Coby Fleener

[AllYouNeedIsLuck]

Coming out of the draft, he was compared physically to Gronk and throughout their college careers they put up very similar numbers. He struggled a little bit this season (which is okay because it's his rookie season) but I'm wondering if you guys think he can ever be a Gronk-like TE. He is as big and a little bit faster but can not block nearly as well. Receiving wise I think he can be close to Gronk but blocking I'm not sure. Are there ways to substantially improve at blocking or is it more of your either good or bad at it type thing? 

[will426]

I believe you can improve at blocking but coming out of college we all knew he was described as a receiving threat and if blocking isn't his thing he at least needs to learn how to chip defenders

[TKnight24]

I never saw him as a Gronk. Allen is more of Gronk, Fleener is more Hernandez. Imo

[Boiler_Colt]

Gronk is a Physical freak who is brutally strong. What is he 265lbs? Fleener will never be the physical presence Gronk is, I see him more as a Hernandez/Graham lite kind of player.

[21isSuperman]

I only see him as a Gronk because of his size.  I think he can be a great red zone threat because he is so big.  Allen is the more complete TE, but Fleener's size makes him a more attractive threat in the red zone

[NewColtsFan]

While he is faster,  Coby is not Gronk.     Fleener is 15 pounds lighter.   The way Gronk plays, it makes a difference.

 

Honestly, as a Stanford fan,  Coby was a big disappointment to me this year.    He never looked comfortable to me.   He always looked like he was thinking and not playing fast, loose and easy. 

 

We started the Baltimore playoff game with a quick out to Fleener.   It went right to him and right off his hands.   That was the 3rd or 4th drop on a similar, simple uncontested out pattern.  (he had other drops during the season, but on other different types of patterns)

 

To me, Coby looked like a kid for whom the game was way too fast and the stage way too big.   Coby looked like he was always thinking.   Run pattern.   Cut here.   Run there.   Turn and look for football.   Try to catch football.    This was not the Coby Fleener from Stanford.   He was too robotic.  

 

I hope it was just the rookie jitters.   I hope some West Coast principles and another year in the league will relax him.   The view of young players is they make their biggest jump from year 1 to year 2.    This better happen for Fleener.   He needs to step up and be the player the Colts thought they were drafting.

 

He'll be one for all of us to watch this coming season....

[Peytonparker]

All I know is he is a beast in Madden.

[Buck Showalter]

Gronk may prove to be injury prone, ala Bob Sanders...Dude may only have one playing speed...

[Everyone]

How about you guys wait until next year to judge Fleener.  It's rare for a TE to have an impact right out of the gate. Look at Gronk, Graham and Rudolph none of them made a huge impact their rookie year but pretty much exploded the next so like I said, just give Fleener until next season.

[Crazycoltsfan12]

give him a chance to adjust and get used 2 the offense and overcome injuries

[Gavin]

According to SI.com he was only targeted 48 times through 12 games, thats not many once you consider the type of TE that he is, he dropped only 3 passes, 8 others were overthrown, he fell down once, 3 were defensed, I expect he will have a jump in production, he was overdrafted simply because we were going to get Luck so it was a given we were going to get Fleener but he is here and I expect he will produce next year

[throwing BBZ]

Coby was never compared to Gronkowski physically.

And Coby was doing fine till he got injured. And Gronk plays with one of the great accurate throwers of all-time.

Andrew RARELY threw the ball on the money, and was predominately looking down field to boot.

The GOOD thing is BA kept Coby in to block because of... we know. You BECOME a good blocker, and our Team will benefit Greatly from the blocking skills Coby and Duanne developed in year one.

Andrew made a bad throw to Reggie near the goal line against the Ravens when Fleenor was in place for a TD.

WE suffered from Andrew not using his checkdowns and way over targeting Reggie. He MUST Improve.

[needanoline63]

Fleener and Allen will be good eventually, but not as good as gronkowski and Hernandez

[will426]

Coby was never compared to Gronkowski physically.

