Two-tight-end offense has helped Eagles become more productive

IN THEIR FIRST four games this season, the Eagles" run game looked like a fish flopping around in a boat. They averaged only 3.1 yards per carry, which was the second lowest mark in the league.

But they have done an impressive about-face in their last three games, averaging 173.7 rushing yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry, which is the sixth-best rushing average in the NFL during that three-game period.

Ask Chip Kelly what happened to cause this turnaround, and he"ll tell you simply that his line is just blocking better than it did in the first four games.

While that"s true, there"s a little more to the story than that. To borrow the oft-used words of Kelly"s predecessor, Andrew Walter Reid, the Chipster has put his linemen in better position to make plays.

He"s done that by going to a lot more two-tight-end sets the last three games, which has made life a little easier for his linemen and also plays a little more to the between-the-tackles strength of his $40 million running back, DeMarco Murray.

In the first four games, the Eagles lined up primarily in "11" personnel - one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers. It"s Kelly"s preferred personnel grouping.

He can spread teams out with the three wide receivers, force them into nickel, and then run the ball on them. In 2013-14, 70 percent of LeSean McCoy"s nearly 3,000 rushing yards came out of "11" personnel.

But this is a different line from the one that helped McCoy win the league rushing title two years ago, and Murray is a different runner.

The Eagles used 11 personnel on 88.4 percent of their offensive plays in the first four games. They used two-tight-end sets, or "12" personnel, only 20 times.

In the last three games, Kelly has gone to more two-tight-end sets with both Brent Celek and Zach Ertz. They used 12 personnel 39.4 percent of the time against the Saints, Giants and Panthers.

"We"ve definitely had more success (running) out of two-tight-end," center Jason Kelce said. "It gives us another guy in the box. It makes the edge a little bit longer. It presents different looks for the defense to have to fit against."

Ryan Mathews has run well out of both 11 and 12 personnel packages, averaging 5.9 yards per carry in 11 and 7.0 yards per carry in 12.

But the heavy dose of 12 the last three games has really benefitted Murray. He"s averaging 4.3 yards per carry in 12, only 2.7 in 11.

Kelly said the decision on whether to use 11 or 12 is "really about how people are defending it. That"s why we go through that 12-or-11 conversation all the time as a coaching staff. What are we going to get out of (the defense) and how are they going to defend it and what does that mean to us?"

The problem this season has been that, even when the matchup favors playing 11, the Eagles haven"t been able to run out of it. Murray, Mathews and Darren Sproles are averaging a collective 5.3 yards per carry in 12 personnel, but only 3.9 in 11.

"I know why (they"re struggling to run the ball with 11 personnel), but I don"t know that I want to say it to the media," Kelce said.

Right tackle Lane Johnson said he thinks the Eagles have been too predictable in 11.

"I think when Celek was in (as the lone tight end), they thought we were going to run the ball, and when Zach was in, they thought we were going to pass it," he said. "Now that we"ve got both of them in there, they can"t really key to one tight end giving it away."

The biggest problem for both Murray and his blockers in 11 has been the outside zone run play. Kelce and guards Matt Tobin and Allen Barbre have struggled to get out and make the pull blocks on it, and Murray really doesn"t have the speed or turning radius to regularly make it work.

"I researched their inside and outside zone runs," said Brian Baldinger, an NFL Network analyst who spent 11 years as an offensive lineman in the league. "I went back and watched all of the outside zones.

"DeMarco has run that play 24 times, and he"s averaged 2.6 yards per carry. Ryan Mathews has run that play 20 times and he"s gained 125 yards. Six yards per carry. There"s no question that the one guy runs the play a lot better than the other."

Baldinger said that defenses have figured out that if you line up the defensive end (in a 4-3) or outside linebacker (in a 3-4) wide enough, it makes it almost impossible for the Eagles to seal the edge and allow Kelce and one of the guards to get to the outside.

"It kills the play," he said.

It will be interesting to see how much two-tight-end Kelly uses Sunday night against the Cowboys. In their first meeting in Week 2, the Eagles used 12 personnel on only seven of their 55 offensive plays.

