This Super Bowl showdown between Travis Kelce of the Chiefs and George Kittle of the 49ers is a conflict of types.
It’s Kelce’s tight fade versus Kittle’s straggly, anyone-know-a-good-barber? look.
Kittle’s pregame routine contains meditation, visualization and a salt tub. Kelce spends three hours choosing what he’ll put on.
Kelce pulls up in a Rolls-Royce Ghost, whereas it’s a traditional Mustang for Kittle.
They are as totally different as Heath Ledger (Kittle has a tattoo of him) and Chris Farley (Kelce watches his films repeatedly).
Kelce is a Burger King Whopper type of man; Kittle goes for the orange rooster at Panda Express.
And there’s extra.
The opposing tight ends come from totally different branches of the identical tree.
Kelce, together with his confounding really feel for understanding soccer’s intersections of time and area, is the consultant of the receiving department.
Kittle, the hit man who offers defensive ends tastes of turf, comes from the blocking department, or maybe we should always name it the two-way department.
Appropriately, Kittle is the son of a one-time left sort out and offensive line coach. That is to not say he catches as if he’s sporting boxing gloves, nonetheless. He as soon as had 210 receiving yards in a recreation. Kittle led NFL tight ends in receiving yards this season — it was his third 1,000-yard season.
George Kittle goes for 58 yards!
: #BALvsSF on ABC
: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/pkwa8SXokx pic.twitter.com/XPez8PpqDD— NFL (@NFL) December 26, 2023
In 2018, he had 1,377 yards, which was probably the most by a good finish in NFL historical past. Two years later, Kelce outdid him by 39 yards. Since Kittle got here into the league in 2017, Kelce is the one tight finish with extra receiving yards.
Kelce has seven 1,000-yard receiving seasons — greater than any tight finish ever (he missed his eighth this season by 16 yards after sitting out the regular-season finale). In his profession, he has averaged 71.2 receiving yards per recreation — highest amongst all tight ends.
Without Kelce’s 11 catches for 116 yards in opposition to the Ravens within the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs usually are not in Las Vegas this week. And with out Kittle’s 1,020 receiving yards through the common season, the 49ers is likely to be sitting this one out, too.
More than a chance to purchase squares and dip wings, Super Bowl LVIII is a discussion board to contemplate Kittle, Kelce and their locations among the many biggest of tight ends.
Travis Kelce, left, has extra 1,000-yard seasons than any tight finish in NFL historical past, however George Kittle led the league’s tight ends in receiving yards this season. (Kevin Terrell / Associated Press)
Football’s first tight finish was imagined to be a linebacker.
At least that’s what many groups thought. But Bears coach George Halas, head scout George Allen and assistant coach Luke Johnsos noticed one thing in Mike Ditka that nobody else did. They chosen him and invented a brand new place, transferring him a number of yards from the offensive sort out on the road of scrimmage so he may have a two-way launch, inside or outdoors the urgent defender.
Ditka caught 56 passes for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaged 19.2 yards per catch and was named the league’s rookie of the yr. He wasn’t quick by right now’s tight finish requirements, however he may get open with physicality and was as troublesome to sort out as any participant ever. What’s extra, he set an ordinary for blocking.
“You had to watch him for 60 minutes because he’d take your head off,” Hall of Fame defensive finish Deacon Jones advised NFL Films.
“Ditka defined the position,” says Hall of Fame common supervisor Ron Wolf, who scouted Ditka in individual within the early Nineteen Sixties.
In the 1963 championship recreation, the Bears trailed the Giants 10-7 late within the third quarter and confronted a third-and-9 on the Giants’ 15 when Johnsos prompt Halas name “Ditka Special,” wherein Ditka ran a shallow crossing route. Ditka caught the move simply previous the road of scrimmage and took it to the Giants’ 1. The Bears scored the profitable landing on the subsequent play.
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That identical season, John Mackey made his debut for the Colts. For most of his time at Syracuse, Mackey was a fullback who blocked for Heisman winner Ernie Davis. But as a senior, he led his group in receiving. Colts coach Don Shula envisioned one other Ditka, and Mackey subsequently averaged 20.7 yards per reception as a rookie and have become the second nice tight finish.
“Mackey had a little more speed than Ditka,” says Dale Lindsey, who performed in opposition to each as a linebacker with the Browns and Saints and later coached within the NFL for 21 years. “In coverage, Mackey gave you more problems. But he wasn’t as physical as Mike was. In the running game, Mike was head and shoulders above everybody else — a tough, physical guy.”
In a transfer that will have momentous implications for the tight finish place, Steelers coach Chuck Noll employed former Georgia Tech coach Bud Carson as a defensive backs coach in 1972, then promoted him to defensive coordinator the next season. Carson introduced the Cover 2 protection to the NFL, which made the center of the sector susceptible to assault. Offensive minds seemed for methods to counter with gamers who may exploit the open areas within the zone protection.
Dave Casper had been an All-America offensive sort out at Notre Dame in 1972. The following yr, he was an All-America tight finish. Oakland Raiders proprietor Al Davis selected him within the second spherical in 1974 and helped Casper turn out to be a good finish who made legendary performs.
“They lined him up on the left side with Art Shell and Gene Upshaw and ran every play to the left,” says one-time NFL defensive again, Hall of Fame coach and NBC commentator Tony Dungy, who performed in opposition to Casper. “They didn’t care if you knew it. Dave became what everybody was looking for, a guy you could run behind on third-and-1 and also outrun a safety and make the catch to win the game.”
But the Steelers have been having a lot success with Carson’s Cover 2 that the NFL made a change in 1978 to attempt to assist offenses. The “Mel Blount rule” restricted contact between defenders and receivers to the 5-yard space simply past the road of scrimmage. Before 1978, defenders may jostle receivers all the way in which downfield with out penalty.
For offenses, this was seismic, and a chance for innovation.
At 6 foot 2 and possibly 215 kilos, Ozzie Newsome was an enormous broad receiver at Alabama. He wasn’t large enough to be a good finish in the way in which Ditka, Mackey and Casper have been, however Newsome may run and catch like few earlier than him or since. With the Browns, he turned a unique type of tight finish, and when Newsome retired 13 years later, he was the all-time-leading tight finish receiver.
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The yr after Newsome entered the league, San Diego Chargers coach Don Coryell and offensive coordinator Joe Gibbs have been searching for an explosive playmaker who may create matchup issues. They discovered one like no different once they drafted Kellen Winslow in 1979.
“Gibbs and Coryell said, ‘If I have that talent, why leave him at the tight end position?’” Dungy says. “‘I’ll move him and create mismatches.’ So Winslow did everything Ozzie did, but he lined up as a tight end, a wide receiver, in the backfield and in the slot. He was hardly ever asked to block.”
Winslow led the NFL in receptions twice and completed second and third in two different years.
“He was the first big, athletic guy who could run, jump, block,” says former Commanders coach Ron Rivera, who performed in opposition to Winslow as a Chicago linebacker. “And he had really good hands.”
Tony Gonzalez led a brand new wave of athletic tight ends within the Nineteen Nineties, a lot of them with basketball backgrounds. (Photo by Al Tielemans / Sports Illustrated by way of Getty Images)
After Winslow, the emphasis turned extra on versatility and fewer on physicality. In 1990, the Denver Broncos drafted a small-school broad receiver within the seventh spherical and made him a good finish. Shannon Sharpe turned a latter-day Newsome and was the primary tight finish to have 10,000 receiving yards.
Tight ends as much as that time received open principally with pace, measurement or scheming. Then got here a wave of gamers — Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham amongst them — who received open with savvy. Each of the aforementioned had a basketball background.
According to Tyler Dunne’s ebook, “The Blood and Guts: How Tight Ends Saved Football,” Gonzalez didn’t run routes like most. Instead of exploding out of his stance, he slow-played the defender till he received close to him, then created separation with a refined shove.
“That little split right there is all he needed,” former Jets and Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma stated. “He nudges you on the hip with the elbow and then he bursts full speed for an out route. Now it’s too late. There is nothing you can do.”
Gonzalez, who has the flashiest statistics of all of the tight ends, wished to be thought of a receiving tight finish and clashed with coaches who wished him to embrace the extra muscular points of his job.
Defenders typically thought that they had Gates smothered solely to see him make a catch. He had extra landing receptions than any tight finish and is seventh in landing catches amongst all gamers. Former NFL security Eric Weddle, who performed in opposition to Gates, Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski, Kelce and Kittle, says Gates was probably the most troublesome to cowl.
“Knowing how to position his body is what made him special,” Rivera says. “I think it came from his basketball background. For him, a catch was a rebound. He was the best underneath target I ever saw.”
Amid positional evolution, Gronkowski was a throwback — extra Ditka and Mackey than Gonzalez and Gates.
“The thing about Gronk was Gronk could also block like a tackle,” former teammate Julian Edelman stated in “The Blood and Guts.” “Nowadays, you’re getting tight ends who are just receiver tight ends. They don’t put their head in the mix. Gronk was an elite — an elite — blocker.”
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But Gronkowski was a particular weapon as a receiver, as nicely. He had 5 seasons scoring a minimum of 10 touchdowns, greater than any tight finish in historical past.
“He wasn’t going to run away from you or route you up,” Weddle says. “But he would create so much separation with his first two steps. You would be able to get back in phase with the next three, four steps because you’re faster. But then he would body you up. He was so big and had such a big wingspan. If the ball was anywhere close to him, he was catching it.”
Ditka, Mackey, Casper and Gronkowski led to Kittle.
Newsome, Winslow, Sharpe, Gonzalez and Gates led to Kelce.
Nine tight ends have been enshrined within the Pro Football Hall of Fame — Casper, Ditka, Gonzalez, Mackey, Newsome, Charlie Sanders, Sharpe, Jackie Smith and Winslow. Gates is a semifinalist in his first yr of eligibility and can seemingly be part of the others, as will the not-yet-eligible Gronkowski and Jason Witten.
In 2019, the NFL assembled a panel of dignitaries to call a a centesimal anniversary group. It included 5 tight ends — Ditka, Mackey, Winslow, Gonzalez and Gronkowski.
The Athletic printed “The Football 100” earlier than the 2023 season and included the identical 5 tight ends amongst its prime 100 gamers. Gronkowski ranked forty seventh, Mackey 57th, Gonzalez 81st, Winslow 82nd and Ditka 97th.
Most historians agree these are the 5 greatest tight ends, although the order of the 5 comes right down to which type is most well-liked. Whether Kelce or Kittle can crack the 5 stays to be seen.
In 1988, Ditka turned the primary tight finish inductee, which says one thing. Some who noticed Ditka and Mackey play stay satisfied the primary have been the most effective.
“The best tight end in the history of pro football is Mike Ditka,” Wolf says. “Right on his tail is John Mackey. These other guys are just guys compared to them. They wrote the book. I can’t believe anybody who’s watched Ditka play could think anyone was better.”
Ditka, maybe out of modesty, disagrees with Wolf.
“I don’t believe I was the greatest tight end,” he stated. “I think John Mackey was. He had more speed than me and was a little better receiver than me. I couldn’t do all the things he could, and he couldn’t do all the things I could. But we were probably two of the best in our time.”
Some — together with the panel that chosen “The Football 100” — favor Gronkowski. While he will be the beneficiary of recency bias and taking part in with Tom Brady, there isn’t a arguing that his impression was phenomenal.
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Gronkowski ran via many tackles. Similarly, Kittle’s enterprise card is yards after the catch. Since he got here into the league, he has led all tight ends with a median of seven.3 yards after the catch, in keeping with TruMedia.
“Kittle is like a rhinoceros when he’s running with the ball,” Weddle says. “I wouldn’t say he’s that hard to cover with his route running, but when he gets the ball in his hands, it’s a tall task to bring him down. That and the way he blocks separate him from everybody else in today’s game.”
Kittle has already been voted to 5 Pro Bowls. That pales subsequent to Gonzalez’s 14, however Kittle has performed solely seven seasons and will improve his legacy for a few years.
Gonzalez is the one tight finish elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the primary poll. Hall of Fame entrance workplace government Gil Brandt as soon as ranked Gonzalez the best tight finish ever for NFL.com.
Kelce is 34 years previous, has performed 11 seasons, has been voted to 9 Pro Bowls and has secured a spot among the many biggest. He already has extra postseason catches than any participant ever and Sunday he’ll tie Gronkowski for many postseason video games by a good finish with 22.
Kelce additionally has the very best profile of any tight finish in historical past. He leads the league in TV commercials, co-hosts one of the listened-to podcasts within the nation and canoodles with somebody with many extra downloads to her credit score.
Maybe he’s the fortunate one.
OH MY GOODNESS TRAVIS KELCE pic.twitter.com/b8W7hs0ih4
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 28, 2024
Kelce is harking back to Winslow in that each have been the beneficiaries of their circumstances. Winslow had two Hall of Fame coaches guiding him and a cutting-edge scheme. He had a Hall of Fame quarterback throwing to him and performed with three broad receivers who have been All-Pro at one time or one other.
Kelce performs for one of many biggest offensive minds and head coaches of his period, is thrown to by soccer’s greatest quarterback and lined up with one of many league’s greatest broad receivers till the 2022 season.
Kelce’s numbers dwarf Winslow’s partly as a result of his Chiefs, like all groups right now, are throwing the ball extra — a pattern for which Winslow’s groups have been partially accountable. But Kelce arguably has been extra vital to the Chiefs than Winslow was to the Chargers. In his profession, Winslow accounted for 18 % of his group’s receiving yards; Kelce has accounted for 25 %. Kelce has led the Chiefs in receiving yards six occasions, together with in 2023; Winslow led the Chargers simply as soon as.
Opponents checked out Winslow and thought, “How can I guard this guy?” They have a look at Kelce and say, “How does he make plays?” He’s not as bodily gifted or imposing as Winslow was, however he’s no much less efficient. Rivera says Kelce performs quicker and larger than anticipated.
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Kelce approaches his place with the understanding of a quarterback, which he believes he may very well be after taking part in the place in highschool and his early school days.
“He thinks like a quarterback, understanding the passing game and coverages,” Dungy says.
Route operating is his superpower.
“In how he changes speeds, manipulates defenders, stresses your leverage, I’d put him in a category with Keenan Allen as a receiver,” Weddle says. “He’s not a burner by any means, but he’s always open because of that. All the things that are challenging in route running, he has.”
Weddle and Dungy level out the Chiefs not often run to Kelce’s facet and depend on him to clear a path for a ball provider. So Kittle might help the 49ers win in additional methods. But Kelce could make extra large performs.
One of them nearly assuredly goes to do one thing that helps his group carry dwelling the Lombardi Trophy.
It can be a victory for one convention, one group and one type of tight finish.
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(Top photographs: Dustin Bradford / Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Images; Michael Zagaris / San Francisco 49ers / Getty Images)
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