It's now 4 games ..; WHAT TO DO with BAL TE Andrews..

[Bills04 47]

Like most peeps, I took BAL TE1 M. Andrews relatively early in my draft. I wanted a TE who was a top-2 receiving option for their team. He was the only one in my Top-6 who didn't have a favorable match-up in the FF playoff weeks. Because I figured he was “solid” EVERY week..

 

After week 1, I spent 1/3 (!) of my FAAB on I. Likely – and he has done NOTHING outside of that one game. So, I'm burning TWO roster spots on BAL TEs who are not catching passes, but instead are blocking for the run game.

 

I figured I'd give it a month, as FF is a marathon, and not a sprint. But, nothing's changed. I figure my options are:

 

1. Dropping a bench player for a THIRD TE, because one of these weeks, putting up a doughnut / 0 at my TE spot is going to cost me a week / win;

 

2. Research others' rosters, and pairing Andrews with a bench RB in a trade with another Team Owner who has a decent / better TE, and he can pair a lesser RB on his bench in the trade; or

 

3. Outright drop Andrews for a TE off the WW. Of the two, I'll keep I. Likely, as he does have position flexibility, as seen in his explosion in week 1.

 

What are other Andrews owners doing?

[Skinny_Bastard 157]

drop him.

[Bills04 47]

I was just reading Kyle's Week 5 summary on Rotoworld.  I saw that Matthew Berry covered the Mark Andrews situation; here's the video:

 

Should Baltimore Ravens’ Mark Andrews be dropped by fantasy managers? - NBC Sports

 

He said he posted a poll to his X / Twitter account, and 42% of peeps are out-right dropping him.  Pretty much the rest are keeping him on their bench (still).

 

He also had a good quote / comment: if you took Mark Andrews' stats, and assigned them to ANY other player, it wouldn't even be a question about dropping him. 

[nobody 2,342]

I'd try to trade him for a guy like Colby Parkinson, and when that fails, I'd drop him.

[weepaws 2,816]

Oh those single digit round te 

[polecatt 445]

TE is just a complete trash position so far in general this season.

 

[makindollaz 47]

I thought his owner was crazy for dropping him last week, so I picked him up.

After last night, I’m thinking I may have wasted a high waiver spot.

[IGotWorms 3,831]

I expected a dropoff given that he’s near 30 and has had a lot of injuries, but this is stunning

[Bills04 47]

Update: in the short-term, I went with Option 1.  I dropped ARI WR G. Dortch for PIT TE P. Freiermuth.  My WRs are: C. Kupp, D. Samuel, K. Shakir, and recently added J. Addison and D. Wicks.  I'd never play Dortch, unless a Bye Week, or one of the others got injured.

[kilroy69 1,114]

This is a good read as to why he has not put up the numbers everyone expected. The Ravens are 0-2 in games where Henry did not get 20 plus carries. They are 2-0 in games he did get 20 carries. Because of this Andrews is being asked to block more than he probably ever has. 

 

 

 

Tight end Mark Andrews was all over the Baltimore Ravens’ highlight package from their 35-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night, just not in the way you’d expect.

There’s Andrews making the final key block on safety Taylor Rapp to spring Derrick Henry’s 87-yard touchdown run. There’s Andrews attracting two defenders in the middle of the field as running back Justice Hill beats a linebacker on the outside for a 19-yard touchdown catch. There’s Andrews occupying defensive back Cam Lewis as quarterback Lamar Jackson runs around him for a 9-yard touchdown.

“Mark had some phenomenal blocks out there,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “I mean, some dominant blocks.”

Andrews is a three-time Pro Bowler because of his prowess as a pass catcher. He has nearly 400 receptions and 5,000 receiving yards on his NFL resume. Yet, for the first time in his seven-year career, Andrews has been held without a catch in back-to-back games. He’s been targeted just twice during that span. His blocking, though, has been on point.

