Also, 2 TE offenses are a trend as this article I saw posted on GP from SI points out:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/Double-barreled
The new prototype tight end has become so effective in the passing game that many teams are using two at a time
By Nunyo Demasio
While Terrell Owens's signing caused the biggest off-season stir in Dallas, it wasn't the Cowboys' only intriguing personnel move. In April, they drafted Notre Dame tight end Anthony Fasano in the second round -- despite having a 24-year-old, two-time Pro Bowl player, Jason Witten, already manning the position. Far from a challenge to Witten, who averaged 63 receptions over his first three seasons, Fasano's drafting signaled a change in coach Bill Parcells's playbook. This year the Cowboys are joining roughly one third of NFL teams in employing two tight ends in their base offenses.
The alignment was in vogue in the 1990s, before three-receiver sets and spread formations became the offensive craze. But as defenses adjusted to that aerial attack, the two-tight-end set returned, with a twist: Increased athleticism at the position makes the alignment a more formidable weapon than before. "This hybrid position is not a traditional tight end," says Parcells, who is using Witten (6'5'', 265 pounds) and Fasano (6'4'', 258) together on about 80% of plays. "If you put just another slug tight end in there, an immovable guy, you're not creating an advantage."
The reemergence of the two-tight-end alignment can be attributed to 1) the versatility of the faster, stronger athletes playing the position; 2) the proliferation of 3-4 defenses, which are prone to having linebackers cover tight ends; and 3) the rise of the Cover 2 scheme, which is susceptible to mid-range passes underneath the safeties -- the tight end's bread and butter. Parcells prefers using a second tight end over a third wideout because he wants a tight end going against a smaller safety or, better yet, a slower linebacker, rather than a wideout against a nickelback. Even in long-yardage situations Dallas and other teams are using an extra tight end to create mismatches. "Unless you have a third wide receiver who is just so superior to the other team's additional defensive back," says Parcells, "another good tight end gives you an advantage in the matchups."
The two-tight-end formation has been part of the Colts offense since coordinator Tom Moore and quarterback Peyton Manning arrived in 1998. Now, with a trio of versatile tight ends in Dallas Clark (6'3", 252), Ben Utecht (6'6", 251) and Bryan Fletcher (6'5", 230) Indy uses the formation almost exclusively. Says Colts president Bill Polian, "When you flex out the athletic tight end, you put the defense in a bind: Does it come with a nickelback, who can be overpowered or blocked [on a run], or does it leave a linebacker on the field, which is really a disadvantage [in coverage]?" In San Francisco the 49ers had a prize tight end in Eric Johnson (6'3", 252), who had a team-high 82 catches for 825 yards in 2004 but missed last season with a torn right plantar fascia, and this year they drafted the highly athletic Vernon Davis (6'3", 253) in April. But instead of pitting the two against each other in a competition for the starting job, offensive coordinator Norv Turner is using them in tandem on roughly half of San Francisco's snaps. The Patriots, having lost wideouts Deion Branch and David Givens, now feature two first-round tight ends in their passing game: Daniel Graham, a superb blocker who's dangerous in the open field, and Ben Watson, a solid blocker and receiver who has sub-4.5 speed. "Because they've got guys who've been in the system," says Witten, "New England is probably the team that executes [the two-tight-end offense] the best."
Of course, it helps all teams that colleges are developing tight ends that fit the new prototype. "The college game is so much more pass-oriented than it ever was," says Parcells. "I would say it's a trend, but it's also the only cars they're selling these days."
