My love-hate relationship with the tight end position is all love these days. After years of trying to find the right tight end to be a big part of the offense, Belichick went out and found two.
His obsession with the position goes back to his days with the Giants and Mark Bavaro. And then Ben Coates in the '90s with the Pats. Those guys can spoil a coach. Belichick is so obsessed with the position that he just snagged tight end Jake Ballard off the waiver wire the other day. Ballard had ACL surgery and won't be putting on shoulder pads until next season. But he's a good one with Super Bowl experience. And it pisses off the Giants. Good move all around.
STARTERS
Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. There's not much to break down at the tight end position with the New England Patriots. Gronk and Hernandez are as dynamic a duo as you can find. Batman and Robin? More like the Hulk and Robin. Gronk set a record for most touchdowns (17) by a tight end last season and was rewarded with the biggest contract ever for a tight end. The Pats don't pay their players. Ya, right. It's unreasonable to expect Gronk to match his numbers from last year, but that won't make him any less a game changer. Hernandez is the anti-Gronk. He is shifty. Pretty much a slot receiver. He's almost impossible to cover sometimes and, unlike Gronk, still hasn't reached his peak. His use out of the backfield near the end of last season was something we should see more of in 2012.
BACK-UPS
When Gronk and Hernandez were rookies the Pats had veteran Alge Crumpler on the roster as mentor and motivator. It sure worked. I was disappointed when Coach Crump wasn't brought back last year but Belichick figured the two young players didn't need any more mentoring. Once again he was right. Daniel Fells and rookie Tyler Urban are currently the other tight ends on the roster. Belichick uses tight ends so much in the offense that a third one is actually needed. Right now that guy is Fells.
I love the tight end position.
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