100 Years of NFL: The Tight Ends Quiz

Answer: New England Patriots

Robert James Gronkowski played his short but exciting nine-season career on the New England Patriots. Certainly playing with Tom Brady as your quarterback can elevate anybody's game, however, Gronk arguably made the position of tight end pop with flair and pizzazz with his amazing abilities of blocking and receiving.

Rob Gronkowski was the first ever tight end to lead the league in receiving touchdowns (17 in 2011). He was also the first tight end to surpass 1000 yeards in a season (1327, also in 2011). He was elected to the Pro Bowl five times, and won the Super Bowl three times. When he retired, he held too many records to name. Even though I don't like the Patriots, I have to admit, Rob Gronkowski was one of the greatest tight ends to ever play the game.

*** Seeing how Gronk came out of retirement to join the Bucs, this entry will be adjusted after he re-retires ***

Answer: Sterling

Shannon Sharpe had an amazing 14-season career, two with the Baltimore Ravens and the rest with the Denver Broncos. A hall-of-famer, 3-time Super Bowl champion, 8-time Pro Bowl selection, he was most proud of the fact that he was Sterling Sharpe's little brother.

In fact, when he won his first Super Bowl in 1998 with the Broncos, Shannon gifted his ring to Sterling citing the fact that he owed everything in his life to his older brother and his grandmother. Sadly, Sterling's great career was cut short due to an injury and he never got to win a Super Bowl.

Answer: Knee injury

Charlie Sanders was a great tight end playing all ten of his seasons as a Detroit Lion. In his rookie season, he was chosen for the Pro Bowl, and he would be chosen another six times throughout the rest of his career. A receiver with reliable hands, Sanders was also a superb run-blocker. In the voting for the 1970 and 1971 All-Pro teams, not only was Sanders chosen, but he had the most votes over all other players.

Sanders, playing in an preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons in 1976, got a knee injury that would end his career in the pros. He switched to radio broadcasting, tried his hand at coaching, and eventually returned to broadcasting. He returned to the Lions as an assistant personnel director and passed away at age 68 from cancer, a tumor found, ironically, in his knee, the same knee that had ended his career.

He had nine kids with his wife, Georgianna, who he married three times; the last time was six days before his passing.

Answer: Iron Mike

"Iron" Mike Ditka was one of the first tight ends in professional football that was both a passing threat as well as an offensive lineman. He said that he earned his nickname because he came from a steel town in Pennsylvania, however, his impact on the team and the intensity with which he played also showed the steel in his character.

Mike Ditka won Rookie of the Year in 1961, Super Bowl VI, was named to the Pro Bowl five times and was the first ever tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

As a coach, Mike Ditka was hired to rejoin his beloved Chicago Bears. His 1985 Chicago Bear team was one win from bettering the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the greatest team of all time. He also had three seasons as the coach of the New Orleans Saints that did not go so well.

Answer: Cleveland Browns

Drafted from 'Bama to the Browns in 1978, Ozzie Newsome spent his entire career with the team, and when he retired from active football after the 1990 season, he moved to the executive side for the same team. When the team relocated (as an expansion team) to Baltimore, Ozzie Newsome stayed with the team. He became the very first African-American General Manager in the NFL.

As a tight end, Ozzie Newsome set many records for the Cleveland Browns. Not only did he have an amazing rookie year but he also was named the Browns' Offensive Player of the Year. He was an incredible receiver and was a favourite target for QB Paul McDonald in his amazing 1984 season. He was picked to start in the Pro Bowl three times but never won the Super Bowl as a player.

Answer: San Francisco 49ers

As with all of "The Catch"es, the throwing team was the San Francisco 49ers. Vernon Davis was the starting tight end for the 49ers, and, in the Divisional Round against the surging New Orleans Saints led by Drew Brees, the Niners found themselves down by four points with 1:37 left to play. A 47-yard pass to Davis, another reception by Frank Gore gave the 49ers third down on the 14-yard line and only 14 seconds to go. Alex Smith called for the "Vernon Post" and Davis hauled it in despite good coverage by Saints safety Roman Harper. The 49ers won the game and went on to face the Giants in the NFC championship game.

