NFL coaches big on two-tight end set this season
01:29 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The Wildcat was the fashionable offensive formation in the NFL in 2008.
The Miami Dolphins introduced it in their upset of the New England Patriots on the third weekend. By season's end, it seems half the teams had incorporated the formation into the playbook.
During my tour of training camps this summer, I sensed another trend emerging on offense – the two-tight end set. The Houston Texans have already made a sizable investment in that formation, carrying four tight ends on their 2009 roster.
It's all common sense to Texans coach Gary Kubiak, who sees the multi-tight end sets beneficial to both his passing and running games.
"Protection is No. 1 in this league," Kubiak said. "If you can't protect your quarterback, it doesn't matter how good you are offensively. If he gets beaten up, you're not going to be successful. A two-tight end [package] widens those great defensive ends. It allows you to chip [block] on your way out and slow those guys down.
"It also balances the field so you can go either way when you run the ball. There are a lot of advantages to it. But it all starts with keeping your quarterback upright."
Actually, the formation is staging a re-emergence in 2009. Joe Gibbs removed the fullback and went with two tight ends at Washington with great success in the 1980s. He favored running the football. Don Coryell ran three tight ends through his offense in the 1980s with the San Diego Chargers. He favored passing the ball.
There's a revival now because of the variety multi-tight end sets offer on offense. Look at what's been happening in recent drafts.
The Cowboys have a Pro Bowl tight end in Jason Witten but still spent a second-round pick in 2008 on another tight end [Martellus Bennett]. Same with the Washington Redskins. They have a Pro Bowler in Chris Cooley but used a two in 2008 on Fred Davis.
Chicago was set at tight end with Desmond Clark but took another tight end with a first-round selection in 2007 [Greg Olsen]. The Giants have Michael Boss there but used a third-rounder on Travis Beckum last April.
Houston has a Pro Bowl tight end in Owen Daniels. But the Texans took two more last April, selecting a blocker in the fourth [Anthony Hill] and a receiver in the fifth [James Casey].
Bo Scaife led the Tennessee Titans in receiving from his tight end position in 2008. But that didn't stop the Titans from trading up in the third round last April to select another tight end [Jared Cook].
Bennett, Davis, Olsen, Beckum and Cook are receivers first and foremost. So defenses must decide if they want to go big or small when offenses trot out those two tight ends. If defenses go big with linebackers, offenses will have the advantage in the passing game. If they go small with safeties, offenses will have the advantage in the running game.
Football is a game of matchups. The Wildcat formation created mismatches in 2008. The two-tight end set can create even more in 2009.
I've been locked in on Giants-Patriots all offseason. But I'm hedging because two of the deepest, most talented defensive fronts have taken some hits. The Patriots traded their best defensive lineman, five-time Pro Bowl end Richard Seymour, to the Oakland Raiders this week. The Giants placed defensive tackle Jay Alford on injured reserve with torn knee ligaments suffered in the preseason, and fellow tackle Chris Canty missed the entire preseason with a torn hamstring. I'll stick with the Giants and Patriots – but the Steelers and Eagles are suddenly in the rear view and accelerating.
Rick Gosselin shares his NFL analysis Wednesdays through Fridays on the NFL blog.
Rick Gosselin is the author of GoodFellows, the story of Detroit's surprisingly successful St. Ambrose football teams of the '50s and '60s.