Do Tight Ends Wear Tighty Whiteys?

The tight-end. Possibly the worst named position in American sports, but an essential part of the offense on any football team. They are essentially the one position that is asked to perform more than one role on every drive. They need to be able to block like an offensive lineman, run routes like a wide receiver, as well as line up as a lead blocker for the running backs, occasionally even running the ball themselves. And they have to have really soft hands. Let's look at the 6 tight-ends that are currently on the roster.

Anthony Fasano, # 80.
If he improves upon last year's performance, that trade that brought him and Akin Ayodele to us will continue to look like Parcells' golden touch. He had 34 catches for 454 yards and was second on the team with 7 touchdowns scored. I think a 15% increase in production would be acceptable improvement, but to be considered a top-tier tight end, he will need to increase those numbers by 25 to 30%, that is, approximately 44 catches, 580 yards, 9 TDs.

David Martin, # 88.
Martin is the guy most likely to extend for the ball, making for a bigger pass target. He was not the primary tight-end pass target but did come in on double tight end packages and was able to separate better than Fasano on the 'Tight-End Cross" play. He also got some time out at WR during the season. He ended up with 31 catches for 450 yards and 3 TDs. He's one of my favorite players on the team, and he showed incredible focus on several amazing catches in 2008, but he also has a tendency to drop passes, though he was stable in the games, while Fasano dropped a couple of crucial balls towards the end of the year. A lot of fans have whispered trade/release rumours or wishes for Martin, but we know for a fact that Sparano loves this guy, and it will likely come down to how the bigger wide receivers and Ernest Wilford perform in training camp/pre-season. I don't believe the younger tight-ends are a threat to Martin's job, but Wilford and Patrick Turner could be.

Joey Haynos, # 81.
Babyface Haynos did not get a lot of playing time through the year but once he got into the game on offense, I immediately noticed his crisp route running and it paid off with a touch-down a play or two later. Since he didn't get a lot of playing time, I can't judge how he blocks, though he did play on special teams, so his experience and time with the playbook likely gives him an edge over the two new guys.

Jared Bronson, # 89.
Bronson may not look like much at first glance, but he was pretty beastly at the division II rankings in college. One of our former wild-cat draftees, Bronson performed well at the Combine, but when it came to Central Washington's pro-day, only one NFL scout showed up. It's unknown whether that was a Miami scout or a Pittsburgh scout (they signed QB Mike Reily), or neither. Click on the picture to see video of what Bronson can do.


John Nalbone, #86.
Well, we didn't go after Miles Austin in trade, but we got his former Monmouth teammate, Nalbone in the 5th round of the draft. This is one of a couple of 'reaches' by Parcells and crew, in my opinion. Nalbone was drafted to be a blocking tight-end, so imagine my dismay, when in the first interview of his NFL career he said he considers himself a pass-receiver first, not a blocker. That pretty much raised the red flag as well as the white flag as far as I'm concerned. He did just get a contract signed, but so did Jared Bronson, and we know they're not both going to make the roster. One of them will probably make the practice squad. Nalbone and Bronson are basically in competition to make the PS.

Ernest Wilford, # 18.
You ever go to a fancy expensive dinner, and go overboard? You figure, hey, I'm shelling out the money, I might as well fill up. But then you feel a little sick to your stomach, but you don't really want to let go of that 'full up' feeling because it's the result of your exuberant meal? And then, at some point, you HAVE to let go of it, and as it's released you feel so much lighter and relieved, yet you have another feeling - like you've gone back to the place you were before you had your fancy dinner. You have nothing to show for it except for a dent in your bank account. This is the analogy I've come up with for Ernest Wilford. Sure, we'll have nothing to show for the oreo cookie buffet in the morning, but we'll be able to buckle our belt and move on.

As with the running backs, I feel we'll have the same tight-end squad we had in 2008. As I mentioned above, the only difference I could see is if the 'big' wide receivers turn it on and we end up keeping 6 WRs. I doubt we would go down to 2 TEs though since we run so many 2 TE formations, we'd have to have a reserve.

Any thoughts?