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Zach Ertz doesn't want to be only a good NFL tight end; he wants to be a great one. He wants to catch 80 passes a year. He wants to go to Pro Bowls. He wants to be mentioned in the same breath with the best tight ends in the game.

He believes he has that kind of talent. His coaches believe he has that kind of talent.

As Philadelphia Daily News columnist Paul Domowitch suggested, if you saw Ertz's incredible, diving touchdown catch in the first quarter Sunday night against Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, you know he has that kind of talent.

But Domowitch added: "What is holding Ertz back right now is the same thing that holds back a lot of young tight ends: His blocking ability."

In the Eagles' first four games, Ertz played 64.5 percent of the offensive snaps. In the last two against the Rams and Giants, only 40.9 percent.

In the Eagles' Week 5 win over the Rams, Ertz played only 31 of 76 snaps. He was used almost exclusively as the lone tight end in three-wide receiver sets in that game. Not coincidentally, only 10 of the Eagles' 33 rushing attempts against the Rams came out of three-wide sets.

Sunday night, Ertz played only 30 of 73 snaps. While he was used in both three-wide-receiver and two-tight-end sets, it was mainly on third down or in obvious passing situations.

He was targeted five times against the Giants and had three receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown.

As a rookie last year, Ertz had 36 catches for 469 yards and four touchdowns. Through six games this season, he has 19 catches for 306 yards and two touchdowns.

His 16.1 yards-per-catch average is the best in the league among tight ends. But the breakout season he hoped for, and many others expected, is slow in developing.

Domowitch went on to explain it's frequently forgotten that Chip Kelly's offense, first and foremost, is a running offense. The Eagles ran the ball 47 percent of the time last season, which was the sixth most in the league. The Eagles led the league in rushing and LeSean McCoy ran away with the league rushing title.

McCoy got off to a poor start this season. He averaged 2.7 yards per carry in the first four games. Was averaging only 1.6 out of two-tight-end sets.

Ertz was just a part of the problem with the run game. A much bigger part was the three missing starters up front. But when your offensive line is struggling, other shortcomings become magnified. Reducing Ertz' snaps wasn't an easy thing to do, given his ability as a pass-catcher. But Kelly thought it was critical to do whatever it took to get McCoy going.

So, in the Rams game, Kelly gave the No. 3 tight end, James Casey, extended playing time (a season-high 25 snaps), teaming him with Brent Celek, who is one of the league's best blocking tight ends, in two-tight-end sets and using Ertz in "11' personnel formations (three wide receivers).

The strategy was effective. McCoy rushed for 81 yards on 24 carries in the win. Sixty-one of those 81 yards came in the two-tight-sets with Celek and Casey.

With Celek playing 57 of 73 snaps Sunday night against the Giants, McCoy had his best game of the season, rushing for 149 yards on 22 carries.

While he still might be developing as an NFL blocker, Ertz is making his mark as a receiver. He is second on the Eagles to Jeremy Maclin in first-down receptions (16) and has become Nick Foles' go-to guy on third down. He leads the team in third-down receptions (10), as well as third-down receptions for first downs (10).

The only tight end in the league with more third-down catches than Ertz is the Chargers' Antonio Gates, an eight-time Pro Bowler, who has 11.

But Ertz needs to improve as a blocker to get the snaps necessary to emerge as the kind of high-end producer most fantasy owners drafted him to be.