Player Spotlight: Dennis Pitta, TE, Baltimore Ravens (1 Viewer)

[Jason Wood]

2013 Player Spotlight Series

One of Footballguys best assets is our message board community. The Shark Pool is, in our view, the best place on the internet to discuss, debate and analyze all things fantasy football. In what's become an annual tradition, the Player Spotlight series is a key part of the preseason efforts. As many of you know, we consider the Player Spotlight threads the permanent record for analyzing the fantasy prospects of the player in question. This year, we plan to publish more than 140 offensive spotlights covering the vast majority of expected skill position starters.

As always we will post a list of players to be discussed each week. Those threads will remain open for the entire preseason, and should be a central point to discuss expectations for the player in question. Importantly, analysis done in the first week of posting will be part of the permanent record in two ways. 1) At the end of the week, we will tally the projections into a consensus. 2) We will select a number of pull quotes from forum contributors who make a compelling statement or observation. Both the projections and pull quotes will be part of a published article on the main website.

Thread Topic: Dennis Pitta, TE, Baltimore Ravens

Player Page Link: Dennis Pitta Player Page

Each article will include:

• Detailed viewpoint from a Footballguys staff member
• Highlighted member commentary from the message board threads
• FBG Projections
• Consensus Member Projections
  

The Rules

In order for this thread to provide maximum value, we ask that you follow a few simple guidelines:

• Focus commentary on the player (or players) in question, and your expectations for said player (or players)
• Back up your expectations in whatever manner you deem appropriate; avoid posts that simply say "I hate him" or "He's the best"
• Avoid redundancies or ... this should be about incremental analysis or debate
  

While not a requirement, we strongly encourage you to provide your own projections for the player (players):

Projections should include:

• For QBs: Attempts, Completions, Passing Yards, Passing TDs, Ints, Rush Attempts, Rush Yards, Rush TDs
• For RBs: Rushes, Rushing Yards, Rush TDs, Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDs
• For WRs & TEs: Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDs
  

Now let's get on with the conversation! We look forward to your contributions and let me offer a personal thanks in anticipation of the great debate and analysis.

 

[fightingillini]

Pitta has a great opportunity to have a great year, due to Anquan Boldin leaving town. Does have to compete with Dickson, who is a more athletic TE. But Pitta runs nice routes and has good chemistry with Flacco, and Pitta is the TE that's targeted near the goalline. Someone has to catch the ball in BAL, Torrey Smith is a deep threat and not a volume guy. Pitta is a nice consolation prize if you miss out on guys like Graham/Gronkowski/Hernandez/Witten/Gonzalez.

68 rec, 800 rec yds, 7TD

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

I'd love to hear a few more thoughts on Pitta this weekend.... anyone else see him as essentially Flacco's second target this year?

 

[Lavachebeadsman]

I'd love to hear a few more thoughts on Pitta this weekend.... anyone else see him as essentially Flacco's second target this year?

That's what I'm on. Aiming for him in all dynasty and redraft leagues. High upside at a lower cost than the top 5 guys.

 

[meyerj31]

I'd love to hear a few more thoughts on Pitta this weekend.... anyone else see him as essentially Flacco's second target this year?

That's what I'm on. Aiming for him in all dynasty and redraft leagues. High upside at a lower cost than the top 5 guys.

Yup. I think I took him in the 9th in a start-up and I expect a minimum of TE10 production, with upside to around TE5. He's not going to put up top 3 numbers but he is capable of "the big game" every once in a while (see Denver game last year) and will be somewhat consistent. There were three games last year where he was not a part of the game plan and didn't have a single target, so there will be a skunk game occasionally. Excluding those skunk games he was targeted an average of 6.5 times per game when he WAS a part of the game plan. Pitta is also frequently targeted in the red-zone and touchdowns are huge value boosters for TEs. I don't really buy the argument that his role is going to substantially increase with Boldin out of town, but with only one more target every game (and current catch %) his value would increase by 10% and solidify around TE6. That's a good value in the 8th round or later, IMO.

 

[Beerguzzler]

• Joe Flacco looked like the accomplished veteran he has become, very much in command. And there’s no doubt his favorite target is tight end Dennis Pitta. Pitching the ball to Pitta almost seems to be Flacco’s default mode now. The two are best friends off the field and have a keen rapport on it. You can’t manufacture that, but it would be nice to see Flacco develop the same caliber of rapport with another downfield target.

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/article-1/Eisenbergs-Offseason-Analysis/394ac1d5-37a2-46ae-9cd8-446197d823d6

Pfft Fantasy owners disagree that Flacco needs to look at anyone else!

Grabbed this guy in dynasty last season and he looks like he can be a top 3 option this season. He's going to be the biggest beneficiary of Boldin being traded. Would it be much a stretch to think he's Flacco's primary target? Torrey is pretty much just a deep threat till proven otherwise.

Dennis Pitta has never been more important to the Ravens’ offense. He is coming off career highs in receptions (61), receiving yards (669) and touchdowns (seven).

Anquan Boldin’s departure creates the possibility that Pitta will become Joe Flacco’s favorite target. Flacco and Pitta are good friends and share chemistry on and off the field. Flacco knows Pitta’s tendencies. Pitta knows how to get open.

Three tight ends had over 900 yards pass receiving in 2012 – Jason Witten of the Cowboys (1,039 yards), Jimmy Graham of the Saints (982), and Tony Gonzalez of the Falcons (930). Pitta would love to join that 900-yard club, and it’s a realistic goal if he stays healthy. Tight ends are trending upward all over the NFL, and the Ravens have joined the bandwagon. With Pitta and Ed Dickson, the Ravens have two tight ends capable of working the middle of the field. Expect to see the Ravens’ use of two tight end formations to increase. That should mean more opportunities for Pitta.

``Dennis is a very fine pass route runner, he can catch the ball, and he blocks well at the line of scrimmage,’’ said Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell during minicamp. ``Both guys (Pitta and Dickson) can stretch the field. Both guys can catch the ball and run. Obviously, we will use that in a number of different ways.’'

Pitta’s versatility makes him a difficult cover. Instead of lining up in the traditional tight end position, Pitta often lines up in the slot. That allows him to free himself at the line of scrimmage quickly. Trying to cover Pitta with a linebacker is often a mismatch, and when Pitta gets open, Flacco rarely misses. Pitta had three touchdowns during the playoffs last season, and without Boldin, look for Flacco to find Pitta more often in clutch situations.

Next season will be a big one for Pitta, who turns 28 later this month. He signed a $2.023 million free agent tender in May, and can become an unrestricted free agent in 2014. The Ravens will want Pitta to stick around. But first, they want him to keep getting open.

http://www.csnbaltimore.com/blog/ravens-talk/player-watch-training-camp-dennis-pitta

 

[amicsta]

[SIZE=medium]Projection: 111 targets, 78 receptions, 944 yards, 12 TDs[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Over the last 12 games last season (including playoffs), Pitta totaled 43/513/8, and he did that while averaging only 5 targets a game. Extrapolated to a 16 game season, that would be 57/684/11. So where’d the extra 21 catches, 260 yards, and a touchdown come from? The answer is Anquan Boldin, who totaled 56/848/7 over that same time frame (Boldin actually missed the week 15 game against Denver). With both players fighting over targets in the middle of the field and red zone, neither was particularly useful with any kind of consistency in 2012. However, with Boldin now traded to San Francisco (and nobody else added to replace him), the opportunities should be there for Pitta to have a true breakout season and ascend into the upper echelon of tight ends.[/SIZE]