The decision to not only use Fleming as a tight end in their goal line package, but to run behind him on each play seems to indicate that New England has found something in Fleming in terms of his run blocking, and they will likely continue to run behind him with success. In his Wednesday press conference, head coach Bill Belichick addressed the
concept of a tackle as tight end:
“I’d say the main issue you get into would just be the commitment you make to it. Putting an offensive lineman in for a tight end, I would say you’re going to get less of a defensive adjustment, normally. [Y]ou’d get less of a defensive adjustment because the spacing is still the same, it’s just who is that guy? It’s a lineman instead of a tight end, but if it was a blocking tight end or lineman, how much difference is there? I’d say there’s a smaller degree of grade of adjustment for the defense. Once you flip a lineman over, now you’ve totally changed the defensive spacing. What was a three-man surface is now a four-man surface. What was now a three-man surface is now a two-man surface. That creates some fundamental blocking angles potentially for the offense.”
