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Could TE Be a Strength for The Falcons?

By John Buhler

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It’s no secret that the Atlanta Falcons have had a difficult time adjusting to life without Tony Gonzalez in their TE corps.  Last year was a struggle at the position for the team.  Levine Toilolo only made 31 catches for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns in his second NFL season.  Bear Pascoe, now with the Chicago Bears, mainly played as a blocking TE for former OC Dirk Koetter last year.

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Koetter had almost abandoned the position in the passing game for the Falcons because of a vast decline in production due to Gonzalez’s retirement.  But Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff and HC Dan Quinn decided to bring in two veteran TEs to compete with Toilolo for playing time in 2015.  With the additions of Jacob Tamme and Tony Moeaki, could TE be a strong position for the 2015 Atlanta Falcons?

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Tamme spent almost his whole career catching passes from Peyton Manning.  Tamme is a proven second TE, with 10 touchdown catches in 7 seasons split between the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos.  Jacob comes to Atlanta largely because of what he thinks about Matt Ryan.  Tamme believes that Ryan is a “winning quarterback”.

Moeaki joins the Falcons by way of Seattle.  So Tony is very familiar with how Coach Quinn operates as they were both part of the 2014 NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks.  When Moeaki is healthy, he usually accounts for 500 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns a year.  He’s shown productivity while he was with his first team, The Kansas City Chiefs.

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    • Now Toilolo isn’t an afterthought at this point.  He’s only entering Year Three in the NFL and the pressure of trying to replace Tony Gonzalez doesn’t feel as gargantuan going into 2015.  Remember that Levine is 6’8″ and played at a TE powerhouse in Stanford.  So he’s a big target and a smart guy (he got into Stanford, Shaun Brumder).  I think the additions of Tamme and Moeaki help get the Falcons TEs back to being reliable.

    I could see OC Kyle Shanahan using multiple TE sets in his new offense using all three tight ends and potentially Mickey Shuler, Jr. should he make the team.  Two TE sets have worked well for some teams in the League; New England, Denver and Indianapolis immediately come to mind.

    I can’t say that Atlanta has ever really featured multiple tight ends in its offense before, even with how prolific its passing game has been these last five plus seasons.  The ability to mix and match three pass catching tight ends bodes well for Shanahan as he takes over an already lethal vertical passing game.

    If opposing teams have to now start worrying about the run in addition to the wide receiving corps, I think the Atlanta Falcons could surprise some opponents with decent TE play this upcoming season.  Its versatility and depth could give what was a depleted position in 2014 strength entering 2015.

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