Are the Buffalo Bills tight for a TE?
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Looking through the film of our first preseason game has shown the Gaily does know what the Y TE on the x and o board actually is. This player is someone who is able to actually provide help in pass blocking and on occasion is able to go out and snag a ball or two. As the draft and free agency have been progressed the call for a Zach Miller or Greg Olsen has resounded from even the part time fans. It seems as though the Bills have actually found a guy who might be able to impact the game from a position once thought lost in dusty pages of Chan’s playbook. After the jump may be the Bills first true tight end since the future congressman, Jay Riemersma.
Scott Chandler: 3rd year man out of Iowa has bounced around the league backing up Antonio Gates, Jason Whitten and Kevin Boss; needless to say he never received a real shot at starting in the NFL because of the guys in front of him. At 6’7 and 272 pounds overlooking this player could be a massive mistake. Bills tight end coach, Bob Bicknell, believes that he has the talent and hands to be a starting TE in the league.
“He’s a physical kid in terms of his size. He can run. He can be a physical matchup against the people he’s running routes against just with his size,” said Bicknell. “He catches the ball very naturally. He can move. He was a good blocker.”
Nix had drafted him in 2007 when he was Assistant GM of the Chargers to back up their all-pro TE and when given the opportunity, resigned this giant. The Bills picked him up with 5 games left in the season from the Cowboys and he was unable to master the playbook enough to make a difference during the year. But in the game on Sunday and throughout practice, Chandler has been turning heads in the red zone and in other areas.
“He’s a big guy, a huge target, and we’ve got to try to get him involved a little bit down there because of his size,” Chan Gailey stated, “He showed flashes last year, but again, consistency is a factor in this game, so we’ll see how he does the rest of camp.”
Hopefully, this behemoth of a man is given his proper chance to start for the bills and hopefully, this is one case when the cliché one man’s trash is another’s treasure holds true. *Side note: Fans should also be on the lookout for Mike Claussin, the undrafted free agent signed from the Jaguars has consistently burned the Bills secondary in training camp. I look forward to seeing what he can do against a defense that can actually cover a TE.