Ertz improving as a blocker

Tight end Zach Ertz spent a good chunk of the offseason in Arizona doing MMA training in his never-ending quest to improve his blocking.

Judging by his play so far in training camp, it worked.

"He's certainly a more efficient blocker,'' offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. "His redeeming quality as a tight end is as a pass receiver. We all know that.

"But what's important and what was maybe not considered a redeeming quality, you improve at. And we've seen those improvements that he's focused on in the offseason.

"He's better with his feet. He's doing a better job of hitting his target. And depending on where the play is being run, he has a little better idea of how the defender is going to try to beat him and then how to finish the block.''

Ertz played 603 snaps last season, up from the 459 he played as a rookie, but more than 200 fewer than Brent Celek. If he can prove to Shurmur and head coach Chip Kelly that he can be a dependable run-blocker, his playing time should increase and he might even wrestle the starting tight end job away from Celek.

--Shurmur said no decision has been made yet on how much quarterback Sam Bradford will play in Sunday's first preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts, or even if he'll play.

"We haven't discussed that yet,'' Shurmur said. "We've got a couple of solid days of training left. Then we'll regroup at that time.''

--Running back Darren Sproles had just 40 receptions last season, which was his fewest number of catches since 2008. Coach Chip Kelly said in the offseason that he wants to get Sproles more involved in the passing game this season. "We would like to get him the ball steadily and consistently,'' Shurmur said. "He's a unique player. He's as good as any receiver you have. And then you can hand him the football. We just need to make sure we get him the ball, and we have a plan to do that. We've got to find that smooth mix between DeMarco (Murray), Darren and Ryan (Mathews). And nothing says we can't put all three of them in there at the same time, which would be kind of cool.''

--Shurmur has been pleased with the way left tackle Jason Peters and left guard Allen Barbre have been meshing. "As Allen's getting used to playing next to JP (left tackle Jason Peters), you're starting to see the camaraderie there,'' Shurmur said. "They're working well together. We feel good about his progress. He's a big sturdy guy. When you're throwing the football, you like firmness in the pocket.''

--Shurmur praised the play of the Eagles' newest offensive lineman, John Moffit, who signed with the team in late June. "He's making greater improvements, steady improvements, because he's had so far to come,'' he said. "He didn't have the benefit of being here in the spring. I thought he had a pretty good day yesterday.'' Moffit is in the mix for the starting right guard job, along with Matt Tobin and Andrew Gardner.