jets TE's.. Better, Worse,.. or the same ? ? ?

[Rangers9]

ASJ should be our starting tight end. But this guy is off of a DUI a couple a weeks ago and was cut by the Bucs who can use all of the talent they can get. Actually his receiving yards are not that different than Jace Amaro's in 2014. And who's the guy with the better character. The worst Jace ever did was to insult Rex. But hopefully the kid does ok here.

[kelly]

Austin Seferian-Jenkins has been a focal point in practice this week. The Jets tight end has been running new routes, getting a ton of passes thrown his way and making the defense be aware of where he lines up on every snap.

That’s because he has been running the Patriots offense as part of the scout team this week, posing as Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett.

As a Jets tight end, it has been a fun experience for him to be a featured part of an offense. It’s something Jets tight ends usually don’t get to experience. While the Patriots have made the tight end a huge part of their offense this decade, first with Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez and now with Gronkowski and Bennett, the Jets basically ignore the position.

The Jets tight ends have the fewest catches (4), targets (8), receiving yards (30) and snaps (499) in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus data. A Jets tight end has not caught a touchdown pass since Kellen Davis caught one in Week 7 in Oakland last year. That pass was thrown by Geno Smith and is the only tight end touchdown in the last two years, meaning Ryan Fitzpatrick has not thrown one touchdown pass to a tight end.“Schematically, it’s some of the things we have,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said when asked why the tight end is not a bigger part of his offense. “Our tight ends do different things than [the Patriots’] tight ends for the most part. And our scheme is different. It works out differently. If we had two tight ends like that to feature full-time, I think we’d make amends to that. But our tight ends block more. We ask them to do more in blocking.”

This is the second straight season the tight end has been an afterthought for the Jets. Under Bowles and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey in 2015, the tight ends had a league-low eight catches. It was a little easier to explain away last year, though, when the offense was operating at a high level. The Jets could point to the production of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker and say they were just using the best weapons they have.This year it makes little sense. The offense has sputtered with poor quarterback play and an injured Decker missing most of the year. In their last game, the Jets gave Bryce Petty his first NFL start. You would think a tight end might be a player a young quarterback could lean on. The Jets did not even play Seferian-Jenkins, their best receiving option in the game. Bowles said it was because they had a lot of run-heavy packages in the offense that Seferian-Jenkins did not fit into.

Bowles was asked this week whether the lack of using a tight end is a philosophical decision or based on their personnel.

“A little of both,” he said.

Jets fans gained hope that the tight end might be used more when the team claimed Seferian-Jenkins off waivers in September from the Buccaneers. In his first game with the Jets, he caught two passes for 17 yards (“I beat all the other tight ends for the year,” he points out with a smile) against the Steelers, but he also suffered a high-ankle sprain in that game. That led to him being inactive for the next three games. He played 19 snaps against the Dolphins, but was thrown to just once, but the ball was intercepted. Against the Rams, he was active but never got on the field.

“I’m patiently waiting,” Seferian-Jenkins said. “I’m working hard and when I get my opportunity I know I’m going to break through in a big way.”

Seferian-Jenkins believes the tight end can be used in this offense.“I think the tight end can definitely be utilized in this offense,” he said. “I think they want to utilize the tight end in this offense. I think it’s a matter of time and everyone getting comfortable with each other. I’ve only been here for six or seven weeks and I was hurt for three of them, so the chemistry was off.”

For now, he is emulating Gronkowski, whose status is unknown for Sunday’s game, and Bennett in practice. That duo has combined for 64 catches this season.“I love playing football and playing catch,” Seferian-Jenkins said of playing on the scout team. “I get paid to do this so why not run around and catch more footballs and turn the coaches heads like, ‘ hold on, this guy can do this.’ I look at it as an opportunity.”

Opportunities are hard to come by for Jets tight ends.

>     http://nypost.com/2016/11/24/the-jets-have-made-this-position-completely-invisible/

[RoadFan]

ASJ is probably running the wrong routes for the scout team too.

[kelly]

 

Austin Seferian-Jenkins  thinks a breakout is around the corner. The 6’5”, 262-pound tight end, who was acquired off waivers from the Buccaneers in September, is staying in a positive frame of mind as December football commences.“We’ve been doing a lot at practice. It takes time. I think people think it happens overnight and it’s not overnight,” he told me this week. “It’s been worked on for months and months and years and years sometimes, and then all of a sudden it’s an overnight thing. It takes time and I’m sure before the end of the season we’re going to have a big game and it’s going to be fun.”

Seferian-Jenkins, who battled an ankle injury earlier this season and has been limited to five games, hauled in a pass against the Patriots after having a pair of catches in Week 5 against the Steelers. He has a good line of communication with starting QB  Ryan Fitzpatrick  that they continue to shape each day at practice.“We’re doing a great job communicating with each other and we definitely know what’s going on,” Seferian-Jenkins said. “He’s a great quarterback. He understands and he’ll learn. He won’t just tell you to run routes. He’ll listen to you and say okay how do you like it if you do this. What are you going to do if you do that? It’s not just his way or the highway. He’s definitely wanting to help to get you open in any way, making you feel comfortable and vice versa it makes him feel comfortable. So it’s really good.”

Even if Seferian-Jenkins isn’t part of the game plan, he uses practice to give the defense a good look while hopefully turning some heads in the process.“I just try to take whatever I can in the game plan for the week and do everything I can with it whether that be on the offense or we have a scout team where the team uses the tight ends a lot.  I can show the coaches what I can do,” Seferian-Jenkins said. “It’s going to pay off, it just takes time. Before the end of the season, we’ll have a good one together.”

Donning a sharp Huskies sweatsuit, ASJ declared that the University of Washington should be a participant in the College Football Playoffs if his alma mater takes down Colorado Friday night in the Pac 12 Championship.“It’s been really cool to see those guys grow up, being there and seeing them as freshmen and seeing them mature and earn those first-team honors, All Pac-12 honors,” he said. “It’s just really phenomenal to see where a coach can take players and how they develop not just as players but as men.”

>            http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-7/Notes-Seferian-Jenkins-Sees-Good-Things-Ahead/93a9322f-1d45-4586-9b20-22060db21aee