And Coby was doing fine till he got injured. And Gronk plays with one of the great accurate throwers of all-time.

Andrew RARELY threw the ball on the money, and was predominately looking down field to boot.

The GOOD thing is BA kept Coby in to block because of... we know. You BECOME a good blocker, and our Team will benefit Greatly from the blocking skills Coby and Duanne developed in year one.

Andrew made a bad throw to Reggie near the goal line against the Ravens when Fleenor was in place for a TD.

WE suffered from Andrew not using his checkdowns and way over targeting Reggie. He MUST Improve.

id throw it to reggie as well mainly because he has the best hands on the team but eh not if there are people on his back playing as his shoulder pads lol.

[GoColts8818]

I think he's a rookie who missed sometime due to injury who is still coming along and it doesn't help that the guy taken before him and the guy taken after him had unreal rookie seasons.  It makes his average rookie year just look worse.  I wouldn't panic about him unless he's still not doing anything by the end of this season.   

 

I also think a change to a more West Coast Offense than Arians throw it deep offense will help him.  He should be featured more in this new offense than he was last year. 

[AllYouNeedIsLuck]

I think he's a rookie who missed sometime due to injury who is still coming along and it doesn't help that the guy taken before him and the guy taken after him had unreal rookie seasons.  It makes his average rookie year just look worse.  I wouldn't panic about him unless he's still not doing anything by the end of this season.   

 

I also think a change to a more West Coast Offense than Arians throw it deep offense will help him.  He should be featured more in this new offense than he was last year. 

Yeah I'm excited to see what he brings to the table next season. Love our offense right now with the great route running receiver in Wayne, great slot receiver in TY, and potential big target TE in Fleener. And of course, some guy named Luck throwing them the ball

[Pombi9]

Coby was never compared to Gronkowski physically.

And Coby was doing fine till he got injured. And Gronk plays with one of the great accurate throwers of all-time.

Andrew RARELY threw the ball on the money, and was predominately looking down field to boot.

The GOOD thing is BA kept Coby in to block because of... we know. You BECOME a good blocker, and our Team will benefit Greatly from the blocking skills Coby and Duanne developed in year one.

Andrew made a bad throw to Reggie near the goal line against the Ravens when Fleenor was in place for a TD.

WE suffered from Andrew not using his checkdowns and way over targeting Reggie. He MUST Improve.

Really solid post, Shining light on the part of this discussion no one wanted to bring up.

I for one am interested to see how Fleener is used without BA.

[NewColtsFan]

According to SI.com he was only targeted 48 times through 12 games, thats not many once you consider the type of TE that he is, he dropped only 3 passes, 8 others were overthrown, he fell down once, 3 were defensed, I expect he will have a jump in production, he was overdrafted simply because we were going to get Luck so it was a given we were going to get Fleener but he is here and I expect he will produce next year

 

I don't think Fleener was over-drafted at all.   He went right about where he was projected,  which was 34th overall.   I saw him roughly between 28--40.     And considering the Colts didn't have a decent tight end on the roster, I think taking Fleener was more than just giving Luck a security blanket. 

 

Thanks for the stats on Fleener, those are always good to have.   But I question the accuracy of 3 drops.   Either way, I expected improvement during the course of the year.    It didn't come.   I'm expecting to see that improvement this coming season....

[RomanianColtsFan]

There is something in his attitude that I don't like but I can't quite pinpoint it yet. I get the sense that his mind is not into football for the most part but I may be wrong.

[Gavin]

I don't think Fleener was over-drafted at all.   He went right about where he was projected,  which was 34th overall.   I saw him roughly between 28--40.     And considering the Colts didn't have a decent tight end on the roster, I think taking Fleener was more than just giving Luck a security blanket. 

 

Thanks for the stats on Fleener, those are always good to have.   But I question the accuracy of 3 drops.   Either way, I expected improvement during the course of the year.    It didn't come.   I'm expecting to see that improvement this coming season....

