the field.

And Matt Spaeth OFF of it.

He's slow, he can't block, and he can't get open.

Other than that? He's great.

No, I saw the drive. I think you missed the fact that it wasn't the Bruce Arians passing attack that made that drive work. It was the play calling and ability of our 100 million dollar QB that made it work and he would have made it work with Spaeth on or off the field.

I think Spaeth is a good receiving TE and as sentinel pointed out he had 3 TDs in the first 4 games he played. He is a big wide body that makes an excellent target down in the red zone but instead we throw fades to 5' 10'' receiver. :wft He's not the swiftest of receivers but he has good hands and seems to know how to squat in an open area.

I can't blame Spaeth's lack of production on himself. I blame it on the Coordinator who refuses to utilize all the weapons at his disposal.

[Crash]

Watch Spaeth. He doesn't get open anymore.

Btw, noticed you got real quiet when I posted the Chad Brown at rush DE footage. :)

[feltdizz]

It's not like if we replaced him we would become an offensive juggernaut.

I guess you missed that 88 yard drive in XLIII.

The ONLY time a Bruce Arians passing attack really works? Is when we had three wides on the field.

And Matt Spaeth OFF of it.

He's slow, he can't block, and he can't get open.

Other than that? He's great.

No, I saw the drive. I think you missed the fact that it wasn't the Bruce Arians passing attack that made that drive work. It was the play calling and ability of our 100 million dollar QB that made it work and he would have made it work with Spaeth on or off the field.

I think Spaeth is a good receiving TE and as sentinel pointed out he had 3 TDs in the first 4 games he played. He is a big wide body that makes an excellent target down in the red zone but instead we throw fades to 5' 10'' receiver. :wft He's not the swiftest of receivers but he has good hands and seems to know how to squat in an open area.

I can't blame Spaeth's lack of production on himself. I blame it on the Coordinator who refuses to utilize all the weapons at his disposal.

you guys are nuts... play calling didn't win SB43... Ben escaping the rush and hitting Holmes who came back to him twice is what won the game.

You guys amaze me... I could see if the play call was some Boise State trick play or a Whiz misdirection flea flicker but it was Holmes burning McFadden...

Spaeth isn't the problem...

[RuthlessBurgher]

Backup? Who's our starting FB?

He's a starter.

We have used David Johnson, Isaac Redman, and Doug Legursky at fullback in different situations. Never Speath. You want a fullback to be able to get low and under the pads of the guy he is trying to block. A guy that is a lanky 6'7" is obviously not built to be a fullback.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Spaeth is a good, huge, pass catching TE. The lame brain OC we have doesn't know how to use the weapons at his disposal.

We have struggled in the redzone for years now.....yet we haven't tried one jump ball to our 6'7" 270lb TE. Good call Bruce. Instead of adding to your playbook, lets just run it up the gut another first and second down on the goalline.

Meanwhile, anyone else notice our CB's being outleaped and outmuscled by other teams TE's in the endzone? Wasn't that how the Cardinals scored their first TD in the Superbowl? Jump ball to their TE? Didn't Deshea get beat by that play about a half dozen times the last 2 or 3 years of his career?

Oh, but Spaeth can't play FB so he is no good LOL. Oh, we already have a good TE so why have two go out for passes in the redzone?

[proudpittsburgher]

I think part of the problem people have with Spaeth (I'm indifferent on the guy) is that people had high expectations for him, and he has always played second bananna to Heath Miller. So, in many's eyes, he hasn;t lived up to the potential.

[AngryAsian]

I really don't understand all the hate around here for Matt Spaeth. He's a frick'en backup TE for gawdsake. It's not like if we replaced him we would become an offensive juggernaut.

He does a good job when we throw the ball to him. He catches the ball and doesn't seem to fumble it. Like many of our weapons Arians doesn't utilize him much. He doesn't appear to be any worse at blocking than most other members of our line.

So again, why all the hate?


No hate from here... but certainly understand the questions/backlash regarding his play. Take our latest opponents two back up TEs (both rookies I might add).

Gronkowski: 220 yards and 6 TDs

Hernandez: 436 yards and 2 TDs

In comparison to ours....

