Tight Ends dominate playoff games

Without sounding too much like I’m dancing on a man’s grave, I’d like to reiterate “good riddance, Mike Martz”.  As we watch tight ends dominating these playoff games, I realize I may have missed a point in my “good things/bad things” column.  I did mention that we will utilize our TE’s more in the passing game but I didn’t note, for those who are unaware, that Mike Tice himself was a TE in the NFL for 14 years (after playing quarterback in college at Maryland).  While he was mainly utilized in blocking situations, he certainly understands how the position can be utilized in the passing game.  If nothing else, I’m sure we can all agree that it will be nice to see Jay Cutler throw the ball to someone over 6 feet tall (who isn’t named Roy Williams).

Let me expand on this point with an explanation on how these tight ends provide such mismatches and where Martz’ logic was wrong.  First, let me recall an interview with Martz when he first got hired by the Bears.  He was asked why he doesn’t take advantage of the mismatch a tight end has over a linebacker or safety in coverage.  He said, “might as well just put a wide receiver out there.”  Sounds good, doesn’t it?  I mean, if Greg Olsen would be a mismatch on a defender, imagine the mismatch Devin Hester’s speed would cause.  Problem is, NFL teams track what type of personnel is on the field.  For example, you know there will be 1 QB and 5 linemen.  That leaves 5 other players.  RB’s, TE’s and WR’s will comprise those 5 spots.  The problem with Martz’ plan is that someone on the opposing sideline knows what combination of positions you have on the field and they’re adjusting their personnel to that. 

To illustrate my point, imagine the Bears have 1 RB and 2 TE’s in the game (this is called 12 personnel – the first digit in 12 is one, which stands for the number of RB’s and the second digit is a 2 which stands for the number of TE’s).  Since RB’s, TE’s and WR’s account for 5 players, we know that there will be 2 WR’s in this personnel grouping.  So let’s say we run a play and then Martz decides to try out his theory.  He substitutes out his 2 TE’s and puts in WR’s instead.  The opposition tracks the TE’s leaving the field and sees the WR’s coming on and will then sub in an additional defensive back or two, moving to a nickel or dime defensive look.  So now the mismatch that you had, with a tight end on a linebacker, has turned into a normal matchup with a WR on a corner.  That’s the real value of a tight end.  The defense has no idea if you’re going to run the ball or throw it.  You could do either.  Remaining unpredictable is one of the most important objectives as a playcaller.  It’s too bad Mike Martz doesn’t realize this.  If he did, we just might’ve been watching Greg Olsen dominating games this weekend like these other tight ends.