The Tight-End Section of my 'The Morning Line' Post

For My First Trick

I will submit to you a simple premise, that can probably be easily refuted if someone else wants to look up the historical data, but I just decided to do the number-crunching and eyeball-testing on this season.

So my premise is this: Tight ends are taking over the NFL.

As the League has moved away from the ground-and-pound style offense of its early incarnations, teams have had to adapt. Before Ditka in the 60’s, tight ends rarely caught a pass. Until Kellen Winslow, Sr. and his peers began running deep patterns in the 80’s, they mostly caught curl or drag passes. And today, many teams have begun to utilize their tight end for a variety of plays. The Patriots even had Aaron Hernandez taking snaps as an H-back in the playoffs. So if I may throw a few stats at you (since I bothered to research them like a nerd), here we go.

* Of the 12 teams to make the playoffs, only 1 team (Denver) passed to the tight end for less than 750 yards through out the regular season.
* Conversely, of the 20 team who did not make the playoffs, 11 passed to the tight end for less than 750 yards.

* Of the 12 playoff teams, only 3 (Denver, Pittsburgh, Giants) completed less than 7 TD passes to tight ends. Meanwhile, of the 20 non-playoff teams, 1 (Carolina) had more than 7 TDs to tight ends. Three had 7 TDs, while the rest had less.

* The average season totals for playoff teams were 1025 yards on 86 catches, with 9 TDs. So by playoff team, per game, that’s 85 yards on 7 catches, with .75 TDs (Denver really threw off these stats by only having 11 catches for 146 yards and no TDs).

* The average totals for non-playoff teams were 706 yards on 63 catches, with 4 TDs. So, for each of the non-playoff teams, per game, that’s 35 yards on 3 catches, and .21 TDs.

In the playoffs, my stats didn’t hold true in the Wild Card Round, as every team that had less tight end yards won. There were also only 2 TDs among the 8 teams.
However, in the Divisional Round (you know, the teams that didn’t squeak in), the stats did hold up, as each team that won had higher tight end yards (albeit 2 yards more in the Giants case). Also, in this round, the 8 teams combined for 9 TDs (even if 4 of them were the Patriots).

The Championship Games were split. The Pats had 153 yards but no TDs to the Ravens 64 yards and 1 TD. Meanwhile, the Giants had but 22 yards and a TD while San Francisco got 148 yards and 2 TDs. But then, as we all know, both these games were hairline plays away from going the other way.

The Super Bowl was not the game for the tight ends, as the Pats finished with 93 yards and 1 TD, while the victorious Giants had but 43 yards and no TDs from their tight ends. (Note: I fully expected the outcome of this game to be much different if Gronkowski has been at full speed, as he was responsible for 1327 yards and 17 TDs in the regular season and 258 yards and 3 TDs in 3 playoff games.)

So, as we look to the future of the NFL, I see a change in the way the offense is run. It’s not there yet, but it’s going to be. The tight end is a new position. Guys like Gronkowski,Jermaine Gresham, Hernandez, Kyle Rudolph, and Jimmy Graham are taking it a step further than players like Heath Miller, Todd Heap and Antonio Gates. While the young guys are built much the same way, they seem to be faster and still just as powerful. So while Miller might be able to hit a linebacker and keep going, but not very fast, a guy likeGronkowski has the ability to run over or maybe just out-run that linebacker…and possibly bowl over a safety. They seem to be almost uncoverable 1-on-1 by any defensive player.

Woo. Are You? Woo Woo, Woo Woo?

This is a topic that has gotten a lot of attention on the radio, TV and Twitterverse lately. And since I haven't done a blog post in a while, this might be a good one to jump back in on.

After that fateful 14-inning, 5-hour marathon against the Pirates last September, it seems the Woo has been present at every game since. Was it an homage to the dogs that had been in the seats for "Bark in the Park" that night? Was it a shout-out to the great Ric Flair and his backhand chops to the opponent's chest? Was it some bored kid who couldn't figure out what else to yell after 14 innings of baseball? At this point, it doesn't matter. What we do know is that the next night, the Woo was out in full force. And the night after. And so on. It even traveled with the team to Pittsburgh. At first, many found it entertaining.

"Hey, those nut-jobs are doing the Woo again."
"Man, that stuff is funny."

Until it was happening constantly. And it made it to the national broadcasts during the playoffs. Then those that publicized it began to condemn it. It was made out to be a manace. But the Woo-ers soldiered on. As the 2013 season began, some hoped that the Woo had long-since been forgotten; an ugly reminder of the how the 2012 campaign had ended. However, as each game begins to dwindle into the late innings, and some of the crowd starts to head for the exits, one lone wolf can be heard beginning the howl. Then others respond. And so it goes.

According to Jim Day's twitter last season, some of the players didn't like it. Now which players and with what frequency are matters of debate. And I'm sure the Woo-ers would cite some sort of unwritten "ticket-purchasers rights" to continue barking. But if I'm supporting a ball club, and the players speak out that they're having trouble performing well because of something I, in the crowd, am doing, I think I might stop. But that's a personal choice I'd make.

It seems in this young 2013 season that divisional lines have been set. You either like the Woo or you don't. Supporters cite their "leave us alone, we're havin' fun, makin; noise" attitude. Detractors suggest the Woos are annoying and distracting. We're only 20 games in, so the sample size is small, but at 11-3 at home, it doesn't seem the Woo has affected performance on the field.

Will the Woo die? It's hard to tell. Did the vuvuzelas disappear at the 2010 World Cup? Have the Braves' fans stopped doing the tomahawk chop? Sometimes things that people want to go away are the things that stick around the most.

I personally thought the Woo was funny at first. Recently, I've found it less necessary. However, if you find that you need to let out a barbaric yawp from time to time, I don't mind. But to those that don't like the Woo, I suggest this: COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER. The Woo-ers, for the most part I assume, are bored. They're entertaining themselves, and they know it bothers you. Distract them with something else. I would suggest coming up with soccer-style chants. Actual words that the team and the city can be proud of. But change must come from the people.

If you want the Woo silenced, it can be done. But not with #StopTheWoo tweets and "Boo the Woo" cardboard signs. This will only fuel the fire. The Woos feed on your hate. You must drown out the Woos with your own chants and cheers. Only then will they realize the Woo has run it's course and this new chant is the hot thing.

If South Park has taught me anything, it's that people love fads. And that if you give them something new to gravitate toward, they'll give up on what they're doing.

That, or getting their parents to think the fad is cool.