cdcox |
05-16-2007 12:30 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by luv
The function of a tight end exactly?
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Back in the old days, most offensive plays were running plays. Teams used formations that looked like this:
ETGCGTE
..... Q .... W
...H.. F
So in the old days, there were no wide recievers or tight ends, just plain old ends. They were mainly blockers, but could be used for a rare pass as well. Then the idea came to split one of the WR out wide, hence the name, wide reciever. That is when the end that stayed near the tackle became known as the tight end.
Just as in the old days, the TE has to play two roles: blocking on running plays and catching passes. So you want someone in the 240-260 lb range (much smaller and faster than your average tackle, but larger and slower than your average WR). Some guys are better blockers than recievers (Jason Dunn), while others are better receivers than blockers (Gonzo, although he has become a better than decent blocker over the years).
Because TEs are slower than WR, they do not usually run extremely deep routes. Routes in the range of 5 to 15 yards are most common. They are typically guarded by a LB or S. They need to be able to make a catch in traffic, becuase many of the passes they catch are in the middle of the field.
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