I dont think it was a huge overdraft by any stretch but I thought he was a mid to late 2nd round pick but we had needs at Tight End and we did take care of those by getting the twp best on the board, although I would have liked Ladarius Green in the 4th instead but no complaints here , we all had our guys we liked, I like the upside of Fleener and believe it will work out eventually 

[NewColtsFan]

I dont think it was a huge overdraft by any stretch but I thought he was a mid to late 2nd round pick but we had needs at Tight End and we did take care of those by getting the twp best on the board, although I would have liked Ladarius Green in the 4th instead but no complaints here , we all had our guys we liked, I like the upside of Fleener and believe it will work out eventually 

 

By the way,  when I say "I saw him drafted at 28-40",  I didn't mean me...    I meant all the websites that I saw projected him either at the bottom of the first or the top of the 2nd.

 

Sorry,  my words may have been misleading....

[Gavin]

By the way,  when I say "I saw him drafted at 28-40",  I didn't mean me...    I meant all the websites that I saw projected him either at the bottom of the first or the top of the 2nd.

 

Sorry,  my words may have been misleading....

I thought he was a good pick especially given what we needed but I also think there was better on the board, either way I believe he will come around in time and produce, not Gronk like production or Antonio Gates even but good productive numbers enough for teams to draw attention to him

[ColtsLegacy]

Fleener and Allen will be good eventually, but not as good as gronkowski and Hernandez

 

Fleener will be good eventually, Allen already had a good, nay, great year. According to PFF Allen rated out as the 2nd best TE overall (+19.1), only behind Gronk (+21.2).

[CroatianColtsFan21]

There is something in his attitude that I don't like but I can't quite pinpoint it yet. I get the sense that his mind is not into football for the most part but I may be wrong.

 

  he looked to me as if he wasn't really interested in competing and being the best.. really hope he proves me wrong!

[BleedBlu8792]

Fleener will be good eventually, Allen already had a good, nay, great year. According to PFF Allen rated out as the 2nd best TE overall (+19.1), only behind Gronk (+21.2).

Agreed on Fleener. Lets not forget the first week of the season when Fleener had, I believe, 8 catches for 81 yards against the Bears. I look for a BIG year out of him next year.

Allen was a pure beast. That stat as #2 to Gronk is awesome. Allen is going to be a Colt for a very long time and to think he's only going to get better.

[Snake]

Dang it,you guys want instant results.He'll be good for 1,000/10 td's this year.Just have patience with him.I think hamilton will use him the way he was meant to be used.

[Balzer40]

I see Fleener more as a big WR than a TE. I don't think he'll ever be much of a blocker and I'm fine with that. Fleener can line up in the slot or out wide and for his size is almost as fast as many WR's in the league.

[Mameluc]

FLeener can be our jimmy graham im just excited that with this new o coordinator we are probably seeing more of our two te sets

[BleedBlu8792]

I see Fleener more as a big WR than a TE. I don't think he'll ever be much of a blocker and I'm fine with that. Fleener can line up in the slot or out wide and for his size is almost as fast as many WR's in the league.

I really wish they would just line him up in the slot like they used to do Dallas. Fleener is to much of a mismatch there in my opinion.

[Balzer40]

I really wish they would just line him up in the slot like they used to do Dallas. Fleener is to much of a mismatch there in my opinion.

 

 

I think were going to see much more use of Fleener this yr.. He's a mismatch almost anywhere he lines up IMO. Not too guys around the league with his size and athleticism.

[Flash7]

Why do we always compare Fleener to Gronk and Graham, arguably the best tight ends in the game? By that logic,

 

where are the:

 

Why isn't Vic Ballard as good as Adrian Peterson, threads

-Or-

Why isn't Hilton as good as AJ Green or Megatron, or Marvin Harrison (closer to his size).

