Todd Heap

[shaikh015]

Now that Mason is retiring and we have a new found O-line with great new additions..Do you think that Todd Heap will have a very pro bowl like year next year....What are peoples opinion about Todd Heap for next year?

[edreedfromtheu]

If he stays healthy... yes. And they will need him to play like a pro-bowler more than ever! Even with Mason, I think the passing game desperately needs that big/tall red zone threat for the offense to improve.

[EdReedFTW]

I must admit it would be interesting to see the offense with d. will/clayton going deep on the edges and heap/lj smith doing underneath crossing routes with rice in the back field. On paper that sounds VERY dangerous.

[ZIBBY28]

Heap isnt the guy he used to be.. kyle boller throwing up passes, leaving heap out to dry is finally catching up to him. the nagging injuries have really slowed him down. of course him staying in to block to protect flacco really hurt his numbers last year, but at the same time heap dropped passes last year that ive never seen him drop before.. its almost like at times he plays timid because his body isnt the same as what it used to be when he was a first round draft pick in '01.

granted, i think heap will have MUCH better numbers this year than last, but pro bowl numbers? its just my opinion but i dont think he will have the same numbers as gates, witten, clark, and so on and so on.. todd heap still is one of my favorite players for the great years he's had, but pro bowl numbers? i'd say no.

[Reddawn36]

[quote name='EdReedFTW' date='19 July 2009 - 12:57 AM' timestamp='1247979470' post='208193']
I must admit it would be interesting to see the offense with d. will/clayton going deep on the edges and heap/lj smith doing underneath crossing routes with rice in the back field. On paper that sounds VERY dangerous.
[/quote]

and on paper communism works.... and we know how that all turns out (just using it to make a point)

[shaikh015]

Todd heap can be a dangerous weapon in the open field...Especially with 1 handed catching ability..

[heapitup247]

[quote name='ZIBBY28' date='19 July 2009 - 02:11 AM' timestamp='1247983884' post='208200']
Heap isnt the guy he used to be.. kyle boller throwing up passes, leaving heap out to dry is finally catching up to him. the nagging injuries have really slowed him down. of course him staying in to block to protect flacco really hurt his numbers last year, but at the same time heap dropped passes last year that ive never seen him drop before.. its almost like at times he plays timid because his body isnt the same as what it used to be when he was a first round draft pick in '01.

granted, i think heap will have MUCH better numbers this year than last, but pro bowl numbers? its just my opinion but i dont think he will have the same numbers as gates, witten, clark, and so on and so on.. todd heap still is one of my favorite players for the great years he's had, but pro bowl numbers? i'd say no.
[/quote]

He certainly didn't look timid in that titans game last year. Before we all call Heap "washed up" or "timid" lets give him another healthy season with a QB thats not a rookie. Will he ever be the top 5 TE he was, probably not. However, he can still be a huge asset to this team, and, he will probably be the differnce between playoffs and no playoffs if Mason retires.

[FlaccoFlicker]

i hope he can have a good year with lj also in the mix..hopefully our OL is good enough to where he can run more routes plus if rice and mcgahee are healthy mclain might block more to which will aloww heap to run more routes i've liked heap ever since he became a raven and i hate seeing low numbers on him hope this year he will break out and prove he is a great TE in this league

[shaikh015]

I know fans that go out to every sunday's game with their Todd Heap jersey's on...Those fans go crazy when he makes hugh game thrashing exciting plays....That iswhat we expect to see out of him next year....

[JEEPercreepermd]

[quote name='ZIBBY28' date='19 July 2009 - 02:11 AM' timestamp='1247983884' post='208200']
Heap isnt the guy he used to be.. kyle boller throwing up passes, leaving heap out to dry is finally catching up to him. the nagging injuries have really slowed him down. of course him staying in to block to protect flacco really hurt his numbers last year, but at the same time heap dropped passes last year that ive never seen him drop before.. its almost like at times he plays timid because his body isnt the same as what it used to be when he was a first round draft pick in '01.

granted, i think heap will have MUCH better numbers this year than last, but pro bowl numbers? its just my opinion but i dont think he will have the same numbers as gates, witten, clark, and so on and so on.. todd heap still is one of my favorite players for the great years he's had, but pro bowl numbers? i'd say no.
[/quote]
I agree to most of this, but I'm thinking and well hoping that maybe the Reason that Heap dropped those passes last season was because he never really got a chance to find his groove, doubtful but there's a chance that could be it. Either way IMO Heap as well as Smith absolutely must be utilized for this offense to improve

[Alexir]

If Heap and LJ are healthy our offense will be pretty darn good especially in the red zone. We are really gonna need these guys if we don't end up getting another reciever.