The Ravens have rebounded from an 0-2 start with two straight wins heading into a key divisional matchup Sunday afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals. Through four weeks, they lead the league in yards per game (429.5) and are fifth in points per game (26.5). They rank first in offensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average).With 545 yards rushing over the past two weeks, the Ravens have found their offensive identity. A big part of that is Jackson putting the ball in the belly of Henry, the NFL’s leading rusher, or just keeping it himself to either run or connect on mostly short passes. In Sunday’s throttling of the previously undefeated Bills, the Ravens ran the ball 34 times and Jackson attempted just 18 passes. Of his 13 completions, eight were to running backs Henry and Hill.

 

The offensive game plans the past two weeks have been a success, and that’s only because of the buy-in from the team’s skill position players who, if given a choice, would surely prefer to have the ball in their hands rather than engage with would-be tacklers with blocks. However, if you watch any of Henry’s or Jackson’s notable runs over the past two weeks, you’ll undoubtedly see a wide receiver or tight end, often downfield, making a key block or series of them.

“Football is the ultimate team sport, and when you have a bunch of players that are team guys, I believe you have a chance to be a good team — that’s what we have,” Harbaugh said. “As we’ve said before, if Derrick or the running game doesn’t quite get going from a stat-wise (perspective), the questions are always going to be, ‘Well, what about the running game?’ The running game gets going, and the questions are always going to be, ‘What about this player?’ ‘That player is not getting targeted’ or, ‘You’re not throwing the ball that much’ or, ‘Passing yards aren’t up.’ It’s part and parcel, so we understand that.”

As early as training camp, Harbaugh cautioned the team’s offensive game plan would change week to week, as would the players who got the preponderance of touches. There would be games when the Ravens would go run heavy. There would be games when they relied more on their receivers. Other times, it would be their tight ends most involved in the passing game.The plan coming into the season was to be more balanced offensively and show they can attack defenses in myriad ways. The Ravens know their running game is productive, but can they create explosive pass plays if their running game stalls or they fall behind early, like we’ve seen in recent playoffs?

Team officials believe they can. But over the last two weeks, the Ravens just happened to face teams that were vulnerable to Baltimore’s downhill running game — so offensive coordinator Todd Monken called a lot of runs. In Week 3, the Ravens opposed a Dallas Cowboys team that was banged up along the defensive line and couldn’t stop the New Orleans Saints’ run game the previous week. Sunday, the Ravens faced a Buffalo defense that was without its top two inside linebackers and often lines up in the nickel or dime package with extra defensive backs on the field.The results? The Ravens rushed 45 times for 274 yards and three touchdowns against the Cowboys and 34 times for 271 yards and two scores against the Bills. And Baltimore’s cadre of pass catchers, a group that includes wide receivers Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor and tight ends Andrews and Isaiah Likely, had very limited opportunities with the ball in their hands.

Over the past two weeks, those five players have 13 total receptions on 20 targets.

“I’ve been coaching skill guys my whole life. That’s a hard deal,” Monken said last week. “That’s a hard sell when a lot of their pride and what they get paid to do is to showcase their skill set. I don’t care what position you play, you want to touch the football. But it said a lot about those guys. However long the game is, for three hours, it’s about the team. It’s about what I can do right now to help the Ravens win, and that’s been a staple of this organization for years. Then we can figure out afterward how we can get other guys involved. But at that moment, that’s what I control as an individual player, what’s (been) called to execute at the highest level.”At least publicly, Ravens players are saying the right things. Andrews had multiple interviews last week and predicted that “good things will come.”

“We’re all doing our job and there is no greed,” he said.

Andrews, the 29-year-old tight end who has been Jackson’s favorite target since 2019, has been forced to make the biggest adjustment. From 2019 to 2022 — he was limited to 10 games last year after he broke his fibula early in Week 11 — Andrews averaged 7.4 targets per game.

