Opponents Hope Philadelphia Eagles, Chip Kelly Misuse Zach Ertz Again

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was his opponent’s best friend at times last season. He ran his defense into the ground against teams with great defenses that could match Kelly’s up-tempo spread offense by possessing the ball on average six less minutes per game. Chip’s quarterbacks running his offensive scheme gifted opponents with the league worst 21 interceptions thrown and his team tied for the league worst 15 fumbles for the highest amount of turnovers in the NFL. Finally, Kelly was generous to his enemies by keeping tight end Zach Ertz, who is one of his best offensive weapons in my opinion, on the bench for 50% of the offensive plays. Opponents hope that Philadelphia Eagles Chip Kelly misuses Zach Ertz again in 2015.

Eagles /

Eagles

Zach Ertz is a special player. Don’t believe me; try this on for size. As Philly News reporter Jeff McLane writes in this great article; only active tight ends Rob Gronkowski (1,873), Jimmy Graham (1,866), Antonio Gates (1,353), and Jason Witten (1,327) had more receiving yards than Ertz’s 1,171 in their first two years. That’s impressive company, and each of those players participated in more snaps than Ertz. Need more? McLane points out again that in 2014, only Rob Gronkowski (1.36) and Travis Kelce (1.29) had more yards per play receiving than Ertz had at 1.20. What the stats alone say to me is that in spite of the fact that Ertz was used only half the time, he ranks amongst the league’s best tight ends. Zach makes the most of the playing time he’s given.

Stats are one thing, but I also trust my eyes, and my eyes tell me that Ertz has prototypical size to play the tight end position registering over 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing more than 250 pounds; which also makes Zach an ideal red zone target. I believe he is a superior route runner, pass catcher, and excels in arguably one of the most complex offensive schemes in the league devised by Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. Ertz also has deceptive speed and he usually finds a way to get open using his size and strength.

The reason the Eagles give for underutilizing Zach last year was that he was an inconsistent blocker, and most folks point to his performance against the San Francisco 49ers as “Exhibit A” for his shortcomings. But, guess what, the whole team struggled against the Niners! Don’t believe me that Ertz is a good blocker? Go back as far as 2013 and you’ll see that during the second quarter of the Arizona versus Eagles game, Philadelphia ran a short screen play to their former wide receiver DeSean Jackson. Jackson motioned left, then shuffled right and grabbed the pass along the line of scrimmage taking it for a 14-yard gain up the sideline.

The running lane that Celek and Ertz created for Jackson during that play was big enough to drive a Mac truck through because their blocking was executed flawlessly. This is just one example of a good play Ertz had, and he has numerous other outstanding blocks throughout his career. Further aggravating Eagles fans on Kelly’s keeping Ertz out of the game was that Philadelphia struggled mightily to score in the red zone. Zach is an ideal red zone target and keeping him on the bench in key scoring situations was exactly what opponents wanted.

Still not convinced that Ertz was misused on the field? Let’s talk about the 24 year old’s character for a moment. Zach never once complained about playing time or red zone targets. In fact he regularly praises his fellow tight end Brent Celek and took it to heart that his coaches consider him a blocking liability. Ertz began working out this offseason with coaching great Hudson Houck who coached arguably the best offensive lines in NFL history for the Dallas Cowboys during their 90’s Super Bowl wins.

Zach Ertz riding the bench for 50% of plays, getting less targets than wide receivers Jeremy Maclin, Jordan Matthews, and Riley Cooper, and being mislabeled as a “poor blocker” are all music to Eagles’ opponents ears. Tony Gonzalez was never a great blocker, but his coaches knew he was a special player and regularly put him in a position to succeed by leveraging his pass catching ability. Kelly needs to do the same with Ertz by flanking him out wide or motioning him. I’m not claiming Ertz is a first ballot Hall of Fame worthy tight end like Gonzalez, but if he is used properly he could make a strong case many years from now.

Next: Philadelphia Eagles 7-Round Mock Draft: Trade for Mariota?

More from Inside the Iggles

Home/Eagles News