C-Mac
12-23-2009, 11:11 AM
COTTAM’S INSPIRING FINISH (http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2009/12/23/insider_blog_cottams_inspiring_finish/)
December 23rd – 6:20 AM
Josh Looney
His season wasn’t supposed to end this way. Not the way he had been progressing.
Chiefs TE Brad Cottam’s season defined individual progress in 2009. He was a calendar boy for fighting adversity by responding to coaching. Cottam failed before he began to succeed. His rise over the past two weeks had many wanting to believe that the untapped potential had finally been tapped. Maybe we were seeing just the tip of the iceberg.
Cottam possess all the tangibles. He’s big (like basketball, 6’7 big). He’s fluid. He has soft hands. He isn’t afraid to play in the trenches and he is young. Cottam was also making incredible strides, beginning to come into his own.
Believed by many to be the front-runner for the Chiefs starting tight end job heading into training camp, 2009 was Cottam’s time to shine. The second-year man had served a full season backing up a future pro football hall of famer. He got a taste of the basics, playing in 16 games as the Chiefs second tight end while absorbing everything he could from Tony Gonzalez.
Gonzalez moved on to Atlanta during the offseason, leaving the door to a starting role wide-open for Cottam’s taking. Throughout his final season Gonzalez continually talked about the skill-set of his rookie backup. Gonzalez said there was great opportunity ahead for Cottam. Simply put, Cottam didn’t take the opportunity; at least not when most of us thought he would.
It doesn’t take a football expert to realize that Cottam didn’t have a very impressive training camp. By far the most athletic looking player among the tight ends group, Cottam was slipping. He dropped plenty of passes, rounded plenty of routes and sometimes even looked uncomfortable blocking on the edge.
Each day Cottam seemed to draw the attention of his new head coach, and it wasn’t the type of attention you’d want when trying to secure your first professional starting role. Eventually, Cottam found himself sliding down the depth chart behind a veteran known for his blocking abilities and a rookie.
Cottam still ended up making the 53-man roster at the end of camp. How close he was to his release is only something that those in the personnel room know for sure.
The 2008 third-round draftee played sparingly at the start of the season, and he certainly wasn’t in the starting role that many had expected throughout the spring leading up to the summer. A few more errors that resembled those made in training camp surfaced, and Cottam found his way even further down the Chiefs depth chart.
After playing in two of the first three games, Cottam didn’t see the field for five consecutive weeks. Veteran TE Leonard Pope was eventually signed to stabilize the position and took over the starting tight end role. Cottam was all but forgotten. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go down.
We’ve all seen this blueprint before with a young player. Loads of potential, yet they just couldn’t turn the corner. Most of the time, guys don’t find their way out of the darkness. Cottam became determined to be the exception.
Maybe he was being asked to do something he hadn’t done before. When backing up Tony Gonzalez you don’t get a whole lot of downfield passing work. That’s usually reserved for the prolific #88. The second tight end in two tight end sets is basically an extra tackle with an opportunity to run a five-yard out every blue moon. Maybe it wasn’t a talent issue. Maybe Cottam just wasn’t quite ready. Some fine-tuning was in order.
Whatever the issue was, Cottam went after it head-on. The cheesy cliché of “taking the bull by the horns” comes to mind when describing his practice habits. Cottam had lost his chance, for the time being, to perform on gameday. He had to attack adversity before, during and after practice.
Eventually, Cottam’s hard work got noticed. He found himself back in the lineup on at Oakland on November 15th for the first time since the end of September. Cottam didn’t get many snaps, but it was a start. He was targeted one time, but didn’t notch any statistics.
It was a start. Cottam kept working.
Cottam played more and more, eventually drawing a starting assignment when the Chiefs opened up in a two tight end set vs. Denver (12/6). At a minimum, Cottam had fought his way back to the position that he left the 2008 season holding. But something was different this time.
Those routes that used to be rounded started becoming crisper. Those hands that were shooting up late and resulting in drops began to be ready for the ball and as soft as can be. All those extra hours with the coaches and on the jugs machines were showing. Cottam was staring to make progress. He was staring to “get it.”
