Eplay - Developing Tight Ends by by Paul Winters

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Developing Your

Tight Ends

by Paul WintersTight End Coach

University of Wisconsin

chived Articles 1.2.3

GRIDIRON C

www.GridironPublicationThe Archived Articles © 1991 Gridiron Publications

E - P l a y

I s s u e # 1

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The Tight End

No other position on the gridiron has undergone a

bigger metamorphosis over the years than that of

the tight end. In the 1950’s and 60’s, the tight end

was used predominantly as a third tackle. His

primary mission in life was to block for off-tackle

plays and power sweeps. If he could run well

enough and catch, then he was used on shortpasses over the middle. If he had the ability to run

after the catch, then he was really valuable.

In the 1970’s, the game of football became more

wide open and greater demands were placed on the

tight end position. Tight ends became more of a

deep passing threat and were utilized as pressure

valves to take the pressure off of wide receivers. In

the 80’s, the tight end position, on the professional

level, became home to some of the game’s most

gifted athletes and it became an integral part of

offensive strategy.

Now as we enter the 1990’s some offensive schemes,

such as the run and shoot, are eliminating the tight

end position altogether. But the teams that continue

to utilize their tight ends in the trenches and as the

“go to” receiver in third down situations will remain

successful and find ways to put points on the board.

Finding the Right Man for The Job

There are three basic ingredients that are important

in a tight end – strength, mobility and good hands.Strength is a must. The tight end position must be

able to move defenders off the line of scrimmage. He

also needs hand strength to allow himself to fight

pressure and release into his pattern without getting

held up on the line of scrimmage.

Mobility is equally important. Does the player

move off of the line of scrimmage quickly at the

snap of the ball? Does he demonstrate good

agility, body balance and control when fighting

through traffic? Does he have good coordination?

How well does he run after making the catch, andfinally how well does he stay on the block when

the defender is trying to escape?

An effective tight end must obviously have sure

hands. Can he catch the ball away from his body?

Can he adjust to the ball in flight? It may sound

like we are searching for superman and in a way

we are. A great tight end can give your offense a

formidable weapon – an athlete who can contrib-

ute significantly on every play from scrimmage.

Development Drills

Now that you’ve found a likely candidate for the job,

the next step is to develop him. In some ways, a tight

end is an offensive lineman, so we must teach him

how to be an effective drive blocker. An excellentdrill that we use to develop this skill is the Hit and

Drive with the chutes and boards. The purpose is to

teach power producing angles, delivering a blow,

base and body position – essentially we put all of

these teaching aspects of the drive block into one

drill.

Hit And Drive Drill

Procedure

1. Align the offensive blocker under the chute in

a 3-point stance, a foot away from the de-

fender, toes at the end of the board.

2. To start, the defender will be in a 2-point stance.

As the drill progresses, he will move to a 3-point

stance without boards.

3. The offensive blocker will explode out of his

stance and drive the defender down the board.

Be sure to emphasize good base and acceleration

of feet.

4. The defender will make a good collision—then

allow the blocker to drive him down the board—

giving ground slowly.

5. As the drill progresses, vary the distance betweenthe blocker and the defender to adjust to block-

ing defenders that may vary the distance of their

alignments.

6. This should be a two whistle drill. Use the first

whistle to stop the blocker in place so that you

can check his body position. Use the second

whistle to release the players from the drill.

Punch Drill

To hone the proper use of the tight end’s hands and

arms when blocking and delivering the initial blow,

we use the Punch Drill. The emphasis of this drill ison keeping the elbows in while punching. The only

equipment needed for this drill is a five man sled.



The procedure for the punch drill is:

1. Instruct your tight ends to kneel on both knees

approximately two feet from each pad. On your

signal, each man delivers a punch to the pad.

2. After delivering the initial jolt ripping the arms

up with the elbows in, the tight end will roll the

hips into the block.3. The finish of the block should show the tight

end on both knees in a parallel position with the

head up, the arms extended, and the back

arched.

4. Emphasize to the tight end the importance of

keeping the punch on the inside breast plate of

the defender and the elbows in.

5. With quick commands, instructions and correc-

tions, this drill allows you to increase the num-

ber of repetitions in a limited amount of time.

Developing Your Tight ends as Receivers

In addition to being an integral part of the offense’s

blocking scheme, the tight end must also develop

into an effective receiver. He must become proficient

at releasing off the line of scrimmage, catching the

ball and running with the ball after the catch is

made.