The Eagles have not only run the ball better in 12 personnel, they"ve also thrown it better. While it has meant more bench time for slot receiver Jordan Matthews - he has played in only 73.2 percent of the snaps the last three games, compared with 84.6 in the first four - it has enhanced Ertz" role. He has played 80.9 percent of the snaps the last three games, up from 63.1 the first four games.

Ertz has 14 catches in the last three games, 10 for first downs. Sam Bradford has a 93.9 passer rating and .700 completion percentage in 12 personnel and a 73.2 rating and .602 completion percentage in 11 personnel.

Why does Baldinger think they"ve been able to run the ball much better in 12 personnel?

"Two things," he said. "One, they run a scissors play out of that (set), where the tight end that"s in the slot comes across and blocks the other line of scrimmage. Andy (Reid) used to run that play a lot.

"That kind of gets your five guys (on the line) on their five most dangerous guys. You get push inside and then you seal the end. You can run from inside that tight end slot all the way over. You"ve got more big guys inside moving the line of scrimmage.

"Secondly, if you"re running to a side, you get a better seal with the two tight ends there (than one)."

* Besides working for the NFL Network, Baldinger also does college games - primarily the Big 12 - for Fox. I asked him for his impressions of TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, whom he has seen several times, and is someone who might interest Chip Kelly and the Eagles in the 2016 draft.

"He"s a very, very confident kid," Baldinger said. "Not stupid cocky or anything like that. Just confident. He can throw to spots. He sees the field well. He"s a tremendous athlete. He"s built really strong - 6-2, 220 pounds.

"He"s not what the NFL needs, by any means. But the NFL can only take what the college game gives them. All of these college offenses are running some of the same version (of the spread). These guys are just half-field readers."

Baldinger"s very early guess on where Boykin might get drafted is late in the third round or early in the fourth.

"I think he"ll test really well," he said. "I think he"ll be good in a lot of the things when teams give him private workouts. All of those things push him into the bottom of the second day (rounds 2 and 3), beginning of the third day.

"I think teams have stopped overdrafting these (read-option) kids. We saw that last year with Bryce Petty (taken in the fourth round by the Jets) and Brett Hundley (taken in the fifth round by the Packers).

"They"re kind of realizing that a lot of this production and numbers and stuff is just the system. So teams are getting a lot more realistic about what they"re getting.

"That said, he"s a developmental guy you can work with. If you have a good system in place to develop these kids, I think he"s got a chance."

*"At the end of regulation, I put my head down and said, "Lord, your will be done." I was hoping for that opportunity." - Panthers PK Graham Gano, who kicked a game-winning 52-yard FG in overtime after missing a PAT in regulation.

* "At the end of the day, we"re just blessed to be sitting where we are right now. We have a chance to do something special." - Texans CB Johnathan Joseph, whose team is tied for first place in the AFC South despite a 3-5 record

* "This guy, Todd Gurley, he"s special. He"s Adrian Peterson all over again. People don"t realize how big he is. He can hit you with the home run speed. He"s a young Adrian Peterson, but I like our Adrian Peterson better." - Vikings CB Captain Munnerlyn, on Rams rookie RB Todd Gurley

* The 49 points the Giants scored against New Orleans on Sunday are the most they"ve scored in a loss in their 91-year history.

* The Saints" 36 first downs against the Giants were the second highest total ever for a Giants opponent. The Los Angeles Rams had 38 in a 55-14 victory on Nov. 13, 1966.

* Arizona is the only team in the league ranked in the top five in total offense (third) and total defense (fourth).

* Rams RB Todd Gurley is the first rookie in league history to rush for at least 125 yards in four consecutive games.

* The Broncos" Gary Kubiak is the fourth head coach to lead his team to a 7-0 record in his first season since the AFL-NFL merger. The other three: Ray Malavasi with the Rams in "78, Jim Caldwell with the Colts in"09 and Andy Reid with the Chiefs in "13.

