Next season's Tight End Situation

I have been thinking lately about our tight end situation next year. When Clark comes back healthy, we are loaded with three great tight ends. How might we use all that firepower? Let's jump into it....

It was very difficult to overcome Dallas Clark landing on IR after that Redskins game. Or was it? Jacob Tamme stepped in and was immediately asked to produce. He didnt draw as much coverage as Dallas Clark would have. But, he did produce at a high level. I believe the expierience Tamme gained this season will prove to be extremely valuable in the future. I could definitely see packages where we put two recieving tight ends on the field at the same time. It is hard enough for defenses to figure out who to put on Clark. They typically have to jam him at the line with a linebacker and have a safety or nickel/dime corner help in coverage. And even then he still made plays. Now with the recent emergence of Jacob Tamme, we have two of those guys. We all know that Clark is clearly a superior player. I believe with the expierience Tamme gained this season will allow him to become a much better player than anyone ever thought he would be. Brody Eldrige, who many consider to be the best blocking tight end coming out of the 2010 draft, should have the first to second year jump. I expect to see some large improvements from him. If we can get all three of these guys rolling next season, that would help this offense in many ways. The run game should improve. Linebackers and defensive backs will be forced into coverage as opposed to just firing in gaps and taking our Running Backs down for a two yard loss. The passing game could be very scary. I think Eldrige will not only prove to be benificial in the running game, but he will also help in pass protection. We are going to have to account for Mario Williams twice a year. We cant put that all on CJ or any rookie Left or Right Tackle we may draft. We will need Eldrige to help with the load(and possibly Addai if we can re-sign him. I think that we will have a top three tight end corps next year. I know if we come out in two tight end sets, it may oftentimes be Clark and Eldrige, simply because you would usually want one guy who specializes in blocking and one in receiving. But if Tamme can improve his blocking skills and prove to be a threat in the run game at all, the play action in a two tight end set with Clark and Tamme out there will be an absolute nightmare for defenses to figure out. Not only will having three great tight ends help with the offense, but it will allow for one or two of these guys to help out on special teams, We need guys with great athleticism on special teams. If we can roll Tamme and Eldrige out there, this special teams unit will have been vastly improved. Another thing I am interested in seeing is some new gadget plays using our tight ends. I loved watching us run a reverse to Clark. When you can do things like that, it just gives defenses even more to think about. Put down your five OLinemen, Peyton in shotgun, Addai and Tamme split to his left/right, Wayne and Garcon on the outside, and move the dangerous Clark around in the slot, tight on the line or even out wide with Collie in the Slot. I really hope to see some of this next year. If we can get this OLine fixed and have some sort of decent run game, it will open up the world for these tight ends to completely take games over.