Successful receivers use a variety of releases off

of the line of scrimmage. The goal is to make as

little contact as possible. Since defensive ends are

usually instructed to force an inside release, weemphasize to our tight ends that they must come

off the ball quickly with aggressiveness. We use

head fakes as the primary move, although we are

always aware of the defender’s alignment, so that

we can take advantage of the easiest possible

release.

Three basic releases which I have found to be

effective and relatively easy to teach are the head

fake, the arc release and the slam.

Head Fake

Step with the opposite foot from your intended

direction of release. Make a definite, quick head

and shoulder move to the opposite direction of

release. Then drive off that first step and use the

hands and body to cause separation from the de-

fender. The head fake should cause the defender to

step opposite your intended direction.

Arc Release

Use the arc release to allow tight end to cross the

face of an outside defender and achieve upfield-

outside release. The tight end steps with the

outside foot first, a six inch lateral open step. The

second step is a crossover step that is placed

upfield on a slight angle away from the line of

scrimmage. The third step will bring the tight endto balance and put him in a position to clear the

defender and continue into the pattern. Emphasize

keeping the shoulders parallel to the line of scrim-

mage with the arms pumping fighting off the

defender.

Slam

We will collision the midline target of the defender

with tripod punch of face and hands, quickly to

chest. Then we use hands to create separation, we

want to rip the outside arm low and through the

inside arm of the defender, continuing on into the

pattern.

Catching the Ball

Because we use the tight end as a possession receiver

on so many third down situations, it’s important

that he has the ability to catch the ball. We employ a

number of different drills to improve the fundamen-

tals of receiving, including the ability to turn effec-

tively.

The Turn DrillThis drill teaches the tight end to snap his head

around when coming out of pass routes. Procedure

follows:

1. Line your players up across the sideline. Make

sure that you have some sort of backstop so that

you don’t spend half the time chasing loose

balls.

2. Passer stands 10-12 yards from receiver. As

passer yells “ball”, the receiver turns completely

around to face the passer and pick up flight of

ball.3. Teach the receiver to get head and eyes around

to the ball as he turns. Many of the catches may

come with the receiver’s back turned slightly to

the passer, making it all the more important for

the tight end to get his head around quickly.

continued on next page



4. This drill will teach the tight end to snap his

head around to the QB when coming out of

pass routes.

5. Change the drill up by throwing over the right

and then the left shoulder.

6. Vary the drill by throwing the ball high and

low. Try painting the tips of the balls with dif-

ferent colors, then mixing up which one youthrow. Instruct your tight end to snap his head

around, look the ball into his hands and yell

out the color on the tip. This will greatly en-

hance his concentration. (See Diagram A)

Running With the Ball

The emphasis for tight ends can change everyday,

but the most important skill for this position is

learning how to hold onto the ball after the catch

has been made. There is nothing that hurts an

offense more than a fumble after a key reception.

Emphasize three points to the tight end. First, make

the catch; second, tuck the ball away, and then

become an aggressive runner downfield. Many

times, the big yardage is made after the catch.

Blaster Drill

To maximize the success of your tight ends run-

ning opportunities, try using the Blaster Drill. The

purpose of this drill is to teach your tight ends to

become effective runners after the catch is made and

to protect the ball. Equipment needed for this drill

include three or four footballs, three agile 1 dummiesand a blaster machine. If you don’t have a blaster

machine, use a gauntlet (six players with hand

dummies works fine).

1. Align the receivers in a single file line facing

the blaster/gauntlet 15 yards away.

2. The coach gives the cadence, starting the receiver

towards the blaster. The coach should stand 10

to 12 yards from the receiver.

3. The receiver looks the ball into his hands and

covers it up with both arms.

4. Emphasize covering the ball when expectingpressure and to run through the blaster/gauntlet

with the shoulders low and twisting and head

up.

5. After the receiver breaks through the blaster/

gauntlet, he will run over the three agile 1 pads

and then cut left or right off of a man holding a

hand shield, hustling to the back of the line.

6. The coach can change sides so that the receiver

makes catches running to his right and his left.

(See Diagram B)

Summary

By choosing the proper athlete and using some of

the drills and principles in this article, you can make

your tight end a multiple threat and a versatile part

of your offense—a blocker, a receiver, and a runner

after the catch. Like most successes on the grid-

iron, it comes down to hard work, repetitions and

intelligence.

Diagram A

TE

QB

TE TE TE TE

Diagram B

TE

QB

TE TE TE TE

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Eplay - Developing Tight Ends by by Paul Winters