 

For whatever reason, people love to pick on Fleener and in some ways he's curesed that he has measurables similar to Gronk and Graham, yet he's just a rookie playing in a different system--a system that didn't maximize his strengths.

[JoKeR]

I don't ever expect Fleener to be a great blocker, he's already had lower back surgery. Probably a good idea not to push that role on him.

[masterlock]

Fleener and Allen will be good eventually, but not as good as gronkowski and Hernandez

 

Allen is already as good as Hernandez. Next year, he'll be as good as Gronk.

[schwamm]

Fleener will be fine.  I'm sure he will start to come into his own this next year, and we will all be grateful he is a Colt.

 

I've said in other threads that I would have rather the team drafted someone else at his spot, and I don't think he offered the "value" most of our other 2012 picks did.  I just thought we had bigger needs, and high caliber players available to fill those needs at our 2nd round pick.

 

HOWEVER, that is NOT to say he won't be something special.  He has the tools, and I think the game will slow down for him.

[Carlos Danger]

Fleener will be fine.  I'm sure he will start to come into his own this next year, and we will all be grateful he is a Colt.

 

I've said in other threads that I would have rather the team drafted someone else at his spot, and I don't think he offered the "value" most of our other 2012 picks did.  I just thought we had bigger needs, and high caliber players available to fill those needs at our 2nd round pick.

 

HOWEVER, that is NOT to say he won't be something special.  He has the tools, and I think the game will slow down for him.

completely agree... I also think he can put on a little muscle weight this offseason without losing speed. I don't think he has gotten all of his "grown man strength" yet.. blocking and holding on to the ball will be what he needs to work on most, but he had a decent rookie year and will probably be used more effectively in our WCO next season...

[NewColtsFan]

I don't ever expect Fleener to be a great blocker, he's already had lower back surgery. Probably a good idea not to push that role on him.

 

Joker...

 

Not saying you're wrong, but do you have a link I can see for the reference to Coby and back surgery?   I've just searched and can't find anything that says that.    And I don't recall that.

 

Would love to see that reference.

 

Thanks...

[BOTT]

Joker...

 

Not saying you're wrong, but do you have a link I can see for the reference to Coby and back surgery?   I've just searched and can't find anything that says that.    And I don't recall that.

 

Would love to see that reference.

 

Thanks...

Couldn't find anything either

[NewEra]

I see Fleener more as a big WR than a TE. I don't think he'll ever be much of a blocker and I'm fine with that. Fleener can line up in the slot or out wide and for his size is almost as fast as many WR's in the league.

Which is exactly why we don't need this big wr people keep clamoring over. We have him, his name is fleener. A much bigger and faster version of Clark who was pretty much a wr

[the cardinal]

Joker...

 

Not saying you're wrong, but do you have a link I can see for the reference to Coby and back surgery?   I've just searched and can't find anything that says that.    And I don't recall that.

 

Would love to see that reference.

 

Thanks...

 

Hadn't heard of it either tbh, but apparently there was some talk of it in pre-draft blurbs.

 

Played all 13 games in ’09, starting four, and tallied 21-266-1 (12.7). Had back surgery following season.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/prospects/player/coby-fleener-82/'>ProFootball Weekly

 

And this

Very lean build with little bulk. Average physicality and core strength —

underpowered blocker. Back injury has affected lifting and requires

close scrutiny — always could be restricting as a blocker. Has buildup

speed and is not overly crafty in his routes changing direction or

popping out of his breaks.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1158655-coby-fleener-to-colts-video-highlights-scouting-report-and-analysis'>Bleacher Report

[ponyboy]

I'm not down on Coby and am excited to see what he can do next year. I was encouraged by much that I saw this year except for his ability to go get the ball.

For a person whose athletic ability was emphasized during the draft, he sure looked flat footed and clumsy trying to catch balls that weren't right in his hands (except for the nice catch on his first TD). It seemed like he missed many throws that were slightly high which somebody 6'6" with a 37" vertical leap and good hands would go up and get.