 

Mark Andrews (right) hasn’t been getting the target share he’s accustomed to, but he’s been making an impact in other ways. (Terrance Williams / Associated Press)

Through the first four games last year, Andrews had 20 catches on 28 targets for 225 yards and three touchdowns. During that same span this year, Andrews has six catches on nine targets for 65 yards and no touchdowns. He also has played 21 and 26 snaps over the past two weeks as the Ravens have opted to use bigger and more run-oriented personnel, which means more fullback Patrick Ricard and blocking tight end Charlie Kolar. To put those snap counts in perspective, Andrews averaged just over 51 snaps in the nine games he started and finished last year.

“I could probably try to talk to Mark to make sure everything’s OK, but he would just look at me like, ‘What are you talking to me about? Everything’s fine, everything’s good,’” Harbaugh said Monday. “Guys are competitive — everybody wants to be the difference because they know that they’re great players. Mark Andrews is a great player. All those guys are special in their own way, but Mark is a star — there’s no doubt about it. The fact that we’re doing well on offense and as a team, and that part hasn’t been expressing itself in the last two weeks, gets me kind of excited, because that’s another weapon that we have that’s going to happen. It’s just part of the versatility of the offense, which is really important.”

Andrews is hardly alone in his diminished pass-catching impact this early in the season. Flowers, a first-round pick last year who led the Ravens in receiving as a rookie, has four catches on six targets for 30 yards over the last two weeks. In weeks 1 and 2, Flowers totaled 13 catches on 21 targets, 128 receiving yards and a touchdown. Last year, Flowers averaged nearly seven targets per game.

Bateman averaged 3.5 targets per game last year, but the departures of receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Devin Duvernay were expected to lead to more opportunities for the 2021 first-round pick. However, Bateman is averaging the same number of targets so far this year. Agholor’s targets are down slightly from his season average last year, too.

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Then, there’s Likely, the third-year tight end. When he started the season with nine catches (12 targets) for 111 yards and a touchdown in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, it appeared to be a breakout for a player who impressed in the second half of last season when Andrews was sidelined. But Likely has just four catches on six targets for 56 yards in three games since.

However, as is also the case with Andrews, Flowers, Bateman and Agholor, you can find plenty of highlights over the past couple of weeks of Likely keying a long run with a block on the perimeter.

“The answer is always that the whole is greater than the parts, and the parts make the whole. Those guys get it — they’re contributing in a big way,” Harbaugh said. “Mark Andrews is going to definitely have big games here catching the ball. Isaiah’s going to have big games catching the ball, all those guys are. We’re going to have a big passing game coming up here at some point in time soon. It’s hard to predict when it’s going to be, because games go where they go, and the ball goes where it goes, and it’s just a competitive deal. My point is that the reason we ran the ball so well is because everybody bought into the play that was being run in that moment and executed it so well.

“That’s what gives you the chance to be successful. When those guys are running routes and catching the ball, people will be blocking for them as well.”

[JagFan 124]

Hold if you have the space, IMO.  There will be game scripts where Bal will have to throw.  Plus you never know what the future holds.  If Henry were to miss time, Andrews would be the biggest beneficiary because their offensive philosophy would have to change.

[RareN64Dream 14]

Seems like Flowers has been somewhat affected by Henry getting a lot of carries also. I am wondering if I should start Zay Flowers, Jaylen Waddle or Brock Bowers? 1/2 point PPR scoring. Pretty sure, I have guessed wrong every week so far between those 3 and also, Drake London one week for sure; I had London on the bench when he scored a TD. Justin Jefferson is an automatic start when healthy, obviously for my other WR/TE spot.

I am leaning towards starting Flowers and hoping they spread the ball around a little bit more on the Ravens.

[weepaws 2,816]

Bowers. 

[LVSaint429 9]

On 9/30/2024 at 10:47 AM, nobody said:

I'd try to trade him for a guy like Colby Parkinson, and when that fails, I'd drop him.

I already have Freiermuth, so actually just made this offer for Andrews. If there’s ever a time to buy low, this is it after 2 gooses. The play-action is gonna get him open & we’ll forget all about it. Waiting on a response 

[rilett 13]

The problem with Andrews is he’s playing right tackle 

[weepaws 2,816]

Don’t need to wait to let a te go.  

