Tight Ends

This year's tight ends will likely be very much the same as last year, but with one change. Whether or not Anelli or Massaquoi wins the final TE spot is still up in the air. Smith, Becht, and Moore will be the other three. Last year the Bucs found a nice surprise in Smith, who came on the scene rather quickly with a couple of TD passes in the Bucs opener against the Vikings. By the time the season was over, it was obvious that Smith was becoming a top tier receiving threat at the position. The only thing that was a little lacking was his run blocking which improved as the season went on to a point that it was average by year's end. This off-season he's worked hard to improve that phase of the game while continuing to learn the nuances of the offense. If he continues to improve, it could end the season as one of the top 5 all-around tight ends in this league. But that will depend a lot on how much he can improve the run blocking.

Speaking of run blocking, Becht, whose best skills are in this area, has done the same as Smith; work his weakness during the off-season. Becht has worked hard on improving his flexibility and quickness, while working on his hands. So far it seems like he's improved some, but we'll have to wait for some real action to see for ourselves if he can become more a of receiving threat to help balance out the tight ends. Dave Moore returns as basically the third or fourth string tight end and primary long snapper. Moore can still catch the ball and play well, but he's not as quick as he used to be, so he's not an intermediate or deep threat. An occasional 3rd and less than 5 catch for a first will likely be his forte', if he sees the field as a tight end this year.

The Bucs are a little thin at Tight End, but Smith and Becht appear to be guys that can stay healthy. In an emergency, Maurice Stovall may be able to slip in to play the position, as he is learning how to play the tight end spot on the side. He's got enough size to play the spot, but not enough to hold up in single blocking against larger defensive linemen. Assuming Smith and Becht stay healthy, they will add the firepower to go with the running backs and receivers, allowing the Bucs to credibly attack the defense at all levels. In reality, this may be the best set of skill players the Bucs have fielded in the franchise's entire history. That's not an exaggeration, either. They finally have all the weapons in place for Gruden. Now he just needs a signal caller that can get the job done.