The tight end is the [jack of all trades] of an [American football] [offense]. He is expected to block like an [offensive lineman] and run passing routes like a [wide receiver].

Of course, no tight end is quite as fast as a wideout or quite as strong as a [guard]. But he can do both pretty well, which makes life difficult for the [defense], because on any given play it's hard to guess what exactly the tight end will do.

The tight end gets its name not from his [snug] [spandex] pants but from its position on the [line of scrimmage]. A tight end will usually start a play right next to one of the offensive tackles in a [three-point stance]. In this way he is an "end" because he's on the end of the offensive line, but he is a "tight end" because he is snug against the blockers. His opposite is the "[split end]," which is a [glorified name] for a wide receiver.

Here's a lovely diagram. Defense is on the top.


           FS         SS

             LB  LB  LB
CB         DE DT  DT  DE          CB
                 *
SE         OT OG C OG OT TE       
                 Q                FL
              RB    FB

If you split an offensive into a right side and a left side, you'll see that in this diagram the tight end is on the right side. This is known as the [strong side], because the offense has more blockers here if they choose to use a running play; the other half is the [weak side]. Oftentimes one of the LB's will cheat towards the tight end and may even go on the line of scrimmage.

On the other hand, the offense could use a passing play, in which case the tight end will either run a [pattern] or stay behind to help [block]. (Likewise, the running back and fullback can either run patterns or block.) If the tight end goes out for a passing play, he'll be covered by a linebacker or perhaps the strong safety.

The best tight ends are fast enough to out-run the linebackers and strong enough to block a defensive end. [Tony Gonzalez], [Shannon Sharpe], and [Jeremy Shockey] are three current [NFL] tight ends who are pretty good blockers and excellent receivers. Sharpe is the safest bet to make the [Pro Football Hall of Fame]; the people he would join are, in alphabetical order: [Dave Casper], [Todd Christiansen], [Mike Ditka], [John Mackey], [Ozzie Newsome], [Charlie Sanders], [Jackie Smith], and [Kellen Winslow]. Newsome and Winslow were the best receivers of the lot; the best all-around tight end was probably the gigantic Mackey. Of course, I wouldn't say that to Ditka's face ...

Thanks to [discofever] for reminding me of Sharpe's existence.

Tight end