Clash of the Tight Ends

Evolution plays a significant part in all sports. Look at any sport and you will find that the way it is played and/or the levels of performance will have changed in the last 20 years.  People are bigger, faster, fitter and stronger.  They eat better, train more effectively and have more developed techniques.  20 years ago the idea of somebody legally running 100m in 9.58 seconds was absurd.  The idea of the same person strolling the 200m in 19.19 seconds was even more fanciful.  This level of development is improving performances in all sports.

Sport has evolved in other ways too.  Equipment has improved vastly in recent years.  Golfers hit the ball further, tennis players serve the ball faster and cricketers can hit the ball harder. The classic pub debate regarding who would win between greats of the past and current heroes is largely pointless. Is Roger Federer better than Rod Laver?  No idea, but Federer's 1st serve would probably destroy Laver's wooden racket! And I'd like to see Cristiano Ronaldo dribble round 5 players with a 1950's football at his feet. He'd drop to the floor after the first contact and claim the ball had fouled him.

The other way that sport is evolved is regarding the rules and legislation.  A prime example of this is the back pass rule in football.  Before 1992, goalkeepers very rarely had to kick a moving ball and game could be killed by defenders and the goalkeeper just passing the ball between themselves.  Stopping the keeper picking the ball up put an end to this and led to a more open game.  It also led to lots of keepers embarrassing themselves with their lack of ball skills and coordination.  Unsurprisingly, my very own Gillingham led the way when it came to comedy interpretations of the new law  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiMfijJ7V9Q .
Nowadays, goalkeepers are very proficient when it comes to controlling and kicking a moving ball and there are very few comedy goals conceded in top level games.  Although a search on YouTube can lead to an amusing half hour of back pass hilarity.

This "horse collar" type tackle
is now outlawed

In the NFL, rule changes have been at the centre of the games evolution.  Quarterbacks have greater protection - leading to them passing the ball more, so players like Tom Brady and Drew Brees can break long standing passing records.  Equally, the rules surrounding tackling have been changed to protect players and make it harder for defenders to bring them down - leading to higher scoring matches.  Safety is the key issue regarding the rule changes and whilst that's not to everyone's liking, anything that can help prevent a few players having a premature end to their career can only be a good thing.

Probably the most rapidly evolving position in the NFL is that of the Tight End.  For detailed and very well written pieces on this topic can I point you towards the 2 blogs listed on the right hand side.  In short, the position of Tight End is a hybrid of a blocker and a receiver. In recent years, Tight Ends have become more focused on receiving.  Players like Antonio Gates and Anthony Gonzalez are effectively basketball players in NFL uniforms and can catch and run as well as most receivers, as well as being 240lbs!  The position has developed to the extent that last season Rob Gronkowski of the Patriots set a record for most Tight End touchdowns in a season with 17 and led the entire league in touchdown catches. Scoring as many on his own as the entire St Louis Rams team!  Across the league it is clear to see that a lot of the best teams have Tight Ends that play a large part in the passing offence, whilst many of the weaker teams have failed to find an effective player to fill the position.

I don't want to support a team that is being left behind in the Tight End revolution.  I want my team to move with the times, so I'm getting rid of the team with the worst production from their leading Tight End in 2011. Admittedly, this team may well acquire a top notch player before the next season, but I'm not in possession of a crystal ball so we'll have to go with last season's stats.
I'm basing the elimination on receiving yards gained by each teams leading Tight End:

1. T Gonzalez (Atl) 875

Tony Gonzalez

2. D Keller (NYJ) 815
3. B Celek (Phi) 811
4. B Pettigrew (Det) 777
5. J Finlay (GB) 767
6. J Cook (Ten) 759
7. O Daniels (Hou) 677
8. J Gresham (Cin) 596
9. G Olsen (Car) 540
10. V Shianchoe (Min) 409
11. S Chandler (Buf) 389
12. D Fells (Den) 256
13. Z Miller (Sea) 233

Not even an earthquake
can have Seattle

 It's goodbye to the Seattle Seahawks thanks to a lack of production from Tight End Zach Miller.  Miller ranked 41st overall in the position and many teams had 2 players with better stat lines than him.  Miller clearly wasn't helped by a run first offence and a limited QB in Tarvaris Jackson, but as I've said before, it's a team game, so Seattle have to pay the price.
Shame to lose Seattle as I quite like them. Marshawn Lynch is one of my favourite players and his earthquake causing 67 yard run versus the Saints is probably my favourite moment since I started watching the sport.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynn7VGY2Asc.

Which leaves me with just 12 teams to pick from.  Next time I'll be looking at Fantasy Football and the impact it has on our enjoyment of games.