Cottam was targeted a career-high five times vs. Denver, catching three passes for 21 yards. He kept building.
The next week vs. Buffalo Cottam turned another corner, hauling in the most impressive catch of his young career. It was a 26-yard post route that Cottam fully-extended for on the run. It was the type of throw and catch that gave you visions of something dangerous in the making - a big man running fluid deep routes over the middle of the field with the height and build that allows his quarterback to put it high into a place that only the receiver can bring down the football.
Cottam had done something we all wanted to see, but had yet to see from him. All those extra hours working overtime with his coaches and teammates were working. The difference was night and day from training camp. Cottam kept going.
This past Sunday Cottam hauled in not just one, but two downfield passes that mirror his grab a week prior against the Bills. He finished with a career-high 62 yards receiving on four receptions. He also finished his season.
Cottam’s season had come full-circle by the fourth quarter on Sunday. Once a forgotten man buried on the depth chart and on the list of gameday inactives, Cottam was getting snaps during critical plays in the late stages of a tight football game.
Chiefs QB Matt Cassel turned to his big tight end in Cleveland territory, hitting him on a short out. Fighting for extra yardage, Cottam tried to jump over a closing defender. He went vertical, the Browns defender shot upward, and Cottam went head over heels in the air and began to come down. Cottam’s 269-pound frame went head-first into the turf. Visibly woozy, Cottam still shot straight up. He wanted to keep playing.
“It is just a little sore but I got back in there and was able to play,” Cottam said after Sunday’s game. “I don’t think it’ll be a big deal.”
Cottam indicated that he was fine, likely because he wanted it to be that way. It shows how tough he is. Just 48 hours later we now know that he wasn’t fine.
Tests revealed that Cottam sustained a fracture to one of his cervical vertebrae as a result of the fall. His season is over. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any long-term spinal injuries from the fracture. Cottam has full use of his extremities.
Cottam’s season may be over, but his inspiring rise after a very clear fall can’t go unnoticed. Want some signs of behind the scenes progress happening at Arrowhead this season? Look no further than Brad Cottam.
December 23rd – 6:20 AM
Josh Looney
His season wasn’t supposed to end this way. Not the way he had been progressing.
Chiefs TE Brad Cottam’s season defined individual progress in 2009. He was a calendar boy for fighting adversity by responding to coaching. Cottam failed before he began to succeed. His rise over the past two weeks had many wanting to believe that the untapped potential had finally been tapped. Maybe we were seeing just the tip of the iceberg.
Cottam possess all the tangibles. He’s big (like basketball, 6’7 big). He’s fluid. He has soft hands. He isn’t afraid to play in the trenches and he is young. Cottam was also making incredible strides, beginning to come into his own.
Believed by many to be the front-runner for the Chiefs starting tight end job heading into training camp, 2009 was Cottam’s time to shine. The second-year man had served a full season backing up a future pro football hall of famer. He got a taste of the basics, playing in 16 games as the Chiefs second tight end while absorbing everything he could from Tony Gonzalez.
Gonzalez moved on to Atlanta during the offseason, leaving the door to a starting role wide-open for Cottam’s taking. Throughout his final season Gonzalez continually talked about the skill-set of his rookie backup. Gonzalez said there was great opportunity ahead for Cottam. Simply put, Cottam didn’t take the opportunity; at least not when most of us thought he would.
It doesn’t take a football expert to realize that Cottam didn’t have a very impressive training camp. By far the most athletic looking player among the tight ends group, Cottam was slipping. He dropped plenty of passes, rounded plenty of routes and sometimes even looked uncomfortable blocking on the edge.
Each day Cottam seemed to draw the attention of his new head coach, and it wasn’t the type of attention you’d want when trying to secure your first professional starting role. Eventually, Cottam found himself sliding down the depth chart behind a veteran known for his blocking abilities and a rookie.
Cottam still ended up making the 53-man roster at the end of camp. How close he was to his release is only something that those in the personnel room know for sure.
