Eagles Report Card: Tight Ends

With Michael Vick at quarterback and so many explosive weapons it is hard to notice the tight ends.  Last season and early on this season Vick had a tough time working them into the offense.  After a rough beginning, Vick was able to get them involved in the offense and Brent Celek made a major statement.  With a shaky offensive line last year the tight ends were forced to block more, but with such a great offensive line this year they were able to make some plays this year.  It was a good year for them and they made a big splash in this offensive production.

Brent Celek


After a career year in 2009, 2010 was not the year for Celek.  With a shaky offensive line and a quarterback who seemed to refuse to throw the ball to the tight end, Celek's elite tight ends status went away.  It seemed like it was going to be the same way this year around as well early on, but that changed. After a rough start to the season where Celek was pretty much absent in the offense he really stepped up and became a huge piece in the passing game.

He has always been a good receiver it was just about him getting noticed by Vick.  Vick was never really a quarterback that loved the tight end and as he matured as a quarterback they said he would notice the tight end a lot more.  It seemed like that was the case.  After catching only 9 balls for 73 yards and no touchdowns in the first 5 games, Celek saw the ball more and his stats improved.

After such a rough start it is amazing that he finished with 62 catches for 811 yards and 5 touchdowns.  That is impressive considering he had a really bad start.  Celek established himself as an elite tight end again, which really helped this offense.  The more threats they have in the middle the less coverage they can have on the deep ball.  It was a great finish to Celek's year and he had a very good one to go with that.

GRADE: A-

Clay Harbor


It was another so so year for the backup tight end once again.  The Eagles don't use two tight end formations that much so you can't blame him to much, but the athletic tight end once again did not have a big year in the Eagles passing game.  One area you have to applaud him for is his continued improvement in the blocking phase of the game.  He would usually have a catch during the game, but he never brought anything big to the passing game.

On the year Harbor recorded 13 catches for 163 yards and 1 touchdown this year.  The Eagles primarily use their second tight end for blocking and they usually do not see the field to much.  It is hard to complain about his play because of that and it is hard to asses how did this year.  His numbers are not so great, but either was his playing time and do to that we blame it on him.

GRADE: C+

Overall


Celek had a fantastic year while Harbor barely saw the field and you never really noticed him.  As a group I guess they work well together, even though they are rarely on the field together.  Both of them continued to improve with their blocking, which is good to know as they both weren't known for that.  Celek had a great year though and since he is usually the one that sees the field that is what we base this group off of.  Expect another solid year again from them in 2012.

GRADE: A-