Nick Piccone
We mentioned a little bit earlier about Marcus Smith sustaining a concussion during practice today. Zach Ertz was also evaluated for a head injury, but he was cleared by team doctors. But that doesn’t mean he’s okay with how defensive players have been hitting low in practice so far. [Philly Mag]
Zach Ertz, who was also evaluated for a head injury, was cleared, but he said he was “not happy” with how some of his teammates have approached the hitting periods. Ertz was hit low by Blake Countess today and by Rodney McLeod two days ago, while Matthews was hit low by Jalen Mills when he suffered his injury.
“Guys gotta be pros. Rookies coming in, they don’t know what the atmosphere is like, the respect that’s given in practice,” Ertz said. “I think it needs to be addressed, but it is what it is. It’s live football, so that situation is in the game. We got to get ready for it. Obviously, Jordan and I getting hurt today, you don’t want to see that.”
I guess there won’t be any less room for complaining now that Chip Kelly is gone. Some players hated his practices, and they rarely ever hit. A lot of the injuries that occurred during Chip’s tenure here seemed to be more non-contact than anything. Now with the Eagles tackling during these practices, some of these players aren’t used to that, whether it’s low or high. And Ertz was clearly unhappy about the low hitting.
If Ertz wants to assume some leadership on the offensive side of the ball now that he’s locked up through 2021, maybe he can be the one to address it. And maybe the defense will tune him out.
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I love this, though, courtesy of Les Bowen:
Professional Twitter tough guys blasting Ertz for disliking low hits would burn talk radio down if Ertz, Matthews blew out knees in practice
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) August 5, 2016
Ertz was hit low, according to Bowen, by Blake Countess. Ertz shook his head at Countess, which is why he was apparently asked to undergo the concussion testing.
Ertz did not like the hit. In fact, his theory was that he was asked to undergo concussion testing because a practice-field “concussion spotter” saw him shake his head at Countess; Ertz said he was indicating disapproval, not trying to regain his senses after slamming into the ground.
“I don’t think Jalen and Blake should have gone low. It needs to be addressed, but it is what it is,” Ertz said. “It’s live football, so if that situation (occurs) in a game, we’ve got to get ready for it, but obviously, with Jordan and I getting hurt today, you don’t want to see that.”
Asked what he thinks about tackling in practice, Ertz, 6-5, 250, said: “It is what it is. Honestly, I can’t do much about it. I’m a lot bigger than a lot of these DBs. usually it’s their only means to get us down.”
Will Ertz have a word with Countess, a 5-10, 184-pound sixth-round pick from Auburn?
“I don’t need to talk to him about it,” Ertz said. “Heat of the moment, the guy’s trying to make the team, all of us are trying to make the team.”
Ertz said McLeod told him after the hit earlier in the week that he didn’t really mean to go low. Ertz said he knew where McLeod was on the play and was able to prepare for being upended, which he said was not the case Friday.
“That’s really on me,” Countess said. “It happened so fast. I was just being aggressive, probably a little too aggressive. You gotta take care of teammates.”
And what about Matthews?
Matthews did not comment on his injury, which Pederson said might leave Matthews’ knee sore for a few days. Matthews wore a sleeve on his left knee in the hallway afterward.
“Me tackling a guy, it wasn’t intentional for me to try to hurt him,” Mills said. “Jordan is my teammate … He helps me, day-in and day-out. As soon as it happened and I saw he didn’t get up, I told him it wasn’t intentional. He said he knows, it’s football. As soon as I finish talking to you guys I’m gonna go check on him.”
What about you, Merrill?
I believe the tackling we're seeing in training camp will have this team ready to go when the season begins. Last year tackling was sloppy.
— Merrill Reese (@mreeseeagles) August 5, 2016
You know, I think tackling has been sloppy ever since Andy Reid signed Asante Samuel. That’s when I started noticing the glaring missed tackles this defense has notched. Hopefully this season will be different. Hopefully.