ZACH ERTZ EMERGENCY POD!

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4:06You knew that this was something that they had been considering for a few weeks. We've talked about it a ton on the pod. Look, it makes a ton of sense. So Zach Erts back in Philadelphia not announced by the team yet, but it is going to happen. Credit to Adam Schaefter who broke the news. It appears that Zach Erts will sign on the practice squad initially, but it would not shock me at all. If he makes his season debut week four against the Rams, week three against Chicago, possibility. I mean, he's not been part of a training camp. He's coming back from an ACL injury. So maybe they won't rush him back, but the bottom line is this. Zach Erts is going to end his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. So a lot to get away or a lot to talk about with this. A lot to take away from the move. So let's get into it. So I'm at Chickies and Peats. I'm doing the players lounge or I was doing the JLX Hunt Show. With JLX Hunt. And the breaking news sounder comes in. We're at Chickies and Peats. It's announced on the air that Zach Erts is coming back.

5:09And fans were super happy about it. So let's look at this from both like a football perspective and from a fan perspective. And I actually want to start with the fan perspective of this move. Because looking if James Seltzer wasn't sleeping away, we all know our sweet baby prince likes to get his sleep. And he has to get up and host the WIP Morning Show. No big deal to him. Sports are supposed to be fun. And Zach Erts the way he ended his career with the Eagles. It wasn't fun. He forced his way out. Remember he had to die. Beach blonde hair. He had to inside out shorts. He cried when he was traded. And I think probably deep down to a certain degree Zach regrets the decision to force his way out of the Eagles. I think he always wanted to end his career here. It was probably hard to see guys like Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Jason Kelsey, Lane Johnson. And those guys only ever played for the Eagles. That it was like the five big players. And then it became the core four because Zach forced his way out. So I think there is something very like beautiful and something very romantic about the idea of Zach ending his career in Philadelphia.

6:13I think that's how it's supposed to be. He will go into the Eagles Hall of Fame. I think you'll have a case for the NFL Hall of Fame. And he's only 11 catches away from being the reception for being the franchise is all time leader. In reception. So that moment when he runs out of the tunnel they'll announce the offense at day they'll announce Zach Hertz. And I'm sure he'll cry. He's an emotional guy just like me. I am sure he will cry. But it's going to be awesome when that happens. So there'll be 86 jerseys in the crowd. Bad news. Xavier Gibson. You're not going to keep 86. And look Zach Hertz caught the touchdown that won the franchise this first Super Bowl. Zach Hertz was the number one receiver for a lot of years. It's really, really cool. He ends it here. And I think to the relationship he's played with Jalen, right? I know he has a lot of respect for Jalen. What he's accomplished. They've been on the field together. And then also like I think an interesting dynamic here is the Nick Seriani thing before we kind of shift into the football component of this. Nick Seriani and Zach had that incident in Washington, right? And this is just speculation.

7:13But if I'm Nick you wonder if you know you're hired as a head coach. Zach Hertz forces his way out right away. Maybe you're like, hey, did you believe in me? Right? So I'm sure they'll talk. This isn't a move that they would make without you know Nick Seriani being on board. And I think at this point things are very, very different. Obviously they were 2021. I mean, Nick's on a Hall of Fame track right now. He was a rookie head coach when that happened. So I am sure Zach the moment when he speaks probably Thursday, the first time we'll hear from him is going to be awesome. It's going to be a really, really cool thing. So now let's talk about it on the field. So obviously this became something that had to happen once Dallas got it. So for the injury, uh, Goddard, it appears going to be out potentially a few weeks within MCL injury. Will he go on IR? We'll find that out later in the week. Eagles do have an open roster spots. They don't have a need to, to, you know, put earth to put Goddard and IR to make room for, uh, to make room for Earths. But with Goddard out and Eli Stowers on IR, they really needed a pass catching tight end. You had Johnny Munt, you had EJ Jenkins. I mean, they'll probably have to sign someone even with Earths just for this Monday night.