Edit: And Davon Drew.

[Alexir]

Also, barring health, would you guys mind bringing back Wilcox and using him as a possesion reciever? He played WR in college and has pretty good hands. Plus I just like the dude's personality and he is very laid back.

[Alexir]

[quote name='Alexir' date='19 July 2009 - 01:30 PM' timestamp='1248024614' post='208262']
Also, barring health, would you guys mind bringing back Wilcox and using him as a possesion reciever? He played WR in college and has pretty good hands. Plus I just like the dude's personality and he is very laid back.
[/quote]

Nevermind, looks like Rex beat us to it lol. He is a jet now.

[Samari]

Todd Heap = 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year

[reediddy]

IMO Heap will put up great numbers this year along with LJ Smith, but given the rise of some tight ends in the AFC (Owen Daniels, Zach Miller, Bo Scaife, Heath Miller) I think Heap will just miss out on the Pro Bowl, but simply because he is sharing pass-catching duties with Smith

[Ravens52]

Heap won't be close to making the pro bowl, it's all false hope. If anyone on our roster shines as a tight end, it's gonna be LJ Smith. Heap is going to stay as a blocker because that's what he's good at on this team. We need to use him as a blocker since LJ Smith is very good at blocking..

[kris21054]

[quote name='Alexir' date='19 July 2009 - 01:31 PM' timestamp='1248024713' post='208263']
Nevermind, looks like Rex beat us to it lol. He is a jet now.
[/quote]

just wondering but where did u hear this i just checked nfl.com and didnt see it

[wayne]

I think Heap can atleast be Top 10-15 best TE in the game . Great hands, great route running, wide body, less blocking playing with a low rated WR'ing core and a young QB equals potentially great success for the TE . Only way I don't see this happening if LJ becomes the feature TE which I have no reason to believe he would . Teams like KC, Chargers, Falcons, and Cowboys at one point in time used their TE's alot b/c of some of those variables that I used.

[lowrider]

I haven't heard anything about his recovery. Last I heard he was still trying to get over his injury and he lost a step. So hopefully he can stay healthy. Boller did leave him up to dry because Heap and dump passes is all he would do. Davon Drew might need to step up this year. He could be a sleeper for rookie to make the biggest impact considering Heap and Smith have injuries and apparently Drew has great hands (and he played qb in college or high school so we can run trick plays with him if Cameron really wants to get creative).

But if Heap is healthy; that would be huge for our offense. He won't have to block as much since we have Oher. He would open up the whole field and it's impossible to guard Heap because he is strong, big, and has amazing hands. I expect very good numbers from him but I don't think he will have pro bowl numbers. I don't really care though. We just need him for the playoffs.

[tweety]

I'm expecting this upcoming season to be his best since 2005 when McNair first joined the team. Granted he will be in declining condition from this point forward. Heap health will be a great relief for Flacco, most likely he or Clayton will be the go to guy.

[neepo13]

I am not worried about Heap at all. I think he will reemerge this season. If you rewatch the film, Heap can still get open. I think the only reason, he didnt have more of an impact is because he missed all of the preseason and hadnt been able to build up the timing or whatever with Flacco. He got better as the season went on, as I recall it most of his drops came early in the year but later on he was actually doing a pretty good job getting open when asked but Flacco just missed him, he either over threw him or threw the ball late.

Alot of what our offense is going to do depends on whether Flacco can take that next step. Its not like we've got a bunch of recievers that drop catchable ball after catchable ball and cant get open. If Flacco can consistantly deliver catchable balls, I think we will be just fine.

[Ed_Reed_Pick_Six]

With a clean bill of health, it would be great to see Todd Heap have a big season. We all know he has the ability, but can he stay healthy? Time will tell. Here's hoping, especially with the retirement of Mason, that he can provide a big secure target for Flacco.

