Tight Ends: The Shape-Shifters

Pick your favorite tight end: Jacob Black or Sam Merlotte. Now, unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of years you know that these two dudes happen to turn into animals every once in a while in their respective vampire chronicles, Twilight and True Blood. The same goes for the tight ends!

Sometimes he's an offensive lineman blocking those nasty "X" guys across the way, and sometimes he morphs into a receiver and runs downfield for a short pass from the QB.

Let's look at where he sits on the field:

The tight end sits out on the edges of the offensive line. He can be on the right or left end of the line but he is basically part of the offensive line. He is usually a big fellow (hence the blocking) who is also a bit quicker than those oafish guards and tackles next to him (hence the catching).
Usually, they don't make those huge catches in the endzone--that's the WR's job. These guys' job is to basically smash through (or block) that "X" filled center line and get the ball a little farther down the field. Because of this job description, they tend to get really smashed up by the defenders and take very hard hits. All in a day's work, I guess! Some famous tight ends are Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten and Jeremy Shockey.

And that's it! Simple, right? So now you pretty much know your offense. Next week we begin with defense! Until next time....