Tight end alignment
What it is
Whether the tight end is attached to the line, off the ball as a wing, or detached as a receiver — which changes both his eligibility and the gap structure.
Why it matters
An attached tight end creates a new gap and makes the man outside him ineligible; a wing off the ball can block down or release cleanly without a defender's hands on him; a detached tight end is a receiver with a linebacker on him. Defensive fits change with all three, so tight end alignment is the offense's cheapest way to make a defense re-declare after it has already set the front.
Also called
Programs call this Y, wing, flex, attached, detached or H-back. The Coach answers to any of them.
See it on the field
A corner with no receiver to cover, and what a split-field call does about it. The alignment comes from the engine’s own front resolver against real offensive splits, so it is a picture the simulator genuinely produces — not a diagram drawn to make a point.
Nub side — a tight end with nobody outside himRelated
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