Spaeth: 33 yards and 0 TDs


I only highlight the his pass catching abilities because let's face it... his blocking is pretty bad.

[steelblood]

We took this kid in the third round. Arians then claimed that he had the speed to stretch the field. Now, I watched the kid in college (being in Big Ten country). He is not fast. Never was. Not only does he not end up being fast, he is down right slow. He has decent hands. His blocking has improved from absolutely terrible to inconsistent. Quite simply, Matt Spaeth is the sort of 2nd TE teams want to upgrade. Unfortunately, we seem quite happy with his play. Spaeth and Essex could easily be upgraded through the draft.

[Kid]

spaeth was a wasted draft pick when this team needed ol, db and dl help. so here we stand with glaring weaknesses in all those positions and we have a useless backup te.

[ikestops85]

Watch Spaeth. He doesn't get open anymore.

Btw, noticed you got real quiet when I posted the Chad Brown at rush DE footage. :)

Sorry Crash but I missed that post. I will go check it out and if I am wrong I will gladly admit it. :Cheers

Edit: I can't check utube out from work but I will try to look from home tonight.

[Starlifter]

honestly, the day we start using our first string TE like a receiver - I'll start worrying about what the backup brings to the table.

[Djfan]

honestly, the day we start using our first string TE like a receiver - I'll start worrying about what the backup brings to the table.


At least put a ball up high to his 6'7" hands.

He may be OK, but Brucey A has no idea what to do with him.

[ikestops85]

honestly, the day we start using our first string TE like a receiver - I'll start worrying about what the backup brings to the table.

http://www.picpop.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/clapping.jpg

[Steelerphile]

I don't hate Spaeth, in fact I kind of like him. And I am with those who wondered why they didn't try to throw it up to him in the endzone instead of Randle El. I think he is a better blocker than he gets credit for being.

Now since they are trying to run more, there aren't many receptions to keep him involved but I think he could be a secret weapon in some of these games. He has good hands and I'm sure nobody is game planning for him. They should design a few plays for him.

[Dee Dub]

I really don't understand all the hate around here for Matt Spaeth. He's a frick'en backup TE for gawdsake. It's not like if we replaced him we would become an offensive juggernaut.

He does a good job when we throw the ball to him. He catches the ball and doesn't seem to fumble it. Like many of our weapons Arians doesn't utilize him much. He doesn't appear to be any worse at blocking than most other members of our line.

So again, why all the hate?


It's very simple. A third round pick was used on a guy where the team already had a bonafide number one in place. For what he ultimately became...a 6th or 7th round pick would have served the purpose. And this is what was screamed by many Steelers fans when they made that pick.

Steeler fans were right on this one. :wink:

[Chadman]

A couple of things-

1. Can we now, finally, let this 'we need a FB' mantra go? So long as BA is the OC, it won't happen. They won't sign one. They won't draft one. And if one magically morphs out of Casey Hampton's stomach- we won't use him anyway. It's over. No FB. Get used to it, or you'll do your head in.

2. BA uses a 2 TE set. If that is the case- your #2 TE needs to be viewed as a STARTER- not a back-up. So when discussing Speath- is he a starting quality TE? The answer is no. He's a back-up quality TE. The Steelers need to use EITHER Johnson or Speath as the #3 TE, and get themselves another STARTING QUALITY TE.

3. Speath's 'suckiness' is less to do with Speath as a player, and more to do with his utilisation. If he was passed to, his 33 yards of reception yardage would likely be closer to 200 yards. But they don't pass to him. So essentially, we have a 6'7" recieving TE being used as a 3rd OT on a team with a bad OL to start with.


For Chadman, Speath serves a better role as a 3rd TE- used in Red Zone formations as a big target. He's not a starter- never will be. Get a Mark Breuner style blocking TE to play as the #2 TE/#3 OT and it'll be a better use of the BA offense.

[LouSteel]

I really don't understand all the hate around here for Matt Spaeth. He's a frick'en backup TE for gawdsake. It's not like if we replaced him we would become an offensive juggernaut.

