Tight end
Encyclopedia
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
on the offense
Offense (sports)
In sports, offense or offence , also known as attack, is the action of attacking or engaging an opposing team with the objective of scoring points or goals...
. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be effective blockers. On the other hand, they are eligible receivers adept enough to warrant a defense's attention when running pass patterns.
Because of the hybrid nature of the position, the tight end's role in any given offense depends on the tactical preferences and philosophy of the head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
. In some systems, the tight end will merely act as a sixth offensive lineman rarely going out for passes. Other systems utilize the tight end primarily as a receiver, frequently taking advantage of the tight end's size to create mismatches in the defensive secondary. Many coaches will often have one tight end who specializes in blocking in running situations and while utilizing a better pass catching tight end in obvious passing situations.
Offensive formations may have between zero and three tight ends at one time. If a wide receiver is present in a formation, but outside the tight end, the wide receiver must be positioned behind the line of scrimmage (see figure to right). If two tight ends are on the same side of the line of scrimmage, the outside tight end must be behind the line of scrimmage.
History of the tight end position
The advent of the tight end position is closely tied to the decline of the one-platoon systemOne-platoon system
The one-platoon system, also known as iron man football, was a system in American football where players played on both offense and defense. It was the result of rules that limited player substitutions. The alternative system is known as the "two-platoon system", or simply the "platoon system",...
which happened in the 1940s and '50s. At one time, the game allowed limited substitutions- a rule derived from its evolution in other codes of football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
. Players had to be adept at playing on both sides of the ball and most offensive linemen were also defensive linemen or linebackers, while receivers tended to double as defensive backs. At that time, the receivers were known as either ends or flankers with the end lining up wide at the line of scrimmage and the flanker lining up slightly behind the line usually on the opposite side of the field. As the transition from one-platooning took place, it became possible for players who did not fit the mold of the traditional position to fill a niche. Players who were both good pass catchers and blockers, but were mediocre on defense were now seen as an asset instead of a liability; many of these players were too big to be receivers, yet too small to be offensive linemen, but there were those who saw the potential of having a larger receiver lined up inside. One of those was Paul Brown
Paul Brown
Paul Eugene Brown was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League...
, the legendary coach of the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Among Brown's innovations were blocking techniques and passing schemes that utilized the unique attributes of the tight end position.
Greater use of the tight end as a receiver started in the '60s with the emergence of two players in particular, Mike Ditka
Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...
and John Mackey
John Mackey (American football)
John Mackey was an American Football tight end who grew up in Roosevelt, Long Island and played for the Baltimore Colts and the San Diego Chargers . He played college football at Syracuse University...
. Until these two players, most teams considered the tight end position as almost a sixth offensive lineman, only rarely utilizing them as receivers.
In a 12-year career, Ditka caught 427 passes for over 5800 yards and 43 touchdowns. Mackey added an entirely new dimension to the position as he had the breakaway speed of a wide receiver. In one season, 6 of his 9 touchdown passes were over 50 yards.
The Coryell offense
Coryell Offense
Coryell offense is the name given to the scheme and philosophy developed by former San Diego Chargers Coach, Don Coryell. Air Coryell was initially a nickname given to the offense of the San Diego Chargers under Coryell from 1978–1986, but now has come be used interchangeably with the term...
introduced the concept of a tight end that ran wide receiver-type routes with Kellen Winslow
Kellen Winslow
Kellen Boswell Winslow is a former American football tight end with the Missouri Tigers and the San Diego Chargers. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest tight ends in the history of the game. He is currently the athletic director at Central State University.Winslow did not play high...
in 1980. Tight ends prior to Winslow were primarily blockers lined up next to an offensive lineman and ran short to medium drag routes
Drag (route)
A drag route is a route run by a receiver in American football, where the receiver runs a few yards downfield, then turns 90° towards the center of the field and runs parallel to the line of scrimmage. This type of route is relatively safe and is thrown to an agile receiver who can make a play...
. Winslow was put in motion so he would not be jammed at the line, or he was lined up wide or in the slot against a smaller cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
. Former Chargers assistant coach Al Saunders
Al Saunders
Al Saunders is the current offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders.-Early life and playing career:Born in London, England, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1960, and is one of four foreign-born coaches in the NFL...
said Winslow was "a wide receiver in an offensive lineman's body." Back then, defenses would cover Winslow with a strong safety or a linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
, as zone defense
Zone defense
Zone defense is a type of defense, used in team sports, which is the alternative to man-to-man defense; instead of each player guarding a corresponding player on the other team, each defensive player is given an area known as a "zone" to cover....
s were not as popular. Strong safeties in those times were almost like another linebacker, a run defender who could not cover a tight end as fast as Winslow. Providing another defender to help the strong safety opened up other holes. Former head coach Jon Gruden
Jon Gruden
Jon David Gruden is an American football analyst and former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for seven seasons and prior to that the Oakland Raiders for four seasons. In his first year as the head coach of Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII, defeating the Raiders whom he had...
called Winslow the first "joker" in the NFL. He could line up unpredictably in any formation from a three-point stance
Three-point stance
The three-point stance is a stance used by offensive and defensive linemen in American football as well as running backs. This stance requires one hand to touch the ground with the other arm cocked back to the thigh/hip region...
as a blocker to a two-point stance or being in motion as a receiver. Head coach Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
notes that the pass-catching tight ends that get paid the most money are "all direct descendants of Kellen Winslow" and there are fewer tight ends now that can block on the line.