[shaikh015]

I believe that the reason for the Todd Heap Demise the last couple years was an Injured and aged JO...AS the Offense line got weaker Todd Heaps role became a blocker now if your blocking your not really being a threat in the receiving core...That is how his numbers were reflected....AS long as your putting on a raven helmet and you go fight for the city....Either it be blocking or receiving your out making plays and thats all that really counts...

[WinnipegRaven]

[quote name='Ravens52' date='19 July 2009 - 11:58 AM' timestamp='1248026318' post='208269']
Heap won't be close to making the pro bowl, it's all false hope. If anyone on our roster shines as a tight end, it's gonna be LJ Smith. Heap is going to stay as a blocker because that's what he's good at on this team. We need to use him as a blocker since LJ Smith is very good at blocking..
[/quote]

Not sure if this makes sense - "We need to use him as a blocker since LJ Smith is very good at blocking.."
Since it has already been said that we are going to be using our TE as receivers a lot more this season I think Heap will have a nice season - provided Flacco doesn't throw those high hang-em out to dry passes we all know Boller had a tendency to chuck. Heap may have some good blocking skills, but I think his ability to catch and run are very good. He makes some of the most amazing catches I've ever seen out of a tight end so his ability to be a receiver shouldn't be doubted.

[Ed_Reed20]

I think Heap will have a productive year if he can stay healthy. However, I don't expect him to return to his pre-2007 form simply because he has taken too much punishment over the years.

[raven43]

Heap will definitely have a better year than last year. Just looking at it in a fantasy standpoint, Flacco is another year wiser, which means less blocking for Heap, and also more throwing plays in general, which, in turn, means more balls thrown Heaps way. And we all know he can still make tough grabs-- remember the Washington game?

PLUS, if Mason decides to stay retired, Flacco will still need a bit of a safety valve to throw to. It won't be the hot-and-cold Mark Clayton. It'll be the position that is generally the safety valve for young quarterbacks, the tight end.

Todd Heap is poised for a nice season. Never mind LJ smith, he was signed to a 1 year deal worth nothing and unless their is a series of very particular events ( like Heap going down week one and Smith going on to have a pro bowl year) LJ smith will not be on the roster next year.

[shaikh015]

Their was a play last year when Heap lost his Helmet against the titans in the playoff's and still made the catch..

[edreedfromtheu]

[quote name='Alexir' date='19 July 2009 - 01:31 PM' timestamp='1248024713' post='208263']
Nevermind, looks like Rex beat us to it lol. He is a jet now.
[/quote]

Yeah... Daniel Wilcox isn't on the Jets. Perhaps you were thinking of someone else? Wilcox is retiring because he's gone through so many injuries and he just got married and wants to pursue other things in life while he still has a fully-functioning body. At least that was my interpretation of his comments back in spring.

[Alexir]

[quote name='edreedfromtheu' date='23 July 2009 - 01:39 PM' timestamp='1248370782' post='209342']
Yeah... Daniel Wilcox isn't on the Jets. Perhaps you were thinking of someone else? Wilcox is retiring because he's gone through so many injuries and he just got married and wants to pursue other things in life while he still has a fully-functioning body. At least that was my interpretation of his comments back in spring.
[/quote]

yeah my bad I was doing a search on him and it showed him on the Jets Roster (2001) and I just assumed it was recent until I went back and looked at it.

[kash96ravenstotalfan]

[quote name='ZIBBY28' date='19 July 2009 - 02:11 AM' timestamp='1247983884' post='208200']
Heap isnt the guy he used to be.. kyle boller throwing up passes, leaving heap out to dry is finally catching up to him. the nagging injuries have really slowed him down. of course him staying in to block to protect flacco really hurt his numbers last year, but at the same time heap dropped passes last year that ive never seen him drop before.. its almost like at times he plays timid because his body isnt the same as what it used to be when he was a first round draft pick in '01.

granted, i think heap will have MUCH better numbers this year than last, but pro bowl numbers? its just my opinion but i dont think he will have the same numbers as gates, witten, clark, and so on and so on.. todd heap still is one of my favorite players for the great years he's had, but pro bowl numbers? i'd say no.
[/quote]
Let's give Heap a break. Hopefully his blocking duties are over this season and he can concentrate on what he does best. I expect to see Heap catching passes in training camp to get into sync with Flacco. I'm not ready to rule out pro bowl numbers for Heap this season. We shall see.