The 2008 third-round draftee played sparingly at the start of the season, and he certainly wasn’t in the starting role that many had expected throughout the spring leading up to the summer. A few more errors that resembled those made in training camp surfaced, and Cottam found his way even further down the Chiefs depth chart.
After playing in two of the first three games, Cottam didn’t see the field for five consecutive weeks. Veteran TE Leonard Pope was eventually signed to stabilize the position and took over the starting tight end role. Cottam was all but forgotten. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go down.
We’ve all seen this blueprint before with a young player. Loads of potential, yet they just couldn’t turn the corner. Most of the time, guys don’t find their way out of the darkness. Cottam became determined to be the exception.
Maybe he was being asked to do something he hadn’t done before. When backing up Tony Gonzalez you don’t get a whole lot of downfield passing work. That’s usually reserved for the prolific #88. The second tight end in two tight end sets is basically an extra tackle with an opportunity to run a five-yard out every blue moon. Maybe it wasn’t a talent issue. Maybe Cottam just wasn’t quite ready. Some fine-tuning was in order.
Whatever the issue was, Cottam went after it head-on. The cheesy cliché of “taking the bull by the horns” comes to mind when describing his practice habits. Cottam had lost his chance, for the time being, to perform on gameday. He had to attack adversity before, during and after practice.
Eventually, Cottam’s hard work got noticed. He found himself back in the lineup on at Oakland on November 15th for the first time since the end of September. Cottam didn’t get many snaps, but it was a start. He was targeted one time, but didn’t notch any statistics.
It was a start. Cottam kept working.
Cottam played more and more, eventually drawing a starting assignment when the Chiefs opened up in a two tight end set vs. Denver (12/6). At a minimum, Cottam had fought his way back to the position that he left the 2008 season holding. But something was different this time.
Those routes that used to be rounded started becoming crisper. Those hands that were shooting up late and resulting in drops began to be ready for the ball and as soft as can be. All those extra hours with the coaches and on the jugs machines were showing. Cottam was staring to make progress. He was staring to “get it.”
Cottam was targeted a career-high five times vs. Denver, catching three passes for 21 yards. He kept building.
The next week vs. Buffalo Cottam turned another corner, hauling in the most impressive catch of his young career. It was a 26-yard post route that Cottam fully-extended for on the run. It was the type of throw and catch that gave you visions of something dangerous in the making - a big man running fluid deep routes over the middle of the field with the height and build that allows his quarterback to put it high into a place that only the receiver can bring down the football.
Cottam had done something we all wanted to see, but had yet to see from him. All those extra hours working overtime with his coaches and teammates were working. The difference was night and day from training camp. Cottam kept going.
This past Sunday Cottam hauled in not just one, but two downfield passes that mirror his grab a week prior against the Bills. He finished with a career-high 62 yards receiving on four receptions. He also finished his season.
Cottam’s season had come full-circle by the fourth quarter on Sunday. Once a forgotten man buried on the depth chart and on the list of gameday inactives, Cottam was getting snaps during critical plays in the late stages of a tight football game.
Chiefs QB Matt Cassel turned to his big tight end in Cleveland territory, hitting him on a short out. Fighting for extra yardage, Cottam tried to jump over a closing defender. He went vertical, the Browns defender shot upward, and Cottam went head over heels in the air and began to come down. Cottam’s 269-pound frame went head-first into the turf. Visibly woozy, Cottam still shot straight up. He wanted to keep playing.
“It is just a little sore but I got back in there and was able to play,” Cottam said after Sunday’s game. “I don’t think it’ll be a big deal.”
Cottam indicated that he was fine, likely because he wanted it to be that way. It shows how tough he is. Just 48 hours later we now know that he wasn’t fine.
Tests revealed that Cottam sustained a fracture to one of his cervical vertebrae as a result of the fall. His season is over. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any long-term spinal injuries from the fracture. Cottam has full use of his extremities.
Cottam’s season may be over, but his inspiring rise after a very clear fall can’t go unnoticed. Want some signs of behind the scenes progress happening at Arrowhead this season? Look no further than Brad Cottam.