Vernon Davis had a stellar career with the 49ers, at one point becoming the highest-paid tight end in the game. He was traded in 2015 to the Denver Broncos and won the Super Bowl with them. He then signed with the Washington Redskins, his hometown team, and played four seasons for them.

Answer: The Ghost to the Post

Dave "the Ghost" Casper was a formidable tight end who played with the Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, and finally, again for the Raiders, though this time in Los Angeles. His receiving skills were solid, especially when paired with quarterback Ken Stabler, and was elected to five Pro Bowls as four All-Pro teams. He won one Super Bowl with the Raiders and in that Super Bowl he was the first Raider to catch a touchdown.

One of the most memorable plays for Dave Casper was in the 1977 Divisional Championship game against the Baltimore Colts. With 2:17 remaining on the clock and the Raiders losing 31-28, a pass play was called. QB Stabler was supposed to throw to the wide receivers, but was told to "take a peek at the Ghost to the post" referring to Dave Casper's nickname. Coach Madden later stated that Casper's role in the play was to draw the safeties away deep, but, the safeties had been playing close to the line of scrimmage on the play.

Stabler threw the pass way over and well behind Dave Casper. Only his ability to read the throw allowed him to change direction and catch the pass over the shoulder to set up the game-tying field goal and to send the game to overtime. In overtime, it was Casper's touchdown that ended the game.

Answer: Most consecutive starts

Tony Gonzalez was everything a tight end should be. He was a stellar receiver, a brick wall when it came to blocking, and he got most of his great offensive stats on a Chiefs team that was consistently at the bottom of the standings. In 2009, Gonzales was traded to the Atlanta Falcons and was able to make a good team better.

Tony Gonzales retired after the 2013 season with the most TD receptions as a tight end, 2nd-most career receptions at any position, behind Jerry Rice, in a tie for most Pro Bowl selections with 14, and, had the 2nd-most consecutive starts as a tight end. He held many franchise records for the Chiefs as well. Despite his accolades, Gonzalez never got to win a Super Bowl, unfortunately. Nevertheless, many people consider Tony Gonzalez to be the best tight end, ever.

Answer: 0

Ron Kramer was an amazing athlete in high school and in college, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1957. He played for the Packers in '57, '59, and '60 (missing the '58 season due to a tour with the US Air Force) without much success. In 1961, coach Vince Lombardi moved Ron Kramer to play tight end, and, like magic, all of a sudden everything seemed to click.

Lombardi turned around a struggling franchise into winners, and this was due to a play called the "Packers Sweep", of which Rom Kramer was a key blocker for. Opposing defences had a difficult time blocking the run, especially with Ron Kramer as the offence's lead blocker. Kramer was also a reliable receiver and had several good seasons getting key yardage.

While Kramer and the Packers won some NFL championships, the Super Bowl wasn't played until the 1966 season. At that time, Kramer was playing with the Detroit Lions. He retired after the 1967 season. Nevertheless, Ron Kramer was one of the first successful tight ends.

Answer: He didn't

As one of the best tight ends to ever play the game, you might be surprised to find out that Antonio Gates did not play college football. He did, however, play college basketball, but was deemed to be too much of a "tweener" (skill-set matching no defined position in basketball, rather, he was in between positions) to be drafted into the NBA. He then decided to showcase his skills to NFL scouts, and apparently had nineteen different tryouts scheduled. His first tryout was with the San Diego Chargers who signed him on the spot.

Gates, while having a relatively slow start to his 2003 rookie season, finally got into a rhythm towards the end of it having moved up from third string to starter. His 2004 sophomore season saw him hook up with QB Drew Brees often and well. When Brees left for the Saints, Gates found a new rhythm with QB Phil Rivers.

Antonio Gates had a stellar career and was a role model for all tight ends to follow. He was voted in for eight straight Pro Bowls, he was only the ninth player, and only the second tight end, to catch 100 receiving touchdowns in a career, and hold several records for the Chargers franchise.