In the 90's, Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe is a former American Football tight end who played for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. Sharpe is known for his creative commentary and trash talking. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and inducted on August 6, 2011...
helped the position evolve to the point where the tight end was integral to a teams success and changed the way tight ends where utilized by teams, evidenced by him becoming the first tight end in NFL history with over 10.000 career receiving yards.
Since Sharpe, Antonio Gates
Antonio Gates
Antonio Gates is an American football tight end for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003 after playing college basketball at Kent State University...
& Tony Gonzalez are the only tight ends to surpass his records, both having scored more touchdowns than Sharpe, and Gonzalez having recorded more yards and catches as well.
Receiving
Some plays are planned to take advantage of a tight end's eligibilityEligible receiver
In American football and Canadian football, not all players on offense are entitled to receive a forward pass. Only an eligible pass receiver may legally catch a forward pass, and only an eligible receiver may advance beyond the neutral zone if a forward pass which crosses the neutral zone is thrown...
(i.e. that they may lawfully catch a forward-passed football). At times, the tight end will not be covered by the defense, a situation that rarely occurs with the regular receivers. The tight end is therefore considered another option for the quarterback to pass to when the wide receivers are covered. The tight end is usually faster than the linebackers who cover him and often stronger than the cornerbacks and safeties who try to tackle him. However, tight ends are typically chosen for their speed and catching ability and therefore tend to have less blocking ability. Size does not affect catching ability. Some examples of great pass catching Tight-Ends are Jimmy Graham
Jimmy Graham
Jimmy Graham is an American football tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. He played college football at the University of Miami...
, Kellen Winslow
Kellen Winslow
Kellen Boswell Winslow is a former American football tight end with the Missouri Tigers and the San Diego Chargers. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest tight ends in the history of the game. He is currently the athletic director at Central State University.Winslow did not play high...
, Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten
Jason Witten
Christopher Jason Witten is an American football tight end who plays for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Tennessee....
, Dallas Clark
Dallas Clark
Dallas Dean Clark is an American football tight end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts 24th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Iowa...
, Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Lewis
Marcedes Alexis Lewis is an American football tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted from UCLA as the 28th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft...
, and Todd Heap
Todd Heap
Todd Benjamin Heap is an American football tight end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State-Early years:At Mountain View High School, in Mesa, Arizona,...
.
There could be tight ends on both sides of the line.
At the extreme end of this spectrum are 'hybrid' tight ends that are drafted primarily for their pass-catching abilities. Often, these players are talented athletes with near-receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
-like speed, coupled with the imposing physical size and strength of a traditional tight end. Offensive schemes often seek to take advantage of this type of player by placing him in space, often treating him as an extra receiver. Prime examples of this type of 'hybrid' player are Vernon Davis
Vernon Davis
-2006 rookie season:Vernon's first reception in the NFL was a 31-yard touchdown catch, against the Arizona Cardinals on September 10, 2006. He added a career-long 52-yard touchdown against the Green Bay Packers on December 10 with a short catch followed by a long run. Davis played in ten games in...
of the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, Rob Gronkowski
Rob Gronkowski
Rob Gronkowski is an American football tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft...
of the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, and Jermichael Finley
Jermichael Finley
-Green Bay Packers:Finley was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He battled Tory Humphrey in training camp to be the Packers' No. 2 tight end...
of the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
.
Blocking
In the National Football League (NFL), tight ends are usually larger and slower than a wide receiverWide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
, and therefore able to block more effectively. It is the job of the tight end, along with the fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
, to open up a hole in the defense for the tailback to run through. Tight ends can also be used along with the offensive linemen to protect the quarterback during passing plays. Often, tight ends are employed in a fullback position called "H-back
H-back
An H-Back is an offensive position in American football, and is also known as power back. The position is a hybrid of a fullback and a tight end. The position was made notable in the NFL by the Washington Redskins under head coach Joe Gibbs who ran a two tight end system...
" in which he is still beside the tackle, however off the line of scrimmage. Tight ends may also pass block like other offensive linemen. Some teams employ tight ends solely to block, however this position is sometimes filled by an offensive lineman who has reported to the referee that his number is now an eligible receiving number; this makes him "Tackle Eligible".
Most modern offenses (due to the introduction of the West Coast Offense
West Coast offense
In American football, "West Coast Offense" refers to two similar but distinct offensive-strategic-systems of play: the "Air Coryell" system; or more commonly the pass play system popularized by Bill Walsh...
) now use tight ends more as receivers than blockers. Traditionally tight ends were just blockers eligible to catch passes; however, now tight ends are more like bigger and slower receivers who can also block more effectively than most wide receivers. Most tight ends are generally large in size with an average height of 6'3" and a weight exceeding 240 lbs.
The origin of the two tight end set is unclear. The Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
and the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
have been credited with being the first teams to utilize two tight ends as part of their base offense.