The Lions Two Tight End Tango

In 2008 the Wildcat was the trendy "new" offensive formation in the NFL. When Miami used it to rout New England in week three in Foxborough, that upset created a mad scramble among other teams to add a version of the Wildcat to their playbooks.

However, beginning in 2009, calmer, more focused teams began to rediscover the two tight end set, which has been around a lot longer in the NFL than the Wildcat and has been consistently more productive, especially against 3-4 defenses.

Joe Gibbs is generally credited with developing the two tight end set and creating the H-back (a hybrid fullback/tight end) in Washington in the early 80s, although Bill Billichick claims to have invented it while he was an assistant coach for the Lions in 1977.

Two tight end sets create matchup nightmares for defenses.

As receivers, TEs are generally faster than LBs and much bigger than CBs and safties. They make excellent short and midrange rout targets and great safety valve pass outlets.

Last season, eight tight ends in the league had more receptions than Calvin Johnson, the Lions leading WR. The top three TEs in the league racked up more total yards than Johnson did.

Thirteen TEs scored as many or more touchdowns than Calvin and three of them more than doubled his TD count.

TEs can provide vital extra protection for QBs. Depending on the play, two tight ends can give you the equivalent of having four OTs and can neutralize speedy edge rushers and the blitz.

By going in motion TEs can confuse the defense about the direction of the play. They can work back inside to block on delays or draws. They can be used to block at the point of attack and create opportunities for plays that involve pulling tackles. They can help sell pass action and open gaping lanes for RBs.

As John Niyo pointed out in a recent article in the Detroit News, a record 21 tight ends were selected in this years's draft, with nine going in the first four rounds and four teams---Baltimore, Houston, New England and St. Louis---actually drafting two.

Good tight ends are clearly a valuable commodity.

Having two good tight ends and utilizing them effectively on the field at the same time opens up a whole new world of possibilities for an offensive coordinator and a quarterback.

Scott Linehan, the Lions OC, is on record saying that he plans on using a lot of two tight end sets this season. There has even been some speculation that the Lions may use multiple tight end sets as their base formation.

With Brandon Pettigrew (who caught the heroic pass from Matt Stafford in a crowded endzone with no time left to beat Cleveland last season), Will Heller, and now Tony Scheffler, Detroit certainly has the talent to do so.

Linehan on Scheffler:

"You have to treat him like a wide receiver when you flex him out wide or even from a tight end spot...I'm real excited about adding him because he changes the game. He's a matchup problem for the defense, he's a guy that puts points on the scoreboard and he's a great target for a great quarterback."

Gunther Cunningham, Detroit's DC:

"Those kind of guys scare me, and I coached against Scheffler for a few years when I was with Kansas City, and I told Scott it was so tough for us to differentiate whether he was a tight end or a wide receiver."

Matt Stafford on utilizing two tight end sets:

"It just makes defenses declare what they're going to do.

If they're going to play nickel against you, then you're going to run the football.

If they play base (defense), then you've got good matchups with your tight ends and you can go to the passing game to expose it.

If you've got guys that are athletic enough to block and run and catch, then it puts defenses in a bind as to what kind of personnel they're going to put on the field."

As a longtime Lions fan, I can't wait to see Pettigrew and Scheffler on the field at the same time this fall, with Calvin Johnson split out to one side and Nate Burleson split to the other, Jahvid Best in the backfield and Matt Stafford under center.

How about you?