He does a good job when we throw the ball to him. He catches the ball and doesn't seem to fumble it. Like many of our weapons Arians doesn't utilize him much. He doesn't appear to be any worse at blocking than most other members of our line.

So again, why all the hate?

If I spend a 3rd round pick on a TE, I expect more blocking production. Spaeth is giving us the wildly inconsistent blocking of a 6th round TE.

That makes him a bit of a wasted pick.

[1st and Goal--]

posting.php?mode=reply&f=2&t=14662#Just (http://www.planetsteelers.com/phpBB3/posting.php?mode=reply&f=2&t=14662#Just) a test to see if I can get the smileys to work.

[1st and Goal--]

We took this kid in the third round. Arians then claimed that he had the speed to stretch the field. Now, I watched the kid in college (being in Big Ten country). He is not fast. Never was. Not only does he not end up being fast, he is down right slow. He has decent hands. His blocking has improved from absolutely terrible to inconsistent. Quite simply, Matt Spaeth is the sort of 2nd TE teams want to upgrade. Unfortunately, we seem quite happy with his play. Spaeth and Essex could easily be upgraded through the draft.

:Agree

Also: Bout time somebody gave Bruce Arians credit for the suspect draft choices in recent years. :Cheers

[ikestops85]

A couple of things-

1. Can we now, finally, let this 'we need a FB' mantra go? So long as BA is the OC, it won't happen. They won't sign one. They won't draft one. And if one magically morphs out of Casey Hampton's stomach- we won't use him anyway. It's over. No FB. Get used to it, or you'll do your head in.

2. BA uses a 2 TE set. If that is the case- your #2 TE needs to be viewed as a STARTER- not a back-up. So when discussing Speath- is he a starting quality TE? The answer is no. He's a back-up quality TE. The Steelers need to use EITHER Johnson or Speath as the #3 TE, and get themselves another STARTING QUALITY TE.

3. Speath's 'suckiness' is less to do with Speath as a player, and more to do with his utilisation. If he was passed to, his 33 yards of reception yardage would likely be closer to 200 yards. But they don't pass to him. So essentially, we have a 6'7" recieving TE being used as a 3rd OT on a team with a bad OL to start with.


For Chadman, Speath serves a better role as a 3rd TE- used in Red Zone formations as a big target. He's not a starter- never will be. Get a Mark Breuner style blocking TE to play as the #2 TE/#3 OT and it'll be a better use of the BA offense.

So it comes back to the fact that our offensive coordinator is not smart enough to call plays that use the strengths of his players. We draft a good hands, big target tight end and use him as a tackle. :wft

I fail to see how that is Spaeth's problem. To me Spaeth isn't a waste of a roster spot. To me we are wasting the talents of someone we have on the roster. A big difference. It's the same problem we had last year with Logan.

[NJ-STEELER]

honestly, the day we start using our first string TE like a receiver - I'll start worrying about what the backup brings to the table.


At least put a ball up high to his 6'7" hands.

He may be OK, but Brucey A has no idea what to do with him.

they tried one vs. miami and he used his 6'7 frame like he's 6'2

its obvious to see he's not that athletic. gimmie a 6'2-6'3 guy who's athletic and he'll go up and grab a pass like he's 6'7

[hawaiiansteel]

If I spend a 3rd round pick on a TE, I expect more blocking production. Spaeth is giving us the wildly inconsistent blocking of a 6th round TE.

That makes him a bit of a wasted pick.


a bit of a wasted pick perhaps, but not a total waste of a pick.

that honor falls to the likes of Huey Richardson, Alonzo Jackson, Jamain Stephens and Bruce Davis...

[flippy]

I've stated in another thread that SPaeth is a better backup TE than Trai Essex is a starting RG.

He's also a better backup TE than Randle El is a punt returner.

[flippy]

I've stated in another thread that SPaeth is a better backup TE than Trai Essex is a starting RG.

He's also a better backup TE than Randle El is a punt returner.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

I've stated in another thread that SPaeth is a better backup TE than Trai Essex is a starting RG.

He's also a better backup TE than Randle El is a punt returner.

That's setting the bar pretty high, don't you think? :lol: