Tight ends for tight situations

If there was one play in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game that typified the unpredictability of the ' offense, it was a pass Peyton Manning completed on second-and-10 from his own 31-yard line to the New England Patriots' 37.The receiver lobbied for it in the huddle, then lost his defender with a quick Jets 6 Sanchez Jersey
move to the outside -- just as he'd promised. Manning found him on the left sideline, and the Colts knew they probably had at least a tying field goal.What's interesting is, the receiver wasn't Marvin Harrison or Reggie Wayne, the two wideouts everyone mentions in the same breath as Manning. It was Bryan Fletcher, a second-year pro and the third-string tight end.You know about tight ends -- tall, hulking guys who probably played basketball in high school and have the heft to block even defensive linemen when necessary. When they catch the ball, it's usually when the quarterback has exhausted all his other options. They are his life-line, the final read as the alternatives blur through the QB's racing mind like pictures of fruit on a slot machine.Tight ends become important in the red zone, because they are large targets. Generally speaking, they don't go streaking down the sideline.Except in Indianapolis, where starter Dallas Clark and backups Ben Utecht and Fletcher all have more than a 10-yard average per catch. Clark snagged 30 passes for 367 yards in 2006, Utecht had 37 catches for 377 yards and Fletcher's numbers were 18 grabs for 202 yards. By contrast, Desmond Clark of the Chicago Bears had a Monster of the Midway year with 45 catches, 626 yards and six touchdowns, but reserves John Gilmore and Gabe Reid contributed very little to the offense.As defenses pay more attention to Harrison and Wayne, Clark has emerged as Manning's favorite and most effective receiver in the postseason. The 6-foot-3, 254-pound University of Iowa grad caught nine passes in the playoff opener against Kansas City, six of them for first downs. Held to two catches by Baltimore, he made both of them count for over 20 yards, setting up two of Adam Vinatieri's five field goals. And then, in the conference title game, his six catches covered 137 yards.Over the past two years, all tight ends in the NFL have been compared to San Diego's Antonio Gates. But since returning from four weeks of injury downtime, Clark has looked more like Gates than Gates.His right knee injury against Philadelphia on Nov. 26 was first thought to be a torn ACL. But team doctors advised rest rather than season-ending surgery, and the knee came around in time for Clark to retake the field for the last regular-season game.This is a guy you've got to love, a small town boy (Fort Dodge, Iowa) who walked on at the University of Iowa as a linebacker. A couple of days after the Colts' 38-34 victory put them in the Super Bowl, Clark made a call to his old high school -- Twin River Valley -- and talked to the assembled student body over the PA system. He told them he was having the time of his life.What makes Clark different from the league's other marquee tight ends -- Gates and Tony Gonzalez -- is that he is only the No. 3 receiver. But while he has the size and the gumption to block effectively, he's also fast enough to be a slot receiver or even split out as a third wideout.The Bears, we keep hearing, never blitz. So if Clark doesn't have to stay home to keep unexpected flying bodies from colliding with Manning, he'll be free to ply the middle of the field -- where he'll probably be defended by another small-town hero, Chicago 4 Brett Favre White jersey
LB Brian Urlacher.Meanwhile, Fletcher and Utecht are also frequent targets for Manning, who's likely to throw to anyone who's legal. Utecht is more of a possession receiver, but Fletcher -- light for a TE at 230 pounds -- can go deep.He proved that two weeks ago.Original Super Bowl insight