Football Times: Three Tight Ends the next revolution in football?

Well this sure is an interesting article, especially when you look at the tight ends the Patriots will have on their roster this year. As always, BB ahead of the curve…

Football evolution is such that tight ends are becoming more prominent. The last great offensive system craze was the “west coast offense”. It was countered by teams running versions of the “cover two”. The answer to the cover two isn’t so much a scheme, but a position. Tight ends are designed to operate in the seam, which is the weak area of the cover two systems.

Most tight ends either block well or catch well, but all have to do both to some extent. Can’t block?  You’d better be a darn good catcher or you can’t be a receiver. Can’t catch? You’d better be a darn good blocker or you won’t get on a team as an offensive lineman. The few tight ends who do both exceedingly well are a danger to any team. Few things scare a defensive coach more than having to guess if the tight end is blocking or going out for a pass. It can’t be schemed for, because you can only guess. The guessing becomes a nightmare when two or three solid tight ends are on a team.

Mark my words: the tight end is the wave of the future in the NFL. It started a couple of years ago, and is gaining in momentum.