The missing piece
Eagles need to resign TE Ertz for postseason run
The Philadelphia Eagles have had a rough stretch, losing four of their last five games.
Their offense has turned the ball over way too much and has not looked as good as it should. Demoting your defensive coordinator, Sean Desai, and promoting Matt Patricia to defensive coordinator mid-season is not ideal. Jalen Hurts has not looked like the MVP-type player he looked like last year. A.J. Brown is very frustrated.
You could keep listing negative things about the Eagles this year, but let’s take a step back for a second. The sky isn’t falling, and oddly enough, the Eagles’ recent struggles should excite fans.
This team is not a finished product. They are still one of the best teams in the NFL, and they can be even better, which is encouraging. Will they reach their full potential? That is the million-dollar question, but I do know one thing they can do to help get to the top and win their second Super Bowl.
Sign tight end Zach Ertz.
Ertz is an Eagles legend. He has 579 career catches, 6,267 yards, and 38 touchdowns with the team. He will always be remembered for his go-ahead touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LII. He only needs 11 receptions to become the Eagles’ career reception leader, trailing only Harold Carmichael. All of this is well-known, but what isn’t talked about enough anymore is that Ertz is still a free agent.
The Arizona Cardinals released Ertz on Nov. 30. It was thought that Ertz would sign with a contender rather quickly, with the Eagles being one of those contenders. But here we are, in the last week of the regular season, and Ertz is still not on a team.
That needs to change, and the Eagles need to be the team to get a deal done with Ertz. Why? There are many reasons, but the main one is simple yet so complex: 12 personnel.
What is 12 personnel? It is when the offense has 1 running back and 2 tight ends on the field. Last season, when the Eagles made their run to the Super Bowl, they had zero turnovers when lined up in 12 personnel, according to FootballOutsiders.com.
Why else does 12 personnel matter so much? Because the opposing defense has to decide how it will defend you, and then you take advantage of that. The defense has a tough decision: Do they bring on an extra linebacker since you have two tight ends and try to stop the run? Or do they bring an extra defensive back to cover your two tight ends for a pass? That would allow the Eagles to throw the ball if the defense has the extra linebacker to stop the run or run the ball if the extra defensive back is on the field to stop the pass.
That is why adding Ertz would be so beneficial. Ertz is no longer an All-Pro type of tight end, but he has more than enough juice in the tank to give the Eagles a stronger 12 personnel. The offense would look as follows:
Ertz and Dallas Goedert at tight end. D’Andre Swift in the backfield at running back. Brown and DeVonta Smith at receiver. With Hurts leading the offense. That is a deadly offense and would keep defensive coordinators up at night. To make it worse for the defense, Hurts’ ability as a runner makes this offense even more dangerous. Lining up with two tight ends on the field that can both block and catch, a running back that can catch the ball out of the backfield or run between the tackles, two star wide receivers that can make big plays while catching the ball underneath, and a dangerous dual-threat quarterback might just be what the doctor ordered for the Eagles.
The Eagles have run the ball 68% of the time when they line up in 12 personnel, per Shane Haff of Bleeding Green Nation. That is just too high and a bad tendency. Adding Ertz gives them that weapon to line up in 12 personnel and throw the ball more. The closer Philadelphia can get that run-pass ratio to 50% in 12 personnel, the harder it will be for the defense to stop the Eagles.
Philly has lined up in 12 personnel less than 20% of their snaps this year. That is a far number off of their Super Bowl run when they lined up in 12 personnel 36% of their snaps, which led the NFL, according to Sharp Football. In their only win over the last five weeks, the Eagles ran 12 personnel 45% of the time, a season-high, to beat the Giants.
The analytics and numbers all make sense as to why adding Ertz is what the Eagles need to do, but let’s also remember what he would bring to the locker room. Those underdog Super Bowl vibes Ertz has experienced would be exactly what this locker room needs. There are reports that the Eagles aren’t having fun, so why not bring someone in that can remind them how fun it can be when you rally together to win it all.
Zach Ertz isn’t just a piece the Eagles need to add to their team; he is the missing piece.