Coaches are always looking to find that next great idea which will take their teams over the top. For Cal Bears head coach Jeff Tedford, that used to be grooming great quarterbacks to lead his team to big bowl games. That hasn’t been working out so well in recent years, however, so Tedford spent the offseason looking for something that would infuse some spark into his team. He found it on the other side of the country as he spent time with New England Patriots‘ head coach Bill Belichick learning about the Pats’ use of multiple tight end sets.
Last season, the Patriots went all the way to the Super Bowl on the strength of their second-ranked passing attack. That passing attack was keyed by the use of offensive packages that had multiple tight ends on the field at the same time. They created matchup nightmares for opposing defenses as the athleticism of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez proved a difficult combination to crack. The two tight ends finished second and third, respectively, on the team in catches and yards, with Gronkowski leading the team by far in touchdown catches with 17.
As the old coaching adage goes, “If it works, steal it,” so Tedford flew east to learn the ins and outs of that offensive system and has brought it back to Berkeley to add some pop to the Bears’ offense. Expect to see a lot more “12″ personnel packages take the field in Memorial Stadium this year with both Richard Rodgers and Spencer Hagan on the field in double tight-end formations. Rodgers was one of only three freshman in 2011 to appear in all 13 games for the Bears (mainly on special teams) and is listed as the No. 1 TE on the Bears’ post-spring depth chart. Hagan will be making the transition to tight end after spending his first two seasons with Cal as a wide receiver where he was routinely in the rotation, getting on the field in 25 games his freshman and sophomore years. He worked out as a tight end in the spring, and came into fall camp as the No. 2 TE on the depth chart.
Much of the success of this “12″ personnel package rests on Hagan’s ability to transition from wide receiver to tight end. At 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, Hagan has the size and athleticism to make the move. The question will be how physical he can be on the line of scrimmage going up against defensive ends and linebackers in run and pass blocking, something that he didn’t have to worry about when lining up out wide. That will largely be a question of his desire to mix it up, which will be tested whenever he’s asked to do the less glamorous duties of a tight end.
If it works, the double tight formations will be a huge boost to Cal’s offensive effectiveness. Both Rodgers and Hagan are big and athletic targets, which will create matchup problems for defenses when left one-on-one with a linebacker. That will force safeties to stay in the middle of the field and support against the tight end tandem. That will open up the field for Keenan Allen on the outside while limiting how much is asked of the rest of the young and inexperienced Bears wide receiving corps. Expect to see plenty of passes caught by tight ends this season as Tedford tries to crank up the offense for the Bears in 2012.
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