*Suggestions that the Eagles don"t throw the ball down the field are based more on perception than reality. According to Pro Football Focus, 32 of Sam Bradford"s 274 pass attempts this season have traveled 20 or more yards, one out of every 8.6 attempts. A check of the league"s top 10 passers shows five of them have thrown the ball down the field less frequently than Bradford this season:

* The Eagles are 25th in the league in points per offensive drive, averaging only 1.64 yards per possession, according to Football Outsiders. Their point production has dropped each of the last two seasons. They were eighth in 2013 (2.18) and 13th last year (1.98). The defense is fifth in points allowed per drive (1.49).

The Eagles, who gave up a league-high 72 pass plays of 20 yards or more last season, are doing a little better this season. They"ve given up 23 in seven games, or 3.28 per game. That average still is the 11th highest in the league. The Colts have given up a league-worst 4.5 per game, followed by the Giants (4.4). A game-by-game breakdown of the "X"" plays the Eagles have given up:

Falcons (5): 44, 25, 23, 22, 22

Cowboys (2):  42, 39

Jets (2): 26, 20

Redskins (2): 43, 22

Saints (7): 59, 46, 25, 22, 21, 21, 20

Giants (0): n/a

Panthers (5): 28, 28, 25, 20, 20

*The offense is 29th in the NFL in third-down efficiency. The Eagles have converted only 31.9 percent of their third-down opportunities in the first seven games. A big reason for that is that they"re usually staring at third-and-long. The Eagles are averaging 7.80 yards to go on third down. Only four teams are averaging more - Tampa Bay (8.00), St. Louis (8.08), Miami (8.16) and Tennessee (8.37).

*The Eagles are 11th in average starting field position (28.3). The top five: Bengals (33.5), Patriots (32.7), Panthers (30.9), Jets (30.5) and Vikings (30.2).

*The Eagles have only five kickoff returns this season. Their first seven opponents have a league-best 83.9 percent touchback percentage on kickoffs.

*Wide receiver Jordan Matthews and tight end Brent Celek are the only Eagles with more than one red-zone reception. Matthews has six (one TD) and Celek has four (two TDs).

*Not including six kneel-downs and spikes, the Eagles have run 433 of their 471 offensive plays out of shotgun this season. Thirty-five of the 38 plays they"ve run with the quarterback under center have been runs. They"ve averaged only 2.6 yards per carry on those 35 runs. They"ve averaged 4.6 yards per carry out of shotgun.

Like every defensive coach, Bill Davis perpetually preaches the importance of takeaways to his players. But this season, the Eagles defensive coordinator and his staff decided to put even more emphasis on them.

They put tackling dummies by the entrances to the locker room and the auditorium, and a third by the door to the practice fields. Each of the dummies has one football tucked under its left arm and another attached to the end of a raised right arm.

"It was a collective idea," Davis said. "We looked at a lot of different things and we just said,"How can we really put it on the front of their minds?" We put the dummies in and we"ve got one (arm) throwing and one (arm) holding the ball, so (they can replicate) a passer or a runner.

"We just said,"Hey, guys, in and out of every meeting, just put it on your mind." We always talk about habits and that habits reflect the mission. It"s a habit we"re trying to get to.

"Then it"s about, does it happen on the practice field? And most importantly, how many times are we actually attempting to punch a ball out in the game? Because the more shots on goal you get, the more success you have."

The Eagles, who finished sixth in takeaways last season with 28, lead the league this season with 19 in their first seven games. Eight of those 19 takeaways have come off fumbles. The only team with more is Tampa Bay.

"It definitely has helped us," linebacker Brandon Graham said of the in-house dummies. "It"s actually working for real. I believe that"s the reason we"re getting them so much.

"People go by it every day punching down at the ball. Stuff we work on in practice. When they work on it on the (dummies), I think it translates onto the field. I think it"s always on people"s minds."

Said Davis: "We really believe that since the beginning of football, that (takeaway) stat, the (turnover) differential, has been a huge stat in wins and losses. It"s where we"re at at the halfway point, and we need it to be there at the end of the season."

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