[JagFan 124]

5 hours ago, weepaws said:

Bowers. 

Agreed.  Lots of targets to go around with Adams quitting on yet another team.

[Ray_T 687]

12 hours ago, rilett said:

The problem with Andrews is he’s playing right tackle 

I think the problem is that Henry has been so good they have not needed to throw the ball nearly as much as they have in the past.

I do think this will resolve itself.  as teams gear up to stop the power run game that will open things up in the rest of the offense.   that adjustment will take some time but it will happen.

if you are concerned about him, you can pick up another TE for a week or two but I dont think dropping him is the answer.   hes a hold for now.

I dont have him in any leagues as he was too expensive to acquire in the leagues I was in but I still think he will deliver value for you if you have the patience to wait.

[kilroy69 1,114]

7 hours ago, Ray_T said:

I think the problem is that Henry has been so good they have not needed to throw the ball nearly as much as they have in the past.

I do think this will resolve itself.  as teams gear up to stop the power run game that will open things up in the rest of the offense.   that adjustment will take some time but it will happen.

if you are concerned about him, you can pick up another TE for a week or two but I dont think dropping him is the answer.   hes a hold for now.

I dont have him in any leagues as he was too expensive to acquire in the leagues I was in but I still think he will deliver value for you if you have the patience to wait.

You think that stacking the box is going to work? The ravens are built to run the ball but they never had a player like Henry. You can either lose to henry on 22 runs where you might stop him or you can stack that box and watch as Jackson runs by you on a keeper for a 37 yard td. In their first game the ravens were stuck in the past. The next game they ran henry a little more. Then the last 2 they have given him 20 plus carries a game and they have won. This IS who the ravens want to be and the reason why they brought in henry anyway. With the 2 high shell keeping passing down, teams like the Ravens are going to excel. 

Their next 6 games denver is the highest rated run defense and they are still giving up 110 yards a game to NORMAL running backs not named King Henry. 

[Ray_T 687]

3 hours ago, kilroy69 said:

You think that stacking the box is going to work? The ravens are built to run the ball but they never had a player like Henry. You can either lose to henry on 22 runs where you might stop him or you can stack that box and watch as Jackson runs by you on a keeper for a 37 yard td. In their first game the ravens were stuck in the past. The next game they ran henry a little more. Then the last 2 they have given him 20 plus carries a game and they have won. This IS who the ravens want to be and the reason why they brought in henry anyway. With the 2 high shell keeping passing down, teams like the Ravens are going to excel. 

Their next 6 games denver is the highest rated run defense and they are still giving up 110 yards a game to NORMAL running backs not named King Henry. 

It will work for some teams.

but admittedly there are a lot of teams that are ill equipped to deal with a stacked power run game.   but you cant just let Henry get 199 yards rushing on you.   you gotta do what you can to stop that from happening.

so teams will try to stack the box.   Run blitz on first down.  I think they'd be dumb not to.

there will still be select matchups where Henry's game wont be as good, but that's to be expected.   This is when the other parts of the passing game will start to click more.

I dont know if it will ever be as good as it was last year or the years prior but it will improve.

[rilett 13]

4 hours ago, kilroy69 said:

You think that stacking the box is going to work? The ravens are built to run the ball but they never had a player like Henry. You can either lose to henry on 22 runs where you might stop him or you can stack that box and watch as Jackson runs by you on a keeper for a 37 yard td. In their first game the ravens were stuck in the past. The next game they ran henry a little more. Then the last 2 they have given him 20 plus carries a game and they have won. This IS who the ravens want to be and the reason why they brought in henry anyway. With the 2 high shell keeping passing down, teams like the Ravens are going to excel. 

Their next 6 games denver is the highest rated run defense and they are still giving up 110 yards a game to NORMAL running backs not named King Henry. 

I think this is spot on. No RB has faced more 8 in the box over the last 5 years than Henry and he still produces including a 2000 yard season. They are asking Andrews to block a lot more this year. He’s good at it, Andrews had the key block that sprung Henry for the 87 yard TD.