8:16If Earths isn't, you know, potentially ready to go. So Earths brings a lot of things on the field. First of all, he brings a veteran presence. That tight end room, uh, with Goddard now and IR, know, with Goddard potentially out for a few weeks, he is, he is a veteran leader. But Earths, you know, has been in the league longer. Earths was the veteran leader to some degrees for, to some degree for Dallas Goddard. So you get the, you get the veteran leadership in the room. Him and Eli Stowers have a good relationship. He can help develop Eli Stowers. He can help Eli adjust to the NFL. It's not been the smoothest start for Eli Stowers career. So he can step in and do that, which will definitely be helpful. But on the field, Zacherts is going to do a lot for this team. Um, I don't think he'll ever, you know, be, be mistaken for a blocking tight end, especially at this point in his career. But I do think that he will be able to open up with this team can do an offense in a way. Once Goddard's back, let's look at it from that perspective. Once Goddard's back, you can do a lot more two tight end sets, right? You can put two receiving tight ends on the field. You can put Earths in the slot.

9:17Your red zone packages are going to be much better. Your third and short packages are going to be much better. Because Earths knows how to get open. If Earth is good at one thing, it is he knows how to get open. And he's very good at contested catches. He has great hands. Jalik's hunt was talking about that actually during the Jalik's hunt show. He's got great hands. He holds onto the ball when the ball gets to him. So that'll be a bonus for him. But I think that, you know, again, when Goddard comes back, Earths will still be able to see the field. This probably does mean Eli Stowers not going to play much this year. That's fine. He clearly is still a ways away from being a contributing NFL player. And this takes away the pressure for Eli Stowers to have to get on the field. But in the next few weeks, when Earths, you know, when Goddard is on the sideline, Earths right away can step in and be this team's top-perceiving option. Like I like EJ, EJ Jenkins. We talked ourselves in EJ Jenkins when they kept him on the 53. But him and Johnny Mont, they are not tight ends that opposing defense is fear. I don't know if opposing defense is fierce, Accords at this point. But he had a really good game last year against a number one defense in the NFL in Denver.

10:20At least one of the best defenses. He's been consistently a guy for five, six hundred yards over the past few years. Even, you know, when he's been hurt, he's still put up pretty good numbers. So I think he can still step out on the field and help this offense, 100%. Like the passing game has gone really well. But I think there's still needing of a reliable pass-catching option. And Earths gives you another one. So if Earths is at his best, you have Devonte. Devonte Smith, Don Tevian Wicks, Dallas Goddard. And honestly, Zach Hertz is probably your fourth best receiver at this point. So I think that's a major pose just to add a reliable pair of hands. Not to mention, he has playoff experience, duh. But you know he'll be ready for big games going in the Chicago Monday night, prime time first game back. That will not be too big of a stage for him. We'll see if he'll play. Like I said, I'll be a little surprised. If he's active, he hasn't been in the offense all off season. He has not been in training camp and he's not practice football since he unfortunately suffered that torn ACL back.

11:20And I believe it was December. So that is part of it, right? He is, you know, tenish months away, nineish months since that injury. So the Eagles left Seattle is feeling physically. But there's also probably a component of this of you don't bring him in unless you feel he is somewhat ready to play because you have that need. So still on the practice squad, again, would have to be elevated. I think it also shows at this point, like it's not really about the money was Zach Hertz. He just wants to end his career with the Eagles. So I really like deciding. I really like just getting him back and fill it out. I love it for the fans. I love it for the team. There will be expectations because he is Zach Hertz. But I think he is a player that people are probably somewhat underestimating on how good he can be right away. So had to hit you guys with the emergency pod. Obviously we'll talk about this a lot tomorrow with James. But man, Zach Hertz is back. Sports are fun. And I think it's going to be pretty cool to see him back in an Eagles uniform. So talk to you guys soon. Until next time, he's Elliott. I'm James. Talk to you guys later.

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